Mike, Markus, Moses.

Would you die to save the life of your child?

If so why?

Technically, Buddhism teaches the concept of no soul. I do not have a complete understanding of this but that is what I have read.

Of course. That's an easy one. It makes sense both intellectually and evolutionarily. I'm nearly 50 years old. The reproductive potential of my children exceeds my own.

I don't mean to oversimplify and if my child were in danger, I would never actually give reproduction even a passing thought. We seem to be hardwired to protect our young. Not unique to our species, by the way.

Then put a C note in an envelope and send it to me, and then U can be sure of one thing...you've been scamed..

If life is indeed pointless, this thread is even more so.

that's one way to be Zen about things...

Ah but what if the child was below the age of childbearing, you have no way of know if that child will be fertile when mature while you... even at 50... could hook up with a 20 year old female and carry on your genes.

I'm tired of it all, this is just meaningless banter.

Man has a saving grace, whether U believe in someafter or not, whether it is irational or rational. That saving grace is mans capacity to LOVE.

And like Freud said, "sometimes a cigar is just a cigar" So maybe it is best not to over analyize, just except it as it is and move on with the rest of your life.

One thing to Moses, your so wrong about Thearpy being a virtual fraud. It maybe an imperfect science practiced at times by incompetents but it does help. Medicine in the 18th century consisted of bleeding people to lessen the bad humors, so one could say of medicine in the 18th century that it was run by a bunch of Ignorant Quacks. Yet medicine has progressed, and in 100 years they are gona look at what U take as state of the art and shake their heads thinking what a crude mtherfking Quack he was.

U know come to think of most MDs are arrogant little fkers who think they know more about my body than I do, They don't. They think that they know something, that they are smart, well they arn't they are crude little quacks that are powerless to do much of anything. In most cases the truth of the matter is it is best to avoid MDs, as they are more likely to kill U tha cure you. When U do get sick and go to them theygive you a fancy diagnoise throw up ther hands and say theres nothing we can do for you except keep U comfortable till you die. I could have done that myself alot cheaper by buying a baggie of H on the corner.

Buddism is about enlightenment. The life cycle is about suffering, desire leads to more suffering and thus reincarnation (truer meaning of Karma than what most think). The way to get off the wheel, is cessation of desire, which will lead to enlightenment.

Ergo, hanging on to your Porsche (and other worldly goods) will preclude you from reaching enlightenment, which is what the religion is basically about.

Christianity is about buying your way into heaven (IMO), which does not preclude owning a Porsche, as long as you still have enough money to donate to charities, help the needy, etc.

This is of course a very simplistic way of looking at complex thological systems, it is however, fairly sound.

It is that, and perhaps only that making our journey bearable.

I don't deny the existence of God, the soul or the afterlife. Not at all. They are very personal truths that we discover on our own and in our own way.

i never hold on to my Porsches. sold my 924. sold my 2.4S targa, busy gutting/sellng the 3.2, and the 944 will eventually take a hike as well...obviously i'lll have a new one by that time, in fact i'm going to have a look at a 944S tomorrow... nobody's perfect... Buddha even covered that ...

Interesting first paragraph.

What do U think this is a Led Zepplin song...

I have no idea, never liked Led Zepplin, never bought an album.

Nothing personal, just keeping nostatic honest.

U know Moses when U came to this Board and asked for a bit of help with a problem with U Dad, you were asking for and got a little Thearpy. It allowed U to talk and out of that discussion you were able to come up with a conclusion as to how to handle the situation in an equitable manner.

Anyway Love is the one thing that transcends the grave. Thats the one thing U can take with you.

God, the soul or the afterlife aren't objective, metaphysical truths?

(Keeping in mind that something can be unknown to all humans, but still be an objective truth - for example, 1,000 years ago, man thought the sun revolved around the earth, but the objective truth was the opposite. Even though we didn't know it, or were mistaken, the objective truth was there).

Where have U been..on a desert isle with Gilliagn....the song is Stairway to Heaven..

The devil is in the details though. It is about attachment. That does not necessarily mean that you have to lead an ascetic lifestyle. There is more to it than that.

No doubt this board is a great resource. A collection of bright folks with good ideas and great humor.

I've always thought of therapy as a sort of back rub for the psyche. Why not pay someone to listen to your crap when your friends are tired of it? Like a back rub, it may feel good but I'm not sure how much good it's doing. I've never been in therapy myself. I'm not a good candidate.

not really. Just imposing your view of what you think is Buddhism and what you assume I think/know/do. That isn't about keeping me honest, it's about your ego ;)