Originally posted by ADarksideJedi
People always look for the next best thing.They are bought up to one type of Religion and then go shopping for something else because they disargee with it for what ever reason.I personally think that is pretty sad.
Depends. Seems to me that if you disagreed with a religion, you shouldn't stay with it, and if another makes more sense, you should adopt some of its ideas.
Things like this are generally only sad to people of a particular religion talking about those who don't believe the same. There's nothing inherently bad about it.
This also has very little bearing on this thread, but meh.
Originally posted by ADarksideJedi
People always look for the next best thing.They are bought up to one type of Religion and then go shopping for something else because they disargee with it for what ever reason.I personally think that is pretty sad.
Originally posted by ADarksideJedi
People always look for the next best thing.They are bought up to one type of Religion and then go shopping for something else because they disargee with it for what ever reason.I personally think that is pretty sad.
Do you think so too about children that got brought up with fundamentalist Islam? Or should they change their religion?
Originally posted by ADarksideJedi
Because once you move on you just keep on moving to the next one and the next until you don't believe in anything
Not necessarily. In fact, "don't believe in anything" is sort of a null term anyway. Everyone believes something, regardless of whether or not it falls into an accepted religion.
Originally posted by ADarksideJedi
or you go back to the first one because it was always the true one for you.
You using statistical data here, or talking from personal experience? It also still doesn't answer the question of why it's bad to question your beliefs, or adopt others that make more sense to you. You act like it's a horrible thing when it's not.
Originally posted by ADarksideJedi
Because once you move on you just keep on moving to the next one and the next until you don't believe in anything or you go back to the first one because it was always the true one for you.
Based on this logic, I take it you would be against converting people to christianity? Since you think they will inevitably leave it.
In highschool, I had a teacher who was also a buddhist monk. He was a very nice guy and I enjoyed talking to him. He always told interesting things about his experiences training in Japan where he lived for much of his life. But the strangest thing I recalled was a particular story. He said that once after deep meditation outdoors he opened his eyes and saw a demon. It looked like a "hole" in the universe, basically the silhouette of a man. He said he felt like it was malevolent, though it simply walked around for a while before eventually walking away.
Did he believe it was a demon, or a side effect of his meditation?
Somewhat related to a recent story I told (see "Ghost Stories" thread) there's a ghost that's supposed to be giving me a visit in the coming months where I work. I have bosses and coworkers who are convinced that it will happen (especially since I sneered and said "there's no dead Indian in here" at one point). Seriously though, Indian burial ground stories? He's not buried there, but he died in the place in like 1890. I think they'd be better off going with a less frequented stereotype...either that, or American Indians have been taking lessons from Qui-Gonn more than the rest of us.
Should be fun. Next time I'm alone I'm going to ask for a sign.
Originally posted by Digi
Did he believe it was a demon, or a side effect of his meditation?
Originally posted by King Kandy
He had a position that I would basically describe as saying that was an artificial distinction.
That's what he said, he said basically "From a buddhist perspective, I wouldn't say that demon was anything outside of myself." But another part of his beliefs were that the world as we see it is illusory, so that demon was just as "real" as anything else he saw.
As far as the "side effect", I think that's true as well; Obviously, he wouldn't have seen that if he was just out and about, but he's the most intense meditator I have ever met. He was from the Soto school which emphasizes sitting meditation and he would do hours and hours straight. Apparently he has had many visionary experiences due to this technique but that was the most "standout" one.