No Buddhists Need Apply.

[jackr]

Yet another run-in with ignorant arrogant farangs.

I feel your pain. Why didn't you make a scene?

Let 'em know they're not in the backwoods of Tennesee anymore.

You're OK Homeboy. All you lack is cojones.

I didn't make a scene for reasons that would be obvious to anyone but a bellicose a**hole like you.

Easy tiger, he was backing you up there.

Really, if there's one type of farang that's not needed here, it's that type. Get some stink-bomb stuff on your boots and pop back in.

[moe666]

But the Devil throws some really good parties.

David

I'm waiting for him to write a book too, we've yet to hear his side of the story.

Try Mark Twains Letters fron The Earth. Little know work by the master gleamed from a collection of notes forund years after his death.

Edited November 5, 2011 by moe666

[Genericnic]

What else would you expect from Christian bigots spreading their evil lies through out this country.

Please do name them so I can avoid them like the plague.

Just follow CMHomeboy's earlier advice to me to Google printers+chiang mai. You can't miss them.

David

[backsoon]

Yet another run-in with ignorant arrogant farangs.

I feel your pain. Why didn't you make a scene?

Let 'em know they're not in the backwoods of Tennesee anymore.

You're OK Homeboy. All you lack is cojones.

I didn't make a scene for reasons that would be obvious to anyone but a bellicose a**hole like you.

Easy tiger, he was backing you up there.

Really, if there's one type of farang that's not needed here, it's that type. Get some stink-bomb stuff on your boots and pop back in.

Chill it, Homeboy. No need to get abusive, especially to people who are on your side.

On a more general note,- thank your God you are in a Buddhist country. Otherwise you could be a 'Dead man walking' or on the path to eternal damnation. I wish you all the best, really. Take it easy, man.

[CMHomeboy78]

Yet another run-in with ignorant arrogant farangs.

I feel your pain. Why didn't you make a scene?

Let 'em know they're not in the backwoods of Tennesee anymore.

You're OK Homeboy. All you lack is cojones.

I didn't make a scene for reasons that would be obvious to anyone but a bellicose a**hole like you.

Easy tiger, he was backing you up there.

Really, if there's one type of farang that's not needed here, it's that type. Get some stink-bomb stuff on your boots and pop back in.

Chill it, Homeboy. No need to get abusive, especially to people who are on your side.

On a more general note,- thank your God you are in a Buddhist country. Otherwise you could be a 'Dead man walking' or on the path to eternal damnation. I wish you all the best, really. Take it easy, man.

If you and jackr don't know what "cojones" means, get a Spanish dictionary and look it up. But I have two offspring that are living proof that I do possess them. Gringo be damned!

Seriously, thanks for the supportive reply. So many people totally misunderstood me that I thought my original post was unclear, too verbose, or something. But maybe there was a problem with comprehension. I realize that English is a second language for many TV members... Americans and Australians for example [jes kiddin' Yanks and Aussies]. Whatever the problem, it was really good to get a few understanding responses. Thanks again.

[AndersSN]

It usually goes with the territory.

Fundamentalists of any sect = brainless bigots.

Agreed. It's true isn't it. Thre mindset seems to be the same among fundamentalists of all religions. Either you're with them or you're against them. And if you're against them you're one of the Devil's Party.

Sounds like G. W. Bush

[Ulysses G.]

I tried Google-ing "printers+chiang mai" and don't see anything that gives it away. To be honest, I suspect that this is a misunderstanding as most of the Christians that I've met here would not do something like this. Buddhism is really a philosophy, not a religion and you can be a Christian and a Buddhist without committing any sins if I understand correctly.

Edited November 5, 2011 by Ulysses G.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

Thanks for the heads up. Will avoid these haters.

[tolstoy]

Buddhism isn't a religion? So the millions upon millions that worship at temples are not worshipping they are philosophizing? I think that it is a little narrow minded to call it a philosophy. I also think that it negates the depth and impact of the faith. They have beliefs and systems of pratices and rituals. Especially in Thailand, they actually have a heaven and hell concept in their religious belief system.

Overall I think the OP is upset over something very trivial. If the shop doesn't want to print religious icons, then so what. Some places specialize in religous art so go to them.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

Buddhism isn't a religion? So the millions upon millions that worship at temples are not worshipping they are philosophizing? I think that it is a little narrow minded to call it a philosophy. I also think that it negates the depth and impact of the faith. They have beliefs and systems of pratices and rituals. Especially in Thailand, they actually have a heaven and hell concept in their religious belief system.

And, crucially, Buddhists themselves call it a religion. It's one of those condescending things that Christians do, claim that it isn't really a religion. Maybe they feel threatened because there are fewer fairy tales in core-Buddhism; can't have a religion without fairy tales, the more retarded the better!

[Ulysses G.]

Siddhartha the Buddha said that he was not God. That is good enough for me.

When asked if he were a God, Buddha said No. "Then, teacher, what are you?" to which he replied... "Awake!"

Is it a religion?

It is neither a religion in the sense in which that word is commonly understood, for it is not "a system of faith and worship owing any allegiance to a supernatural being."

Buddhism does not demand blind faith from its adherents. Here mere belief is dethroned and is substituted by confidence based on knowledge, which, in Pali, is known as saddha. The confidence placed by a follower on the Buddha is like that of a sick person in a noted physician, or a student in his teacher. A Buddhist seeks refuge in the Buddha because it was he who discovered the path of deliverance.

http://www.buddhanet.net/nutshell03.htm

Edited November 5, 2011 by Ulysses G.

[tolstoy]

When Buddha was born, he took 7 steps and seven lotus flowers grew. There are countless stories of magic and supernatural powers that Buddha and other monks possess.

Buddha was the 25th reincarnation of Vishnu who was a God.

Where does it say that a religion is only the belief in a God?

Buddha.net is not a reliable source for accurate information. It is a general and very opinionated viewpoint of Buddhism. Good for a general idea but I wouldn't use it to learn from.

What Buddha said or didn't say has to be taken as faith as nothing was written about him until after his death. The majority of the information that was recorded was postumous and written by his closest disciples.

Buddha didn't want his body to be used as relics either but it happened.

People pray at his holy shrines and his sacred relics have powers that heal. If that doesn't constitute religious belief I don't know what does.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

Siddhartha the Buddha said that he was not God. That is good enough for me.

When asked if he were a God, Buddha said No. "Then, teacher, what are you?" to which he replied... "Awake!"

..and therefore Buddhism is not a religion? Because... a religion needs one or more gods, or it's not a religion? And also when 50 million Thais fill in a form that has a field for 'religion' and they will in 'Buddhist', then they're wrong, they should fill in 'none'?

I see.

[manarak]

Not supposed to be commercialising Buddhism, more likely.

You misunderstand.

This company is run by farangs who are fundamentalists with a strong prejudice against Buddhism.

It is fine art with some Buddhist imagery. Genre scenes, mandalas, etc. Nothing that would offend or exploit anyone or anything.

errr... why would you want to give your business to fundamentalists anyway?

[manarak]

Siddhartha the Buddha said that he was not God. That is good enough for me.

When asked if he were a God, Buddha said No. "Then, teacher, what are you?" to which he replied... "Awake!"

..and therefore Buddhism is not a religion? Because... a religion needs one or more gods, or it's not a religion? And also when 50 million Thais fill in a form that has a field for 'religion' and they will in 'Buddhist', then they're wrong, they should fill in 'none'?

I see.

There is no need of belief in a supernatural being for a religion.

Atheism is a religion too.

[Ulysses G.]

Siddhartha the Buddha said that he was not God. That is good enough for me.

When asked if he were a God, Buddha said No. "Then, teacher, what are you?" to which he replied... "Awake!"

..and therefore Buddhism is not a religion?

This has been debated over the years by many experts, but I still think that Buddha said it best.

“I do not care to know your various theories about God. What is the use of discussing all the subtle doctrines about the soul? Do good and be good. And this will take you to freedom and to whatever truth there is....”

-Siddharta, the founder of Buddhism, 563-483 B.C.)

Edited November 5, 2011 by Ulysses G.

[Xangsamhua]

“I do not care to know your various theories about God. What is the use of discussing all the subtle doctrines about the soul? Do good and be good. And this will take you to freedom and to whatever truth there is....”

-Siddharta, the founder of Buddhism, 563-483 B.C.)

I'm sorry to be pedantic, but this does not appear to be an authentic statement of the Buddha. As far as I can tell, these words were put into the Buddha's mouth by Swami Vivekananda. They don't sound like the Buddha as we read him translated from the Pali in the Canon. The Buddha was happy to refute and to admonish where necessary, but he was not dismissive in the snooty kind of way this quote presents him.

Of course you are right that the Buddha was not a theist in the absolute sense. To him all gods are created beings and he made fun of the idea of the Brahmin belief in Brahma. However, as to whether there is an infinite world, any eternal essence underpinning creation, life after death etc, he felt such questions were unanswerable and speculation on them a waste of time.

The Buddha's mission was to heal, to help people understand and minimize psychological suffering by knowing its causes and the ways to deal with it. He did not dismiss consideration of ontology and etiology - karmic cause and effect are central to his personal belief-system (though perhaps not essential to his philosophy as abstracted from his personal beliefs). His philosophy was at core naturalistic and empirical. He sought natural solutions where possible rather than supernatural ones. There are many things in common between his general worldview and that of the Stoics and their successors following Zeno of Citium who taught in the century following the Buddha's death.

Edited November 6, 2011 by Xangsamhua

[Ulysses G.]

You obviously know far more about Buddhism than I do, but the point that I was trying to make is that one could be both a Buddhist and a Christian, so a Christian should not be threatened by someone having Buddhist beliefs.

I can not find anywhere that Buddha says that there is no such thing as God - only that he is not one. In your opinion, am I misinterpreting what he said?

Edited November 6, 2011 by Ulysses G.

[nikster]

I found out long ago that talking to Christian fundamentalists is pointless. Likewise, talking about them is pointless. They are annoying but best ignored. Real life trolls if you will.

[tolstoy]

Well, I concurr that you can be Christian and since tha Buddha is not a god you are not breaking that commandment. So if you are a very loose Christian and a loose Buddhist, you could be both in a sense. But practically they are not connected. There are many other aspects of Buddhism that do break other commandments and key aspects of Christianity. Worship idols for one. I have read many different dictionaries and every definition of religion allows for Buddhism. Webster's in fact states Christianity and Buddhism.

Buddhism cannot reject the concept of God altogether because in order to attract followers it needed to build upon the pre-existing archetypes professed in the religions of the people he was communicating with. So since Hinduism was the religion of his period and region Buddha couldn't fully reject Gods. He needed to use the hedgemony of the time to build upon.

[uptheos]

I once asked a Christian fundamentalist, if he believed that Muhammed was taken to heaven on Buraq a white horse?......he said; "that's crazy!"

But apparently this is isn't.

2 Kings 2 v11

'As they (Elijah and Elisha) were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind'.

Edited November 6, 2011 by uptheos

[jackr]

Op, I know exactly what the chap was talking about regards cojones, and he was spot on and on your side; you're response was ott.

I tried Google-ing "printers+chiang mai" and don't see anything that gives it away.

First site up in the serps ('printers chiang mai'), check out the 'about us' bit.

[uptheos]

What Buddha said or didn't say has to be taken as faith as nothing was written about him until after his death. The majority of the information that was recorded was postumous and written by his closest disciples.

Right. Buddha never wrote anything down and there is no concrete evidence that anyone else did whilst he was alive.

Like all tales, whether about Buddha, Jesus, Moses, Muhammed et al, the stories that were written are re-counted (or simply made up) and 'people' have put their own slant on long after their deaths. I for one discount the accuracy of them all, though I remain skeptically positive about the fairies at the bottom of my garden.

Edited November 6, 2011 by uptheos

[Ulysses G.]

First site up in the serps ('printers chiang mai'), check out the 'about us' bit.

Thanks. I had to Google "serps" and when I got to the site, I could not scroll down the pages to see what it said, but there was something about "God" near the top, so at least I know which company was beong referred to by the OP.

Edited November 6, 2011 by Ulysses G.

[Xangsamhua]

You obviously know far more about Buddhism than I do, but the point that I was trying to make is that one could be both a Buddhist and a Christian, so a Christian should not be threatened by someone having Buddhist beliefs.

I can not find anywhere that Buddha says that there is no such thing as God - only that he is not one. In your opinion, am I misinterpreting what he said?

Well, it's not my intention to set myself up as an authority. I'm just a student of Buddhism, not a scholar. As such I'm not aware of anywhere in the Pali Canon where the Buddha declares categorically that there is no ultimate source of being. He seems to put forward nirvana/nibbana - the actual cessation of being - as the goal of all searching, and therefore, in my understanding, its source as well.

As the second century philosopher, Nagarjuna, is said to have put it, "Form is emptiness; emptiness is form". That is, there is a point at which being and nothingness are one. This is clearly supra-phenomenal and, hence, would admit speculation about a supreme Being beyond being.

As the Protestant theologian Paul Tillich said, ""God does not exist. He is being-itself beyond essence and existence. Therefore to argue that God exists is to deny him." So if one is a Christian in the Tillichian sense, one could be a Buddhist and a Christian at the same time.

I can't find the story about the origin of Brahma's self-delusion that he is the ultimate source and end of all searching. However, a related story is found in the Digha Nikaya (Long Discourses of the Buddha), Sutta 11, though here Brahma is acting a part assigned to him by the other inhabitants of the heavenly realms. A monk wishes to know where the four great elements of existence (earth, air, fire, water) cease without remainder, so via intense concentration he finds his way to the deva-realms and asks the devas. They don't know and refer him to higher devas, and so on through a series in ascending order until he arrives in the presence of Brahma. Brahma answers his question by proclaiming all his powers and qualities (much like God does in Job 40), but the monk doesn't want to know about these and restates the question. Then Brahma takes the monk by the arm and tells him that the devas think he knows everything, so he can't speak openly in front of them, but really he doesn't know where the four great elements cease without remainder. Rather, the monk should go to the Buddha and ask him and accept whatever answer the Buddha gives.

[cmsally]

Op, I know exactly what the chap was talking about regards cojones, and he was spot on and on your side; you're response was ott.

I tried Google-ing "printers+chiang mai" and don't see anything that gives it away.

First site up in the serps ('printers chiang mai'), check out the 'about us' bit.

I must say, I could totally get to like their business model! Everything gets donated by various numpties; then once set up, the business gets rolling and voila the profits start coming in. Let's face it who couldn't fall in love with that business model! No start up costs to recuperate, its all been paid for by someone else.

[harrry]

Op, I know exactly what the chap was talking about regards cojones, and he was spot on and on your side; you're response was ott.

I tried Google-ing "printers+chiang mai" and don't see anything that gives it away.

First site up in the serps ('printers chiang mai'), check out the 'about us' bit.

I must say, I could totally get to like their business model! Everything gets donated by various numpties; then once set up, the business gets rolling and voila the profits start coming in. Let's face it who couldn't fall in love with that business model! No start up costs to recuperate, its all been paid for by someone else.

They shall be known by their Acts.

[chuang]

Is Jesus Christ God.....anyway who is GOD..

[orang37]

Pointlessness is not pointless.

~o:37;

[LarryBird]

What about the advertisements I see where these missionaries are looking to hire Christians? They are doing things here that would be considered abhorrent in their own countries, all while trying to spread Christian values. If they were discriminated against in america, for being christian, i'm sure they'd just say 'oh, it's ok, it's their right.'

The missionaries and their cozy lifestyle's they have, while pilfering the pockets of poor southerners in the US , have got to be re-examined.

How many lives have been lost in the name of Christianity, and how many have been lost in the name of Buddhism?

Why are they here?