buddhism_vs_nihilism unhinged i've been studying it lately. her little buddhist in training as she puts it. the dalai lama discusses this topic quite frequently in his writings. i had a realization the other day. buddhism is a religion rather than a philosophy because like all religions it takes faith. it may be more reasonable and logical than other forms of faith but you still have to take the plunge of belief to get all the way there. you have to believe that all beings are inherently good and deserving of compassion. otherwise the emptiness you cultivate only becomes self_negation. you have to believe that compassion can change your life and that everything around you is worthy of that compassion. when i finally started to believe that was the only way i could finally understand. religion comes from the heart, not the head. emptiness does not negate existence, it implies it. the difference between religion and philosophy is faith. the faith of buddhism is not emptiness and interdependence because those concepts are mostly logical. the faith of buddhism is that through right heart, mind, and actions we can end suffering. the faith of buddhism is that if you radiate compassion you can silently change the world around you. i have proof of this, therefore i believe. buddhism does not ask me to have blind faith; many practices are built on the concept of scientific proof. maybe that's why some people get confused; faith doesn't mean you believe for no reason. faith means you believe for a reason beyond logic. tonglen powha believe in the power of compassion and loving kindness. you never know when the smile you flash a stranger could be the solitary reason they decide to keep on living. 051223 ... REAListic optimIST well put, unhinged. your words reached me. 051224 ... ever dumbening and the score will forever be one to nothing 051224 ... oldephebe i told you you were beautiful inside unhinged ... yeah - Both. 051224 ... sameolme . 070325 ... gog knows. no-name ... just is... i love the song ... om mani padme hum... i see Buddism in a realistic way... i don't try to find something when i meditate.. i just sit and observe what is going through my mind until it becomes peaceful... it helps with concerntration ... and clarity... but i don't always sit with my eyes closed... i might just sit in a chair and look at the sky .. in wonderment and ore... i don't like it when people talk about god.. as if it is an object or something spesific... i don't know... ... why do you need to have an answer ? everything is god or gog .... if you really wan to find an answer go to the moon. 070326 ... unhinged after a few years of practice, i just smile sphinx_like when people who are ignorant try to tell me that buddhism is self_negation. i have felt my self expand in all directions; i have felt the true nature of my heart. i and i alone have dissolved my own sadness and anger with practice. after a few years of practice, the rapture and evangelism have warn off, but i will still argue my point that even buddhism takes faith, therefore it's not a philosophy. a lot of nonbuddhists think buddhism is just meditation. ironically, i have gained many free drinks in the bar downstairs from describing my religion as the bravery of all encompassing compassion. the last training level i took at my meditation center, one of the teachers used the word faith to describe what we were all doing together. 'thank you for using the word faith in the same sentence as buddhism' 'oh, i was a little nervous to do that' but we shouldn't be; it takes faith to make the world brighter in the face of so much darkness. 110103 ... unhinged practice practice practice back to the beginning grasshopper 120413 ... () () 120414 ... neither ?buddhism-a religion or a philosophy... right nor wrong... 120414 ... unhinged actually its pretty insulting to someone that pours their heart and soul into a religious practice to say 'since there's no 'god' involved i think of it as philosophy'. it belittles the other person's faith and effort. cause lately its been taking me a lot of faith to think all the hostile self_absorbed assholes of the world have inherent goodness 120414 ... nor Neither YES NO... 120415 ... Which God's Nothingness Test:- 1) God Nothingness is true? 120415 ... or 1) God is more than Nothingness 2) God is equal to Nothingness 3) God is less than Nothingness? 120415 ... Hint "Matter is empty, emptiness is matter." 120415 ... www http://www.answers.com/topic/heart-sutra 120415 ... 1) God = Nothingness + ??? 120416 ... 2) God + ??? = ??? + Nothingness = The Cosmos 120416 ... 3) ??? + God = Nothingness 120416 ... ??? www + ZPF + ...= Buddha Nature 120416 ... One '??? is empty, emptiness is ???...' 120416 ... How can ... 120503 ... phil Faith is like a bubble, one flaw and the whole thing shatters. That word, faith, raises anger. The faithful are the hardest to trust. My own faith comes from naming. When naming every unwanted thing, nothing is left. You must settle on life, with its chaos and order, and stop wrapping yourself up up up in emptiness. I have decided, the faithful simply chose some order, to follow. Claiming it removes the empty thoughts from their hearts. But there is no emptiness in your heart, but in your faith. I once called Buddhism selfish. A fisherman once decided, instead of giving his catches away, he would sell them. I was asked how ending all the worlds' suffering could be selfish. I did not have an answer. The buddha was born a prince, not knowing what his people were suffering. This made him selfish. Buddhists wish to follow his path, and are devoted to self-meditation. If you truly believe it was possible to end all the world's suffering, then why are buddhists so wealthy? It seems kind of selfish, but when you realize that suffering can never end, that you are only making it end for you and those immdediately around you, then it seems extremely selfish. The most selfish, when you look in at it. The best part of buddhism is the feeling that divinity is working through you. That you are on this perfect path to end all suffering. It feels good. You know how the universe began? All in emptiness, then only one small flaw entered into it. We are the shattering of a giant bubble. When we reach the circumfrence of space, everything will reduce to one small unit, and we will fall from the sky. The inherent nature of choosing life is a challenge, to keep the world in order, with no bubble to escape to. 120504 ... Bubble Butterfly_Effect of Desires... 120504 ... Eight around_and_across the M_scent Distresses in Human_space 120504 ... unhinged the buddha was born a prince but did not become a buddha until he gave up his princely life, wandered into the forest, sat down, and realized his version of the true nature of reality. buddhists, while claiming the label of religion, are still human. we still make mistakes. we still accumulate bad karma. we make selfish choices. that is the nature of being human. that is why a lot of buddhist practices involve cultivating compassion and renunciation of ego. yes, sometimes i walk down the street and ignore the suffering around me. yes, that is selfish. sometimes i just can't bear to say no to another crackhead. 130117 ... srealisma dear_hun_hinged what's the difference between forgiveness and compassion? Your answer I'll take it- haven't figured it- 130117 ... unhinged forgiveness is based on judgement compassion is based on nonjudgement 130117 ... unhinged . 140604 what's it to you? who go blather from