--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "emptybill" <emptyb...@...> wrote: > > Buddhists claimants! Stand forth and assert your claims > here on FFL in a straight-forward manner - instead of the > usual pseudo-fodder.
I'm not a Buddhist per se, but I'll assert my claims. I claim to know nothing for sure about the workings of the universe or the mechanics of self realization. Like everyone else here, I've heard innumerable theories about these things proposed by those who claimed to know. I have come up with a few new theories on my own. I don't think any of the proposers of the theories I've heard had any more of a clue than I did, or that their theories were any better than mine. The only difference I see between their theories and mine is that mine come with a warning label that says, "This is probably bullshit. Be warned." :-) > Who here is a "Buddhist" - enough of one that you can > claim to critique MMY's teachings on the one hand or use > that very basis to bring greater clarity to understanding > what he said? I have no interest in "bringing greater clarity to what he said." I have little interest in him, period. I leave that task to those who feel sufficient attach- ment to him (actually, to the *idea* they have of him) to do so. Me, I think that Maharishi was a great proposer of theories. I think that a few of them were interesting theories, but that many of them were as flawed as he was. Then again, I think that of Buddha as well. I honestly don't see Maharishi Mahesh Yogi as being terribly important in any real historical sense. I suspect he will be almost completely forgotten within ten years. Buddha is still remembered after centuries. But that doesn't make Buddha any more "right" than Maharishi, or any more clueful. He just had better PR, and didn't do as many stupid things like Vedaland and trying to convince nations to tear down their capital cities and rebuild them from the ground up as Maharishi did. His "rep" is less sullied by Stupid Stunts. But very, very honestly, I am not convinced that he (Buddha) had any greater insight into the workings of the universe or the mechanics of self realization than Maharishi did. Or that I do. We're all just "idea hackers." We come up with theories, based on our experiences, that's all. Some of us *know* that they are only theories, and some don't. Some confuse the theories with truth, or worse, Truth. I am content with only being an "idea hacker," not a "knower of truth." If *you* feel that there is value in "bringing greater clarity to what Maharishi said," go for it. But you will have to excuse me from class that day, because I have to wash my dogs. Or do something else equally important. I don't see "bringing greater clarity to what Maharishi said" as a "final exam" that I must take to pass the course of life. Not even a mid-term. But if you do, please have at it. Whatever floats yer idea hacker boat.
