mike ..how are you going to prove there are no leprechauns?..by magic?..merle
Merle, Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. It's up to those who make an assertion of fact (that there is a personal, creator god) who have to prove it. It's impossible to prove a negative. For example, I also can't prove there are no leprechauns. Mike Sent from Yahoo! Mail for iPad ________________________________ From: Merle Lester <merlewiit...@yahoo.com>; To: Zen_Forum@yahoogroups.com <Zen_Forum@yahoogroups.com>; Subject: [Zen] "G " Sent: Tue, Jun 11, 2013 3:37:45 AM "g"... and you are no wiser saying it's not true..merle Merle, A belief in a god could well be beneficial and even advantageous for evolutionary survival, but that still doesn't make it true. Mike Sent from Yahoo! Mail for iPad ________________________________ From: Merle Lester <merlewiit...@yahoo.com>; To: Zen_Forum@yahoogroups.com <Zen_Forum@yahoogroups.com>; Subject: Re: [Zen] Re: Karma..many thanks Sent: Sun, Jun 9, 2013 7:21:50 AM ok..that's fine..however according to some experts some of us are hard wired to believe in god.. i maybe one of those..so what choice does one have..and god is god is god.. .... merle Merle, Which god? The Christian one? Zeus? Allah? Krishna? Odin? Even if you pinpoint which god (The Big Daddy Creator) there is absolutely no evidence to believe in him or even make him necessary. I see, feel, smell, taste and hear reality. Take away the "I" and what more do you need? Mike Sent from Yahoo! Mail for iPad ________________________________ From: Merle Lester <merlewiit...@yahoo.com>; To: uerusub...@yahoo.co.uk <uerusub...@yahoo.co.uk>; Subject: Re: Karma..many thanks Sent: Sun, Jun 9, 2013 5:31:19 AM mike..god??????? why doubts?..merle Merle, i see what you are saying:...however tell me tell me..how do we change the other? being an example :yes... and i suspect that is all we can really do and hope for the best Asked and answered!! Mike Ps there are more poets and philosophers in the fox-holes than you would imagine. I've seen death while serving and it ain't pretty. This is partly what spurs me to practice so that when my time comes I will handle it with peace and compassion. I don't think I'd get this from a belief in a god because there would be too many doubts. Sent from Yahoo! Mail for iPad ________________________________ From: Merle Lester <merlewiit...@yahoo.com>; To: uerusub...@yahoo.co.uk <uerusub...@yahoo.co.uk>; Subject: Re: Karma..many thanks Sent: Fri, Jun 7, 2013 4:33:57 AM hi mike.. great to hear from you..you are an excellent teacher... do you teach?..so patient kind and caring and enthusiastic.. i appreciate this very much..and you have awareness and great insight.. i can't believe you are a military person..have you actually ever "killed" any one... or is that a stupid question? yes i know the prayer and i know the power of one... you are so so right..i am very christian ...i began going to a christian church when i was 7 because i wanted to...i did bible classes by correspondence (as well unknown to my parents)..i won prizes for bible study..i love the teachings of christ..i love the story of christ.. i will say that christ to would ask you to experience for yourself... in many respects all religions are very similar..they get "f 'over by those in the power seat and people get manipulated... if we all followed the teachings of christ the world would be a good place.. there is enough suffering being alive and human without the wretched behaviour of humans... so this is the stuff i cannot understand..i sit here and can see the suffering that humans create because they are not aware... selfish and greedy with reptilian brains... how the hell can i change this... i am aware... i try to follow the 10 golden rules.. and am totally dumbfounded and always have been by folk who pay no heed to the 10 golden rules... you say see reality as it is..and as i see it it is so so need of repair..for us to make a paradise on earth we all need to "breathe the breath..."..easier said than done... what do we do with those folk who will not listen, and never learn.. those who are causing chaos and devastation to others?... in my time i have been crucified in a way for sticking to what i believe to be the truth... however i'm not planning to be "walk over hot coals" anytime soon so to speak... i see what you are saying:...however tell me tell me..how do we change the other? being an example :yes... and i suspect that is all we can really do and hope for the best thank you for the time you have taken out to write your thoughts to me... yes you are a breath of fresh air in the forum and i appreciate your posts always! take care merle Hi! Exactly, it is simple! (yet so difficult to put into practice). We have to workout our own liberation from suffering before we can truly help anyone else. I'm sure you must have heard of the Serenity Prayer: God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference. By changing how we perceive external events we change how we suffer. Then all our thoughts and actions come from Compassion (not pity!). We change how we deal with people around us and hopefully serve as an inspiration for them to also change. You've heard of the Power of One? But first *we* have to accept the responsibility of our own actions and not delegate the responsibility to other people or a god. I encourage you to read as much as you can on 'cause and effect' (karma is just the Pali word for this). It's not 'spooky' stuff - it's logical and rational and can be observed quite plainly in our own life. I love having you on the forum! It's like I can hear the gears of your mind working things out. I think you have a latent belief in Christianity which sometimes clashes with Buddhist thinking. It shouldn't. Vipassana is just a system of meditation focused on the breath which allows you to see reality in operation. There's no belief in anything required. Buddha taught us not to accept anything he said without experiencing it for yourself. After all, a breath is just a breath. There's no such thing as a male or female breath. Or a Christian, Muslim, Buddhist or atheist breath. Vipassana (Buddhism) is not a religion at all, but just a way to see reality as it really is. Happy breathing! Mike Sent from Yahoo! Mail for iPad ________________________________ From: Merle Lester <merlewiit...@yahoo.com>; To: mike brown <uerusub...@yahoo.co.uk>; Subject: Karma..many thanks Sent: Thu, Jun 6, 2013 11:42:26 PM dear mike.. thank you for directing this site to me... i have absorbed this as you say like a sponge....and yes enjoyed... however i do have questions... it is too simplistic for me.. i understand do good be good, think good.. i have been following these teachings all my life and my understand comes from christianity however life is not as simple as this... i still need more explanation to suffering... e.g...wars create suffering for innocent people... how can a person look at his or her life and say my suffering is caused cos i didn't follow the "10 golden rules"? i believe in evolution..and i believe we are evolving in our understanding of consciousness.. nothing is set in stone... there are only stepping stones.. buddhism too is a stepping stone.. we need to look even deeper and longer into all ..that includes all the teachings... when we awaken there is only one thing remaining that is we actually do not know anything at all if we do not see this we become ourselves statues of stone i trust you are enjoying a good day...freezing here and very grey at 9:45am.. merle Merle, You might enjoy this video. Try listening to it uncritically and let it wash over you. Mike Check out this video on YouTube: http://youtu.be/Uy8MOMmk0KM Sent from my iPad
