mauGR1

I don't really agree, for example when I'm dead physically, space-time may become non-existent, but the meaning of life , and possibly the free will, may be still there. In other words, i see space/ time as related just to the physical existence, while meaning and free will are related to the soul existence. I may be wrong though ????

I agree, and i also believe in the absolute, although there's much more to discuss about the meaning of life, and even on the meaning of the word " meaning". That said, just the other day, i was having a look at a book by A.Watts, which i used to like when i was a teen... when he says that " life has no meaning ", i immediately lose interest..if his life has no meaning, how could anything he says have any meaning?

I didn't say that " life has a meaning ", although i am inclined to think it has. I just said that I'm trying to find a meaning, and it doesn't need to be the same meaning for everyone. Yes, i had children, but i never thought that the meaning of life is only raising children. What I'm trying to say, is that we don't know for sure if life has a meaning, but one is free to think whatever he likes.

It's a fact that the meaning of life has not yet being officially discovered, yet, searching for a meaning is not necessarily worse than thinking that there's no meaning at all. The simple fact of learning from my mistakes, has a lot of meaning to me, for example, although i can accept other opinions.

Lol, i do exactly the opposite, and i can manage to upset almost everyone which i happen to talk to. Like.. "nice weather today, and what do you think about Jesus Christ?"... i can assure it's a great way to deter any chance of making new friends ????

After hearing a zillion words trying to define life, the most positive and the most negative, I've come to the conclusion that Buddha is right in suggesting a "middle way". It's ok to be negative, i guess, as it is being positive when things appear to be going well, but it's not a secret that having a positive attitude helps a lot. Pls, don't take it as a criticism, as i am talking in general about what i see in myself and others.

I don't think so, but I'm not going to speculate on unproven theories on reincarnation. If we accept the theory of the cycle of multiple reincarnations though, it's much better to focus on the positives. After all, all the wisdom we have, comes from the transformation of our suffering. As a personal experience, i used to be very critical of my parents when i was young, but after many years, i realized that being a parent is perhaps the most difficult job on earth.

That's some wisdom ! In fact, we could discuss karma for ages, and the mysterious feeling would remain. When investigating karma though, one should not forget something called " collective karma", which is as important as the individual karma. In other words, it's not "by chance" that one is born in some family, in some neighborhood, in some country, and is attracted to a certain kind of people .

How would anyone know? do things happen randomly? Some people think that everything happen for a reason, other people don't, sometimes the truth is in the middle. Even famous masters have conflicting ideas about the laws of karma, and obviously there's not a chance to prove anything tangible.

Personally, i accept the theory of cause and effect ( karma), however, while trying for decades to go deep into understanding how it works, i have come to the conclusion that it's better to stay humble. If karma is real, it's a supernatural design, and thus mysterious in its countless aspects. As we can see, life sometimes seems to be unjust in many ways, and it would be unfair to judge other people's lives, basing one's opinion on a few facts. While agreeing that to die a violent death is not a good way to go, it's not like all the people who dies from a violent death are bad people.

That's a strange statement, i wonder what Christians you're talking about. There's not that much difference between religions or spiritual paths, if we look for the essential message, leaving out the superstitious cr*p. If there's a dichotomy, imho, is more between spiritualism and materialism, but even then, that dichotomy doesn't really exist, as everyone has his own peculiar blend of materialistic and spiritual impulses.

I've got your point actually, and it's impossible not to agree. "Every form of life happens to destroy other forms of life" , I'm ok with that. I was just trying to make sense of the hypothetical patterns which permeate borh the big and the small picture (microcosm and macrocosm). In fact, the post which i was replying to, was talking about hypothetical alien forms of life, which were supposed to be more developed thanks to being "more predatory ".. Perhaps we can agree on saying that the definition of " predatory " is arbitrary.

Well, that would be quite a broad definition of predatory. I never heard a cow, a horse, an elephant being described as predatory animals. And it's the first time i think of a plant as a prey ???? but sorry, i can think of a plant, or a fruit, as food, but not as a prey. Relying on favorable conditions in order to survive is not the same as being predatory .

Some carnivores feel good thinking that vegetarians kill plants, but there's some difference between killing plants or killing animals. My point was, however, that non-predatory animals can survive predatory animals, and thus being predatory is not a pre- requisite to survival.

Really? According to this reasoning, non-predatory animals would be extinct.

Imho, positive and negative experiences can both be good masters. There's something good in getting old too, despite the appearances, imho.

That's it. The way i see it, most people nowadays are falling into the abyss of materialism, but I'd guess this is another necessary step of spiritual development, and yes, eventually the apparently conflicting science and spirituality may become one.

You make many good points, and every one of them would deserve a fine discussion. But i whole-heartedly agree on this final statement. That's why i think that it's fair to have high ideals, but we should avoid to become fanatics.

There's common sense in what you say, although there are dozens of hairs to split. I'd like to say clear though, that when i say " religion", i mean the best part of it, which some call " spirituality " , and in other words is the relentless search for what is truly good and true, for oneself and for all inhabitants of this planet. ( inhabitants of other planets, for the moment, will have to help themselves) It's obvious though that " religion " has another meaning to you. Yes, some aspects of organized religion hopefully will soon disappear. Perhaps religion has a different meaning for every single person, even if now it's trendy to label it " rubbish " without a 2nd thought. So we can possibly agree that language is evolving, words change their meaning, and it's very easy to get confused.

Yep, at that time, just a few priests and monks were able to read and write, and the horses were the fastest transportation, go figure ????

Sorry for missing your point completely. Of course i agree with your statement, it's just common sense.

No, it's not a coincidence. Religious holidays are always associated with the cycle of the natural season. Easter in spring, Halloween in autumn etc. In Thailand too, major holidays and festivals in fact are celebrations for the change of the seasons.

Perhaps it's just me, but i don't necessarily associate " religion/religious " with something negative. However, i am aware of the majority of western people thinking different, associating religion with ignorance, gullibility, and even pure evil. .. i don't see the world getting any better just because people don't believe religion. In other words, i see positive aspects in religion in general, not just the negative.

Lol, maybe you just need more holidays ! Yep, holidays are good, and i agree on the summer and winter solstice holidays ! Yes, giving the increasing numbers of agnostics, it may be that some holidays will change names, but i would not lose any sleep over it.

Everyone is already free to celebrate what they like, but i am starting to think that you'd be happier if religion, or belief in supernatural, was banned ???? Is that a recipe for a better society? I have serious doubts.