Enlightenment in 3 quick and easy steps

Discussion in 'Eastern Philosophy' started by Fork, Jun 14, 2013.

  1. Lakon Valued Senior Member

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    You missunderstood. I was using the term and the other references with some irony.

    I suppose there might be rare occassion when a killing IS compassionate ..

    a) when I shot my 17 year old dog through the head rather than leave her wreaked with cancer and suffering horribly in her last days - not even being able to stand up.

    b) a relative of mine was involved in a horrible car accident a few years ago. He was basically burnt inside and out. Failure of most of his organs - except the heart. No skin left to 90% of his body. He was on a machine for a week. There was a choice to keep him going with little hope of ever living anything remotely resembling a normal life, or not. His wife and kids chose not. Out of pure compassion.

    Other than incidents like these, I can't see it.
     
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  3. Lakon Valued Senior Member

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    Then what ? (keeping in mind we're talking about 7.3 billion healthy, well fed, desease free, war free humans).

    About the Russian family - I have noooooo idea what you're talking about. Link ?

    Other than this, your general comments and the condition you stated you find yourself in, seems to me like the planet / nature has in fact started to clean out the gene pool.
     
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  5. Lakon Valued Senior Member

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    That is the kind of thing I meant in my earlier posts, though I probably made the point more graphically and strongly than you.
     
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  7. elte Valued Senior Member

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    Then they could enjoy living.

    Here's the article. http://www.smithsonianmag.com/histo...ontact-Unaware-of-World-War-II-188843001.html

    You prove my point about yourself.
     
  8. Lakon Valued Senior Member

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    And what main things does living involve ? What do healthy, well fed unthreatened humans do rather rapidly, and what do they need to do it ?

    Still doesn't show or say what it has to do with me !

    What point was that ?

    PS - interesting that you didn't deny that nature is cleaning out the gene pool in your case.
     
  9. elte Valued Senior Member

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    I knew what you were getting at. Man, this is the enlightenment thread and sex and reproduction are just about the most unenlightened things there are. Just about the only human activities more mundane than those are eating and pooping.


    Forget it then because below you carry on similarly. Realize that I only had to defend myself after you began the attacks, and I continue only in response. I never did anything to you from the beginning. But you apparently couldn't resist making fun of someone who did nothing to you.
    It's because I don't have to disprove such a jerky statement. In your case, I mention sociopathy and competing against others which involves hurting others while not caring, and you feel guilty and have to come out of the woodwork to defend yourself, when I didn't even have you in mind at all. I had no one in particular in mind, actually. Something else, I share my human individuality, and then you come out and attack. That is what constitutes bullying. Just accept your scolding and put my posts on ignore from now on like I normally have yours.
     
  10. Lakon Valued Senior Member

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    Man, you're the one that mentioned sex or rather, your lack of it.

    First your body atrophies .. then your mind..

    I still have NO idea what you're going on about concerning a Russian family, nor I suspect, do you. That's atrophy of the mind for you.

    Man, this is the enlightenment thread - as you rightly observed (a rare event for you - perhaps unique thus far) in your opening comments. If you were true to that observation you would have stopped when you made it.

    Edit various.
     
  11. elte Valued Senior Member

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    That's right. Lack can be associated with it, but hardly the other way around. That is the point we were making. People let their minds get consumed with thoughts of sex. That inhibits understanding. It's an opportunity cost.



    So if anyone's mind atrophied, its yours. You're the one who forgot.


    If you had stopped the adhoms...
     
  12. wynn ˙ Valued Senior Member

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    In traditional Buddhism, there are some clear guidelines around assuming and declaring oneself to be enlightened. Generally, they are very careful neither to assume nor to declare it.


    "If you think you're enlightened, your probably aren't."


    I think that those who know, do speak - but are very selective about to whom, when, about what etc. Notably, an actually enlightened person wouldn't unilaterally impose themselves on others as their teacher.
    But the world is full of wannabe "buddhas" who think the world owes them ear and heart.
     
  13. wynn ˙ Valued Senior Member

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    I don't think that's compassion, at least not in the traditional Buddhist sense.
    As far as I understood, in traditional Buddhism, the Four Sublime Attitudes, of which compassion is the second one, are to be understood and practiced in regard to the Four Noble Truths, as the Four Noble Truths are traditionally understood, in the Pali Canon.
     
  14. wegs Matter and Pixie Dust Valued Senior Member

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    /deleted comment.
    doesn't matter.
     
    Last edited: Oct 10, 2013
  15. elte Valued Senior Member

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    Wegs, you had some fine points. I'm especially glad that you mentioned the monks to me. Their practice of buffering themselves from distractions through their relatively simple lifestyle gives them an advantage at being insightful, and wise in general. They were relatively enlightened in many ways. They are well known for copying and preserving written knowledge during the Dark Ages. It was good and apparently insightful of you to mention them because I can personally relate to their lifestyle a lot.
     
  16. wegs Matter and Pixie Dust Valued Senior Member

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    Ok, good. I didn’t want to offend anyone, so I removed the post. But, glad you found it helpful.
     
  17. elte Valued Senior Member

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    I sure did find it helpful; thanks.
     
  18. Lakon Valued Senior Member

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    No ad homs .. I really feel most of your posts are so wrong and that you're quite misguided. They were also quite off topic, particularly your post 103 that I responded to. But then, my response was equally off topic.

    So I will leave it there with you, and just stick to the topic - enlightenment.
     
  19. Lakon Valued Senior Member

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    "If you think you're enlightened, your probably aren't."

    I tend to agree.
     
  20. Lakon Valued Senior Member

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    Well, I wasn't talking about traditional Buddhism - just compassion.

    Don't know much at all about Buddhism. Could you summarise ?
     
  21. wynn ˙ Valued Senior Member

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    One man's compassion is another man's cruelty ...


    I've already sent you some links.
     
  22. elte Valued Senior Member

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    I let you have the last adhom, and you still couldn't let it go. Please quit harassing me from now on.
     
  23. spidergoat pubic diorama Valued Senior Member

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    That's because enlightened isn't something you are. It's something that happens to you. There may be a trigger, but it doesn't happen for any discernible reason. It could be purely biological.
     

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