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Tue 17 Oct, 2006 02:33 am
I've finally realised it.
All my life, I had always had this terrible sensation of having all this philosophical information jumbled in my head, and yet not being able to connect it, at all. This website has added many things to this pool of wisdom, and yet it only made it worse. I had this feeling of being so close, yet so far away. It's like having all the correct puzzle pieces and yet not being able to connect any.
It's actually a physical sensation. If I thought about it too hard it gives me a shudder. In the day, when I'd see all my practical friends who may be highly intelligent, but have no desire whatsoever to delve into philosophy and deep thought, it would go away. Sometimes it would disappear for months, but then one night when I would be lying in bed, just thinking, it would come back, worse than ever.
For a while I toyed with the idea that I was crazy. But what if I wasn't crazy; I'd be making myself go crazy with the thought of being crazy. Besides, I'd never know without consulting someone else, and up until now I wasn't ready to do that. Besides, a crazy person wouldn't think that they were crazy.
I thought that maybe living a simple life without thinking about the deeper things would make me happy, but I'd never know that it would make me happier than ultimate wisdom unless I obtained ultimate wisdom, but by doing that I wouldn't be able to live a simple life. And besides, if I tried not think about philosophy, it would always be itching me. So I went on.
It was actually a book that made me realise it. I can't fully explain it but it had the theme of a person amongst other people, and a power calling them. If they went to this power, they would be transformed into a greater being, and become one with the power. Everyone but the main character gave in to this power and went to it. He tried with all his might to resist it, seeing his friends who went to it become different and changed. It was finally his girlfriend who convinced him. She said that he would never know unless he went. And so he realised that going would give him peace and freedom.
And that made me realise it. Not the way to fit the puzzle pieces, but the fact that the only way I would be able to escape this feeling would be to become one with the thing that I have been trying to resist. And that thing is religion. The only way that I can gain ultimate peace of mind is to go into the black hole of religion, and not resist, until eventually I pass the event horizon. Only there will I feel secure in my beliefs.
And so I will become religious. Christianity has to much controversy surrounding it. No, I think Buddhism has beliefs that don't clash violently with science. So there it is. Atheism will never give you peace.
Atheism can offer much is you can get it to accomodate faith.
Religion may not do anything more that muddle your thoughts, easing your mind with fantasy charades, which a person with your mental capactities is bound to see right through.
Buddhism is different though. It is not a religion. And as a buddhist, if you seek to hide from the world within this framework you will not succeed. To be a buddhist is to work to understand everything, to understand the nature of man, universe, Krishna, and so on. It is the act of learning by experience while using every facility of one's capacity to maximize the amount of wisdom extracted from each experience.
So if you're looking for a hood to draw over your eyes, don't look at buddhism.
I think you should give yourself some space and become a person.
:wink:
Or buy a playstation and a really comfy sofa.
aperson,
I really love Buddhism. It helped me to organize my mind after disentangling from Christianity. It also provided a great deal of reassurance during that extremely terrifying period in my life. At first, I just read a lot about it. As I got more into it I discovered that the organized religions that grew up around it are not much different than any other organized religions. I remember, one day, thinking that if I had grown up as a Buddhist I probably would have rebelled against it in the same way, which might have led me to discover the Truth in Christianity!
If you haven't already, you should really check out Joseph Campbell or Alan Watts. (Especially Alan Watts.... He probably had more to say about Buddhism.)
echi wrote: I remember, one day, thinking that if I had grown up as a Buddhist I probably would have rebelled against it in the same way, which might have led me to discover the Truth in Christianity!
I doubt it. Your rebellion against buddhism would be totally in sync with what buddhism is all about. Even the Buddha himself told his students to question his words, and to not believe something just because he said it was so. "Be a lantern unto yourself".
Cyracuz wrote:Your rebellion against buddhism would be totally in sync with what buddhism is all about.
I would say that it would be in sync with what the Buddha was all about.
Likewise, I bet Jesus would be less than impressed with Christianity. I suppose I could agree that Buddhism seems not to have deviated so severely. But if you miss the target, you miss the target.
True. Doesnt matter if you miss by an inch or by a mile. Or does it? I'd rather be almost right than all wrong. An interesting question appears.
Following the metaphor, would you say that the person who missed by a mile is more ignorant than the person who missed by an inch? Less maybe? Or are they equally ignorant?
That's a good point. Missing by an inch instead of a mile still won't get you where you're going, but probably makes it easier to get on track; it is surely easier on the poor, fragile ego!
If I am too hard on Buddhism it's only because I feel the need to compensate for my bias.
Buddhism offers a way to understand the world without paradoxes, suffering or misfortune. It is not a religion. It's more about the tuning and conditioning of consciousness, and elimination of misconceptions that continuously supply our lives with misery.
Some studies even claim that it works. Scanning the brain of active buddhists revealed that the areas of the brain that are active while one is happy and content had a notably higher activity than in non buddhists. Simultaneously, the areas that are active under depression and unhappiness were less active in buddhists.
I don't know how serious this science is though. I'll try to find the link...
Didn't find it, but this is perhaps more interesting...
http://home.att.net/~meditation/monks.brains.html
Cyracuz wrote:[Buddhism] is not a religion.
Come on, Cyracuz..... just admit it.
[interesting article, BTW. thanks]
If I'd known how to post pictures I'd post one of a star trek convention or an Ethnic norwegian council.
Ok, I couldn't find anything to suit my purpose, so I geuss I'll just admit you're right.
Besides, all the pictures I post come up enormous.
Hehe... yeah... I finally learned how to resize my pictures. Let me help you out and share the wealth of knowledge that was shared with me.
Well this is how I do it anyway, I suppose there could be an easier way. Probably is with my luck!
First you go here:
http://www.resize2mail.com/
or imagescale.com is what I usually use, but their website seems to be down right now.
Once you've got the picture the size you want it, save it to your computer and upload it at photobucket.com.
Take the link photobucket provides and post it here.
That's how I did my avatars. Sheesh... it took me forever to figure all that out. I even had to start a thread in the testing forum to try it all out. Hehehe... I felt like such a dork. But now...
I'm cool...
Oh yeah...
thanks heph
I'll just bookmark that link..
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