You are the one that brought up the Buddha. I just corrected your misunderstanding of what he "found". Buddhism and Hinduism both teach that life is pain and suffering but death does not free one because we can not break the cycle of death and rebirth (it is our curse) until enlightenment is attained.
"The idea of reincarnation being a good thing is a western misinterpretation of Hindu and Buddhist teachings" er what? When did the west ever praise anything from another religion?
WTF??. Did you somehow miss the whole new age movement?
If you don't want to be reborn, God will not stop you but to think you will get to go to some magic land in the sky and take it easy is a myth. Just like choosing to drop out of school - don't expect your parents and those who know you to congratulate you nor expect a medal when you drop ou
Again, WTF?
You should have guessed that, since you are on a freethought board, that you are addressing predominately atheists. So the prevailing idea is that death is final. That there is no afterlife, rebirth or even awareness after death. Death isn't a choice but the natural and necessary end of life... a final step into oblivion.
er first of all whether something is good or not the benefit should be given to the ones who originated it, correct? People change over time, the original idea of Hindus about Reincarnation was about choosing life over some magic land in the sky(we are talking religion here, so let's not mix it up with Atheism) and Hindus by coming up with the idea of Reincarnation were asking the followers to choose Life. Unfortunately as time passed and life became harder and harder, weakness took over and people thought gaining enlightenment meant a release from pain and suffering and that is what the Buddha taught, but the Buddha did not mean that one will get to go away to magic lands, all he said was that we would be able to handle pain and suffering better. His original intention was to end pain and suffering and by the end i think he realized his folly and ended up teaching us how to handle the stress and some people still think it is a way out of pain and suffering
Fact is that Hinduism was trying to teach us that Life is a Gift, but the problem with life is that it is hard, difficult, there is no free lunch and as man became weaker, life became a sin, a curse as you put it, and the unending quest to find a way out, which gave religions the opening to promise Sugar Daddy Gods and the easy after life. And so Hinduism once again responded with the teaching of Reincarnation - find Strength, stop running away, see the Gift of Life
Lastly, i do understand that this is an Atheist board but we are discussing religious ideas - what they really mean and hope for. The elephant in the room exists and we need to discuss it
Yes. That is what I was trying to correct about your idea of Buddhism. The goal of Buddhism is to break the cycle of death and rebirth by attaining Nirvana. The path that the Buddha prescribed to reach Nirvana is to let go of our desires, cravings and attachments and to try to eliminate our ignorance.
Your idea of attachment to life through choosing your next incarnation I don't understand. Are you claiming that this is reality or are you saying that you think it would really be neat as hell and wish it were reality?
I am looking for a logical down to earth explanation for all these ideas - to me the harshness of life gave rise to life being a sin and the concept of Sugar Daddy Gods who run comfort Heavens. The original idea of Reincarnation, which the Buddha misunderstood or maybe he did, i am not too sure on this point, is to realize we can't run away from the harshness of life, that pain is a part of it, problems need to be faced and dealt with. Unfortunately later Hindus thought that Reincarnation was some sort of harsh rule and looked for ways to break the cycle and my hope in life is to teach that that is the wrong view.
I do also believe that your view of what the Buddha prescribed is also wrong - letting go of desires, cravings and attachments, yes, will get one away from pain and suffering - as i have wrote, it is the kid who aspires for high grades will be the one in pain, staying up late, studying whereas the kid who doesn't care will be snoring away. It is the warrior who will be in pain, bleeding to death while the coward hiding under the bed is safe and happy
The path to Nirvana is thru pain and suffering - Buddhism has something like that - these people are called Bodhisattva's
The Buddha's true teaching, which he learnt from the Gita, was about Control - control one's desires, aspirations and attachments - and that's all his teachings are about - learn to deal with pain as well as joy the same way, no huge ups or downs
So uptil here i am down to earth, and here's where i get a bit transcendental -i believe that we are born as humans because we wished for it and now that we have had a taste of it and if dislike it, then we can choose not to be reborn. Those who aspire for heaven - an easy life without problems - can choose to be reborn as a tree, a tiny bug, a blade of grass or even as a dog or cat - all life forms where life is easy and worry-free(well, there are problems for these life forms, but fortunately they lack the brain to worry about them). The guy who wishes for 72 virgins? Well, he is after sex, so he can be reborn as a bonobo monkey or a chimp or a bird - all life forms who have a lot of sex - he gets his wish
Look up - Tat Tvam Asi - 3 famous Hindu words & the above will make sense
