Perfect example of Religion Gone Wild

[Anguille]

Yum. Make mine haagen daz vanilla swiss almond.

Dulce de Leche for me, please.

 

[Anguille]

Here is another....
YouTube - sufi music

Do you like traditional Indian music? I've been to hear both these guys several times.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IgA50Tefck]YouTube - Live at Pune - Pt Shiv Kumar Sharma and Ustad Zakir Hussein[/ame]

 

[GHook93]

He's right. Or maybe it's just the crowd you hang with. I rarely hear religion or lack of it as cited for cause of violent crime.

Sorry I don't preach my atheistic views to anyone. It creates to much controversy! Rather most the people I hang out with are non-religious Christian/Catholics! But even with them its still very taboo to mention your an atheist!

 

[sky dancer]

Do you like traditional Indian music? I've been to hear both these guys several times.

YouTube - Live at Pune - Pt Shiv Kumar Sharma and Ustad Zakir Hussein

Yes, I do. I've been to India, and one of the things I absolutely love, is how Indian women walk in saris.

Exquisite.

 

[sky dancer]

Sorry I don't preach my atheistic views to anyone. It creates to much controversy! Rather most the people I hang out with are non-religious Christian/Catholics! But even with them its still very taboo to mention your an atheist!

Yes, it is. You're brave. I feel the same way sometimes. Being a non-theist is similar.

 

[Sunni Man]

Being a non-theist is similar.

Non-theist is just a fancy way of saying Atheist

 

[sky dancer]

Non-theist is just a fancy way of saying Atheist

Actually it's different, according to atheists, because I still practice a spiritual path.

 

[Sunni Man]

Actually it's different, according to atheists, because I still practice a spiritual path.

A spititual path with NO diety = Atheist (ie. no belief in God)

 

[sky dancer]

"Nontheism is a term that covers a range of both religious and nonreligious attitudes characterized by the absence of—or the rejection of—theism or any belief in a personal god or gods. "Nontheism" should not be confused with "irreligion".

Although Buddhism has a vast number of scriptures and practices, the fundamental core of Buddhism, the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path, are distinguished in the world of religion for not having any mention of God(s) or any notion of worship of any deity. They are purely ethical and meditative guidelines based on the truths of psychological suffering due to impermanence.

Since the time of the the Buddha, the refutation of the existence of a creator has been seen as a key point in distinguishing Buddhist from non-Buddhist views.

The Buddha said that gods (Pali: devas) exist, though he portrayed them as mortal and, in some cases, deluded. He did not center his teaching around these gods, but instead around the explanation of dukkha (suffering, imperfection) and attaining freedom from it[citation needed].

Although the Buddha did affirm a positive belief in the existence of gods, he stated that they are not to be worshiped and are in themselves the cycle of samsara.

The question of a Creator God, however, was answered by Buddha in the Brahmajala Sutta. The Buddha denounced the view of a Creator and sees that such notions are related to the false view of eternity, and like the 61 other views, this belief causes suffering when one is attached to it and relates to these views with desire, hatred and delusion. At the end of the Sutta the Buddha says he knows these 62 views and he also knows the truth that surpasses them."

Nontheism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I have included this quote rather than write my own essay. SM is not interested in a sincere dialogue but is just baiting. I offer this link for anyone who is truly interested in understanding the difference between atheism and non-theism.

 

[sky dancer]

A spititual path with NO diety = Atheist (ie. no belief in God)

Atheists disagree that a Buddhists are true atheists.

 

[Sunni Man]

The Buddha denounced the view of a Creator and sees that such notions are related to the false view of eternity

Here in your own post the Buddha denounces the idea of a Creator.

Atheists also denounce a Creator.

There is NO difference!!!

 

[sky dancer]

Here is an interesting POV on non-theism by a Quaker:

"Nontheist seems to be a fairly new word. Some of its earliest uses have been by those who feel a deep and genuine attachment to something they choose to call God, but who feel a need to reject traditional understandings of what God is. Most prominent perhaps is Bishop John Shelby Spong, who is quite clear about rejecting theistic understandings of God as “a personal being with expanded supernatural, human, and parental qualities, which has shaped every religious idea of the Western world.” Yet he holds to some yet-unformed understanding of God not as a personal being, which does not intrude in the natural world as a supernatural agent, and which in fact may not be presumed to have a separate, objective existence. He uses Paul Tillich’s phrase “ground of being,” though to be honest I have always had a hard time comprehending what is meant by this. In any case, it seems to me not far from the understanding of a great many Quakers who would not dream of describing themselves as nontheists.

So, I would put forth that a nontheist is someone who does not accept a theistic understanding of God, as described in the preceding paragraph."

What is a Nontheist? | Nontheist Friends

 

[sky dancer]

Here in your own post the Buddha denounces the idea of a Creator.

Atheists also denounce a Creator.

There is NO difference!!!

Atheists say otherwise. They say Buddhism is a non-theistic religion and they reject Buddhism along with creator god religions.

There is a difference. Open your mind.

I can have many satisfying discussions with sincere practitioners of any faith about God when we talk about what God is, apart from the Creator God conceptualization.

If we speak of God as non-conceptual, indescribable, inconcievable and inexpressible, as a state of being or presence then this is quite different from an atheists point of view and it intersects with what I would called 'buddha'.

SM if you just want to talk in soundbites so be it. Not terrribly interesting discussion for me.

 

[Sunni Man]

An explanation by a Quaker to bolster a Buddha"s argument?

Now that's Rich!!!!

 

[sky dancer]

An explanation by a Quaker to bolster a Buddha"s argument?

Now that's Rich!!!!

Buddhists and Quakers have much in common.

 

[sky dancer]

Comment from Lama Surya Das:

"Buddhism is generally considered to be not atheistic but agnostic, in that, the Buddha himself did not deny the existence of God. The Indian teacher and social reformer teacher called Sakyamuni Buddha is reported to have either kept silent when asked whether God existed, or in other cases to have said that his Noble Eightfold path led to enlightenment and deathless peace, and did not require faith or belief in a divine being or supreme creator. "Buddhism Without Beliefs," by the former monk and Buddhist scholar Stephen Batchelor, offers a fine argument for the agnostic thinking of basic Buddhism."
Lama Surya Das responds: If There's No God in Buddhism, Are Buddhists Atheists? - Beliefnet.com

 

[Sunni Man]

If we speak of God as non-conceptual, indescribable, inconcievable and inexpressible, as a state of being or presence then this is quite different from an atheists point of view and it intersects with what I would called 'buddha'.

Makes perfect sense

 

[Sunni Man]

Comment from Lama Surya Das:

"Buddhism is generally considered to be not atheistic but agnostic, in that, the Buddha himself did not deny the existence of God.

So which is it Sky Dancer???

You earilier article said the Buddha "denounced" the existence of a Creator as false.

Now you say that Buddha did not deny the "existence of a Creator".

 

[sky dancer]

So which is it Sky Dancer???

You earilier article said the Buddha "denounced" the existence of a Creator as false.

Now you say that Buddha did not deny the "existence of a Creator".

I agree with the Tibetan teachings by Lama Surya Das. There are many teachings by the Buddha and some of them appear to contradict each other. They have to be studied, just like Islam is studied.

When that happens, it is possible to resolve the apparent contradictions.

I have to go back and check but I trust Lama Surya Das over wikepedia.

As I explained earlier, the sticky point appears to concern the concept of a Creator God, and not the inconcievable and inexpressible presence that connects the term buddha with the term god.

Creator God has a personality and other characteristics that are incompatible with Buddhist teachings on the nature of mind, or being.

 

[Sunni Man]

I agree with the Tibetan teachings by Lama Surya Das.

Seems like the teachings of the Buddha would trump the teachings of any other Buddhaist.