tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1517892305917115037.post4571298285581786647..comments2023-09-19T10:03:27.883-06:00Comments on New City of Friends: Mr Socrates, meet Mr Buddha and Mr FoxDayamatihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04125167790936883271noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1517892305917115037.post-36386825173073259862009-01-13T01:13:00.000-07:002009-01-13T01:13:00.000-07:00Hey Dayamati,Was the Buddha a philosopher? I find ...Hey Dayamati,<BR/><BR/>Was the Buddha a philosopher? <BR/><BR/>I find I have to keep in mind that you hang out with Quakers at least some of whom don't really believe in God in order for this post to stay in focus.<BR/><BR/>You are right about the dynamic of online forums, but I don't find that being fired upon by the "ego" of someone else is that helpful. And I don't like the way I'm drawn into the same kind of response. <BR/><BR/>I'm not sure I agree with the way you implicate the ego in prevention of learning. I'm inclined to a more Freudian view in that because the ego function is our interface with the world, and therefore other people, that it is essential to the process of learning, and empathy etc. Although I suppose I can see the sense in which you are using "ego", I wonder whether it just comes out in Westerners as self-hatred in most people - and contributes to the carping of academics, for instance.<BR/><BR/>I note that your link to Buddhism is to Buddha-nature which seems to me to be a restatement of the ātman doctrine without much modification. This would fit your thesis quite well I think, but is there a quality or some aspect of the person in early Buddhism that you would relate to as the daemon? Something not anatta, perhaps?<BR/><BR/>I find your cheerful engagement with this stuff quite fascinating. A distinct lack of the kinds of tension that I experience in similar circumstances - even when comparing various Buddhist doctrines! Thanks.<BR/><BR/>Best wishes<BR/>JayaravaJayaravahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06815277098386812048noreply@blogger.com