Yep! Ole ratty has bought into the bullshit and now he is covered in it and can’t see the way to get clean. Poor ratty…
Where did I say it was? I think you need to re-read what I said, as you seem to have misunderstood it.
What an absurdly stupid and irrelevant straw man fallacy. Where did I mention archers or their proficiency? You really do make the most absurd non sequiturs.
Of course it would, because that claim is an entirely subjective one. You don’t seem to understand the significance of what you’re saying.
Another lie, I simply asked what objective evidence you can demonstrate that his teachings are valid. Withholding belief is not a denial of a claim, and this has been explained to you multiple times.
Nope, just the woo woo claims, as I keep saying.
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You are VERY idealistic.
Still I admire your passion for Buddhism, I was once very tempted to get into it once. I think though that your recommendation is a bit inappropriate. To call it a Religion for atheists implies that atheists should want or have a religion at all. Its like because we have concluded that theistic religions are not the way, we should still have one and you are offering up Buddhism as some sort of alternative.
You are proselytizing lol
WOW!
I’ve been trying to follow this thread, but have become a bit bewildered and bemused…
Although I’ve read a bit on Buddhism,I can’t even begin the approach the apparent erudition being demonstrated here.
Can’t get my head around a lot of it. So, I try to keep it simple:
As simple I can get. The Buddha said “above all, loving kindness”. Simple, difficult. I’m still not able to apply to myself
The only Buddhist/Hindu concept with which I’ve had any success is ahimsa, which means I’ve probably misunderstood:
Buddhism teaches that suffering is caused by attachment/desire. So I have reasoned that ahimsa is not simply a matter of non harm,.it is eliminating the desire to harm. Hopefully ,I will progress to the point where violence is simply not considered as an acceptable means to and end. Still a way to go.
I think forgiving one’s enemies fits nicely into Buddhism,because it involves ‘dropping it’, the ‘it’ being the attachment to resentment and hatred. I also find this hard where the hurt to my ego has been deep. Perhaps less effort is needed.
My take on Buddhism fits into my atheism just fine. A materialist,I do not believe in the spiritual,which includes the concept of reincarnation .
I post this in the hope of a response from some one knowledgeable whose answer isn’t going to give me a headache.
Probably far too ignorant and basic for Ratty to bother. At least I hope so.
Same here boomer47, some makes sense, some is in the land of woo woo to me. But I live by what my senses tell me, and attempt to be a better person each day. By doing that, I am better at dropping resentments and anger. Not that it ever goes away, but I have managed to control and contain this negative aspect of my personality.
But here is a quote that has stuck with me, even though I first read it from Isaac Asimov over fifty years ago.
“Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent.”
—or in my case,at the catholic boys school I attended,the first and favourite refuge.
I went there for seven years. (my parents refused to believe me AND my brother)
There was never hint of overt sexual abuse. They just beat the living shit out of us instead.
To understand “ahimsa” you want to look at the most peaceful religion on the planet, Jainism.
I like the Zen version of the concept.
"A great samurai was dispatched by his Shogun to execute a bandit who had terrorized his citizens. The samurai tracks down the bandit, and enters his hideout. The samurai offers the brigand a moment to prepare for his death, or if he prefers, fight him to the death. Instead, the bandit stands up and spits a giant glob onto the samurai’s face. The samurai pulls his sword, and then sheaths it and walks away. Emboldened by the success of his gesture the bandit bounces insults off the back of the samurai as he leaves his door.
A week later the samurai returns. Once again the same offer is made to the bandit. The bandit repeats his former lifesaving actions and spits a huge glob on the samurai’s brow. Slowly the samurai unsheathes his sword, and prepares to strike.
Sensing seriousness in the samurai’s actions, the bandit cries, “Wait, wait! Why did you walk away last time, and this time you are going to kill me?”
The samurai replies, “Last time, I was angry.” Then with a flash of arcing light, the samurai’s blade separates the bandit’s head from his body."
Understanding Zen, no mind, and non-attachment, there is nothing but ahimsa in the action of removing the bandits head from his body.
Thank you for your reply.
I am a little familiar with the Jains and consider them extreme. However, I will look again.
Your answer infers I do not understand ahimsa, and that’s Ok. I’d appreciate it if you could tell me simply what it is that I don’t understand.
The reason for my post was/is to learn.
In the meantime,I’ll have another look at the Jains.
My answer “inferred” no such thing. You clearly stated "
“I’ve been trying to follow this thread, but have become a bit bewildered and bemused…” “Although I’ve read a bit on Buddhism,I can’t even begin the approach the apparent erudition being demonstrated here.”
“The only Buddhist/Hindu concept with which I’ve had any success is ahimsa, which means I’ve probably misunderstood:”
I merely added to the conversation. Are you really that thin skinned? Did you understand the Zen Story? “How one man can peacefully remove the head from another man?” A life is not harmed nor taken when one understands reincarnation. One’s Karma is not disturbed from a peaceful act.
“Lightening strikes a tree and both are exactly as they should be.”
I got it, Cog.
Big reason I take a few seconds before “dealing” with something. When I correct my boys, or explain something to them, I do my best to get myself in a place of “peace” - no anger, or hurt, or irritation, etc.
Like the warrior in your story, the “action” may be exactly the same, but the emotional state I’m in when enacting isn’t driving the “action”.
That’s just called … “Good Parenting.”
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Hahahaha fuck, yah … I don’t have a “spiritual” bone in my body 
No mate I’m not. I wasn’t being snide, truly. That is how I read the sentence.I apologise if I’ve misunderstood.
I was being sincere when I said I made the post to learn. Seems I misunderstood your meaning.
Finally saw my first robo-taxi today! Spoiler: it was not a Tesla.
Sorry boomer. I looked for my comment above … I can’t imagine what I was thinking when I wrote it or to what I was responding. I’ve looked for a reason for the comment and can not find one. I have no idea what I was responding to. … Apologies if it sounded off-putting.
It appears that I have misinterpreted something mentioned earlier. I went back and reread this portion of the post and can’t even see what it was I thought I was referencing with the above comment. I can only conclude that it was an ill-formed question.
My explanations were in keeping with the idea of not causing harm to others and still being able to engage in acts of violence.
There was a time when I was really into this … stuff. I convinced myself that I had Zen mind when I was competing in martial arts. I equated it with no-mind and ‘being in the zone.’ Anyway, apologies for the strange comment. I honestly don’t see what I was referencing.
LOL! Sam Harris commented on this. "Extreme’ is apparently not a problem, if the foundation is sound. The more extreme a Jain is…the less one has to worry!
How about now? 
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Well, why hate on anyone? However, if there was ever a good time, it would be now. Let’s hope he kicks that Ketamine habit