could you? learning yoga and reading a.c. bhaktivedanta swami prabhupada's books about krishna have got me thinking about it... also.. hypothetically, i guess... could you only eat (or otherwise put into your body) what you needed for nutrition, including drugs? could you stop eating meat entirely? could you truly offer every meal to whatever higher power you believe in (assuming you believe in one) before eating? could you give up all desire for any kind of personal gain? could you always do what you knew was the highest, most loving thing to do in every situation? if you made the decision to do all these things, how long do you think you could keep it up? this is the kind of lifestyle i want, but, i don't know... it leaves me pretty alienated from most of the people i know ... answer however you want, you don't have to actually answer every question or anything... just whatever
ould you only eat (or otherwise put into your body) what you needed for nutrition, including drugs? No. could you stop eating meat entirely? Yes. If I wanted to. could you truly offer every meal to whatever higher power you believe in (assuming you believe in one) before eating? I don't believe the higher power needs to be praised in any way. could you give up all desire for any kind of personal gain? No. could you always do what you knew was the highest, most loving thing to do in every situation? Probably. if you made the decision to do all these things, how long do you think you could keep it up? For as long as it takes.
I was celibate for some time, about 6 years actually. I enjoyed it. I had male friends who I loved as friends only and we enjoyed each other's company, but I did like getting used to being with ME again - the whole of me - not shared in an intimate way with anyone, but shared in plenty of loving ways with everyone, all the same. I wasn't trying to martyr myself or be holier than thou. I just decided I wanted to develop my relationship with myself. At the time I thought I wanted to stay that way forever, but one morning Spring peeped through the doorway of my psyche and I realised I was being pulled out of my cosy completeness into the world of intimate relationships again. I know better than to resist the calling of nature, so I surrendered to the possibility and eventually, some months later, my celibacy came to an end. As for offering food to God/Higher Power/Whatever, I don't understand why He/She would need physical food. So I offer my love and gratitude for all my blessings and my kindness towards my fellow beings and animals, as an act of love and praise to the Divine.
This is a type of ascetism (spelling?) I think Prismatism. My motherlives pretty much like this, I think she should have lived like this from the start of her life, it really suits her and her needs. By the same token you should go for it too, if that is what you really want, and fuck everyone else!! I certainly am too greedy and hedonistic for such a pure road...
Yes...I have spent many years of my life living in such a manner...with a break to have children of course.....and I find its a rather peaceful way of living...and , when I have been away from it , my soul actually craves that peace I found in celibacy.
You know, once you begin the transition into a compassionate lifstyle such as that ... Things get easier, they become habitual, and you no longer think, "what would be the 'right' thing to do?" Also, people begin to accept your little quirks, and you can even influence them in the most amazing way possible.
celibate? I see no point in being celibate, I dont think its a solution to anything really. I can understand if one becomes really addicted to sex or something, then maybe they should slow down or something, but I see nothing wrong with sex, and dislike the notion of tagging it as wrong or anything of the sort. Its a natural, beautiful act. Never having sex is just supressing a natural feeling that we all have. As for the other things- one, I was raised veggie, so thats not hard. And Id say yes for the rest, the personal gain thing is hard though, but I dont know what you mean by personal gain really. I mean, do you mean in terms of money and "success"? Cuz for me, I think of personal gain as learning more and having loving relationships, and improving my perfomance with the arts (piano playing/music, and art). If youre asking if I could give up the desire to learn more, having loving relationshnips, and to improve my piano playing, music, or art, then my answer is FLAT OUT NO. Cheers and Love, Dylan
could you only eat (or otherwise put into your body) what you needed for nutrition, including drugs? i can't think of anything i eat that's not of some nutritional value. I mean, you have to eat some fat and calories too. but i smoke, so i guess i couldnt. could you stop eating meat entirely? yeah. i'm planning on it, when i'm not on a meal plan (kinda hard to be picky right now) could you truly offer every meal to whatever higher power you believe in (assuming you believe in one) before eating? n/a could you give up all desire for any kind of personal gain? i work towards that, but i think I have a few more lives to go could you always do what you knew was the highest, most loving thing to do in every situation? always? thats a big commitment. wait til my next life when i'm a different sign if you made the decision to do all these things, how long do you think you could keep it up? until i died and reached nirvana of course. and i think i could be celibate if i desired to. of course, then i'd be acting on a desire.....
Does celibate mean no sexual encounters of any kind? Does it extend to kissing? I don't eat meat. Thats the only requirement I fulfill hehe.
ah, hell no ! personal gain, would be like... if you have a handful of candy and you hear someone walking towards you, do you shove all the candy in your mouth before they see it? or worse, do you show them you have candy, and not share any, and eat it right in front of them? i'm simplifying it, but buddhism is about ending desire, and hinduism is kind of different. it's not really about ending desire, it's more about being aware and grateful, i guess. you keep krishna in your heart, and your only desire is to love him (krishna being a human manifestation, the supreme personality of godhead, and every other imaginable thing that exists). in christianity, we kind of think of god as the father. in hinduism (krishna consciousness, since there are other branches of hinduism) you take on the role of the parent to krishna. you act like if you don't feed krishna, he will die, because that attitude is the most loving, even though you know it's not true. after you feed him, the food is purified, despite the fact that even by moving it to your mouth you're killing billions of microscopic animals. you're validating that you are not your body, and minimizing the pain you're inflicting, so the harm you're doing in the physical world is purified from your karma. if i said anything wrong correct me ... i'm still just starting to learn... i'm not trying to preach, but it seemed like the food question caused some confusion. i was just wondering, whether you believe it's neccesary or not, could a normal person really remember to do it every time they ate? great answers, too... thanks. i'm not sure exactly how far celibacy goes... whatever you personally decide, i spoze. i love you guys, by the way .
Celibate...like sexualy? Yes I could, it would not be much of a change. Just a change in label not in action. Could i eat only for nutrition? No, I like a good big meals. Could I stop eating meat? I'm sure i could if I wanted to. Yes I could offer every meal to the higher power. I wish I could give up all desire. I wish I could allways do the highest thing most loving thing. A commitment is a commitment, I would keep it. I'm to young to think about what I'll do when I'm really old but if I am really old becoming a monk sounds like a good option. Rght now I'm happy being a lay person.
I must give a big shout-out to miss Katie for making this thread. After reading over everyone's responces, and trying to see it their way, i've come to the conclusion that most of you don't realize there is WAY more to life than self pleasure. Or even pleasure of any sort, such as to others. You have to take the good with the bad, the dark with the white, the yin with yang. Ya know, it's just life man.
could you only eat (or otherwise put into your body) what you needed for nutrition, including drugs? i don't think i could, i mean i think i could eventually but right now in my life, i'm just a kid looking to experiment and such blah blah excuses..i like my drugs could you stop eating meat entirely? yes, and i already have could you truly offer every meal to whatever higher power you believe in (assuming you believe in one) before eating? i already do for the most part, i was raised to but my idea of a "god" is different from my folks could you give up all desire for any kind of personal gain? i'm working on it, and i can say on the majority of times i think of others before myself, but it takes time to get out of the mentality shoved upon me by my parents/family/society that i come first and "look after number one" etc ... could you always do what you knew was the highest, most loving thing to do in every situation? i don't know if i could ever "know" what was the highest most loving thing to do in every situation...if i could know i would do my best to always do the most loving thing i could do in every situation if you made the decision to do all these things, how long do you think you could keep it up? if i made the decision to do all of these things i would also make the dwcision to do it for the rest of my life i like this alot
<3 while i'm finding out what i'm not, and what elements of society and characteristics of other people's personalities don't suit me, nothing gets better or worse. things just get more extreme, and the scope gets wider... there's more to think about and see...
With the answers I gave to the questions, I think I've already joined a one-man monastery.....:Angel: :book2:
