What will happen to people who don't believe in Buddhism?
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It comes from LIBERATION from physical and mental phenomena, all phenomenas whether physical or mental no longer affect you after liberation.Originally posted by An Eternal Now:Since everyone's buddha nature is wholly complete, it is possible to point to your buddha nature as a person points to the wind.
But it takes a enlightened master to point it out to you, and also your own capacity to realise it. Not everyone is able to. In the past, some patriarches get enlightened after reading a single line of the sutras. That is because their capacity is very great. Such patriarches are rare nowadays.
You are right, Nirvana is not about Physical phenomena, but neither is it about Mental phenomena. Because Nirvana cannot be achieved by thinking, conceptualising, etc. It comes from LIBERATION from physical and mental phenomena, all phenomenas whether physical or mental no longer affect you after liberation.
If the vast sky is seen as our original nature, physical and mental phenomena are seen as clouds passing by the vast sky. It cannot obstruct you.
Please lah, "LIBERATION from physical?"
You might be able to liberate yourself from sexual cravings - though I would find that rather pointless or even hunger and thus kill yourself from starvation.
To be "LIBERATION from physical" means that you can don't eat and still continue to live. You do not have to follow laws of physics. Show me the evidence. Just ask one of the elightened ones to call CNN and show that he is no longer bound by the laws of physics...
Show us the evidence... just like ask the Christian to ask Jesus to make an appointment with CNN and broadcast to the world. -
Even 2549 years later, the Government still wanted to encourage Religious teachings to Secondary school students, but they stopped because they found some of the teachers trying to convert the student.Originally posted by casino_king:I said, there is no reason to refer to 2549 yaer old teachings to come to the conclusion of what is good and right and wise. Education is better.
It means our Government is very supportive of religious teachings because they found that it will help uphold or improve the moral standards in our society.
Nevertheless, I think you should know by now, Buddhism isn't just about teaching moral values. It is more than that.
Education also does not teach people what is good, right, and wise, perhaps only Civics Moral Education which unfortunately, is often neglected. Many teachers use CME lessons to teach other subjects.
And also, the 'good, right, wise' taught by CME is still within the mundane world. Buddhism teaches both mundane wisdom and SUPRA-mundane wisdom. Because our ultimate aim is awakening and liberation. -
Originally posted by casino_king:
I was more thinking about 'liberation from physical pain'
[b]It comes from LIBERATION from physical and mental phenomena, all phenomenas whether physical or mental no longer affect you after liberation.
Please lah, "LIBERATION from physical?"
You might be able to liberate yourself from sexual cravings - though I would find that rather pointless or even hunger and thus kill yourself from starvation. Or rather, sufferings caused by physical pain.
Craving is still pretty much in the mind. Of course, there is the biological factor.. but if cultivates well, (as i have mentioned from my experience one has much less sexual thoughts by cultivating dharma and meditating), he shld be able to have better control over this.
Anyway Buddha did not ask his lay disciples advise ppl to abstain from sex. As long as they do it with their faithful partner and not with someone else, and anything which is known as 'sexual misconduct'.
Abstainance from sex is more for monks and nuns who practise celibacy.To be "LIBERATION from physical" means that you can don't eat and still continue to live. You do not have to follow laws of physics. Show me the evidence. Just ask one of the elightened ones to call CNN and show that he is no longer bound by the laws of physics...
Sorry maybe you mistook what I meant.
Show us the evidence... just like ask the Christian to ask Jesus to make an appointment with CNN and broadcast to the world.
Physical phenomena still goes on, but you are not attached to it, that is what I meant by liberation from physical phenomena.
Not asking you to starve. -
By "not attached to it" you are talking about a mental conditioning right? Nothing more nothing less.Originally posted by An Eternal Now:Sorry maybe you mistook what I meant.
Physical phenomena still goes on, but you are not attached to it, that is what I meant by liberation from physical phenomena.
Not asking you to starve.
Is that always the best? There is evolutionary reasons why people "fear" "get excited" "love" "hate" and so on. Sure, a lot of it applies to hunter gatherer more than modern living. Just as one does not apply hunter gatherer motivations and reactions to modern living, one does not apply 2549 years old teaching to modern living.
Education is better. It is relevant to present day living.
If you like you can study Moral Philosophy, the Study of Ethics. -
Not attached to it is NOT a mental conditioning, but rather, the liberation from mental conditioning. Think about it. I am just using a small example to explain liberation. We start from cultivating small liberations and later eventually we will achieve complete liberation and enlightenment.Originally posted by casino_king:By "not attached to it" you are talking about a mental conditioning right? Nothing more nothing less.
Is that always the best? There is evolutionary reasons why people "fear" "get excited" "love" "hate" and so on. Sure, a lot of it applies to hunter gatherer more than modern living. Just as one do not apply hunter gatherer motivations and reactions to modern living, one does not apply 2549 years old teaching to modern living.
Education is better. It is relevant to present day living.
If you like you can learn Moral Philosophy, the Study of Ethics.
The reason why Buddhism is still relevant to present day living is because sickness, ageing, death continues to exist, sufferings and distress continues to exist in this world. And Nirvana is the only ultimate solution to samsara. Even modern psychology/psychiatry is learning from Buddhism, but anyway, psychology is still limited bcos it cannot bring one to the unconditioned realm where no more sufferings can affect you eternally. As long as humans exist, Buddhism is relevant.
And if you are talking about moral ethics, Buddhism ethics is definitely relevant to modern life. Is 5 precepts relevant to Modern day? I say it definitely is. 5 precepts is only a very basic guideline for lay disciples.
If one practises the dharma, naturally he will not be immoral. When one cultivated samadhi and wisdom, naturally he will not break precepts anymore. At that moment, 5 precepts is no longer that important, not bcos its not important, but becos its merely a guideline and the wise would already avoid breaking precepts with or without the guideline.
Therefore keeping precepts is one matter, very important is to practise and cultivate our own innate wisdom. With the true wisdom of the Buddha, the person is definitely and naturally an ethical and morally upright person. -
Only to Buddhists it is not mental conditioning. Other than change in your own thought patterns, nothing else have changed.Originally posted by An Eternal Now:Not attached to it is NOT a mental conditioning, but rather, the liberation from mental conditioning. Think about it. I am just using a small example to explain liberation. We start from cultivating small liberations and later eventually we will achieve complete liberation and enlightenment..
Nirvana is an imaginary place because there is no evidence for it. Samsara is just another exotic but nonetheless meaningless replacement for "world." My advice to you is to live in the realm of reality rather than "nirvana" or "samsara." -
Originally posted by casino_king:
I tell you what is mental conditioning. When there is an illusion of a 'Self', the 'Self' grasps on past, present, future, he grasps on forms of self, people, thoughts and time. All these are mental conditionings. They are conditioned mental phenomena.
Only to Buddhists it is not mental conditioning. Other than change in your own thought patterns, nothing else have changed.
Buddhism doesnt ask you to change thought patterns and illusions, but to get rid of all these illusions together, and to get rid of this 'Self' illusion.
Buddhists treat sufferings at its root. Others may use different ways to change mental thoughts, like when you are in stress, you try to recall something good, something beautiful, but buddhism doesnt need any of this. Therefore it is BEYOND mental conditionings. Nothing is changed, just that you are liberated.
Using a very simple analogy: you are very sad now because something bad happened 5 days ago. But if you can see through the illusions and let it go, your mind is no longer conditioned by "what happened five days ago".Nirvana is an imaginary place because there is no evidence for it. Samsara is just another exotic but nonetheless meaningless replacement for "world." My advice to you is to live in the realm of reality rather than "nirvana" or "samsara."
Nirvana is not even a place to speak of as it is beyond time and space.
The reason why samsara is not simply termed as 'the world' is because a person can experience Nirvana right here without leaving 'the world'.. although the Nirvana is called 'nirvana with remainder'. And you are right in a sense, that samsara is refering to the world, but not just the world. Lets see what samsara means. The literal translation of samsara means 'The world of DUKKHA', as I have covered the meaning of Dukkha in the previous post I believe you should understand by now. But if one's mind is completely pure, SAMSARA is immediately changed into PURE LAND.
As I have said many times, but you persistantly ignore what I said. Please read before posting.
I dont know what you mean by evidence. So many people have attained it So they are living proof and witness to the statement "there is nirvana". But if you are asking for proof as in... the stuff namelessness did, then I also have mentioned, or rather my ex-moderator himself has mentioned, ...because I knew that current scientific progress is not advanced enough to prove anything yet. We could only get a small glimpse of it.
But we can infer it by many buddhist spiritual masters who have attained enlightenment, and enlightened friends, being with them and learning from them.
Sinweiy made a good point: Evidence is in reality. It is only the matter of how illusioned you are or how enlightened you are. Even if you are illusioned doesnt mean the REAL is not there, but you have not realised it. But countless people had. The 3 dharma seals of impermanence, non-self, nirvana, can be realised and countless people of past and present who became enlightened can testify it. -
You keep saying so many people so many people.... why don't you ask them to make an appointment with CNN and or BBC and display to the world that which has changed????????????? other than their own thought patterns?
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So many enlightened people have probably made appointment with CNN or BBC before.Originally posted by casino_king:You keep saying so many people so many people.... why don't you ask them to make an appointment with CNN and or BBC and display to the world that which has changed????????????? other than their own thought patterns?
I believe people like Dalai Lama, who is also highly enlightened, had made several appearances on CNN. I've seen some of the transcripts myself. -
And why do they have to make appearances on CNN and BBC? It is not as if there is any lack of buddhist teachings from enlightened teachers in the world.
They dont need to go to CNN or BBC - people can go to monasteries and dharma centres to learn from them. -
You dont need to see enlightened people talking on CNN.
What you need is to find out more about buddhism by reading Buddhist books, find a buddhist teacher to learn from. Then you will understand what buddhism is about and how it change your life completely.
I am not a Buddhist teacher and only a beginner, there is only so much that I know. -
why don't you write in to the media and you request for an audience to announce your wish, instead of asking others to do what you wanna do. seek and u will find, only you yourself can find out the truth. and will be of great aid to others too.Originally posted by casino_king:You keep saying so many people so many people.... why don't you ask them to make an appointment with CNN and or BBC and display to the world that which has changed????????????? other than their own thought patterns?
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Originally posted by casino_king:
Buddhism is the only religion, which was explained to Mankind through the experience, realization, Wisdom and Enlightenment of its founder (the Buddha) without introducing it as a message by a god. It starts from the root of known experience and not blind faith. Human problems must be understood by one through human experience and solved by developing great humane qualities. One should find the solution through the purification and development of the human Mind, and not through outsiders. That is why the Buddha never introduced Himself as a supernatural savior. He did not acknowledge that there is such a savior. According to Him, we can be our own saviors.
[b]It comes from LIBERATION from physical and mental phenomena, all phenomenas whether physical or mental no longer affect you after liberation.
Please lah, "LIBERATION from physical?"
You might be able to liberate yourself from sexual cravings - though I would find that rather pointless or even hunger and thus kill yourself from starvation.
To be "LIBERATION from physical" means that you can don't eat and still continue to live. You do not have to follow laws of physics. Show me the evidence. Just ask one of the elightened ones to call CNN and show that he is no longer bound by the laws of physics...
Show us the evidence... just like ask the Christian to ask Jesus to make an appointment with CNN and broadcast to the world.
[/b]
Buddhism never found the need to give new interpretations to its teachings. Newly verified scientific discoveries never contradict the teachings of the Buddha as the method and teachings of Buddhism are scientifically valid. Buddhism's principles can be maintained under any circumstances without changing its basic ideas. The understanding capacity of the value of these religious ideas may diminish and disappear from Human's Mind. And Human may experience the difficulty of practicing these principles in a corrupted society. However, the value of the Buddha's teaching will be appreciated by every cultured and understanding person at any time. As complimented by Albert Einstein (Physicist and Mathematician), winner of the Noble Prize, who is popularly regarded as the most outstanding scientist of the Twentieth Century:
"The religion of the future will be a cosmic religion. It should transcend a personal God and avoid dogmas and theology. Covering both the natural and the spiritual, it should be based on a religious sense arising from the experience of all things, natural and spiritual and a meaningful unity. Buddhism answers this description... If there is any religion that would cope with modern scientific needs, it would be Buddhism." -
To live is to experience a greater or lesser degree of dissatisfaction. The Buddha never denied that there is joy and happiness in life. But the nagging problem of dissatisfaction is always around, while "happiness" is always swiftly fleeting by. This is the only problem in our lives. But it is the biggest problem as it encompasses all problems we face. The Buddha is only drawing our attention to the fact that suffering is an inevitable part of life, that it is a problem that all experience, and wish to avoid, and that it can be overcome with the attainment of Nirvana (True Happiness).Originally posted by casino_king:Only to Buddhists it is not mental conditioning. Other than change in your own thought patterns, nothing else have changed.
Nirvana is an imaginary place because there is no evidence for it. Samsara is just another exotic but nonetheless meaningless replacement for "world." My advice to you is to live in the realm of reality rather than "nirvana" or "samsara."
Nirvana is the ground of being, the substance of all that is. For example, a wave does not have to "die" in order to become water. Water is the substance of the wave. The wave is already water. We are also likewise. We carry in us the ground of inter-being (inter-connectedness), Nirvana, the "world" beyond birth and death, permanence and impermanence, self and non-self. Nirvana is the complete silencing of concepts and phenomena - True Peace. Nirvana is the ground of all that is, just as waves do not exists out of water. If you know how to touch the waves, you know how to touch water at the same time. Nirvana does not exist separate of Anicca and Anattá. If you know how to use them to touch reality, you touch Nirvana in the here and the now.
Nirvana is the extinction of all notions. Birth and death are notions. Being and non-being are notions. In our daily lives, we have to deal with these relative realities. But if we touch life more deeply, reality will reveal itself in a different way. When you understand Anicca and Anattá, you are already free of much suffering and in touch with Nirvana. Nirvana is not something you look for in the future. As a Dharma Seal, it is present in every one of the Buddha's teachings. Nirvana is not the absence of life. Nirvana can be found in this very life. Nirvana means the pacifying, silencing or extinguishment of the fire of suffering. Nirvana teaches that we are already what we want to become within. We don't have to run after anything anymore. We only need to return to ourselves and touch or true nature. When we do this, we will have real peace and joy. -
"Karma" means action. It refers to the intentional deeds we do with our body, speech and Mind through action, talking and thinking. Karma is the law that every deed done, given the conditions, will bear certain fruits.
There is no one that decides the "rewards and punishments" for what we do. We create the causes of our actions, and we experience their results. We are responsible for our own experience. The Buddha discovered the law of Karma - He did not create it. (No one created it.) By teaching us the law of Karma, the Buddha shows us how to work within the functioning of cause and effect in order to attain True Happiness and avoid pain.
Karma is not inflexibly fixed - it does not mean fate or predetermination. Intentional actions at some time or other produce their effects when favoring conditions exist. Though people in their present lives are experiencing the effects of their past actions (Karma), it is possible to change, reduce or increase the effects of these past actions through present actions, which can affect the immediate future and future lives. Understanding the law of Karma helps one realize that we are whatever we make ourselves to be. We are entirely responsible for our destiny. -
Originally posted by casino_king:
information even if broadcast undergo 'filters' before it can reach the audiences. actually, neroscientists do have tested Budhists meditators in television oversea. but because we are living in a media info exploding time, these info that are broadcast will only leave a temp impression. people listen and agree but often tends to forget it after some time. moreover, countries to countries choose what to be broadcast. evenso, older generations will not understand such complicated idea let along watch it. and younger generation ...well, will indulge in fun and play than be interested in it.
[b]You keep saying so many people so many people.... why don't you ask them to make an appointment with CNN and or BBC and display to the world that which has changed????????????? other than their own thought patterns?
say even if the US found the evidences of aliens or ufo, people will also be sceptical. it need times and constance input for people to accept new things.
it can't happen over night.
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Did the Dalai Lama come across to the viewers as some superhuman being? Of course not. Otherwise, there would be no need for this debate. Everybody would want to know how to become a super human (Buddha) like him.Originally posted by An Eternal Now:So many enlightened people have probably made appointment with CNN or BBC before.
I believe people like Dalai Lama, who is also highly enlightened, had made several appearances on CNN. I've seen some of the transcripts myself.
Did he show evidence of nirvana or karma or reincarnation? Of course not, otherwise even China would seek his advice instead of keeping him out of Tibet.
Christians show us Jesus Christ, Muslim show us Allah and Buddhist show us evidence and we will all shut up and join the first one that can give us conclusive evidence. -
If this is all there is to Buddhism, so what is it about Buddism that cannot be achieved by education, stupy of moral philosophy (ethics), philosophy, logic and the scientific method. How can Buddhism be superior to what I have listed? 2549 years ago, without the benefit of development in scientific thought and methods, Buddhism might have its place. But in today's world?Originally posted by neutral_onliner:Buddhism is the only religion, which was explained to Mankind through the experience, realization, Wisdom and Enlightenment of its founder (the Buddha) without introducing it as a message by a god. It starts from the root of known experience and not blind faith. Human problems must be understood by one through human experience and solved by developing great humane qualities. One should find the solution through the purification and development of the human Mind, and not through outsiders. That is why the Buddha never introduced Himself as a supernatural savior. He did not acknowledge that there is such a savior. According to Him, we can be our own saviors.
Buddhism never found the need to give new interpretations to its teachings. Newly verified scientific discoveries never contradict the teachings of the Buddha as the method and teachings of Buddhism are scientifically valid. Buddhism's principles can be maintained under any circumstances without changing its basic ideas. The understanding capacity of the value of these religious ideas may diminish and disappear from Human's Mind. And Human may experience the difficulty of practicing these principles in a corrupted society. However, the value of the Buddha's teaching will be appreciated by every cultured and understanding person at any time. As complimented by Albert Einstein (Physicist and Mathematician), winner of the Noble Prize, who is popularly regarded as the most outstanding scientist of the Twentieth Century:
"The religion of the future will be a cosmic religion. It should transcend a personal God and avoid dogmas and theology. Covering both the natural and the spiritual, it should be based on a religious sense arising from the experience of all things, natural and spiritual and a meaningful unity. Buddhism answers this description... If there is any religion that would cope with modern scientific needs, it would be Buddhism."
Sure there are uneducated people who would benefit from it but YOU? Educated, eloquant and competent? -
So you get rid of what is in your head and what happens? You are left with what is in your head. New thought patterns. Brain Chemicals interacting with each other.Originally posted by An Eternal Now:I tell you what is mental conditioning. When there is an illusion of a 'Self', the 'Self' grasps on past, present, future, he grasps on forms of self, people, thoughts and time. All these are mental conditionings. They are conditioned mental phenomena.
Buddhism doesnt ask you to change thought patterns and illusions, but to get rid of all these illusions together, and to get rid of this 'Self' illusion.
Buddhists treat sufferings at its root. Others may use different ways to change mental thoughts, like when you are in stress, you try to recall something good, something beautiful, but buddhism doesnt need any of this. Therefore it is BEYOND mental conditionings. Nothing is changed, just that you are liberated.
Using a very simple analogy: you are very sad now because something bad happened 5 days ago. But if you can see through the illusions and let it go, your mind is no longer conditioned by "what happened five days ago".
.
When you delete the operating system from the computer, it dies unless you put in a new operating system.
You cannot get rid of what is in your brain and leave it with nothing. You change your mind that is all. -
Originally posted by neutral_onliner:
Everybody knows that if you jump down from a high floor you break your bones or injure yourself. If that is what Karma is, there is no debate. But what Buddhists claim are that Karma extends from previous lives to reincarnated lives. This is just some people's wishes and or imagination. They want people to think that they cannot get away with it (when they see so many get away with it) so they invent reincarnation so that people behave. Just like when you tell children "He knows when you are good or bad so be good for goodness sake." You are no longer a child. You should be able to discern what is right or wrong without resorting imaginary rewards and punishments.
[b]"Karma" means action. It refers to the intentional deeds we do with our body, speech and Mind through action, talking and thinking. Karma is the law that every deed done, given the conditions, will bear certain fruits.
There is no one that decides the "rewards and punishments" for what we do. We create the causes of our actions, and we experience their results. We are responsible for our own experience. The Buddha discovered the law of Karma - He did not create it. (No one created it.) By teaching us the law of Karma, the Buddha shows us how to work within the functioning of cause and effect in order to attain True Happiness and avoid pain.
Karma is not inflexibly fixed - it does not mean fate or predetermination. Intentional actions at some time or other produce their effects when favoring conditions exist. Though people in their present lives are experiencing the effects of their past actions (Karma), it is possible to change, reduce or increase the effects of these past actions through present actions, which can affect the immediate future and future lives. Understanding the law of Karma helps one realize that we are whatever we make ourselves to be. We are entirely responsible for our destiny. [/b] -
Let me go back to why I am doing this again.
Gamblers and Religious followers behave in the same way. Gambling and Religion are 2 sides of the same coin. Both have adherants because the believers/gamblers believe without demanding clear and irrefutable evidence. You see the danger when you do that? To believe without clear and irrefutable evidence?
It is better to acknowledge that one does not know then to cling on to intepretations that are baseless. -
I am of course talking to educated thinking people and not superstitious, intellectually lazy people. If they need to believe in "something" it is better to believe that gambling is bad because Buddhism say so rather then actually finding out for themselves what about gambling is so bad.
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The reason why Dalai Lama, and most Buddhist teachers do not show themselves as a superhuman being is because it is a false idea to think of Buddhism as reaching a superhuman being state or Buddha as a superhuman being. Buddhism is about becoming fully human - an awakened one. If an enlightened person show that he is a superhuman, then people may think that his state is very far and unachieveable, and may lose interest altogether. Buddhism isnt about idol worshipping someone superhuman - but learning to be awakened like them. What is your idea of 'superhuman' anyway? I dont believe in supernatural - only the natural that has yet to be explained scientifically.Originally posted by casino_king:Did the Dalai Lama come across to the viewers as some superhuman being? Of course not. Otherwise, there would be no need for this debate. Everybody would want to know how to become a super human (Buddha) like him.
Did he show evidence of nirvana or karma or reincarnation? Of course not, otherwise even China would seek his advice instead of keeping him out of Tibet.
Christians show us Jesus Christ, Muslim show us Allah and Buddhist show us evidence and we will all shut up and join the first one that can give us conclusive evidence.
Something about Dalai Lama, and many other Buddhist teachers is that you can feel his presence, his aura and his loving kindness and compassion. I dont know how to say, but there is just something different when you meet them.Originally posted by An Eternal Now:Buddhism is a religion of the people, by the people, for the people. - Ajahn Brahmavamso
Forgetfulness is a human characteristic. Enlightenment can only be attained by a human being. An enlightened being doesn't become super-human, but rather fully human. Ven. Thien-An had a way of being that showed he was right there in each moment. He saw clearly and was able to communicate that clarity. We learned from his presence beyond what we learned from his words. He spoke with a smile of mind-to-mind transmission, the most important learning of all.
Can we really know if another person is enlightened? Maybe only the person having that experience can tell. Of course, that can be very dangerous; it may be our ego rather than our clarity that is telling us that we are attained. We may not be able to discern the difference until we have expanded our ego to include all. More importantly, if we focus constantly on our state of being and on the concept of enlightenment as a goal, we may miss the process of being in each moment, and thus never find it.
And as I have always mentioned, I dont know what you mean by evidence. So many people have attained it So they are living proof and witness to the statement "there is nirvana". But if you are asking for proof as in... the stuff namelessness did, then I also have mentioned, or rather my ex-moderator himself has mentioned, ...because I knew that current scientific progress is not advanced enough to prove anything yet. We could only get a small glimpse of it.
But we can infer it by many buddhist spiritual masters who have attained enlightenment, and enlightened friends, being with them and learning from them.
But yes, apart from Nirvana, there is also a lot of people who have recalled past life. In fact recalling past life is much easier than attaining enlightenment. Quite a few of our forummers have recalled their previous lives. -
Originally posted by concerned_man:
From: Buddhism and Science article
Remembering Past Lives
Buddhism is founded on meditation, and meditation can reveal many, many things, especially deep memories from the past. Monks, nuns, and ordinary meditators can reach such deep meditations that they can not only levitate, but they can remember previous lives! Many people can actually do this. When you come out of a deep meditation you have incredible energy. Afterwards you won't be able to go to sleep, nor will you be able to go and watch TV, because the mind will be too full of its own joy and happiness. Moreover, the mind is so empowered that you can make suggestions to it, suggestions that you would not normally be able to fulfil. But empowered by deep meditation, you can follow the suggestions. I've actually taught this special meditation to people on meditation retreats, because on meditation retreats some get deep results. People sometimes get memories of when they were babies, and then of being in their mother's womb. If they are lucky they get memories of when they were a very old person, i.e. memories from a past life! One of the important things with those past life memories is that they are very real to the person experiencing them. It's as if you are back there experiencing it. Anyone who has had a memory like that has no doubt in their mind about past lives. It's not a theory any more. Such memories are like remembering where you were this morning when you had breakfast. You have no doubts that that was you this morning, having that breakfast. You didn't imagine it. With the same clarity, or even greater clarity, you remember that that very old person was you, only it wasn't a few hours ago, it was many decades ago. It was a different time, a different body and a different life. Now if people can do that on nine day meditation retreats, imagine what you would do if you were a monk or a nun, who meditates not just for a weekend, or for nine days, but nine years, twenty-nine, thirty-nine, or fifty-nine years. Imagine how much power you could generate in that meditation. Now imagine how much more power you could generate if you were a Buddha with an Enlightened mind.
Now you know what to do to discover for yourself if you've lived before. Meditate. I don't mean just meditating to get rid of stress and make your self calm. I mean really meditate, deeply. Meditate to get your mind into what we call the Jhānas. Those are deep states of absorption, where the body disappears. You don't feel. You can't see. You can't hear. You're absolutely inside the mind. You have no thoughts but you are perfectly aware. You are blissed out. The method, the instructions for the experiment, are very clearly laid down. Even in my little book "The Basic Method of Meditation" all the steps are there. Follow them, and invest the resources necessary for doing that experiment not just one weekend retreat, but many weekend retreats, and sometimes many years of meditating. If you want to follow that 'scientific method', you have to enter into a Jhāna. And then, after you emerge from that state, you ask yourself, "What is my earliest memory?" You can keep going back in your mind, and eventually you will remember. You will see for yourself the experience of past lives. Then you know. Yes, it is true! You have had the experience for yourself.
The Buddha said he did remember past lives, many past lives, many aeons of past lives. He said specifically that he remembered ninety-one aeons. That's ninety big bangs, the time before and the time afterwards, huge spaces of time. That's why the Buddha said there was not just one universe, but many universes. We are not talking about parallel universes as some scientists say. We are talking about sequential universes, with what the Buddha called sanvattati vivattati. This is Pāli, meaning the unfolding of the universe and the infolding of it, beginnings and endings.
The suttas even give a measure for the lifetime of a universe. When I was a theoretical physicist, my areas of expertise were the very small and the very large; fundamental particle physics and astrophysics. They were the two aspects that I liked the most, the big and the small. So I knew what was meant by the age of a universe and what a 'big bang' was all about. The age of a universe, the last time I looked in the journals, was somewhere about seventeen thousand million years. In the Buddhist suttas they say that about thirty seven thousand million years is a complete age. When I told that to the state astronomer he said yes, that estimate was in the ball park, it was acceptable. The person who was the convener of the Our Place in Space seminar made a joke about the fact that a hundred or two hundred years ago, Christianity said the universe was about seven thousand years old. That estimate certainly isn't acceptable, the Buddhist one is!
It is remarkable that there was a cosmology in Buddhism twenty-five centuries ago that doesn't conflict with modern physics. Even what astronomers say are galaxies, the Buddha called wheel systems. If any of you have ever seen a galaxy, you will know there are two types of galaxy. First, there is the spiral galaxy. The Milky Way is one of those. Have you seen a spiral galaxy? It is like a wheel! The other type is the globular cluster, which looks like a wheel with a big hub in the middle. 'Wheels' is a very accurate way of describing galaxies. This was explained by someone twenty five centuries ago, when they did not have telescopes! They didn't need them, they could go there themselves!
There is a lot of interesting stuff in the old suttas, even for those of you who like weird stuff. Some times people ask this question, "Do Buddhists believe in extra terrestrial beings, in aliens?" Would an alien landing here upset the very foundation of Buddhism? When I was reading through these old suttas I actually found a reference to aliens! It's only a very small sutta, which said that there are other world systems with other suns, other planets, and other beings on them. That's directly from the Anguttara Nikāya. (AN X, 29) -
Originally posted by casino_king:If this is all there is to Buddhism, so what is it about Buddism that cannot be achieved by education, stupy of moral philosophy (ethics), philosophy, logic and the scientific method. How can Buddhism be superior to what I have listed? 2549 years ago, without the benefit of development in scientific thought and methods, Buddhism might have its place. But in today's world?
Sure there are uneducated people who would benefit from it but YOU? Educated, eloquant and competent?Buddhism and Science article
Also see, Come and See for Yourself and BUDDHISM, THE ONLY REAL SCIENCE from the Buddhism and Science article.
Science and Buddhism
When a Buddhist looks through a telescope, they are not scared by what they might find. They are not scared of science. Science is an essential part of Buddhism. If science can disprove rebirth, then Buddhists should give up the idea of rebirth. If science disproves non-self, and shows there is a self, then all Buddhists should abandon non-self. If science proves there is no such thing as kamma, but instead there is a big God up in the sky, then all Buddhists should believe in God. That is, if it's provable science. Buddhism has no sacred cows. However, I encourage you to do those experiments for yourselves. I'll bet you will find out that there is no one 'in there'. You will find out about kamma. You will find out you've been here before, that this is not your first life. If you don't behave yourselves in this life, you'll have another life to come yet. Do you think you are finished with nappies, with school? Do you really want to go through all that again? If not be careful.
So, here is my thinking about science and Buddhism. I think that Buddhism is pure science, a science that doesn't stop 'out there', but also investigates the mind, the 'being', the 'ghost in the machine'. And it doesn't disregard any anomalies. Buddhism takes everything as its data, especially experience, and looks at it scientifically. It is incredibly successful.
One of the reasons why people celebrate science is because of all of its achievements in technology. One of the reasons why Buddhism is growing these days is because of all of its achievements in the 'technology of the mind'. It solves problems. It explains mental difficulties. Buddhism succeeds in solving those inner problems because it has all these strategies, these ancient 'gizmos', which actually work. If you try some of these Buddhist gizmos, you will find out for yourself that they produce the goods, they solve your inner suffering and pain. That is why Buddhism is growing. I think that Buddhism will supplant science!
Thank you very much.