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Gillard: Atheist (Read 6567 times)
adelcrow
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Re: Gillard: Atheist
Reply #45 - Jul 2nd, 2010 at 5:53pm
 
It is good to have a PM who doesn't believe in an "imaginary friend"  Smiley
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bwood1946
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Re: Gillard: Atheist
Reply #46 - Jul 2nd, 2010 at 5:58pm
 
adelcrow wrote on Jul 2nd, 2010 at 5:53pm:
It is good to have a PM who doesn't believe in an "imaginary friend"  Smiley



pretty hard to have an imaginary friend when you don't have any friends at all
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vegitamite
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Re: Gillard: Atheist
Reply #47 - Jul 2nd, 2010 at 6:11pm
 
Keep the politician out of Sport & keep Religion out of Politics. Are we Now finally taking a step closer to that ... ??

Smiley Wink Cheesy
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qikvtec
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Re: Gillard: Atheist
Reply #48 - Jul 2nd, 2010 at 6:58pm
 
adelcrow wrote on Jul 2nd, 2010 at 5:53pm:
It is good to have a PM who doesn't believe in an "imaginary friend"  Smiley


I take it your pleased to be rid of Rudd then ey; weren't lizzard and Wendy Swandive supposed to be his mates?
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Politicians and Nappies need to be changed often and for the same reason.

One trouble with political jokes is that they often get elected.

Alan Joyce for PM
 
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Re: Gillard: Atheist
Reply #49 - Jul 2nd, 2010 at 8:37pm
 
Care-factor = zero.

I'm an athiest, too.

Too bad, so sad.

Live with it.
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...
 
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Bobby.
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Re: Gillard: Atheist
Reply #50 - Jul 2nd, 2010 at 10:09pm
 
Both Rudd & Abbott have imaginary friends.
Now we only have one leader left with their imaginary friend.
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Re: Gillard: Atheist
Reply #51 - Jul 4th, 2010 at 10:04pm
 




I'm not so sure, that the Bible (in any of its permutations) has served humanity very well at all...

If I was seeking out any list/s of what are the fair and proper ways for humans to behave, then I'd choose positive Buddhist teachings over negative Xtian ones...



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Re: Gillard: Atheist
Reply #52 - Jul 4th, 2010 at 10:41pm
 

thy - where is the buddhist belief system written and printed publically ?

got a URL for us ?
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Re: Gillard: Atheist
Reply #53 - Jul 6th, 2010 at 12:33pm
 

For obvious reasons, English is not the primary language of the Buddhist belief system - but it is documented and published in a range of languages, including English...

I am far from an expert on any religion but I am aware that there is a theory, that JC actually practised Buddhism during an extended period of absence - and therefore that the religions have similar roots...

Like Xtianity and most other religions, there have been divergences in Buddhist teaching and practises over time...

Since you asked for a link, so I'll provide this wiki one - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism - from which you will note that, unlike Xtianity, their teachings are phrased in the positive and advocate taking personal responsibility rather than fearing external judgement...

Quote:
The Four Noble Truths

[...]

According to other interpretations by Buddhist teachers and scholars, lately recognized by some Western non-Buddhist scholars,[32] the "truths" do not represent mere statements, but are categories or aspects that most worldly phenomena fall into, grouped in two:

  1. Suffering and causes of suffering

  2. Cessation and the paths towards liberation from suffering.

Thus, according to the Macmillan Encyclopedia of Buddhism[33] they are

  1. "The noble truth that is suffering"

  2. "The noble truth that is the arising of suffering"

  3. "The noble truth that is the end of suffering"

  4. "The noble truth that is the way leading to the end of suffering"

The early teaching[34] and the traditional Theravada understanding[35] is that the Four Noble Truths are an advanced teaching for those who are ready for them.

[...]



Quote:
The Noble Eightfold Path

[...]

The Noble Eightfold Path—the fourth of the Buddha's Noble Truths—is the way to the cessation of suffering (dukkha). It has eight sections, each starting with the word "samyak" (Sanskrit, meaning "correctly", "properly", or "well", frequently translated into English as "right"), and presented in three groups known as the three higher trainings. (NB: Pāli transliterations appear in brackets after Sanskrit ones):

   * Prajñā is the wisdom that purifies the mind, allowing it to attain spiritual insight into the true nature of all things. It includes:

  1. dṛṣṭi (ditthi): viewing reality as it is, not just as it appears to be.

  2. saṃkalpa (sankappa): intention of renunciation, freedom and harmlessness.

   * Śīla is the ethics or morality, or abstention from unwholesome deeds. It includes:

  3. vāc (vāca): speaking in a truthful and non-hurtful way

  4. karman (kammanta): acting in a non-harmful way

  5. ājīvana (ājīva): a non-harmful livelihood

   * Samādhi is the mental discipline required to develop mastery over one’s own mind. This is done through the practice of various contemplative and meditative practices, and includes:

  6. vyāyāma (vāyāma): making an effort to improve

  7. smṛti (sati): awareness to see things for what they are with clear consciousness, being aware of the present reality within oneself, without any craving or aversion

  8. samādhi (samādhi): correct meditation or concentration, explained as the first four jhānas

The practice of the Eightfold Path is understood in two ways, as requiring either simultaneous development (all eight items practiced in parallel), or as a progressive series of stages through which the practitioner moves, the culmination of one leading to the beginning of another.

The Eightfold Path is little known in the Far East.[39]




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« Last Edit: Jul 6th, 2010 at 1:31pm by Equitist »  

Lamenting the shift in the Australian psyche, away from the egalitarian ideal of the fair-go - and the rise of short-sighted pollies, who worship the 'Growth Fairy' and seek to divide and conquer!
 
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Re: Gillard: Atheist
Reply #54 - Jul 6th, 2010 at 12:39pm
 


The following table is probably easier to follow than the above extracts: -

( Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noble_Eightfold_Path )
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Re: Gillard: Atheist
Reply #55 - Jul 6th, 2010 at 1:00pm
 

looks alright to me Thy
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Re: Gillard: Atheist
Reply #56 - Jul 6th, 2010 at 1:27pm
 

Sprintcyclist wrote on Jul 6th, 2010 at 1:00pm:
looks alright to me Thy


Yer, it does to me too - I was pleased that I picked up some simple Buddhist texts when my kids and me visited the Golden Triangle a few years ago...

At the time, it really struck me why I had instinctively rejected Xtianity at such a young age - and that Buddhism basically reflected the way I had been bringing my boys up already...

My boys and me will never forget meeting the calm and serene Monks at the Tiger Temple - nor the bizarre rituals of walking around temples repeatedly and worshipping literally dozens of Buddha figurines in both public and private (apparently, the more the better)...

That said, I remain attracted to the basic Buddhist concepts of: think rightly, act rightly, do rightly etc....



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Re: Gillard: Atheist
Reply #57 - Jul 6th, 2010 at 1:55pm
 
Sprintcyclist wrote on Jul 6th, 2010 at 1:00pm:
looks alright to me Thy


It should do. Many of the teachings are very similar to those of Christianity, and it's about 600 years older than Christianity. Buddhism was still fairly strong  in the Levant around the time of Christ, mainly as a result of a diaspora from the Buddhist Indo-Greek kingdom around 10AD when it was invaded by the Scythians. This was a Greek speaking Kingdom located to the North West of India

The Sermon on the Mount and the Story of Simeon show remarkable similarity to Buddhist texts. Also the ritual of placing the palms of the hands together while praying probably came from Buddhist or Indian influences. It was never a Judaic tradition.

This shouldn't come as a surprise. Many religions share some common elements. Interpret this according to your world view.

Both Buddhism and Christianity are good religions to follow, and the food is good too, although I have preferences for Greek Orthodox Christianity from the culinary viewpoint.  
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Re: Gillard: Atheist
Reply #58 - Jul 6th, 2010 at 2:39pm
 
Many of the great noble minds think very similarly..

Quote:
Moral excellence comes about as a result of habit. We become just by doing just acts, temperate by doing temperate acts, brave by doing brave acts.

Aristotle


Quote:
To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man.

William Shakespeare


BTW. Personal opinion but I can't see how buddist priests that worship figures of the Bhudda are following his path. It seems to me that they are missing the point. The Bhudda place no value on such worship is my understanding.

There is a quote that I have heard attributed to the Bhudda but I seem to recall it from a Bruce Lee movie. This is how I heard it though, and I think from one of my lecturers in Eastern Religion.

Quote:
"All instruction is but a finger pointing to the moon; and those whose gaze is fixed upon the pointer will never see beyond. Even let him catch sight of the moon, and still he cannot see its beauty."


another version

Quote:
"Truth has nothing to do with words. Truth can be likened to the bright moon in the sky. Words, in this case, can be likened to a finger. The finger can point to the moon’s location. However, the finger is not the moon. To look at the moon, it is necessary to gaze beyond the finger, right?"


Paying too much attention to the pointer and not the destination. That's my simplified take on it.
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« Last Edit: Jul 6th, 2010 at 2:52pm by locutius »  

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locutius
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Re: Gillard: Atheist
Reply #59 - Jul 6th, 2010 at 2:45pm
 
The Sermon on the Mount fully rocks and is highly regarded by many other religions. I've encountered Hindu scholars that consider it one of the great ethical statements of all time.

I certainly think there was very much cross contamination (for want of a better word) of ideas in the time of Christ and the preceeding 500 years.

Also "The Prophet" by Kalil Gibran is one of my essential books that is NEVER packed. Part of my ESSENTIAL collection that immediatly goes on a shelf at any new address.
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I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives.
 
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