salvation

i see no reason to believe either way...

 

It's a dichotomy, so I go with the one that is more likely given what we know about life.

 

well, that's not completely logical. though it leads to the question, "if one desires to end suffering, and the four noble truths portend a path to the cessation of suffering, does one not desire to achieve moksha? or specifically, nirvana?"

and i have yet received that answer out of at least 4 times it's been posed in a sound philosophical/religious environment.

of course, this is also sticking to salvation according to buddhism.

but even to someone like st. augustine, desire means suffering. because the one who suffers is the one who does not live a life according to god; to be like god. to desire something, then, inherently means to want something god can or could not afford you, and according to augustine, there is nothing god can not offer. thus, if you live a life apart from god, you are suffering, and you are not on the path to salvation.

i realize that doesn't exactly tackle the issue to the desire to live, but i believe this issue is inherit to the ideology, or to christianity in general.

 

if we're sticking to buddhism, surely no one says this. for if you don't follow the eightfold path, and thus one of the eight - right action, or karma, you will never escape samsara, and will thus return again, where suffering continues to exist.

though i use the word "exist" lightly in the context of buddhism.

 

But is it not a desire to live a the life of god?

 

I don't strongly believe in any one religion/beliefs.. my personal beliefs are compiled from many religions/beliefs as a way of life and out of my own personal views on life..


on a side note.. RELAYER will probably have quite the russian novel of a post of what you may be lookin for.. when he sees this thread

 

to someone like nietzsche (again, as i understand) it is THE desire to live the life of god; the will to power. life is essentially injury, weakness, suppression, hardness and exploitation. or, suffering. because of this everyone has an incarnate will to power, to grow, to strive for dominance. "exploitation," thus, is the essence of what lives; a consequence of the will to power, or, the will of life.

 

good, thus my point for this thread:

intellectual stimulation and thoughtful expansion.

also to share discussion.


also, i don't portend to know any more than the average person, whether i sound that way or not. all my responses are according to my own comprehension and understanding. nor do i contend to even have my own standings on the correct foot, i can only hope that my interpretations aren't misinformed or misguided.

 

i wonder what life would be like if one was to grow up with absolutely no religious/spiritual influence... no concept of either.. what would your purpose in life be?

 

from both past anthropological knowledge and my own personal opinion, i would consider that no one could "grow up" (if you will) without developing some sense of spiritual influence or spirituality.

i feel like, and believe, that religion, and the practice of, is an innate human trait. it is a sign of our awareness and a reflection of our consciousness.

 

cheese....life and religion are the same as cheese

 

how very absurdist.

 

Goes well with wine? now the blood of christ thing makes sense..

 

Religion has outlived its usefulness. Without some drastic revolution in secular knowledge, spirituality will never go away. But the dogmatic, singleminded, monolithic institution of religion can. At worst, they encourage behavior that is an immediate threat to others (like blowing yourself up). But even the more moderate forms of it (Christianity in America, for instance) encourage a disdain for knowledge that is poisonous to life in the modern world. If those people were truly at peace with themselves, they wouldn't be so concerned with what everyone else is doing.

 

You cannot gain anything without contributing something of equal or greater value.

 

i encourage you to read the dalai lama's essay on "Interreligious Harmony."

all (of the major) faiths have and emphasize core concepts of love, compassion, patience, tolerance, forgiveness, humility and so on. moreso, according to the dalai lama, religion provides the framework for ethical discipline, a hallmark of life.

he feels what stands in the way of interreligious harmony is interlorance and religous exclusivism. he believes we can overcome these through dialogue of convergence and divergence between the faith traditions, and the understanding that in the case of the individual, there can be only one truth.

of course, this is pragmatic, but is it going to happen anytime soon? most likely not, but the points the dalia lama put forth are worth pondering.

whereas religious pluralism is self-defeating, a dialoge of shared experiences between the major faith traditions could only enrich humanity.

 

Dude i love this shit, it fucks with your mind hardcore. like wtf is life man , shits intense

 

i would think of some really deep reasoning.

but the problem is is that the older i get, the more i realize that i don't believe in god. like any god (with god being defined as a supreme being).

i believe that your energy continues, but that's it. not something you control, because YOU are dead.

therefor there really is no salvation in my beliefs, so i can't really explain a path to one.

 

wise words anyone can agree with.

 

I think salvation is the merging of our ego with our energy force. We are That! all that the universe is, we are and more. How spectacular. Be it, feel it, merge with it, lose YOU and then you swim in salvation.