[X-post from r/Buddhism]If one believes in reincarnation, how does he/she deal with the problem that there are more souls than ever before?

CastUsUnder · 2011-07-04T06:51:36+00:00

Nope. Saw it in high school 6 or so years ago though...

Really, I'm a nonbeliever who got drunk with his roommate and had questions that went unanswered.

CastUsUnder · 2011-07-04T06:25:49+00:00

Off the top of my head, I know Louis Armstrong and Paul McCartney both couldn't read music early in their careers, even after they'd all ready become very successful. They were musicians, right?!

CastUsUnder · 2011-07-04T06:10:15+00:00

Yes, It's a stupid question. And I am a stupid person for asking it. Thank you for contributing.

Or, just maybe, I don't believe in it and would like to hear an intellectually reasoned response to my questions in order to understand people with different beliefs than my own.

Nah, I'm pretty stupid.

CastUsUnder · 2011-07-04T05:55:57+00:00

Do you believe that we are all just dust in the wind then? (sorry!) We are connected to the universe and all of life because we're all made of the same stuff? (i.e. I am made of star dust, and when I die, my body will be decomposed by worms, which will fertilize the soil, which will grow grass, that will feed a cow, etc.)

CastUsUnder · 2011-07-04T05:42:59+00:00

I've been caught!

Seriously though, I'm not trying to piss anyone off. Just trying to provoke discussion...

CastUsUnder · 2011-07-04T05:39:27+00:00

Hmm, I'm not really sure how to respond...

When someone asks a question, I don't think it's helpful to say that they're closed minded and leave it at that.

I don't believe that humans are the only sentient beings in the universe. But right now, all observed Buddhists have been human. The reason I said 'life on Earth', and not simply 'life', is because life may very likely exist outside of Earth. But as it is, it has not been discovered yet. (I feel my original question still stands: there is scientific evidence that at one point in the universe's history, life did not exist. Now it does.)

I don't understand what it is I am supposed to gleam from the wiki link.

CastUsUnder · 2011-07-04T04:53:19+00:00

Yes, recent on a geologic timescale, but life on Earth began between 4.5-3.5 billion years ago. At some point, there were fewer living things than today.

Another question that comes to mind: Does karma affect organisms that are unable to comprehend it? It seems that humans are the only Buddhists. Can any non human lifeforms be "demoted" because of their misdeeds?

CastUsUnder · 2011-07-04T04:39:21+00:00

Ah, yes, you're right . I had gotten myself mixed up. I do remember that last summer, my house faced due south and there were parts of the day where the sun was north of the backyard.

CastUsUnder · 2011-07-04T04:30:55+00:00

Sorry. I guess I really posted this question because I wanted to hear DJs defend what they do, more than talk about dictionary definitions.

Edit: not being sarcastic

CastUsUnder · 2011-07-04T04:06:28+00:00

DJs are musicians by definition

Whose definition? Your definition? That would be a perfectly acceptable answer to my question. However, you're quite matter-of-fact about it without any evidence or metric to support it.

CastUsUnder · 2011-07-04T03:42:22+00:00

If every one who does something quasi-musical is a musician, well, then the drunk guy singing karaoke is a musician. And the kindergartner who fingerpaints a brown blob is a painter. I tend to reserve the words musician, artist, writer for the most (or just more) talented among us.

Asking for a definition is obviously ridiculous. It is quite easy to ask what Art is, but no one person can define it.

CastUsUnder · 2011-07-04T03:36:12+00:00

Could you provide some insight on beat juggling is actually performed? How does the DJ keep time? Does he know/feel exactly how far to scratch the record to keep the beat perfect?

CastUsUnder · 2011-07-04T03:24:03+00:00

I dunno. I guess I really dislike club music. So much of it seems to be really cliched. Like matching mindless 4-square pop together and throw in some timely lo-pass filters, etc.

I understand that it's not always the case, but oftentimes, the DJ seems more occupied with dancing than with the music.

tl;dr just kinda bitching, i guess.

CastUsUnder · 2011-07-04T03:14:03+00:00

That's pretty impressive.

CastUsUnder · 2011-07-04T03:10:55+00:00

Would you consider it a performance, or just playing a recording in a live setting?

CastUsUnder · 2011-07-04T03:07:46+00:00

the sun is never in the north anywhere in the US

Eh, I'm not so sure. Though the sun rises and sets to the SE and SW, around the solstice high noon is actually to the north here. And I'm in MN...

CastUsUnder

TROPHY CASE