tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1517892305917115037.post66364915918802509..comments2023-09-19T10:03:27.883-06:00Comments on New City of Friends: Is Buddhism obsolete?Dayamatihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04125167790936883271noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1517892305917115037.post-90495911975912196292010-11-10T19:09:39.047-07:002010-11-10T19:09:39.047-07:00It's a good example that makes a good point. I...It's a good example that makes a good point. I appreciate the point and was not feeling accused.Dayamatihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04125167790936883271noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1517892305917115037.post-30543184060471332702010-11-10T17:15:03.965-07:002010-11-10T17:15:03.965-07:00I was, of course, just presenting it as a theoreti...I was, of course, just presenting it as a theoretical example, not accusing you of doing harm.starhttp://www.justalittledust.com/blog/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1517892305917115037.post-33914706071921503182010-11-10T11:58:29.855-07:002010-11-10T11:58:29.855-07:00It's inconceivable to me that anyone would be ...It's inconceivable to me that anyone would be so dim-witted that they would take my word for it that Buddhism is obsolete. If they were silly enough to take my word for it, then they are probably too silly to get much use out of Buddhism in the first place. So I doubt any harm comes of my expressing the thought that Buddhism may be obsolete. Besides, my intention in raising questions of any kind is to encourage people to think for themselves, which is a positive intention. So if any kamma is involved, it is surely kusalakamma.Dayamatihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04125167790936883271noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1517892305917115037.post-23250688961843526572010-11-10T08:52:43.025-07:002010-11-10T08:52:43.025-07:00Thanks for answering, and sorry to be responding t...Thanks for answering, and sorry to be responding to a year-old post; I realize your views may have changed.<br /><br />If your views as stated here are based on the relatively small set of your friends, it's really not safe to extend that with "Buddhism seems to me like a remedy for a disease no one has any more". I think in a way this is the kind of issue with reasoning that the Buddha tried to point out, and Nagarjuna was trying to explain (and that you discussed and I responded to in another of your posts*) with the concept of "emptiness", and of people believing in essences. We see that all the people we know believe X and so that must be an essential belief people have. The Buddha even argues in a sutta I've seen that we need to not draw conclusions from limited data. <br /><br />This isn't a big dramatic example of the point about emptiness, but our world is made up of a zillion small distortions of what is, and they add up. The choices people make based on reading your apparent conclusion that Buddhism doesn't teach anything special or of use in the world today can have negative consequences for them, and for the world. This would be an example of kamma, wouldn't it? <br /><br />* how's that for a convoluted sentence?starhttp://www.justalittledust.com/blog/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1517892305917115037.post-75061238656638183682010-11-09T19:49:44.407-07:002010-11-09T19:49:44.407-07:00I don't think you misunderstood what I meant b...I don't think you misunderstood what I meant by "permanent self." I meant just the sort of thing you report that people believe in Texas. I am not aware of any of my friends holding that sort of view. That could either say something about the kinds of people I befriend, or about my awareness of what my friends believe.Dayamatihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04125167790936883271noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1517892305917115037.post-47981272470565955952010-11-08T22:14:51.334-07:002010-11-08T22:14:51.334-07:00I croggle at your statement, "I frankly have ...I croggle at your statement, "I frankly have never, to the best of my knowledge, met anyone in the modern world who believes in permanent selves." Either you hang out with remarkable people or your definition of "permanent selves" is narrow enough to exclude the beliefs of most of the people I encounter here in Texas. Most of us have some sense that there's a "me" and my religious friends all believe that "me" goes on in the form of a soul after death. Am I misunderstanding what you mean by "permanent self"?starhttp://www.justalittledust.com/blog/noreply@blogger.com