Forum Home Forum Home > Topics not related to music > General discussions
  New Posts New Posts RSS Feed - What would you ask god
  FAQ FAQ  Forum Search   Events   Register Register  Login Login

Topic ClosedWhat would you ask god
 Post Reply Post Reply Page  <12
Author
Message
  Topic Search Topic Search  Topic Options Topic Options
Tillerman88 View Drop Down
Forum Senior Member
Forum Senior Member


Joined: October 31 2015
Location: Tomorrowland
Status: Offline
Points: 495 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 08 2017 at 13:13
^I don't disagree with you either, but either way Buddhists would first ask which universe do you mean..... This present universe, from the moment of the 'big bang' up to now, is but ONE among countless millions in Buddhist cosmology.... The Buddha gave an estimate of the age of a single universe-cycle of around 37,000 million years, which is quite plausible when compared to modern astrophysics. After one universe-cycle ends another begins, again and again, according to impersonal law. A Creator God is really redundant in this scheme......

The fact is, for these reasons and the ones stated on your link above, the Buddha didn't encourage speculation on the existence of Isvara (God) among his disciples, he wanted them to confine themselves to what was within their field of awareness....that is, to understand the causes of suffering and work for their mitigation. And for the same reason, he discouraged speculation upon the nature of Nirvana. As a matter of fact, Buddha did his best to keep their followers focused upon Nirvana and the permanent resolution of suffering, without becoming distracted by theological speculation or intellectual disputation.....which was the common preoccupation of many scholars and religious teachers of his time.
The overwhelming amount of information on a daily basis restrains people from rewinding the news record archives to refresh their memories...
Back to Top
SteveG View Drop Down
Forum Senior Member
Forum Senior Member
Avatar

Joined: April 11 2014
Location: Kyiv In Spirit
Status: Offline
Points: 20617 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 08 2017 at 13:21
Originally posted by Logan Logan wrote:

^^ Well, there are many Buddhist scriptures, and different groups follow different ones. Not disagreeing with you here, by the way. While texts talk about celestial beings (which we can call fairy tales), Buddhism is not theistic. It is not so much theological as philosophical and psychological. I'm no expert myself, but like many non-theistic people, and some who are, I have been attracted to Buddhism.

Taken from here: http://www.buddhanet.net/ans73.htm

Quote
Do Buddhist believe in god?

No, we do not. There are several reasons for this. The Buddha, like modern sociologists and psychologists, believed that religious ideas and especially the god idea have their origin in fear. The Buddha says:
"Gripped by fear men go to the sacred mountains,
sacred groves, sacred trees and shrines".

Dp 188

Primitive man found himself in a dangerous and hostile world, the fear of wild animals, of not being able to find enough food, of injury or disease, and of natural phenomena like thunder, lightning and volcanoes was constantly with him. Finding no security, he created the idea of gods in order to give him comfort in good times, courage in times of danger and consolation when things went wrong. To this day, you will notice that people become more religious at times of crises, you will hear them say that the belief in a god or gods gives them the strength they need to deal with life. You will hear them explain that they believe in a particular god because they prayed in time of need and their prayer was answered. All this seems to support the Buddha’s teaching that the god-idea is a response to fear and frustration. The Buddha taught us to try to understand our fears, to lessen our desires and to calmly and courageously accept the things we cannot change. He replaced fear, not with irrational belief but with rational understanding.

The second reason the Buddha did not believe in a god is because there does not seem to be any evidence to support this idea. There are numerous religions, all claiming that they alone have god’s words preserved in their holy book, that they alone understand god’s nature, that their god exists and that the gods of other religions do not. Some claim that god is masculine, some that she is feminine and others that it is neuter. They are all satisfied that there is ample evidence to prove the existence of their god but they laugh in disbelief at the evidence other religions use to prove the existence of another god. It is not surprising that with so many different religions spending so many centuries trying to prove the existence of their gods that still no real, concrete, substantial or irrefutable evidence has been found. Buddhists suspend judgement until such evidence is forthcoming.

The third reason the Buddha did not believe in a god is that the belief is not necessary. Some claim that the belief in a god is necessary in order to explain the origin on the universe. But this is not so. Science has very convincingly explained how the universe came into being without having to introduce the god-idea. Some claim that belief in god is necessary to have a happy, meaningful life. Again we can see that this is not so. There are millions of atheists and free-thinkers, not to mention many Buddhists, who live useful, happy and meaningful lives without belief in a god. Some claim that belief in god’s power is necessary because humans, being weak, do not have the strength to help themselves. Once again, the evidence indicates the opposite. One often hears of people who have overcome great disabilities and handicaps, enormous odds and difficulties, through their own inner resources, through their own efforts and without belief in a god. Some claim that god is necessary in order to give man salvation. But this argument only holds good if you accept the theological concept of salvation and Buddhists do not accept such a concept. Based on his own experience, the Buddha saw that each human being had the capacity to purify the mind, develop infinite love and compassion and perfect understanding. He shifted attention from the heavens to the heart and encouraged us to find solutions to our problems through self-understanding.


I would say that you can follow principles of Buddhism and believe in God, or not. I knew an Anglican Church Minister who also followed Buddhism and didn't find there to be too much conflict between both teachings to not bring both into his life.
Bravo, Greg. This is what if I would have written if I was just thirty years younger!
This message was brought to you by a proud supporter of the Deep State.
Back to Top
condor View Drop Down
Forum Senior Member
Forum Senior Member
Avatar

Joined: May 24 2005
Location: Norwich
Status: Offline
Points: 1069 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 08 2017 at 15:17
Originally posted by chopper chopper wrote:

"Why does condor keep starting weird threads that he doesn't post in?"
SORRY.
Back to Top
condor View Drop Down
Forum Senior Member
Forum Senior Member
Avatar

Joined: May 24 2005
Location: Norwich
Status: Offline
Points: 1069 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 08 2017 at 15:20
Originally posted by chopper chopper wrote:

"Why does condor keep starting weird threads that he doesn't post in?"
Sorry for being weird. I'll try to reply more often

I'll only post when I can think of possible replies, from now on. My curiosity has been satisfied.


Edited by condor - September 08 2017 at 15:34
Back to Top
Sean Trane View Drop Down
Special Collaborator
Special Collaborator

Prog Folk

Joined: April 29 2004
Location: Heart of Europe
Status: Offline
Points: 20436 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 08 2017 at 17:08
Originally posted by condor condor wrote:

What would you ask god, if he existed?


Why would I ask a non-entity anything ?Confused

But let's play along

I'd ask "it" to eradicate all religions and then commit suicide . TongueWink
Back to Top
presdoug View Drop Down
Forum Senior Member
Forum Senior Member
Avatar

Joined: January 24 2010
Location: Canada
Status: Offline
Points: 8778 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 08 2017 at 18:40
My question would be about existence and would not be how, what, where, who or when, but WHY? Why did you create things the way you did? Is there a reason why the Universe is as it is?
              But, I am an agnostic, so you may not even exist. I do not know for certain.
Back to Top
Tom Ozric View Drop Down
Prog Reviewer
Prog Reviewer
Avatar

Joined: September 03 2005
Location: Olympus Mons
Status: Offline
Points: 15926 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 10 2017 at 00:08
I'd ask ; " why do we (the human race) have to suffer so much ?? ".
Back to Top
 Post Reply Post Reply Page  <12

Forum Jump Forum Permissions View Drop Down



This page was generated in 0.246 seconds.
Donate monthly and keep PA fast-loading and ad-free forever.