Do you believe in God and why

[OneMoreFarang]

2 minutes ago, mauGR1 said:

Thanks, although i don't believe you and your scientific sources, i will reveal to you that my imagination has countless curves and corners, and it's expanding at the speed of light.

Not sure you can grasp the concept of infinite though, but you can try, it's free.

Glad to help

I didn't expect that you believe in science because it seems you believe in that guy with the beard who knows everything about everybody.

 

It's interesting that you know your imagination is expanding at the speed of light. Did you measure it? Do you even know the speed of light?

 

It's not difficult to imagine 1 divided by 0. I think I was about 10 years old when I learned that one.

 

You didn't help but you can continue to imagine it. That's probably better for you than facing reality.

[mauGR1]

20 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

You didn't help but you can continue to imagine it. That's probably better for you than facing reality.

Don't worry about my reality, i think you have enough with yours.

Have a nice day ????

[Logosone]

On 3/6/2020 at 12:43 PM, VincentRJ said:

Might I suggest that you take inspiration from Tenzin Palmo who was born in the UK and initially named Diane Perry. She lived in a small cave in the Himalayas for 12 years, and spent the last 3 years completely alone, but didn't feel lonely.

 

She would have stayed longer, but had to leave because of visa problems. She would have willingly returned to the cave to continue her isolated life-style, but her teacher recommended that she start a nunnery.

 

"In 1976 Tenzin Palmo commenced living in a cave in the Himalayas measuring 10 feet wide and six feet deep and remained there for 12 years, for three of which she was in full retreat. The cave was high in the remote Lahaul area of the Indian Himalayas, on the border of Himachal Pradesh and Tibet. In the course of the retreat she grew her own food and practised deep meditation based on ancient Buddhist beliefs. In accordance with protocol, she never lay down, sleeping in a traditional wooden meditation box in a meditative posture for just three hours a night. The last three years were spent in complete isolation. She survived temperatures of below −30° Fahrenheit (−35°C) and snow for six to eight months of the year."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenzin_Palmo

 

I take no inspiration from this woman. By all accounts she did what she did out of purely selfish reasons 'to attain enlightenment'. 

 

Despite having generously been given all the teaching and access to scriptures she contributed nothing herself, except bitching about equality.

 

How is this woman an inspiration? Many men have done what she did before her. What is there possibly to take inspiration from?

[mauGR1]

6 minutes ago, Logosone said:

I take no inspiration from this woman. By all accounts she did what she did out of purely selfish reasons 'to attain enlightenment'. 

Everyone in a human body has selfish reasons, if she really attained enlightenment, i say : Well done.

 

8 minutes ago, Logosone said:

Despite having generously been given all the teaching and access to scriptures she contributed nothing herself, except bitching about equality.

 

Equality is a righteous goal, thus surely she contributed to humankind's development.

 

9 minutes ago, Logosone said:

How is this woman an inspiration? Many men have done what she did before her. What is there possibly to take inspiration from?

Not an inspiration for you, but possibly for some, i hope you'll concede that.

[Logosone]

I do.

 

I suppose it is better than doing something harmful and some women may get inspired by it.

 

Equality in and of itself is not a righteous goal, though, equality among the equal is, yes, but equality among the unequal is madness and chaos.

Edited March 8, 2020 by Logosone

[thaibeachlovers]

9 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

If they want to kill themselves they should do it.

They should be able to buy poison in the pharmacy so that they don't jump in public places and leave a mess.

Agree a million %.

It's our life so if we want to get out of this miserable world we should be able to do so, but the usual suspects that have got themselves into positions of power won't agree to it. Shame on them.

 

Although the media doesn't publicise it it's quite hard to kill yourself successfully without resorting to jumping or shooting etc, and I'd have to be way more desperate than I am to want to do either. Jumping is as likely to injure some innocent passerby, and shooting can leave one alive but in a lot of pain.

 

To relate that to religion, Christians seem to have the strange idea that if one kills oneself one goes to hell. Christ never said anything like that.

 

[thaibeachlovers]

7 hours ago, ivor bigun said:

Although i started this thread i only come on it from time to time to see whats happening ,so sad to hear that you are lonely,i suppose luckily i never have been ,in fact sometimes i am glad to get some time alone .

I suppose fantastically handsome men like me have always had to beat the women and admirers off????, seriously though I cannot imagine what it is like to be lonely ,i hope at least coming on here gives you a chance to interact with others ,if even for a short time

take care .

Thanks for the sympathy but it's not needed. I'm lonely but not depressed- I keep really busy so I don't think about it, quite successfully. Listening to 60s music isn't recommended though- it was all about either being in love or lamenting a love lost. Unfortunately I like 60s music.

I think loneliness is more common than most realise. IMO that's why religion is still in existence as it gives purpose and hope to a dreadful and hopeless life. If I start going to Church I'd better go see the Doc for some happy pills.

 

I bet you never thought this thread would be coming up to 500 pages when you started it. I guess that even atheists have strong feelings about it too, even though they protest much, I think when it gets right down to the nitty gritty they have some deeply hidden belief that God exists. Like they say, there are no atheists in the trenches.

Edited March 8, 2020 by thaibeachlovers

[thaibeachlovers]

4 hours ago, mauGR1 said:

Not an inspiration for you, but possibly for some, i hope you'll concede that.

Sorry, but hiding in a cave is not inspiring for me. I'm inspired by people that do something for others with their life, like St Teresa of Calcutta.

 

If I'm wrong and we have to stand in judgement after we pass over I guess most souls won't be able to point to a single thing they did for others that wasn't from self interest.

 

IMO the saddest thing about modern life is the waste of lives. We know more than humans have known in 50,000 years, and we have the ability to make utopia on earth, and instead made a colossal disaster of greed, hatred and killing.

Need I go on?

[ivor bigun]

Just back for a few minutes ,while the wife has a shower (i like a bath) me next,lol glad to hear your not depressed ,i did have a bout of that over 40 years ago ,dont want it again .

as to the amount of people who have read and posted on the thread ,i am amazed over a quarter of a million viewings ,,i thought maybe it would get a few ,but nowhere near this amount ,wonder if its a record and how much longer it will go on?

[thaibeachlovers]

1 hour ago, Logosone said:

Equality in and of itself is not a righteous goal, though, equality among the equal is, yes, but equality among the unequal is madness and chaos.

Quite right. Equality is a nonsense, IMO. Every human has different abilities and druthers, and everyone follows a different path. If it were actually possible to enforce "equality", we'd all be exactly the same, and what a horrible life that would be. Diversity is wonderful.

IMO the only thing that matters in a life is what one does with it, not how long we live and certainly not how rich we are.

Sadly, too many waste their life conforming to some arbitrary social construct and never push the boundaries. Everything we have that makes our life better than the middle ages is that some few men pushed the boundaries.

[mauGR1]

9 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Sorry, but hiding in a cave is not inspiring for me. I'm inspired by people that do something for others with their life, like St Teresa of Calcutta.

 

Some people had less than pleasant things to say about Teresa, but i'm not going there. If i was thinking that i want to seek enlightenment, i would also seek loneliness and detachment from the noisy society.

 

13 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

most souls won't be able to point to a single thing they did for others that wasn't from self interest.

I agree, that was one of my points.

 

14 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

We know more than humans have known in 50,000 years,

I am not sure about that, for what i know, there was a world wide catastrophe (flood) about 12000 years ago, and some say we had some sort of technology then.

19 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

instead made a colossal disaster of greed, hatred and killing.

Need I go on?

In fact there are many hermits meditating in caves and praying for peace, if everybody was a greedy assassin, the humankind would be already extinct.

[UbonThani]

9 hours ago, Logosone said:

 

I take no inspiration from this woman. By all accounts she did what she did out of purely selfish reasons 'to attain enlightenment'. 

 

Despite having generously been given all the teaching and access to scriptures she contributed nothing herself, except bitching about equality.

 

How is this woman an inspiration? Many men have done what she did before her. What is there possibly to take inspiration from?

Most men would go mad from using their hand.

[UbonThani]

4 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Sorry, but hiding in a cave is not inspiring for me. I'm inspired by people that do something for others with their life, like St Teresa of Calcutta.

 

If I'm wrong and we have to stand in judgement after we pass over I guess most souls won't be able to point to a single thing they did for others that wasn't from self interest.

 

IMO the saddest thing about modern life is the waste of lives. We know more than humans have known in 50,000 years, and we have the ability to make utopia on earth, and instead made a colossal disaster of greed, hatred and killing.

Need I go on?

Go have sex with 500 women. Who cares about others.

[Rancid]

There is no anthropomorphic God as invented by the Jews and later copied by Christians and Mohammedans. Nor a Devil either for that matter, they are simply convenient control methods of religion. In fact many Jews also didn't believe in Jehovah in Old Testament days. There were two distinct schools of thought amongst them – the Elohists and the Jehovists.

 

The entire notion of a vengeful, jealous, smiting, deity obsessed with blood sacrifice is absurd. These are simply human attributes of the lowest denominator.

 

Nor is the universe created, it manifests periodically from what has always been described as the unknowable and unnameable for the very reason that it is beyond our restricted comprehension.

 

The Buddhists are the closest to an understanding of reality in their concepts of the twins reincarnation and Karma.

 

Yet we are all free to believe as we choose.

[mauGR1]

9 minutes ago, Rancid said:

The entire notion of a vengeful, jealous, smiting, deity obsessed with blood sacrifice is absurd. These are simply human attributes of the lowest denominator.

 

I agree, and i'm confident that Jesus would have agreed too.

Unfortunately the Christ message of freedom has been distorted by the same kind of oppressors who persecuted him.

[thaibeachlovers]

21 hours ago, Rancid said:

Nor is the universe created, it manifests periodically from what has always been described as the unknowable and unnameable for the very reason that it is beyond our restricted comprehension.

 

and you know that how? I'll accept an IMO.

[CMNightRider]

Is Jesus God?

All four of the gospel writers give accounts of Jesus physically being alive again. On one occasion when Jesus joined the disciples, Thomas was not there. When they told Thomas about it, he simply wouldn't believe it. He flatly stated, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it."

 

One week later, Jesus came to them again with Thomas now present. Jesus said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe." Thomas replied, "My Lord and my God!"

 

Jesus told him "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."

[mauGR1]

2 minutes ago, CMNightRider said:

Is Jesus God?

All four of the gospel writers give accounts of Jesus physically being alive again. On one occasion when Jesus joined the disciples, Thomas was not there. When they told Thomas about it, he simply wouldn't believe it. He flatly stated, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it."

 

One week later, Jesus came to them again with Thomas now present. Jesus said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe." Thomas replied, "My Lord and my God!"

 

Jesus told him "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."

It seems more logical to me to think that he didn't die on the cross, although i believe that everything is possible, just saying...

[CMNightRider]

35 minutes ago, mauGR1 said:

It seems more logical to me to think that he didn't die on the cross, although i believe that everything is possible, just saying...

Modern archeology verifies that four biographies of Christ were written within the lifetime of people who saw, heard and followed Jesus. These gospel accounts contained specific facts and descriptions confirmed by those who were eyewitnesses of Jesus.

 

The late William F. Albright, a world-famous archaeologist with Johns Hopkins University, said there is no reason to believe that any of the Gospel were written later than A.D. 70. The early writing of the Gospels by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, is why they gained such circulation and impact.

 

Jesus was not a liar, or mentally disabled, or manufactured apart from historical reality. The only other alternative is that Jesus was being consciously truthful when he said he was God.

[mauGR1]

8 minutes ago, CMNightRider said:

Modern archeology verifies that four biographies of Christ were written within the lifetime of people who saw, heard and followed Jesus. These gospel accounts contained specific facts and descriptions confirmed by those who were eyewitnesses of Jesus.

 

The late William F. Albright, a world-famous archaeologist with Johns Hopkins University, said there is no reason to believe that any of the Gospel were written later than A.D. 70. The early writing of the Gospels by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, is why they gained such circulation and impact.

 

Jesus was not a liar, or mentally disabled, or manufactured apart from historical reality. The only other alternative is that Jesus was being consciously truthful when he said he was God.

You can believe the "official" sources, i am not disputing the existence of Jesus, and the facts of his life.

I just accept the possibility that he survived, and then fled, that theory has been considered since centuries.

 

[Sunmaster]

I'm reading a great book, very precise in its dispensations of truths, ...unlike some other famous books, where you have to wade through pages and pages of allegories and historical blabla to get some nuggets of wisdom. Will share some of it in the next few posts.

"By cultivating attitudes of friendliness toward the happy, compassion for the unhappy, delight in the virtuous and disregard toward the wicked, the mind-stuff retains its undisturbed calmness."

"Whether you are interested in reaching enlightenment or plan to ignore Yoga entirely, I would advise you to remember at least this one teaching. It will be very helpful to you in keeping a peaceful mind in your daily life. You may not have any great goal in your life, but just try to follow this one very well and you will see its efficacy. In my own experience, this sūtra (teaching) became my guiding light to keep my mind serene always. Who would not like serenity of mind always? Who would not like to be happy always? Everybody wants that. So Patañjali gives four keys: friendliness, compassion, delight and disregard. There are only four kinds of locks in the world. Keep these four keys always with you, and when you come across any one of these four locks, you will have the proper key to open it. What are those four locks? Sukha, duḥkha, puṇya and apuṇya—the happy people, unhappy people, the virtuous and the wicked. At any given moment, you can fit any person into one of these four categories. When you see happy people, use the “friendliness” key. Why should Patañjali say this? Because even four thousand years ago there must have been people who were not happy at seeing others happy. It is still the same way. Suppose some people drive up in a big car, park in front of a huge palatial home and get out. Some other people are standing on the pavement in the hot sun getting tired. How many of those people will be happy? Not many. They will be saying, “See that big car? Those people are sucking the blood of the laborers.” We come across people like that; they are always jealous. When a person gets name, fame or high position, they try to criticize that person. “Oh, don’t you know, that person’s brother is so-and-so. Some strings must have been pulled.” They will never admit that the person might have gone up by his or her own merit. By that jealousy, you will not disturb the other person, but you disturb your own serenity. Those people simply got out of the car and walked into the house, but you are burning up inside. Instead, think, “Oh, such fortunate people. If everyone was like that how happy the world would be. May God bless everybody to have such comfort. I will also get that one day.” Make those people your friends. That response is missed in many cases, not only between individuals but even among nations." (from "The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali: Commentary on the Raja Yoga Sutras by Sri Swami Satchidananda" by Swami Satchidananda)

Edited March 12, 2020 by Sunmaster

[Sunmaster]

"When some nation is prospering, the neighboring country is jealous of it and wants to ruin its economy. So we should always have the key of friendliness when we see happy people. And what of the next lock, the unhappy people? “Well, Swami said people have their own karma; they must have done some wretched thing in their last birth. Let them suffer now.” That should not be our attitude. Maybe they are suffering from previous bad karma, but we should have compassion. If you can lend a helping hand, do it. If you can share half of your loaf, share it. Be merciful always. By doing that, you will retain the peace and poise of your mind. Remember, our goal is to keep the serenity of our minds. Whether our mercy is going to help others or not, by our own feeling of mercy, at least we are helped. Then comes the third kind, the virtuous people. When you see virtuous people, feel delighted. “Oh, how great they are. They must be my heroes. I should imitate their great qualities.” Don’t envy them; don’t try to pull them down. Appreciate the virtuous qualities in them and try to cultivate them in your own life. And, lastly, the wicked. We come across wicked people sometimes. We can’t deny that. So what should be our attitude? Indifference. “Well, some people are like that. Probably I was like that yesterday. Am I not a better person now? They will probably be all right tomorrow.” Don’t try to advise such people because wicked people seldom take advice. If you try to advise them, you will lose your peace."

[Sunmaster]

"I still remember a small story from the Pañca Tantra which I was told as a small child. One rainy day, a monkey was sitting on a tree branch getting completely drenched. Right opposite on another branch of the same tree there was a small sparrow sitting in its hanging nest. Normally a sparrow builds its nest on the edge of a branch so it can hang down and swing around gently in the breeze. It has a nice cabin inside with an upper chamber, a reception room, a bedroom down below and even a delivery room if it is going to give birth to little ones. Oh yes, you should see and admire a sparrow’s nest sometime. It was warm and cozy inside its nest and the sparrow peeped out and, seeing the poor monkey, said, “Oh, my dear friend, I am so small; I don’t even have hands like you, only a small beak. But with only that I built a nice house, expecting this rainy day. Even if the rain continues for days, I will be warm inside. I heard Darwin saying that you are the forefather of human beings, so why don’t you use your brain? Build a nice, small hut somewhere to protect yourself during the rain.” You should have seen the face of that monkey. It was terrible! “Oh, you little devil! How dare you try to advise me? Because you are warm and cozy in your nest you are teasing me. Wait, you will see where you are!” The monkey proceeded to tear the nest to pieces, and the poor bird had to fly out and get drenched like the monkey. This is a story I was told when I was quite young and I still remember it. Sometimes we come across such monkeys, and if you advise them they take it as an insult. They think you are proud of your position. If you sense even a little of that tendency in somebody, stay away. He or she will have to learn by experience. By giving advice to such people, you will only lose your peace of mind." (from "The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali: Commentary on the Raja Yoga Sutras by Sri Swami Satchidananda" by Swami Satchidananda)

[mauGR1]

1 hour ago, Sunmaster said:

"By cultivating attitudes of friendliness toward the happy, compassion for the unhappy, delight in the virtuous and disregard toward the wicked, the mind-stuff retains its undisturbed calmness."

Very good and true, however Patanjali was living in another era, nowadays, in the so called "Kali yuga" the lines are blurred.

The unhappy can look happy, and the wicked will try the best to appear virtuous.

It needs more than a grain of salt to see beyond appearances.

[Sunmaster]

1 hour ago, mauGR1 said:

Very good and true, however Patanjali was living in another era, nowadays, in the so called "Kali yuga" the lines are blurred.

The unhappy can look happy, and the wicked will try the best to appear virtuous.

It needs more than a grain of salt to see beyond appearances.

According to my teachers, we are already in Dwapara Yuga (since about 1700), which to me makes more sense, considering all the technological and scientific advances, as well as a re-kindled interest in spirituality (as opposed to religion).
I guess, recognizing the shortcomings in others goes hand in hand with how much we know ourselves. 

[thaibeachlovers]

1 hour ago, mauGR1 said:

Very good and true, however Patanjali was living in another era, nowadays, in the so called "Kali yuga" the lines are blurred.

The unhappy can look happy, and the wicked will try the best to appear virtuous.

It needs more than a grain of salt to see beyond appearances.

I used to take people as they appeared, and got burned so many times that I now assume they are suspect. I'm rarely disappointed .

That's sad, but apparently a reality in our Brave New World.

The more one trusts another the more traumatic the betrayal feels. I've been backstabbed more by people I loved than strangers.

[ThaiBunny]

4 minutes ago, Sunmaster said:

According to my teachers, we are already in Dwapara Yuga (since about 1700), which to me makes more sense, considering all the technological and scientific advances, as well as a re-kindled interest in spirituality (as opposed to religion).

I thought we were in the Age of Aquarius

[thaibeachlovers]

Just now, ThaiBunny said:

I thought we were in the Age of Aquarius

That was in the 60 and 70s. We are now in the age of Greed is Good.

[mauGR1]

2 minutes ago, Sunmaster said:

According to my teachers, we are already in Dwapara Yuga (since about 1700), which to me makes more sense, considering all the technological and scientific advances, as well as a re-kindled interest in spirituality (as opposed to religion).
I guess, recognizing the shortcomings in others goes hand in hand with how much we know ourselves. 

I surely hope for the best, but the physical reality of the world at the moment shows a different picture.

We have not seen the worse yet, but i have no doubt that one can create his own reality and live in a golden age.

[Sunmaster]

Just now, ThaiBunny said:

I thought we were in the Age of Aquarius

One doesn't have to exclude the other.