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questions about what I am./not.

edited August 2009 in Buddhism Basics
Okay tell me this you guys; :D

#1 . WHAT is it , that experiences things...
Can it be MADE? (i.e: made by the body or mind complexes...or ...)



<<

I wonder if we can create robots in the future with amazingly intelligent A.I ? would they be like us?
could they become buddhas? take rebirth, etc :confused:

>>


#2 . IS there is a finite number of beings for all time?? umm or OVERALL or....

you know .. :rolleyes:

basically i'm trying to prove rebirth to myself, its a piece of the puzzle that i have doubt in....

But!!! if an 'experiencer' can't be made, and that's what I am.. then I know.. , that which- "experiences", cannot die?!
(at my bodies death?)

:eek: OR does my body produce/support= everything I think I am,
and at death all of that will cease? :eek:


isn't there a subtler existence we have?:(

don't i exist in smileys as well as text? :D:confused:

Comments

  • fivebellsfivebells Veteran
    edited August 2009
    Well, for starters, I don't accept the doctrine of rebirth in the sense of transmigration of some quality from one life to the next, so I might be the wrong person to ask.
    #1 . WHAT is it , that experiences things...
    Can it be MADE? (i.e: made by the body or mind complexes...or ...)
    Buddhist practice has essentially nothing to say on this question. It is concerned with changing the relationship to personal experience, not with assertions about the model we share for the "external" world (That's what science is for.) "What is it that experiences this?" is a question to be asked in practice, not a question with a straightforward answer.
    #2 . IS there is a finite number of beings for all time?? umm or OVERALL or....
    The "infinite beings" of Mahayana Buddhism is mythic language. I find that these podcasts put the Mahayana teachings and practices in a modern context, and clear up a lot of the confusion they sow for Westerners.
  • kennykenny Explorer
    edited August 2009
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  • SimonthepilgrimSimonthepilgrim Veteran
    edited August 2009
    kenny wrote: »
    <link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5Ckmh%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--> I couldn’t begin to give you a proper answer to your philosophy styled question. However, I to once really tired to figure out the same thing. There is a lot of things that do point to the possibly of rebirth. And then there’s also the very real possibility of death being the end. The conclusion I finally came to was that it is completely and utterly irrelevant. There is no way that I currently know of that could prove this question other than dying and finding out. Also the path teaches us to let go of suffering, not so much about rebirth. Regardless of what awaits us after death I think we can all agree we would be wise to release our burdens and find the final goal of peace for this life, and if there is rebirth then the life times ahead of us. By finding this peace and letting go of our suffering now we can help spread the Dhamma and peace throughout all the beings we possibly can. And to me personally if there is nothing after death, I at least was able to help bring one other person better understanding of the Dhamma and hopefully that will butterfly out to many more years down the road.


    Having recently had a brush with the death that probably awaits me soon, I agree entirely, Kenny.
  • edited August 2009
    Hi TheFound,
    Just my 2 cents. Not as good as the previous replies I hasten to add.
    TheFound wrote: »
    1 . WHAT is it , that experiences things...
    Experience is part of a process Buddha called "becoming". If you look for some 'thing' that experiences, you won't find it...

    ...but an experiencer can't be found within a stone either and there is a difference, right?
    Can it be MADE?
    Depends on what you mean exactly. If you're talking 'A.I. Sci-Fi futuristic stuff', then I have no idea as I have no crystal ball. Obviously, in your case, something 'comes to pass', as you are cognizant and act within the world.
    basically i'm trying to prove rebirth to myself, its a piece of the puzzle that i have doubt in....
    What would be reborn? If you look at a hurricane, it sustains itself through certain physical conditions and rages around, but the centre is still and when it disperses, it is indistinguishable from the clear, empty sky.
    But!!! if an 'experiencer' can't be made, and that's what I am.. then I know.. , that which- "experiences", cannot die?!
    (at my bodies death?)
    :eek: OR does my body produce/support= everything I think I am,
    and at death all of that will cease? :eek:
    The ego will disperse in any case.
    isn't there a subtler existence we have?
    Our existence, is on a spectrum which can be termed gross through to subtle. Different levels of awareness etc. But all these levels share the same fate. They are impermanent and return from whence they came.
    don't i exist in smileys as well as text? :D:confused:
    I'm certain you are a permanent, partless smiley - existing from your own side and an eternal part of the matrix.;)

    Like me:D Till some mod deletes us, that is:p:p:p

    Namaste
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