And no he does not masturbate to the image. I am pondering of either seeing a psych doc with him or his PCP. Apparently this has been going on for the past 2 years.

  • Dharma Curious (he/him)
    1•3 days ago

    Part 2

    What made them click moving from Christianity?

    From as in where I started, not where I left. I’d still consider myself a Christian, just not a traditional Christian, and probably not a trinitarian. But I don’t know how one can be a nondualist and a trinitarian. Haha. Meister Eckhart got in a lot of trouble back in the day, and I’m sure that was part of it.

    I like this metaphor!

    Me, too! Linguistics was the other great love of my teen years, so it helps me to think in those terms.

    Taking this and going back to your comment on universalism. How do you think that can work when there are radically different core beliefs? Makes me think of the Chinese Yiguandao religion which stems from the sanjiao or three teachings tradition mixing Buddhism, Confucianism, Daoism, Christianity, and Islam, lol.

    That’s the thing, though, I don’t think there are that many radically different core beliefs. Even something as inherently dualistic as Gnosticism has nondualist branches. I think ultimately there is far more in common, at the core, than there is in difference. It’s the trappings, the metaphors and the explanations that differ. We use different stories to explain similar concepts, and we end up with radically different traditions, but the basic concepts are often very similar. I mean, I’m not suggesting they’re all identical or the same, or even that all different faiths or traditions are ultimately compatible, but that many, many, many of them are trying to say the same thing, it’s mainly the vessels that are change.

    Oh yeah this is also very fun. Like how Gilgamesh contains the story of Noah and the flood way before the Tanak wrote it. I find it difficult to balance these manners of thinking. On the one hand I believe Buddhism to be true but find other traditions interesting and potentially helpful. On the other hand I academically recognize the truth in thousands of years of traditions radically affecting one another. I don’t like to randomly mix traditions but I do see “native” followers doing so in more traditional manners such as sanjiao and find it reasonable. On the other hand it makes me annoyed when people say it’s just multiple paths up the same mountain. This complication in both one’s religious life and one’s research of historical and modern traditions long influence is what makes religious such as interesting topic.

    Honestly, yeah, I am completely and totally bastardizing everything. Haha. I am well aware of it. But I also attempting to do so in a way involves actual academic study and a more fleshed out understanding of a tradition before going all shopping cart religion on it. I think that what we find when we do any kind in depth study on the philosophical side of most traditions, as opposed to the practical, lived side of things, is that most of traditions have had at least a few people who stumbled or found their way to the idea of nonduality, or something similar to it.

    From what I understand (which, again, not a lot) the buddhist concept of emptiness is also compared to the Advaitin idea of nonduality, just, obviously, nontheistic. Can you help me understand Emptiness? I’m at a bit of a loss on it, to be honest.

    • @[email protected]English
      2•1 day ago

      Part 2

      What made them click moving from Christianity?

      From as in where I started, not where I left. I’d still consider myself a Christian, just not a traditional Christian, and probably not a trinitarian. But I don’t know how one can be a nondualist and a trinitarian. Haha. Meister Eckhart got in a lot of trouble back in the day, and I’m sure that was part of it.

      I’m sure eastern orthodox has such a tradition of thinking of Jesus as a flame within your heart, never being separate from him.

      I like this metaphor!

      Me, too! Linguistics was the other great love of my teen years, so it helps me to think in those terms.

      Did you study any languages that you maintain today? What about Sanskrit for your religious interess.

      That’s the thing, though, I don’t think there are that many radically different core beliefs. Even something as inherently dualistic as Gnosticism has nondualist branches. I think ultimately there is far more in common, at the core, than there is in difference. It’s the trappings, the metaphors and the explanations that differ. We use different stories to explain similar concepts, and we end up with radically different traditions, but the basic concepts are often very similar. I mean, I’m not suggesting they’re all identical or the same, or even that all different faiths or traditions are ultimately compatible, but that many, many, many of them are trying to say the same thing, it’s mainly the vessels that are change.

      I think this is a good approach world religious harmony across the world :) I don’t take this cosmological view because I think it’s important for my practice but I can understand it.

      Honestly, yeah, I am completely and totally bastardizing everything. Haha. I am well aware of it. But I also attempting to do so in a way involves actual academic study and a more fleshed out understanding of a tradition before going all shopping cart religion on it. I think that what we find when we do any kind in depth study on the philosophical side of most traditions, as opposed to the practical, lived side of things, is that most of traditions have had at least a few people who stumbled or found their way to the idea of nonduality, or something similar to it.

      This is smart! Then you don’t go down the hippie path of just making up your own thing without taking the traditions seriously.

      From what I understand (which, again, not a lot) the buddhist concept of emptiness is also compared to the Advaitin idea of nonduality, just, obviously, nontheistic. Can you help me understand Emptiness? I’m at a bit of a loss on it, to be honest.

      One of the main points of emptiness is that everything even the dharma is empty of intrinsic nature. Reading the heart sutra and the diamond sutra will explain it more clearly. The five senses are empty and there is no self, these are to emptiness based ideas. Everything arises from causes, conditions, and interdependence. Things do conventionally exist but not ultimately. Things have no ultimate existence. There is no deeper self.

      Here is an interesting read on it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Śūnyatā#Chinese_Buddhism There is a part on advaita!

      Oh and I didn’t say but I would just say I am a Mahayanist. Early on I would try to find a specific Buddhist identity but outside of cults and Japanese unique Buddhist history that’s quite unique. All 84,000 dharma gates lead to the same dharma as is traditionally said.

      • Dharma Curious (he/him)
        1•1 day ago

        Will follow up asap, have midterms this week and things are a little hectic. Thanks for replying!

        Quick question during the interim, though: if Buddhism doesn’t work without rebirth, and there is no soul/atman, and all is devoid or substance/is empty, what is it that’s reborn?

        That might be less an answerable question and more a request for reading material. Lol