God in Buddhism

[Still_Waters]

Originally Posted by Altair

I'm for celebration of life and enjoying what the world has to offer. Suffering is part of that, yes, but is one experience among others.

Yes. Suffering is but one experience among others. That is one way to view it.

[Still_Waters]

Originally Posted by Phaelyn

It's basically like a hierarchy of levels, say earth is souls with levels 1 to 5....astral world same for them.....in the 1 to 5 level.... beings levels 6 to 10 can visit....those level 11 or higher cannot visit.... physical space is defined by frequencies...like earth energy can be 1 to 5..... something with a vibrational frequency of 6 cannot co-exist in a 1 to 5 world. It sounds complicated but it what I deduced from what was said in various books and religions and guru's etc. So it's like a bracket.... level's 1-5, 6-10, 11-15, and on and on and those in a bracket one higher than yours, can visit you, but you cannot visit them. So say you are in 1-5, beings 6 to 10 can visit you.... 11-15 bracket beings can't visit 1-5.... but can visit 6 to 10 etc.

As we evolve in awareness and intelligence, our vibrational frequency changes and all physical spaces have a particular vibrational frequency of energy and matter. We can operate quite well with the energies of this planet... disharmony...let that sink in lol.

We die and go to the astral or energy based, non-physical world. There we encounter others like ourselves many of whom are involved in the creation of our universe, the planets, the living things on them, some even in the creation of conscious energy. We have our own pursuits, interests, and soul groups. We have our own "spirit guides" who are higher developed than ourselves. We seek to know more, experience more, move up that train. Get to higher realms closer to the source. We encounter some beings from these higher realms occasionally.

Really our pastimes and things that interest us here on earth are not removed from the big picture at all. In the astral world, are classes, schools, we live in groups with others we love and know well. We love leveling in video games because that is basically our eternal destiny. People here create, music, computers, communities, architecture, art, new species, cross breed dogs or whatever, create new hybrids of corn and on and on....work to heal, to help, all of which is the same in the non-physical world. There are souls there that have a strong interest in helping other souls, like the lower ones stuck in lower realms, and devote their time to that, just how some here are devoted to being doctors or nurses. Others create music... some explore...

The question that blows my mind, why we or anything exists at all? A creation requires a creator. A creator too requires something that created it.... and on and on to what end? Something out of nothing? Something ALWAYS existed..... always? What in the heck is always? Our minds have no way to comprehend what is.

I'm reminded some atheists may post and may think, no creators exist, all of this came from the big bang, there is no cause or causer, but it's like a pattern eh.... big bang.... all eventually gets sucked into a black hole.....until big bang again.... pattern like a machine, like a heart beat.... why? always just was? that word always again...... imagining it all started somewhere from nothing is just as mind boggling... what is the heck is a nothing and if it is truly nothing, how can something emerge out of it? By what force? From what substance? See these questions make us want to get out of the caboose....

That's precisely where I was going --- the hierarchy of levels and planes.

[Altair]

Originally Posted by BigJohn

Altair,
Very good points!

The issue is much deeper then you think.
For example, in the East, every Buddhist I know wants to be a Nun or Monk at least once in their life time whereas in the West........ I never knew one Buddhist who wanted to be a Nun or Monk except for one chap who was in align with Eastern Buddhist teachings.

The same holds true for other beliefs.

Listening to how Western Buddhists relate to suffering is very depressing to me whereas the Eastern version is not depressing to me at all.

Yes, interesting you should mention that cultural difference. I am of course biased in what I'm exposed to. However, suffering is a central concept in Buddhism, as is modesty. If you check lifestyle at Buddhist monasteries then you can see it's about eating, meditating, and sleeping. No (or not much) allowance for chatting and other things. Even if you don't go there, but adhere to the philosophy, I can imagine it will influence your lifestyle.

I prefer a 'whole' human perspective. I see no conflict between indulgence and temperance. There's a place for different activities in different places. I don't want to 'be aware' in all situations.

[RuberPeach]

I like to stay in sukhasana posture like A relaxed spiritual figure.

[BigJohn]

Originally Posted by Altair

That's just semantics. It cannot be denied that Buddhists talk a lot about the concept of suffering. I don't see many threads and posts here that celebrate life, or enjoyment. That's not a judgement, but an observation.

The clue is in the emphasis. I can turn it around and say a noble truth is this: birth is a miracle, ageing brings experience, sickness and pain allows for seeking improvements to conditions, death is food, and so forth.

In the West, Buddhists do not seem to do much at all with Buddhist Holidays but in the East, they are very big celebrations. Lots and lots of merriment!

[HITESH SHAH]

Originally Posted by Altair

Yes, interesting you should mention that cultural difference. I am of course biased in what I'm exposed to. However, suffering is a central concept in Buddhism, as is modesty. If you check lifestyle at Buddhist monasteries then you can see it's about eating, meditating, and sleeping. No (or not much) allowance for chatting and other things. Even if you don't go there, but adhere to the philosophy, I can imagine it will influence your lifestyle.

I prefer a 'whole' human perspective. I see no conflict between indulgence and temperance. There's a place for different activities in different places. I don't want to 'be aware' in all situations.

I can understand your dilemma and preference for celebration of life . Indeed all teachers ( I dare say even Buddha ) are also for it . In fact staying idle doing nothing is also considered one kind of spiritual sin which damages none but you and your spirit within.

But it is the experience of all these teachers that you can not have equanimity&balance if you are drowned in life or are neck deep in mundane indulgences . It is their exhortation to maintain good level of alertness in the life when we go through it not get get submerged in downward spiral of life .

It's like cycle which can not stand straight unless you keep peddling and run it .It's like aircraft which can not stay afloat mid-air unless its engines propel air(of weigh higher than aircraft weight ) . So does all these teachers exhort all to enjoy the life with good alertness beware of downward spiral . In that your love for life is covered by these masters very well .

[BigJohn]

Originally Posted by HITESH SHAH

I can understand your dilemma and preference for celebration of life . Indeed all teachers ( I dare say even Buddha ) are also for it . In fact staying idle doing nothing is also considered one kind of spiritual sin which damages none but you and your spirit within.

But it is the experience of all these teachers that you can not have equanimity&balance if you are drowned in life or are neck deep in mundane indulgences . It is their exhortation to maintain good level of alertness in the life when we go through it not get get submerged in downward spiral of life .

It's like cycle which can not stand straight unless you keep peddling and run it .It's like aircraft which can not stay afloat mid-air unless its engines propel air(of weigh higher than aircraft weight ) . So does all these teachers exhort all to enjoy the life with good alertness beware of downward spiral . In that your love for life is covered by these masters very well .

NICELY, ROUNDED OUT COMMENT, AS USUAL!

Thanks for sharing.

[sky]

Originally Posted by Altair

Yes, interesting you should mention that cultural difference. I am of course biased in what I'm exposed to. However, suffering is a central concept in Buddhism, as is modesty. If you check lifestyle at Buddhist monasteries then you can see it's about eating, meditating, and sleeping. No (or not much) allowance for chatting and other things. Even if you don't go there, but adhere to the philosophy, I can imagine it will influence your lifestyle.

I prefer a 'whole' human perspective. I see no conflict between indulgence and temperance. There's a place for different activities in different places. I don't want to 'be aware' in all situations.

I don't know which Buddhist Monasteries you have Personally visited but I can assure you that the one's I have Personally spent time in are full of joy and merriment, laughter and joy is everywhere.... Chatting, listening to music, spending time in nature is very much practised and food and drink is available when needed. Charity Work and feeding and visiting the less fortunate is practiced constantly, as is helping in Community Activities.

Now if you go to Thialand you will see Buddhist Lay and Monks sitting outside the Temples drinking Alcohol with a Cigarette in their mouths. Buddhists are Humans and sometimes do things that seem very un- Buddhist to some.

[Phaelyn]

Originally Posted by Gem

volition is 'cause' and as such it is what perpetuates the kammic cycle. Therefore, the cessation of volition is 'the way' of liberation.

I wonder what you equate the word volition with in your experiential reality.

For me, I don't think the word "volition" works very well at explaining this stuff. The word volition basically is defined as "the faculty or power of using one's will."

No matter what one does, up, down, or sideways, doing or not-doing, positively or negatively, doing something or doing nothing, it is still using one's will. You can't not exercise or use your will. Really, "will" is an aspect of what we are like awareness is as well. Will is basically what we are manifesting in any given moment. It's a directional use of energy. Even total detachment, being non-identified with our conditioning and "person" is an act of our will or our volition. Buddha used his volition or will to manifest the state of enlightenment. Even if one says, enlightenment is always present and all Buddha did is end the identification of what was not "enlightenment", that too was an exercise of his will, he moved his focus or attention off the delusional self.

I get why some philosophers or religious types used that word in various ways, but they missed the big picture there. The specifically used it to refer to acting upon and being focused on unconscious habitual conditioned thought and while that is an act of will or volition, it clearly lacks self awareness and the root cause there of experience and action is that thought itself and of course chemicals produced by the brain to add a "feeling" or emotional component to the whole thing. Really the words awareness and volition describe "right being" but volition without higher awareness is basically normal life, habitual, pushed here and there by thought and emotions...like a sailboat on rough seas without a sail. One's volition there is to be rudderless, to let the seas, the unconscious habitual conditioned thought, push one about. But like I said, one can also use ones will to be free of such, to be liberated.

[HITESH SHAH]

Originally Posted by BigJohn

NICELY, ROUNDED OUT COMMENT, AS USUAL!

Thanks for sharing.

Thanks John for understanding and appreciating .