tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1575603731696062553.post1095636744932137052..comments2024-03-27T16:08:30.313-05:00Comments on The Great Change: Is God Serious?Albert Bateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17627996921976501534noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1575603731696062553.post-3584733257216775292017-08-27T14:46:05.463-05:002017-08-27T14:46:05.463-05:00"....if we understand by soul atman, which, s... "....if we understand by soul atman, which, secretly hiding itself behind all mental activities, direct them after the fashion of an organist striking different notes as he pleases, Buddhists outspokenly deny the existence of such a fabulous being. To postulate an independent atman outside a combination of the five Skandhas of which an individual being is supposed by Buddhists to consist, is to unreservedly welcome egoism with all its pernicious corollaries.<br /><br />"And what distinguishes Buddhism most characteristically and emphatically from all other religions is the doctrine of non-atman or non-ego, exactly opposite to the postulate of a soul-substance which is cherished by most of religious enthusiasts. In this sense, Buddhism is undoubtedly a religion without the soul."<br /><br /> --D.T. Suzuki, referenced at https://www.elephantjournal.com/2011/06/no-god-no-soul-in-buddhism-dt-suzuki/<br /><br />While some have turned Buddhism into a "religion," the essence of Buddhism is about clearing one's relative "self" of delusions about the nature of reality in order to be of some assistance to "others" suffering from delusions about reality. Clearing away delusion is a process, not some kind of end-state. <br /><br />While your work, and that of many others, is not self-declaredly "Buddhist," you definitely serve the function of helping your readers realize what is and is not delusion, as you yourself figure it out. Thanks for all the assistance through the years!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1575603731696062553.post-32284003689801435382017-08-07T10:52:19.823-05:002017-08-07T10:52:19.823-05:00That "reality" excludes the existence of...That "reality" excludes the existence of anything beyond the physical sphere is an assumption. And although it is agreed upon by many people, including the scientific/skeptic-minded, but also affiliates of religious creeds that do not seriously give much credence to anything non-material, that does make it actual. It is yours and my existence, the all pervading, infinite and eternal being that is Reality. The real with the small "r" is described, by those who experience it from awakened states of illumination or realization, as a dream, illusion, imagination, a show, VERY IMPRESSIVE INDEED!, but still a dream.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08437697763163452440noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1575603731696062553.post-61726349586237524052017-08-06T23:18:59.177-05:002017-08-06T23:18:59.177-05:00Joe,
intelligence, plus upright walking, (freeing...Joe, <br />intelligence, plus upright walking, (freeing the forelimbs) plus opposable thumbs. Dangerous combination.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1575603731696062553.post-63958917671686183772017-08-06T12:58:31.779-05:002017-08-06T12:58:31.779-05:00Core Systems; Religion; Downstream Effects
I sugg...Core Systems; Religion; Downstream Effects<br /><br />I suggest reading this obituary:<br />http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/newsobserver/obituary.aspx?n=clifford-sanford&pid=186247266&fhid=16899<br /><br />Clifford Sanford obviously organized his life around religious concepts. AND LOOK AT ALL THE GOOD HE DID. Our recent Presidents in the United States have claimed to organize their lives around religious concepts, and LOOK AT ALL THE HARMS THEY HAVE DONE. Which should prompt us to look more deeply.<br /><br />From Lisa Feldman's new book How Emotions Are Made, I suggest that our mind is making a decision about what it wants to do, and constructs an emotion to fit the bodily response required. For example, if anger is called for, then the body conjures up some anger and lots of body systems get in gear with the constructed emotion.<br /><br />Religion suggests certain concepts, which can be abetted by emotions. For example, Sanford obviously had some concepts which most of us would consider 'noble'. We would guess that his emotional apparatus supported his accomplishments. We would also guess that recent Presidents have had some far less than noble concepts and that their emotional apparatus and ability to lie to themselves supported their actions.<br /><br />Barrett says that 'Affective Realism keeps you believing something even when the evidence puts it highly in doubt. It's not because of ignorance or malevolence--it is simply a matter of how the brain is wired and operates. Everything you believe and everything you see is colored by your brain's budget-balancing act.'<br /><br />Sanford may well have been guilty of Affective Realism (as are all the rest of us), but surely his religious concepts are not the most pressing lies we have to confront.<br /><br />Don Stewart Don Stewarthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05449201744675390686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1575603731696062553.post-11632834312068457622017-08-06T12:12:40.197-05:002017-08-06T12:12:40.197-05:00The earth did just fine with religious people doin...The earth did just fine with religious people doing their thing until the we managed to use fossil fuels to grow our population to unsustainable levels. And I doubt that universal atheism could have countered the temptation of the combination of fossil fuels and the ways to use it that science allowed. <br /><br />I doubt that atheists would have so much self control of their emotions that unlimited power would be either shunned or controlled wisely. After all, even non-self-aware species have emotions, pecking orders, and behavioral urges that would lead to great damage if they got lots of exo-somatic energy behind them. Give chickens some steam powered machinery and watch out! <br /><br />Religion and science both depend on a threshold level of awareness that is the core of what we think of as intelligence. As an atheist engineer, I propose that religion is not the problem and science is not the solution. It's intelligence that got us into this mess; we're just too damn smart for our own good.Joehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01251330546889158364noreply@blogger.com