One thing that has been hit over my head the last couple of weeks is that people never seem to be truly happy with what they have now. People seem to have a tendency to want what they do not have and be envious of others that do have it.
People with straight hair want curly hair, people with curly hair want to have straight hair; people who settled down and have kids wished they had travelled around, people that travelled wish they had settled down and have kids; Person A wants to be more like Person B, Person B wants to be more like Person A... the list goes on and on.
This reminds me of my discussions of Buddhism with Karen when she was taking a religion course. Now it wouldn't be a good thing for people not to have desire or want because there would not be any motivation, but it always gets me just how unhappy people can be with the situation that they are in. It's hard to look at yourself sometimes and just think "wow, I'm damn lucky and life is great".
Ah, I think that's enough random thoughts of now... time for some pumpkin pie... Mmmmm....
Do you think that one gender falls victim to this 'greener' syndrome more than the other, or is it evenly distributed? Just interested. And lay off the PC crap. Maybe it's more a question of responsibility. Those who are more responsible will know that 'the other side' comes with it's own downsides, or that 'the other side' is inconsistent with being on this side, which is it's own downside. So the responsible people don't get those 'green' fantasies, for the most part. Hmm.
ReplyDeleteDespite me never really feeling that the grass is greener on the other side, i still don't feel that i'm damn lucky and life is great. I think that life is as i made it. I have a decent job, because i have a decent degree, because i had decent grades in decent subjects in highschool, because i worked harder/was smarter than most of the idiots, because... blah, blah, blah. My degree didn't just fall into my lap while i was smoking up and ditching most of highschool to hang out in a parking lot. Also, i have certain skills, because i have put hours of work into these skills. This first day that i bought my uni, i couldn't do shit on it. Now i can jump down sets of stairs and off ledges almost as tall as i am, and can grind ledges. I'm sure that i've spent about 200 hours on the thing over the last 9 months, and that's why i am able to do such stupidity.
Of course, i do liv with a (life threatening) disease, which really sucks, and i certainly couldn't do anything about getting the disease, but that's life. In fact, i was about 10 minutes from falling into a coma in the grocery store last weekend, but fortunately i was in a grocery store, so there was all sorts of sugar around. Everybody has their problems though, and diabetes is mine. On the other side, i'd just have the same situation, but a different problem.
I'm also interested in the Buddhism discussions that you had with Karen. What were they about? What did you learn? From what i know, Buddhism is the most responsible and realistic religion that i know of. When i have time, i'm really going to look into it more. There's an Oriental Philosophy course at OU that i'm going to take some time. What i like about Buddhism, as opposed to the other religions, is that it's about religion coming from the inside out, not others telling you what you are supposed to believe and how you are supposed to act (control, brainwash, control, brainwash, ...). Well, that's from what little i know about it. So, if you can, enlighten me about the religion, please.
BTW, i'll be unicycling in the Help Santa Toy Parade on Saturday, Nov. 13th, at 11am. It goes along Laurier to Bank, and then to Lansdown, if anyone wants to come out. It'll also be televised on the newRO, live. I'll try to bust some tricks in front of the cameras for you all. Haha! Hopefully i won't freeze in my hoodie and Santa hat.
As far as I know, Buddhism isn't like most religions because it's not really like other religions in the sense that it's not about doing everything to please some almighty being. It's about doing stuff so that you will be a better person, not because some being said so.
ReplyDeleteAnd that's exactly why i can respect Buddhism and only Buddhism. That's what religion is about' not treating yourself like some inferior speck and trying to satisfy what someone else told you someone else told them someone else told them... someone else wants. It's about being your own God. Don't get me wrong, it's not about helding yourself to God's level, it's about bringing God to yours.
ReplyDeleteBuddhism is what all the others would be without the intimidation, control, and brainwashing. The good things that people get out of all of them are the same. It's the bad things (or lack of them) that set them apart.
iirc, the conversation we had about Buddhism was about the 4 Noble Truths of this life, which are mostly concerned with suffering; they see suffering as something that must be avoided, and it caused by clinging to the things of this world, which will inevitably change.
ReplyDeleteThe 4 Noble Truths are:
1) There is suffering in the world
2) Suffering is caused by desire, craving (tanha)
3) Suffering can be ended by letting go of this desire or craving
4) The way to end suffering is to follow the Noble eightfold path
The Noble eightfold path is
1) Right view - understand things as they are
2) Right intention - commitment to self-improvement
3) Right Speech - not telling lies, no slander or gossip, don't say things that hurt others, and don't engage in idle chatter
4) Right action - do not harm sentient beings (including suicide), do no take what is not given (stealing, fraud, dishonesty), abstain from sexual misconduct
5) Right Livelihood - do not deal in weapons, sell living beings (ie raising animals for slaughter, slave trade, prostitution), meat production or burchery, or selling alcohol or drugs.
6) Right Effort - prevent unwholesome states, abadon current unwholesome states, encourage wholesome states, maintain current wholesome states
7) RIght mindfulness - see things as they are, contemplation of the body, contemplation of feeling, contemplation of the state of mind, and comteplation of the phenomena
8) Right concentration - one-pointedness of mind, all mental faculties are directed onto one particular object.
I'm not really sure that this comes from the 'inside' per se ... they are the teachings of the Buddha and you must follow them to attain nirvana. I guess I can see an interal origin of these rules as opposed to an external one; the Buddha came up with them himself through contemplation, they were not 'revealed' to him as the Ten Commandements were to Moses. Interestingly, both Buddhism and Christianity involve a list of rules/guidelines that you must follow. In Buddhism, If you don't follow the rules, you don't attain nirvana. In Christianity, if you don't follow the rules, you are not living in truth to the way you were created, so you don't get to see God.
At any rate, this is what I learned in my class. If I am wrong on any of these points about Buddhism, feel free to correct me :)
The main difficulty that I have with Buddhism is the way they view suffering - as something to be avoided. While I certainly don't enjoy suffering, I recognize that it does sometimes have value. Suffering can help us appreciate joy more. We learn from suffering. Suffering brings us closer to Jesus, who suffered and died on the cross for us. But in terms of ethical conduct, I have much respect for the Buddhist religion.
(I'm only comparing against Christianity because it the the religion that I am most familiar with.)
ReplyDeleteCooter, while I can't comment on the other major religions, I really don't see Christianity within the same framework that you present (control, brainwash, intimidation, etc) My God is a God of love. I am not a speck, i am a beloved child of God, who wants me to live my life in a certain way because that is the way He designed me, for my happiness. Maybe at an earlier stage of my religious development I saw all the rules as controlling, but the more I learn, the more I embrace them as the truth to live my life. And the more I realize that following them brings me freedom.
"My God is a God of love. I am not a speck... I realize that following them brings me freedom."
ReplyDeleteSee, kids, this is what it sounds like to be brainwashed. Haha!
Thanks for the Buddhism info. I appreciate it.
Hmmm. Interesting...
ReplyDeleteI'm not going to comment on anything because I don't talk about religion (too easy to offend people/change their view of you) but it's nice to hear what other people think..
I think religion means different things to different people. It can help you through rough times and/or be a sort of guidance system through life. It gives people comfort and safety and a feeling of belonging... no matter what their individual beliefs. To that end, (as long as their practice doesn't hurt others) people should believe in what makes them happy. Even if you don't personally agree with them, religious beliefs can be fundamental to peoples' concept of "life"; trashing them or cutting them down can be extremely hurtful... not to mention disrespectful and ignorant.
ReplyDeleteI was baptised Catholic and I attended mass every week (not just Easter and Christmas) until I was 13. I don't think I understand faith because I never had it, and that was just a personal choice I made. I try to restrain myself in religious conversations because I can't possibly relate to the level of faith some people have.
ReplyDeleteI always saw faith as being a critical aspect of belonging to a religion. A religion like Catholicism is not just "a guide" or something to help you in bad times, it's a complete lifestyle. A person will completely buy into the guidelines/rules which are part of the religion *because* they have faith in it. Following the rules of the religion is not enough -- you need faith too.
Faith and brainwashing are pretty different things. Brainwashing has a negative connotation because it is forced, whereas faith does not distinguish whether the belief is good or bad or how the person acquired it, just that the person has confident belief. So faith can be the product of brainwashing. Each religion has a different method of "delivery" or indoctrination, so they could be compared individually to determine if they are actually brainwashing or not.