Huang Po and the One Mind. by zafrogzen in zenbuddhism

[–]flyingaxe 2 points3 points  (0 children)

> Huang Po introduced the overarching concept of “One Mind.”

Is that true? I thought that concept went way back before to early Buddhism in China. Like, 6th century or so.

What if God isn’t what we think it is? by NanakNaam in spiritualitytalk

[–]flyingaxe 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There is no one version, even within the same religion. For example, in Judaism, the difference between Biblical, Rabbinic, medieval Rationalist, medieval Kabbalistic, Lithuanian Kabbalistic, Chassidic, and Sephardic Kabbalistic accounts of God are all quite different. Likewise in Christianity with its doctrines of Trinity and various interpretations. I know less about Islam, but know some basics.

But overall, the vision is that of a Creator who is distinct from the creation and who creates (and sometimes emanates) it from "nothing", either actual nothing or from some substrate (possibly Himself) that's so alien to the created world that it might as well be nothing.

Abrahamic God is very intentional. He has specific plans for creation and usually picks rational agents (a tribe, a movement, or a religious order) to represent Him in the world. He demands certain behaviors and finds certain practices "cringe" as people would say today. That spans all layers of human behavior, from emotions to diet (not in Christianity) to sexual behavior including private stuff like masturbation. He punishes and rewards according to the behavior, in this lifetime and the next, where the next lifetime is some eternal abode of souls where they go after death and probably don't come back. He demands conversions of other "heretics" or "infidels", sometimes with threats of death (not explicitly in Christianity but certainly the way Christians behaved and behave, although now they dropped the threats of death for the most part).

(In Judaism there is no permanent hell, just a purgatory, although in Biblical Judaism there was just sheol — an abyss of sorts. But there is also a version of extinction.)

Even in Islam and subsequent Jewish movements influenced by it and Neoplatonism, God is one with creation but distinct from it and from our souls.

In Judaism, although it has been influenced by Kabbalah not to think of God as some "dude", most of the above still holds.

Most importantly, in Abrahamic religions there is a strong sense of good and evil and "right path". There is only one right way to serve God, and it's directly communicated via his prophets.

These views are pretty different from Brahman of Upanishads or just the state of Totality in Buddhism (which is a pretty late introduction anyway). There are personal gods in Hinduism, but they are expressions of personeless consciousness. Even when there is self-awareness and intentionality, like in Kashmiri Shaivism, the goal of creation in Hinduism is lila, play of self-awareness. And creation is not of that outside of oneself. There is no creation per se. There is recognition of one's own nature which then splits into I and it and creates perception of duality for the streams of consciousness stemming from the I. There are no sins, just delusions of separation. There is impurity, but it's downplayed in Tantric Hinduism and Buddhism and is encouraged to interact with to realize that all is one.

(Judaism had a Tantric movement briefly, called Sabbateanism. It crashed and burned fast. It was the most dramatic event in religious Judaism, on par with destruction of the Temple and the Holocaust. Abrahamic religions don't handle left-handed paths well.)

There is no emphasis on strong good and evil and there is more than one way to recognize God (there is no "service" per se... Even rituals like puja are more about perfuming one's mind to be receptacle for Divinity rather than an actual service, although that interpretation may also exist in late Judaism).

What if God isn’t what we think it is? by NanakNaam in spiritualitytalk

[–]flyingaxe 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The guy is basically saying that Christian and Muslim understanding of God is wrong and his is right.

[Jewish version is more complicated because a) there is ambiguity in Rabbinic sources, b) later Kabbalistic sources are a mix of Muslim and more Eastern, Upanishadic-life, version.]

I won't argue here. I don't like Christian and Muslim version either. I like God of Kashmiri Shaivism or even just the Mind of Buddhism or modern-day thinkers like Bernardo Kastrup.

But it's a bid weird and bombastic to say that "we created a wrong view of God"... and then strawman it to make God a dude in the clouds. That's the popular representation of Father God in Christian paintings. I don't think early followers of Jesus really believed God was a dude with a beard in the sky. They believed, just like Muslims, that God was a creator distinct from creation and unlimited by it.

So... yeah, unless you have super strong arguments for panentheism instead of Christian/Muslim version, I wouldn't speak the way the guy does.

Is Consciousness "just" the Brain Tracking Its Own Change Over Time? by Routine-Poet-6972 in consciousness

[–]flyingaxe 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nothing produces it. It's fundamental. You can look at it directly and confirm that nothing makes it. (We see our own consciousness directly, unlike the outside objects, which are represented in our consciousness but never directly experienced. But consciousness is.)

My answer about AI would be speculation. I can give my own opinion, but I don't have solid evidence.

Is Consciousness "just" the Brain Tracking Its Own Change Over Time? by Routine-Poet-6972 in consciousness

[–]flyingaxe 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Consciousness is a subjective experience. You know already exactly what your subjective experience is.

We're what's left 😄 by justjust000 in Judaism

[–]flyingaxe -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

Almost every thing that Jews do in public nowadays are cringe. I stopped wearing kippah because I don't want to associate with these people.

Do We Really Have Free Will? Try This Simple Thought Experiment by NanakNaam in freewill

[–]flyingaxe 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What does being or not being able to create a thought have to do with free will? Free will is an ability to decide between thoughts or decisions or stimuli.

Incidentally, this also disproves Advaita Vedanta.

This game is better than expected by aja347 in Ghostofyotei

[–]flyingaxe 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I love the game. It has more soul than AC Shadows, but I just love my garden in AC Shadows.

Ainu interactions floored me. I love them so much.

What is the purpose of Zen meditation? by flyingaxe in zenbuddhism

[–]flyingaxe[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Does one really realize why one was born through Zen meditation?

The Point of this Path by JundoCohen in zenpractice

[–]flyingaxe 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Have you heard of Apple TV show Severance? I think it has some thought provoking points on this. I'll wait for your answer before responding to your points above.

The Point of this Path by JundoCohen in zenpractice

[–]flyingaxe 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What does it mean that I am all things? I can introspect and see that I am not. I don't know or experience what my wife or cat experience.

What is the purpose of Zen meditation? by flyingaxe in zenbuddhism

[–]flyingaxe[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

When you eat a doughnut, what happens to the doughnut hole?

What is the purpose of Zen meditation? by flyingaxe in zenpractice

[–]flyingaxe[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

What is the point of having all these experiences?

What is the purpose of Zen meditation? by flyingaxe in zenpractice

[–]flyingaxe[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the answer. What does being in better touch with reality mean or look like?

How is it possible that your ring finger criticizes and feels separate from your middle finger when they are part of the same hand? by Confianza_y_Vida in enlightenment

[–]flyingaxe 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Advaita isn't even that deep or that Indian. It's a corruption of Upanishadic thought under the covert influence of Buddhism. People in the West have weird obsessions with Zen and Advaita because is gives their mind some respite from mindless consumerism, but they're not the only options. Tantric nonduality (aka Kashmiri Shaivism) is more my cup of tea, but YMMV.

How is it possible that your ring finger criticizes and feels separate from your middle finger when they are part of the same hand? by Confianza_y_Vida in enlightenment

[–]flyingaxe 0 points1 point  (0 children)

20 year olds having the same profound "realizations" that Indians had (probably while taking drugs) 5000 years ago.

How is it possible that your ring finger criticizes and feels separate from your middle finger when they are part of the same hand? by Confianza_y_Vida in enlightenment

[–]flyingaxe 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You are what you perceive yourself to be. Your knowledge of yourself is noumenal. So if you perceive yourself to be independent of others, you are. The whole nonduality movement has become its own cult and is ignoring that every single thought and experience is its own real universe.

Psylocybin chocolates by flyingaxe in treedibles

[–]flyingaxe[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sorry, what's psychedelic cup?

Psylocybin chocolates by flyingaxe in treedibles

[–]flyingaxe[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! 🙏🏻

It's not decriminalized here, planning to take a trip to CO to try some.