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My thoughts about God
This is my idea about God. I think if you believe in God it exists, if you don't it doesn't exist. The way I could try and explain what I mean is to take time as an example. Time doesn't exist, although we all 'believe in it' and we organize our lives by it. But it can't be seen and peoples interpretations of it are different. This is how I feel about God, that God doesn't exist as a physical being. Trying to explain it is like trying to explain time itself. Does that make any sense??
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There's a wonderful tale in the Tibetan book of Living and dying, where a man asks a priest or sage to prove to him that Heaven exists....
"With pleasure, yes! I can do that! On one condition - "
"Whassat?" asks the Doubting Joe....
"That you prove to me that it doesn't."
If we live our lives following the Eightfold Path, recognising the 4 Noble Truths and adhering to the 5 precepts, the Way is the Joy. To have Loved and Served with an open Heart will be its' own reward. And if Heaven exists, then we won't have done badly. If not, our time will NOT have been wasted.
But if we jerk around, skip on the goodness just to fool around and live an egoic deluded life with no purpose, and Heaven does NOT exist, then in any case, we will leave no 'imprint on the sand' and it will have been a waste of a lifetime.
But IF - IF - God exists.... how on earth would we explain ourselves then.....?
Do the right thang - you know it makes sense!!
Brilliant! Absolutely, clearly, succinctly, simply, wonderfully, plainly brilliant!
Believing in something is a security and helps you cope with death better. "Knowing" that your soul will live again makes your feel better.
I wrote in another forum about my boyfriends softball team praying before and after each game...I feel like they are talking to nothing. Even though I feel like that, its makes them feel better knowing they have God with them in their hearts. A faith they choose to have. I however do not believe in that faith. And am still trying to find mine.
I think I'm on the right track
Michael
I believe Greek mythology has a story called "The Great Pan Is Dead" which basically states that gods exist while we believe in them. When we no longer believe in them, they lose their power and fade away...
Michael
The story about hearing a voice calling "the great god Pan is dead" comes from Plutarch.
I must quantify that I may not be right about this, just my opinion.
cheers,
I like to think that is just a good analogy of God as anything else.
No huh?
Damn, there goes my chances of starting a cult!
I myself can be called an agnostic pantheist, a belief in something and thats where it stops.
Just my few words
pob:usflag:
or a Pantheist (The belief that God can be identified with the universe, or that the universe is a manifestation of God)
.... how on Earth can you say you're both?
I caught your attention no one elses, your so right, and pantheism..no leaders, churches no nothing, and the same with agnostic, therefore you can say perhaps what you believe, but only the revealed religions take presence.
Anyhow we are reviewing buddhism now, and the others aside.
FRANCE??? been to paris a few times, enjoyed it
pob
Well, we review Buddhism and God here, so it still counts...!!
Paris is nice... Shame about the Parisians.... The whole of France hates them.....
But that's aside, as we're reviewing God....!!
Really?
I have never heard good things about Parisians from people I know that have traveled there.
-bf
Hehe I love this guy ^ :cheer:
EDIT: Here is the context for the above quote. It's an amusing take of belief
http://www.mat.upm.es/~jcm/adams.html
There is a first time for everything! I traveled to Paris last year and found the Parisians very friendly and helpful, but this is probably because my husband and I made an effort to communicate in French with them. Before I went there I had heard nothing but "Parisians are arrogant and rude!" and came away with a completely different view. I am glad I had the opportunity to make up my own mind about it.
Living there makes a difference, particularly if you are black, North African or poor. It is very easy to forget that Paris inter muros is only a tiny part of the Paris conurbation. Having lived and worked in the banlieu (Seine-Saint-Denis, Gonesse, Stains, among others), I can say that tourist Paris is lightyears removed from the real life of the capital.
Even as a tourist, it wasn't the best time I've had... maybe I just got them on a bad week.... but the French are notoriously insular... and believe me, Simon, being Black and North African has nothing to do with it. The French don't discriminate. They dislike any strangers trying to settle in and encroach....This 'Liberté, Egalité Fraternité' is a xenophobic bunch of hokum... they have tried so hard to judge everyone equally right across the board, that their discrimination has run out of control... the above motto applies if you're a French National. Anyone else is persona non grata and subtly made to know they don't cut it anywhere....
This is the main reason Nick and I are seriously considering coming back to the UK next year....
Many now realise that being so insular, (in efforts perhaps to maintain and preserve equality and tradition) this had brought immediate good results, but that time and life has progressed to the point where these ideals are now dangerously out-dated...
The same 'Man on the street' who nods and agrees enthusiastically when I lament the state of French attitudes, is the same one who would be up in arms if I dared to propose, for example, that my qualifications and experience (but lack of diploma) is better than that of a 20 year-old armed with a diploma and no experience.
Off the record, they might agree with me, but when the chips are down, come the job interview the French close ranks so tightly, gold foil would have a real job slipping through....
Perhaps they are no more rude than a lot of Americans who insist that everyone who comes to the US should learn English first. All depends of your perspective I guess. But I've never been to Paris and I know probably about 2 words on French :rolleyesc
:usflag:
My husband lived there and didn't have any problems. Granted, he's not black or North African, but I do think it is much easier for any foreigner who makes an effort to speak the language. I'm surprised people weren't more rude to me based on my American nationality, since I have received some truly awful treatment in both Ireland and England because of it. My best friend, who lives in Switzerland and has lived briefly in Paris as well, warned me that Parisians are especially rude to tourists, and that is what I found to be untrue. I have a Parisian friend, and a friend from Reunion Island, who have told me many times that Parisians are awful and racist, and I do read the news enough to understand current affairs, but all I can speak from is my own personal experience. Buddhafoot said he'd never heard anyone say anything nice about their Parisian experience, so I felt the need to relate mine.
Well I do agree that if you are travelling to another country you should make an effort to learn at least a few useful phrases in their language if you really do want to communicate with people. I saw a lot of Americans and British yelling at French people in English, and I really can't blame French people for feeling angry about that.
You're saying that because you had all the cool jobs when you lived in Paris.
-bf
I realize this thread is pretty old, but I just came across it and it reminded me of a story about Seung Sahn (Korean Master). Anyway, I thought I'd post it here for your perusal:
http://www.kwanumzen.com/pzc/oldnewsletter/v01n06-1973-april-dssn-q&aaboutgod.html
_/\_
metta
But is there something wrong about living life as if god/heaven don't exist? Certainly plenty of believers don't live good lives and plenty of unbelievers do live good lives. Consider that in the U.S. atheists are actually underrepresented in prison populations (with Catholics and evangelicals being overrepresented) and studies also show that atheists and agnostics are less likely to get divorced than evangelicals. At the very least, this should cause us to challenge the assumption that belief in gods or an afterlife is in and of itself a good influence on people's behavior (sorry if I offend any divorced people, I do think it can be a valid option for some but that it occurs far too often).
Instead, why not live as if gods and heaven don't exist? I make my own purposes in life - but that doesn't mean that they are necessarily selfish or egotistical, or that my life is in any way empty. I actually find it rather humbling to think that when I am gone I am gone and that there isn't some god somewhere obsessing over my every move. This life is the only one I have so I'm going to try to make the most of it - which means NOT wasting it on drugs or being mean or hurting others.
What I was trying to say was, it doesn't matter what a pesron believes, or doesn't believe... God shouldn't come into the equasion... The way to live a life fully is to live it well, in harmony with others and being, generally speaking, good....
There is no sense in permitting an outside influence to govern your inner actions and attitudes, because that way lies guilt, uncertainty and obligation... Each person should do it for themselves.... and the rewards are legion....
Good point and well made, about prisons though... Talk about a 'captive audience'!
Perhaps it would have been better to say that people should live in an active recognition that ALL their actions of mind, speech & body have both positive & negative affects on themselves & others. Without such recognition, all sorts of unwholesome things will find their way into our lives.
take care
_/\_
metta
Thanks for the clarification and sorry if I did misunderstand. I certainly agree with what you are saying in this post.
Exactly!!!
[FONT=Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Naljor Prison Dharma Service[/FONT]
We think it a good thing to share the Dharma with prisoners but is it any different from Christian, Islamic, Jewish or any other faith group addressing this 'captive audience'?
This is true. But I can't disprove the existence of anything. Can you disprove Santa Clause? Or as the atheist might ask, the Invisble Pink Unicorn. Easter Bunny? Unless you have searched every molecule, every atom of the entire universe, you cannot scientifically disprove anything. But because I can't prove God, I don't believe in him.
I don't think this is taking any more faith than saying that I don't believe in the Boogeyman.
When I was a kid, I thought of God as an old bearded Man. Nice, wise and polite. He often was desperate, because despite all of his good intentions, he could not please all beings. That made him suffer, because he did not want his children to be unhappy. Then I felt ashamed. In sentimental hours, this thought still comes to my mind.