Why this video could improve any forum on the Net

[DaveC]

This is very well put.... Ironically there is a massive misconception as to what enlightenment is.
It is nothing more (and nothing less) then seeing things as they realy are....

Exactly. It's still a journey to get there, metaphorically...

...Or maybe just speak without everyone understanding him

Exactly again... Today, teachings that were secret in the past remain so even with books available and some teachers openly teaching the subject to anyone who will listen. If you're not ready it just seems like an alien concept, like a child trying to understand adult relationships. It's taken me years to really understand the basic premise of Tantra/Vajrayana... 20 years ago I thought I knew but now I realize I did not. Maybe I still don't...

 

[dallasjustice]

...Or maybe just speak without everyone understanding him

I did understand his point about having a sense of humor in the midst of despair. I often deal with people who put themselves into desperate and frightening situations. IME, it is important to project confidence, simple answers, respect to the listeners needs and a little humor. There have been many studies done on mental capacity while in a stressful situation. It is clear that intelligence is severely reduced when folks find themselves in this situation. Many psychologists call this phenomenon "tunneling." I see it everyday in my business. I've learned to use some of the above mentioned skills to communicate with folks experiencing situational mental deficits. Of course, not everyone responds in this way. Some people are quite skilled in these moments of despair.

 

[dallasjustice]

"Scarcity" is a good book.
http://scholar.harvard.edu/sendhil/scarcity

This book goes into the studies mentioned in my post above. It's fascinating to me.

 

[es347]

..a world with no absolutes eh? I wonder what that would look like..

 

[dallasjustice]

..a world with no absolutes eh? I wonder what that would look like..

I'm glad I don't live in that world. It must be very confusing for Bernie. No wonder it takes him so long to put a sentence together. He has to be careful not to use a whole host of off-limits words.

If Bernie were an audiophile, he would be firmly in the post-modernist/anti-science camp. If the world was merely a collection of opinions, nothing would exist.

 

[Billy Shears]

Exactly. It's still a journey to get there, metaphorically...



Exactly again... Today, teachings that were secret in the past remain so even with books available and some teachers openly teaching the subject to anyone who will listen. If you're not ready it just seems like an alien concept, like a child trying to understand adult relationships. It's taken me years to really understand the basic premise of Tantra/Vajrayana... 20 years ago I thought I knew but now I realize I did not. Maybe I still don't...

Honestly i am exactly the same, there are just so many pitfalls on the way.
Maybe, falling into falsehood is unavoidable and part of the process.
This side of being some kind of born awakend sage, I dont think anybody has ever found a shortcut.....

 

[Billy Shears]

I'm glad I don't live in that world. It must be very confusing for Bernie. No wonder it takes him so long to put a sentence together. He has to be careful not to use a whole host of off-limits words.

If Bernie were an audiophile, he would be firmly in the post-modernist/anti-science camp. If the world was merely a collection of opinions, nothing would exist.

Dont forget that there have been many absolutes in the past 100years alone, most of which are now considerd wrong.
The fact that this conversation is now going in the whole "you dont belive in scince" is exactly what i mean by not understanding what he was talking about.

We are not discussing Religion here. I consider myself a christian which is 100% experience based. i would not dream of bringing up a topic like that in a forum

Budhism is not a religion as such but a method, which you can rationally understand even though understanding it fully, is also experience based (thats why budhists meditate and thereby verify the conclusions they have drawn) It is true that by the end of this process you will see the world quite differently which will usualy lead you to giving up most of what you have held true. There is only conflict with science if your scientific curiosity ends with what a machine that will be considered junk in 10 years time is capable of telling you.
We are talking about experincing nature in its most fundamental reality here. If that is not a scientific inquiry then i dont know...

 

[DaveC]

There's lots of areas where Buddhism and science currently agree, in the future I believe science will confirm Buddhist philosophy as the truth, at least in the short term the process of manifestation/physical appearance might be explained. It'll probably take a long time for other things though.

Buddhism is also a religion though, in some countries there are a lot of parallels with any other religion. Here in the US it's seen mostly as a philosophy or psychology although I think long-time practitioners develop faith based on experience too. If you've studied a philosophy for decades and you accept and agree with it through personal experience it's much easier to have faith that those aspects you haven't yet experienced are also true. Also, the best teachers inspire faith in their students.

I think the best example of this is a documentary about Garchen Rinpoche called "For The Benefit Of All Beings":

http://www.forthebenefitofallbeings.com/

 

[audioguy]

..a world with no absolutes eh? I wonder what that would look like..

Lots of folks teachng that. IMO - pure garbage. I stopped seriously listening once he said that.

 

[NorthStar]

We live we die, abso!utely. And everything between is the constructional evidence @ the service of the human race. There is good and evil.
We all have a choice. ...How strong or weak we are is in all our surroundings and how we deal with it. The impact the planet with its inhabitants have on us is reflective of our choice.

Awareness and wisdom are keys to control our emotional breakdowns. And our actions are the direct reactions of that state. We don't impede on ourselves, we free us of all constraints.
Living in peace is living truthfully within and reaching out.

The higher learning is fighting for what's right by doing no wrong.

The yin and the yang...zen of the universe. What we do in life affects us all no matter where we are, who we are and in eternity.

Have a great weekend and don't forget to love one another. Without love we are nobody. The best is in the love, the love of music, the love of peace, the love of the entire humanity with the utmost respect for human life and wildlife.

What we build is tomorrow's world, the bridge of apotheosis. ...The ultimate essence of being. ...The joyous harmony is the goal of all reaching roads.

Be good, be @ peace. We live, we die. What we do after that is repeat. ...Live, die, repeat.

 

[DaveC]

On the absolutes, that's his own thing and I would guess an overwhelming majority of Buddhist teachers would present the 4 noble truths as factual and absolute. As he said, he's doing it for shock value, to make you think and keep an open mind.

Buddhist philosophy is actually very specific and absolute about how the world works, collectively called "right view"

 

[Billy Shears]

On the absolutes, that's his own thing and I would guess an overwhelming majority of Buddhist teachers would present the 4 noble truths as factual and absolute. As he said, he's doing it for shock value, to make you think and keep an open mind.

Buddhist philosophy is actually very specific and absolute about how the world works, collectively called "right view"

Yes, but the reason he is doing this is because he wants you to even be critical about the very teaching that is supposed to stop you becoming victim to your own mental construct.

Which in a roundabout way is very much Zen.

There are so many people that go from being fully identified with something false, to being fully identified with being a "spiritual seeker"

That is not necessarily closer to the truth.

 

[dallasjustice]

That is not necessarily closer to the truth.

"In my opinion, there's no truths." That's what Bernie says. So even Bernie couldn't say what you've said.

I'm a criminal defense lawyer. I generally like my clients even though they've usually done something wrong. However, I occasionally am called upon to represent some truly dangerous folks. Bernie reminds me of one client in particular who was a true sociopath. This former client victimized many innocents and had zero point of reference toward other people. IMO, philosophy is no joke. It's a life or death matter which affects everyone including the would be philosopher. IMO, Bernie is a dangerous man . . . . . . Man.

 

[Billy Shears]

"In my opinion, there's no truths." That's what Bernie says. So even Bernie couldn't say what you've said.

I'm a criminal defense lawyer. I generally like my clients even though they've usually done something wrong. However, I occasionally am called upon to represent some truly dangerous folks. Bernie reminds me of one client in particular who was a true sociopath. This former client victimized many innocents and had zero point of reference toward other people. IMO, philosophy is no joke. It's a life or death matter which affects everyone including the would be philosopher. IMO, Bernie is a dangerous man . . . . . . Man.

Thruth in the context of what i posted is not being identified with what you do ..... iam not going to go into the rest of your post as it is so way off the mark that i dont see the point in commenting on it