A basic five minute introduction to Buddhism:

[Lyfe]

Well that would explain why Buddhism speaks of the "two accumulations", compassion and wisdom. Both are essential elements of the path and need to be cultivated. In fact with real wisdom compassion naturally follows, having insight into the true nature of reality we naturally behave in a way which is beneficial to our fellow beings. Of course this isn't necessarily what the world labels "'love", which is sometimes lust, sometimes sentiment, sometimes self-delusion. We have to learn how to really love, and this is a long process.

The Sutras are far different from the literature of the "New Age", which is at best diluted and at worst completely misguided or even created with bad intent.

And as for Stephen Hawking, he was just a person with a lot of intellectual knowledge, not a person who would be considered Enlightened by Buddhists.



If you really knew as much about Buddhism as you are claiming on another thread, you would have a very solid idea of what Vipassana is. I note that you haven't responded to that thread, so I will ask you a question here. How exactly did you achieve the apparent "high state of meditation" you claim to have reached? Did you make a three or seven year silent retreat? A Bardo retreat? Many hours of daily practise? Because you are making a claim to have reached some high level of Buddhist practise, so I assume you put in the efforts required to attain such a level?

Im not talking about compassion or even really human love. I am talking about the human soul being a recipient of the felt and sustaining love of God that it was designed for. Enlightenment is just wisdom, its not a feeling. I suppose there is a limited peace to be had in having clarity, but that isnt the same feeling as love nor can it truly satisfy the soul. Enlightenment is just a means to make sense of the worlds condition and a way to give a certain context to good and bad so that rather than someone being undone by a negative outlook it helps achieve self development. 2pac was a wise music artist and even adopted many new age ideas, but in this earth he was still a tormented soul. That enlightenment didnt heal him, it didnt do anything for his soul. Enlightenment is just a pair of shades to see the world a bit differently than what it is, but it cant make your soul alive or even bring joy like love can. Your soul needs the love of God at the end of the day not a library of books on self development.

 

[shankara]

Im not talking about compassion or even really human love. I am talking about the human soul being a recipient of the felt and sustaining love of God that it was designed for. Enlightenment is just wisdom, its not a feeling. I suppose there is a limited peace to be had in having clarity, but that isnt the same feeling as love nor can it truly satisfy the soul. Enlightenment is just a means to make sense of the worlds condition and a way to give proper context to good and bad so that rather than someone being undone by a negative outlook it helps achieve self development. 2pac was a wise music artist and even adopted many new age ideas, but in this earth he was still a tormented soul. That enlightenment didnt heal him, it didnt do anything for his soul. Enlightenment is just a pair of shades to see the world a bit differently than what it is, but it cant make your soul alive or even bring joy like love can. Your soul needs the love of God at the end of the day not a library of books on self development.

Self-development isn't what Buddhism aims at either, that's generally speaking an empty new age concept. Nor is it clarity. Compassion, freed from it's (as you say) "human" or purely sentimental forms, is a powerful force of healing. Enlightenment means seeing reality as it is, it has nothing to do with developing any particular interpretation because Reality is something beyond any particular conceptual interpretation. In all religions there is some kind of Love, some kind of Grace and Mercy, however distorted their teachings become. Buddhists don't claim to have an absolute monopoly on Love. But we have a part of it, and the Buddhist way of expressing it is very profound.

 

[Aero]

Stephen Hawking was considered an enlightened individual. Do you think he was content or happy, at peace? I doubt it... Only the love of God can truly satisfy the human soul. Enlightenment is just wisdom. If you gave people a choice between love and wisdom, they would undoubtedly choose love. That is why the new age is so appealing. People are trying to fill the void of love with wisdom and answers that only love can fill. Only Gods love... The Bible teaches that Gods love is the ultimate fulfillment and salvation for man. New Age ideas emphasize wisdom and enlightenment as the ultimate pursuit and destination and though this is profitable and beneifical it is empty at the end of the day. You can be as wise and enlightened as they come, but still without Gods love to sustain your soul you are empty on the inside. I never went away feeling content or fulfilled immersing myself in vain literature. In fact the most I ever felt alive was when love was present in my situation. It speaks to a reality about human nature and what our soul was designed to need. Its the love of God....

Why are you so hung up on Stephen Hawking? What I mean is, it seems like the character assassination against Hawking, at best, hurts your pro-love argument. At worst it foreshadows everything you are bringing to the table.

You are clearly operating under many different sets of standards that you pick and choose when to follow logically or not. Moreover your fear of the "new age" might as well be the fear of the boogeyman.

 

[Lyfe]

You can possess and learn the type of wisdom that ultimately makes everything a beneficial learning experience( in good and bad situations). It can even make you a better and stronger person...

It wont make you happy though. It wont give you joy. It will leave your head with understanding, but it will leave your soul still thirsty for something that even wisdom cant quench. Thats why these eastern teachings are counterfeits to the true source of salvation which can only be found in the felt love of God. Your soul was designed by an intelligent designer. It was designed specifically to be a recipient of his love. That is why everything else is empty and full of false promise and lack of true fulfillment.

 

[Lyfe]

Why are you so hung up on Stephen Hawking? What I mean is, it seems like the character assassination against Hawking, at best, hurts your pro-love argument. At worst it foreshadows everything you are bringing to the table.

You are clearly operating under many different sets of standards that you pick and choose when to follow logically or not. Moreover your fear of the "new age" might as well be the fear of the boogeyman.

How have demonstrated I am hung up on Stephen Hawking? I have never even mentioned the mans name on this forum...

 

[Aero]

How have demonstrated I am hung up on Stephen Hawking? I have never even mentioned the mans name on this forum...

Really? I swear I seen you go in on Hawking before. My bad then.

Either way your still character assassinating a dead man. That seems like bad form.

 

[Lyfe]

Really? I swear I seen you go in on Hawking before. My bad then.

Either way your still character assassinating a dead man. That seems like bad form.

You really took what I said as an attack on his character?

 

[Lyfe]

People know deep down and intuitively that love is the best feeling their soul can and ever will experience. How many would be so quick to forsake a buddhist temple for someone that truly evoked these feelings. Yet, these are just foreshadows of the felt love that is in God alone. If I had a choice between spending a life sentence in prison with the books on all the wise teachings of all ages and buddhist monks and someone I once knew long ago that was very dear to me I would not spend it enlightening myself. These means to fulfillment can only ever be a counterfeit in comparison to the fulfillment of felt love, yet even on earth there only exists the human kind. Gods love is complete and sustaining. Your soul was created and designed to be a recipient of love. People know deep down their soul needs love more than it needs these means to attain enlightenment... You know you would rather spend the rest of your life with someone who evoked feelings of felt love rather than Buddha himself. What does that say about what Buddhism teaches and how it relates to the inherit design of man? Even human love as fulfillment ultimately points to a greater love that is in God alone. Everything else is a counterfeit and not the answer your soul seeks. It was designed a certain way. Buddhism doesnt even really speak toward any creator.

 

[Aero]

You really took what I said as an attack on his character?

Um yeah, you attacked his reputation, then doubted he was happy or content. That's the definition of a character assassination.

 

[Lyfe]

Um yeah, you attacked his reputation, then doubted he was happy or content. That's the definition of a character assassination.

I doubt he was happy. If that makes me a reputation assassin then I guess it does...

 

[Aero]

I doubt he was happy. If that makes me a reputation assassin then I guess it does...

Is that what your God of love taught you? I only ask because it seems like that's a rather unloving type of mentality.

 

[Lyfe]

Is that what your God of love taught you? I only ask because it seems like that's a rather unloving type of mentality.

Its unloving to assume stephen hawking wasnt happy?

 

[Aero]

Its unloving to assume stephen hawking wasnt happy?

Idk if I would say that.

I would say God's love should trump your personal feelings.

 

[floss]

Well that would explain why Buddhism speaks of the "two accumulations", compassion and wisdom. Both are essential elements of the path and need to be cultivated. In fact with real wisdom compassion naturally follows, having insight into the true nature of reality we naturally behave in a way which is beneficial to our fellow beings. Of course this isn't necessarily what the world labels "'love", which is sometimes lust, sometimes sentiment, sometimes self-delusion. We have to learn how to really love, and this is a long process.

The Sutras are far different from the literature of the "New Age", which is at best diluted and at worst completely misguided or even created with bad intent.

And as for Stephen Hawking, he was just a person with a lot of intellectual knowledge, not a person who would be considered Enlightened by Buddhists.



If you really knew as much about Buddhism as you are claiming on another thread, you would have a very solid idea of what Vipassana is. I note that you haven't responded to that thread, so I will ask you a question here. How exactly did you achieve the apparent "high state of meditation" you claim to have reached? Did you make a three or seven year silent retreat? A Bardo retreat? Many hours of daily practise? Because you are making a claim to have reached some high level of Buddhist practise, so I assume you put in the efforts required to attain such a level?

How did I achieved transcendental meditation?
1. Practice mindlessness and stillness (could be natural for me, took about 2 years)
2. Listen to 432hz meditation sound
3. Focusing on controlling my thoughts
4. Once I got real good with meditative practices, I begin to dwell more into occult practices which led to:
5. Kundalini/chakras opening/cleansing
6. Past life regression
7. Astral Projection / OOBE

So yes I do practice new age as well. When I combined all of these together allowed me to achieved transcendental meditation. That's just the gist of it.

 

[Lyfe]

Idk if I would say that.

I would say God's love should trump your personal feelings.

Gods love does trump my personal feelings. I am just unsure of where and how I failed to express the love of God in that statement I made.

 

[Aero]

Gods love does trump my personal feelings. I am just unsure of where and how I failed to express the love of God in that statement I made.

Sorry if in my haste I was unclear. I'm trying to do several things at once.

I see the unenlightened as fighting a losing battle against their personal or instinctual impluses. So with that said, that's how your comments about Hawking look.

 

[Lyfe]

Sorry if in my haste I was unclear. I'm trying to do several things at once.

I see the unenlightened as fighting a losing battle against their personal or instinctual impluses. So with that said, that's how your comments about Hawking look.

What does it even really mean to be enlightened anyways and does enlightenment really bring true satisfaction to your soul? Most new agers or people who pick up these practices they are trying to fill a void. The question is can anything really fill that void other than a love that your soul was designed to be a recipient of by the one who created it...

 

[shankara]

What does it even really mean to be enlightened anyways and does enlightenment really bring true satisfaction to your soul? Most new agers or people who pick up these practices they are trying to fill a void. The question is can anything really fill that void other than a love that your soul was designed to be a recipient of by the one who created it...

If you practiced meditation - I mean serious meditation not the New Age stuff - you would understand how healing it can be. I think you are missing the point about Enlightenment, it has little to do with intellectual knowledge and a lot more to do with personal experience and developing familiarity with our states of mind, positive and negative. I don't need a creator to fill the "void", despite practicing a religion which isn't particularly theistic (though there are some similarities) and even occasionally misotheist I feel enough spiritual wholeness.

How did I achieved transcendental meditation?
1. Practice mindlessness and stillness (could be natural for me, took about 2 years)
2. Listen to 432hz meditation sound
3. Focusing on controlling my thoughts
4. Once I got real good with meditative practices, I begin to dwell more into occult practices which led to:
5. Kundalini/chakras opening/cleansing
6. Past life regression
7. Astral Projection / OOBE

So yes I do practice new age as well. When I combined all of these together allowed me to achieved transcendental meditation. That's just the gist of it.

What you are saying then is that your experiences didn't really come from practicing Buddhism. None of the techniques you describe are particularly Buddhist, within any of the normal traditions of Buddhism at least, there might be a few things which are similar but not the same. It's necessary to distinguish the new age stuff, a lot of which is about wish-fulfillment and "personal empowerment" (ego empowerment, basically) from the actual Buddhist traditions. "Transcendental Meditation" is not a Buddhist practice, not even a real Hindu practice, and the things you describe as results aren't things I've ever heard Buddhist meditators describe.

 

[Lyfe]

If you practiced meditation - I mean serious meditation not the New Age stuff - you would understand how healing it can be. I think you are missing the point about Enlightenment, it has little to do with intellectual knowledge and a lot more to do with personal experience and developing familiarity with our states of mind, positive and negative. I don't need a creator to fill the "void", despite practicing a religion which isn't particularly theistic (though there are some similarities) and even occasionally misotheist I feel enough spiritual wholeness.



What you are saying then is that your experiences didn't really come from practicing Buddhism. None of the techniques you describe are particularly Buddhist, within any of the normal traditions of Buddhism at least, there might be a few things which are similar but not the same. It's necessary to distinguish the new age stuff, a lot of which is about wish-fulfillment and "personal empowerment" (ego empowerment, basically) from the actual Buddhist traditions. "Transcendental Meditation" is not a Buddhist practice, not even a real Hindu practice, and the things you describe as results aren't things I've ever heard Buddhist meditators describe.

I have a question. Do you have a wife/husband or kids?

 

[shankara]

I have a question. Do you have a wife/husband or kids?

No I don't, I may well do some day but right now that's not a part of my life. I'm kind of ambiguous towards the whole thing of having a family actually. There is a part of me which would like to leave the world and disappear to some Himalayan monastery, though I feel somehow like living "in the world" with all it's trials can also provide a good basis for a spiritual life.