Is the universe re-formed the exact same way it was before or it’s transformed into a whole new universe? If the universe is re-formed over and over and over after the end of the times, doesn’t it automatically make us “eternal” beings? Because after trillions of years, when the universe is re-formed again, we will be re-formed again and the History will repeate itself infinite times?
It is in the Brahmajala sutta, DN 1, where it deals with Wrong View #5. See Brahmajala sutta.
Thank you for not taking offense, and thanks for the explanation as well. I should have also said “Welcome!”I’m on here because studying other religions is a hobby of mine. Weird past time, I knowIn terms of Christian theology I have come to the conclusion that either the Catholic or Orthodox Churches have the strongest claim to being the form of Christianity that is the most in line with the Bible and the Early Church teachings, and I have always had a profound respect for these institutions as a force of good in the world.
The only real reason why I started the Ask a Buddhist thread was because I sort of want to break the ice with you all and get to know you a bit better and I think this is a good place to start.
Unfortunately, Chesterton, the intellectual giant that he was, didn’t have access to accurate sources on Buddhism. They were probably all second hand sources based on faulty translations. This is rather a shame because I have always wondered what Chesterton would have said about Buddhism if he did have accurate sources.
I mostly started learning about source criticism of the old testament with things like the documentary hypothesis and such, but that didn’t really challenge my faith until I started looking at the new testament. I looked at the basic timeline of the events just after the death of Jesus (the council of Jerusalem, the Galatian controversy, etc…) and then started noticing the strong similarities between early Christianity and the various other religions in the Roman world at the time, such as Neo-platonism and the various Greek mystery religions like the cult of Dionysus
This is what I don’t understand. If a person (Nazi guard, suicide bomber) kills innocent people but for whatever reason, truly believes what he is doing is right and good, then what outside authority or standard judges otherwise, judges that it is bad?
This is a really sticky issue, mostly due to the fact that there is a huge linguistic barrier between Pali and Sanskrit on the one hand, and English on the other. The teaching really has to do with how the mind has this process of identifying with various things. We percieve the body and we form a mental concept of identity that includes this. We see the body as being some sort of core of being.
I am fairly sure it would form differently.
Found it, thanks.
AIUI, the Catholic Church recognises the difference between dulia and latria. In theory a Buddhist can only offer the equivalent of dulia, respect or reverence, to the Buddha. In practice, I suspect that the difference between that and praying is non-existent.
There are dozens of gods, demons, gandhabbas, kinnaras etc. in the Theravada scriptures. There are tens of thousands of gods, demons, gandharvas, kinnaras etc. in the Mahayana scriptures. Mara is the approximate equivalent of Satan, he attempted to prevent the Buddha attaining enlightenment.
There are six traditional destinations: deva, asura, human, animal, preta and hell-being. Devas and asuras are gods. The two are sometimes merged to give five destinations. Pretas are also called ‘hungry ghosts’, and live an unhappy life being perpetually hungry, but not as unhappy as in the hells; perhaps a bit like the Catholic purgatory. Pretas and asuras originated from the Indian background and are less mentioned in China and Japan.
If we are born, then why don’t we remember spending nine months in the womb and actually being born? There is a great deal of our past that happened yet we don’t remember it happening.
The law of karma is a purely naturalistic process that occurs. Think of it like gravity: There is no outside authority that judges and enforces the attraction between bodies, but it still happens.
I think we’re unconscious before we’re born. When we’re little, we remember only bits and pieces of our lives because our brains’ memory systems aren’t totally up and running yet. We remember feelings and reactions more than anything. - survival stuff. As we get older, most people actually do make up memories to fill in the void, so to speak; they also mistake dream experiences for actual events. People can also be very easily talked into “remembering” something that never happened. We may also remember things we don’t remember remembering! For example, déjà-vu often makes people think they’re in a place that they’re never been in before in this life, but they have. They simply don’t remember it, and their family may not either.
The best explanation in my opinion is that death and being reborn is a traumatic process. Also, you sort of answered your own question when you say that our memories are tied to our brains…
So this naturalistic process can distinguish between a suicide bomber killing a room full of school children, and a guard shooting the suicide bomber before he can kill the room full of school children?
This naturalistic process is a psychological one, so yes. A suicide bomber forms an intention of causing harm, which, when coupled with the actual act, has a spiritually negative effect. In contrast, the guard who shoots him has no such intention because his mind is motivated by compassion for the school children to prevent them from being harmed, and so the effect is different.