A question for Buddhists.

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cho_pilo

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In Buddhism, they say that the views
I am the same as others
I am different from others
I am better than others
I am worse than others
are all wrong views.

What do you think about them?
 
cho_pilo said:
In Buddhism, they say that the views
I am the same as others
I am different from others
I am better than others
I am worse than others
are all wrong views.

What do you think about them?
Click to expand...
All are indeed wrong views. “All duality is falsely imagined” - Lankavatara sutra. The duality between self and other is falsely imagined.

rossum
 
rossum said:
All are indeed wrong views. “All duality is falsely imagined” - Lankavatara sutra. The duality between self and other is falsely imagined.

rossum
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Then are we the same as others? If not, how are we not the same, but not different?

Call it a false dichotomy but I don’t see any other alternatives :confused:
 
cho_pilo said:
In Buddhism, they say that the views
I am the same as others
I am different from others
I am better than others
I am worse than others
are all wrong views.

What do you think about them?
Click to expand...
That makes no sense.
 
cho_pilo said:
In Buddhism, they say that the views
I am the same as others
I am different from others
I am better than others
I am worse than others
are all wrong views.

What do you think about them?
Click to expand...
All I say is correct. I am a liar.
What do you say to this?
 
Equites_Christi said:
Then are we the same as others? If not, how are we not the same, but not different?

Call it a false dichotomy but I don’t see any other alternatives :confused:
Click to expand...
If it was an clear-cut, logical concept Buddhists wouldn’t think it’s so profound!
 
Equites_Christi said:
Then are we the same as others? If not, how are we not the same, but not different?

Call it a false dichotomy but I don’t see any other alternatives :confused:
Click to expand...
One of the things that differentiates Buddhism from other religions is that Buddhism denies the existence of a permanent soul or essence:“All the elements of reality are soulless.”
When one realises this by wisdom,
then one does not heed ill.
This is the Path of Purity.

Dhammapada 20:7
I do not have a soul. You do not have a soul. There is no permanent essence that differentiates you from me.

To put it in terms of Nagarjuna’s tetralemma:
  • To say I am the same as you is incorrect.
  • To say I am different from you is incorrect.
  • To say we are both the same and different is incorrect.
  • To say we are neither the same nor different is incorrect.
Words are a human construction. Why do you expect reality to be describable in terms of mere words?

rossum
 
Then do the terms “same” and “different” apply to different aspect of us? I.e. We are alike in lacking permanence but different in, say, hair color?
 
Lucky10279 said:
What???:confused::confused::confused::confused:
Click to expand...
That is an old Greek paradox. The Buddhist sentence follows similar logic.
Suppose you hear someone say: “I am a liar”. What is he saying ? Is he a liar or not? For, if he is a liar he lies when says that he is a liar. So, he is not a liar. But he says that he is a liar … and so on.
 
Equites_Christi said:
Then do the terms “same” and “different” apply to different aspect of us? I.e. We are alike in lacking permanence but different in, say, hair color?
Click to expand...
Yes. But these only apply to temporary things and are subject to change. Wait long enough and we will both have the same hair colour - white (or bald 🙂 ).

rossum
 
Equites_Christi said:
Then are we the same as others? If not, how are we not the same, but not different?

Call it a false dichotomy but I don’t see any other alternatives :confused:
Click to expand...
I am a practicing Buddhist.

What it means is that we as a people should never think of ourselves in either terms at all. We should never ask those questions of ourselves or anyone else. No one is better or worse, the same or different. We are just people living in this world and should do our best to love one another and our environment no matter what religion, race or creed. Once you start asking yourself those questions you create a void in which hatred breeds. The moment you start thinking you are better than someone else or one religion is better than another, that is when war will breaks out, whether it be in the spiritual sense, mental or the actual physical sense.

There is no black and white in this world. And once someone starts relegating there life to such standards they automatically become prejudice to their fellow man. Which in terms of Buddhism is what a christian would say is a Sin. For example, to say the act of homosexuality is evil gives one the ability to think of gay people as less than human. Which in turn makes you evil. Or a real example would be like Hitler hating the Jews. He was a man that saw in only good and evil, right and wrong, better or worse. In his thought process the Jews were evil, so that gave him the ability to hate. Which in turn with his charisma and power was able to convince a whole nation to hate. If we instead threw out both sides and focused all of our energy to not hate and bigotry, differences or duality, but on love, compassion and understanding, then the world would be much more peaceful of a place. It’s only when we put labels on things that we lose what it means to be human.
 
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