05.24.10
Posted in Religion/Philosophy at 8:15 am by site admin
Check out this article about determining what Jesus really did from the sometimes conflicting accounts / perspectives provided by the Gospels.? The mystery behind an important religious figure like Jesus remains an issue of important discussion, even 2000 years later.
Belief remains a bounce, faith a leap. Still, the appetite for historical study of the New Testament remains a publishing constant and a popular craze. Book after book—this year, ten in one month alone—appears, seeking the Truth. Paul Johnson has a sound believer’s life, “Jesus: A Biography from a Believer,” while Paul Verhoeven, the director of “Basic Instinct,” has a new skeptical-scholar’s book. Verhoeven turns out to be a member of the Jesus Seminar, a collection mostly of scholars devoted to reconstructing the historical Jesus, and much of what he has to say is shrewd and learned. (An odd pull persists between box-office and Biblical study. A few years ago, another big action-film director and producer, James Cameron, put himself at the center of a documentary called “The Lost Tomb of Jesus.”)
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05.19.10
Posted in Buddhism, Religion/Philosophy at 11:05 pm by site admin
Check out this article Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche discussing the difference between Buddhism the religion and Buddhism the philosophy and why the Buddha wasn’t a Buddhist.
If we want to be free of the pain we inflict on ourselves and each other — in other words, if we want to be happy — then we have to learn to think for ourselves. We need to be responsible for ourselves and examine anything that claims to be the truth. That’s what the Buddha did long ago to free himself from his own discontent and persistent doubts about what he heard, day after day, from his parents, teachers, and the palace priests.
If you search “world religions,” you’ll find “Buddhism” on every list. Does that make Buddhism a religion? Does it mean that because I’m a Buddhist, I’m “religious”? I can argue that Buddhism is a science of mind — a way of exploring how we think, feel and act that leads us to profound truths about who we are. I can also say that Buddhism is a philosophy of life — a way to live that maximizes our chances for happiness.
Personally, I would have to agree with the author. Some of core Buddhist beliefs, such as the Eight Fold Path and the Four Noble Truths, are an analysis of mental thoughts processes in the context of life and do not require any leap of faith by the practitioner. If you are interested in learning more check out these links: Four Noble Truths and The Eight Fold Path
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04.08.10
Posted in Religion/Philosophy, society at 9:19 pm by site admin
Check out this link about the Dalai Lama’s 18 rules for living:
At the start of the new millennium the Dalai Lama apparently issued eighteen rules for living. Since word travels slowly in the digital age these have only just reached me. Here they are.
- Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
- When you lose, don’t lose the lesson.
- Follow the three Rs:
- Respect for self
- Respect for others
- Responsibility for all your actions.
- Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.
- Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.
- Don’t let a little dispute injure a great friendship.
- When you realize you’ve made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
- Spend some time alone every day.
- Open your arms to change, but don’t let go of your values.
- Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
- Live a good, honourable life. Then when you get older and think back, you’ll be able to enjoy it a second time.
- A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life.
- In disagreements with loved ones, deal only with the current situation. Don’t bring up the past.
- Share your knowledge. It’s a way to achieve immortality.
- Be gentle with the earth.
- Once a year, go someplace you’ve never been before.
- Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.
- Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.
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03.04.08
Posted in Religion/Philosophy at 10:32 am by site admin
Not sure which way to take this, but interesting read nonetheless.
Moses was High on Drugs
JERUSALEM (AFP) – High on Mount Sinai, Moses was on psychedelic drugs when he heard God deliver the Ten Commandments, an Israeli researcher claimed in a study published this week.
Such mind-altering substances formed an integral part of the religious rites of Israelites in biblical times, Benny Shanon, a professor of cognitive psychology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem wrote in the Time and Mind journal of philosophy.
“As far Moses on Mount Sinai is concerned, it was either a supernatural cosmic event, which I don’t believe, or a legend, which I don’t believe either, or finally, and this is very probable, an event that joined Moses and the people of Israel under the effect of narcotics,” Shanon told Israeli public radio on Tuesday.
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05.07.07
Posted in Evolution, health, Religion/Philosophy at 10:50 am by site admin
Check out this article talking about using a selfish gene model to selectively breed insects. Their eventual goal is to create malaria-resistant mosquitos.
This article talks about how to wire your brain for religious transcendance. The article talks about modern methods of cranial stimulation, and then moves on to chemicals and traditional hallucinogens.
This article talks about the current trend of mind games (games that help exercise your mind). I’m sure most people have heard about Brainage. The article also talks about a brain training program by PositScience that is scientifically proven to help the mind.
In a recent PNAS paper, Merzenich’s lab announced that PositScience was able to reverse “age-related cognitive decline” in a randomized and controlled study of 182 subjects. Of those trained with PositScience, 93 percent showed significant cognitive improvement. “We’ve demonstrated that you can take the brain of a 75-year-old,” Merzenich says, “and make it function like the brain of a 35- or 40-year-old. It takes training, and some hard work, but it’s possible.” Preliminary results of a second trial study suggest that PositScience can even help stave off memory loss in the early stages of Alzheimer’s patients. After just four weeks, senile patients showed significant cognitive improvement. The control group, on the other hand, continued to decline.
Also this article enumerates 17 criteria for consciousness. Its a bit technical to read. Here are my two favorites:
Property 1: “Irregular” patterns of brain activity
Electrical oscillations occuring between 20 and 70 times per second are common in awake humans, but epilepsy, sleep, anesthesia and some forms of brain damage are accompanied by the dominance of highly regular oscillations slower than 4 Hz. Others have argued that the conscious EEG is characterized by a particular noise signature known as “pink” or “1/f” noise. Although the purpose of these peculiar electrical oscillations is poorly understood, they appear to be a consistent feature of primate consciousness.
Property 6: Present-centeredness
Seth et al. argue that consciousness is centered on the present, probably for evolutionary reasons, and that this present-centeredness may arise from the fact that the dynamic core of neural activity is in constant flux.
The second one seems very zen-like to me.
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12.20.06
Posted in Religion/Philosophy at 9:18 am by site admin
Sitting at work and procastinating? But tired of the usual ‘what kind of animal am I?’ games? Check out this link with a bunch of mind numbing philosophy games. Here are my results:
Do-It-Yourself Deity: Plausibility Quotient = 1.0
The metaphysical engineers have determined that your conception of God has a plausibility quotient (PQ) of 1.0. A PQ of 1.0 means that as far as the metaphysical engineers can determine your conception of God is internally consistent and consistent with the universe that we live in. A PQ of 0.0 means that it is neither internally consistent nor consistent with our universe. More than likely, your PQ score will be somewhere between these two figures. But remember that this is your PQ score as determined by the metaphysical engineers. The editors of TPM have no control over their deliberations, so don’t blame us!
Taboo: Your Moralising Quotient is: 0.00. Your Interference Factor is: 0.00. Your Universalising Factor is: -1.
You see nothing wrong in the actions depicted in these scenarios. Consequently, there is no inconsistency in the way that you responded to the questions in this activity. However, it is interesting to note that had you judged any of these acts to be morally problematic, it is hard to see how this might have been justified. You don’t think that an act can be morally wrong if it is entirely private and no one, not even the person doing the act, is harmed by it. The actions described in these scenarios are private like this and it was specified as clearly as possible that they didn’t involve harm. One possibility might be that the people undertaking these acts are in some way harmed by them. But you indicated that you don’t think that an act can be morally wrong solely for the reason that it harms the person undertaking it. So, as you probably realised, even this wouldn’t seem to be enough to make the actions described in these scenarios morally problematic in terms of your moral outlook. Probably, in your own terms, you were right to adopt a morally permissive view.
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12.12.06
Posted in Humor, Religion/Philosophy at 1:50 pm by site admin
Check out this Q&A with Richard Dawkins. He is the author of The God Delusion, as well as many other books. The Q&A is filled with good insight, witty humor, and many commercials for his own website.
Are people who advocate intelligent design stupid, and do you think natural selection will operate to remove them from future generations? ADAM KHAN, The Hague, Netherlands
The majority are ignorant, which is not the same thing as stupid. Natural selection will not remove ignorance from future generations. Education may, and that is the hope to which we must cling.
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10.19.06
Posted in Buddhism, Education at 9:37 am by site admin
I was listening to a talk on zencast.org and found an interesting lecture on the difference between renunciation and resignation.
re‧nun‧ci‧a‧tion–noun
an act or instance of relinquishing, abandoning, repudiating, or sacrificing something, as a right, title, person, or ambition: the king’s renunciation of the throne.
res‧ig‧na‧tion–noun
1. the act of resigning.
2. a formal statement, document, etc., stating that one gives up an office, position, etc.
3. an accepting, unresisting attitude, state, etc.; submission; acquiescence: to meet one’s fate with resignation.
Its a fine division that I have had only brief glimpses of. In some respects, it reminds me of being active versus passive. If you are active, you choose to abandon certain possesions. If you are passive, your possesions are lost, and you simply accept it. (I can see how this you still act in this case, but this mentality does not always address the root causes.)
And finally, did you know the origin of sac·ri·fice means to make sacred? The word to me has always meant loosing something valuable for the sake of something more valuable. But I never put it in a spiritual light. Kinda like there is a difference from saying life is precious and life is sacred.
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01.30.06
Posted in Buddhism, Religion/Philosophy at 9:07 pm by site admin
I was talking to elisa earlier today and near the end she stated that she felt that I really understood and listened when we were talking (I can’t say I completely agree with this pov). Fast foward one hour to me reflecting on the conversation. I think that she genuinely listens and strives to find truth and understanding in not only our conversations, but in her overall life. Thus our conversations concerning our daily happenings, experiences, and thoughts can be quite interesting at times. In this regard, I was reminded of an interesting quote of Gotama Buddha I happened to come across.
In Buddhist tradition, It is said that soon after his enlightenment the Buddha passed a man on the road who was struck by the Buddha’s extraordinary radiance and peaceful presence. The man stopped and asked, “My friend, what are you? Are you a celestial being or a god?”
“No,” said the Buddha.
“Well, then, are you some kind of magician or wizard?”
Again the Buddha answered, “No.”
“Are you a man?”
“No.”
“Well, my friend, then what are you?”
The Buddha replied, “I am awake.”
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12.28.05
Posted in Daoism, health at 5:07 pm by site admin
I saw this in a book on daoism at the bookstore.
The sage falls asleep not
Because he ought to
Not even because he wants to
But because he is sleepy.
Happy sleepy day!
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12.12.05
Posted in health, Religion/Philosophy at 4:56 pm by site admin
This article on wired talks about another one of the Dalai Lama’s talks: Dalai Lama Gets Meditation Lesson. A group of scientists told the Dalai Lama and an audience of 2,500 about recent experiments showing meditation can strengthen the immune system, prevent relapse in people with depression and lower cortisol (associated with stress) levels. The article is pretty short with little other interesting things. At the end of the article, it states:
While Western researchers are exploring the effects of meditation on physical health, Alan Wallace, a leading Tibetan scholar and one of the Dalai Lama’s translators, pointed out that when faced with physical ailments, Tibetans traditionally turned to doctors or healers, not to meditation.
The purpose of meditation, added the Dalai Lama, is not to cure physical ailments, but to free people from emotional suffering.
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12.09.05
Posted in health, Religion/Philosophy at 10:10 pm by site admin
I’ve been busy and havent had much chance to jot down many of the interesting things i’ve read over the past month. I found this funny article on wired. Heres a link to census info regarding Health, United States 2004: With Chartbook on Trends in the Health of Americans.
Interesting tidbits:
1. Overpopulation (nothing new here)
2. Until boredom do us part. The new definition of marriage.
3. Try out a new pickup line: “Say, didn’t we meet about 140 years ago at the heart-lung transplant center?”
This article doesnt present anything greatly new, but it does have some humor in it. My question is the following: If we can live forever, how does this affect the soul and reincarnation? If man achieves immortality, does the microcosm become the macrocosm? Do we reinvent a layer of recursion to reference existence?
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10.14.05
Posted in Buddhism, Religion/Philosophy at 6:03 pm by site admin
I have been reading Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
with Elisa. Near the middle of the book Siddhartha foresakes his life as a merchant and returns to his life as an ascetic. Eventually he reaches a river and debates on killing himself. As he questions his life, he hears a voice speak the mystical word ‘Om’.
So the question I had is why is Om a special word. For many Hindus and Buddhists, Om represents creation. It signifies God and and the one-ness of everything. According to ancient Hindu beliefs, God first created sound, and these sounds manifested themselves into the phenomenal world. While many years ago this belief sounded unscientific, more modern research in physics has shown that energy and matter are connect (e.g. E=mc^2).
So why does Om mean what it means?
By examining the Sanskrit we can see that ‘Om’ actually contains 3 sounds. First the diphthong ‘o’ which actually consits of two simplier vowels ‘a’ (short a, as in the english word ‘but’) and ‘u’ (short u as in the english word ‘put’). The final sound is the ‘m’ sound produced when your lips get closed.
Now the ‘a’ sound is a pure sonant (sound produced with the vocal cords). It is the simpliest sound one can produce using the vocal cords. Consequently, it should come as no suprise why ‘a’ is considered a primal sound present throughout all of the worlds languages. Since the ‘a’ sound is produced with an open mouth it can tangibly represent creation. Now the ‘u’ sound occurs when you begin to close your mouth. The point of vibration thus shifts from solely the throat to the mouth. And then finally when ‘m’ is produced, the point of vibration shifts to the now closed lips. Thus ‘m’ signifies destruction and the end of the cycle. ‘Om’ (or Aum) represents the holy trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. When one utters ‘Om’ successively, the trinity of creation, preservation, and destruction presents itself in a continuous cycle.
Now there is considerable analysis of the written form of ‘Om’ and its various symbolic meanings. If you are interested in such manifestations of the way, check out http://om.exoticindiaart.com/, http://www.omsakthi.org/worship/mantra.html, and http://hinduism.about.com/library/weekly/aa022200.htm. Remember though, an oral languages preceeds its written form.
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10.13.05
Posted in Daoism, Religion/Philosophy at 12:23 pm by James
Its easy to loose sight of where we are and where we are going. Sometimes we move around aimlessly throughout our day like a zombie raised from the dead. We confuse ourselves with our deeds; we confuse ourselves with our pains; and we confuse ourselves with our pleasures. This is dwelling. To live we must be aware in our presence and intent in our future. But what is the future? Well, what is the meaning of life? Is it the epicurian persuit of pleasure, the attainment of fame and riches, or the accumulation of power? No its not. To think so is a delusion. Is it the opposite: an austere and simple existence devoid of life? That doesn’t feel right either. There is nothing wrong with enjoying yourself, having money, fame or power. What matters is what you do with it. Life centers on learning and evolution. For intelligent life this translates into understanding, awareness, and intent. To live well, we must understand the dao. Its important to realize the amazing, creative force of life. Natural change will always occur, the depth of its energies is bottomless. To resist means death- if not physically, then mentally and spirtually. Shit happens- It’s the nature of the beast. Life goes on. Why waste time moping, arguing, or fighting? Does it really solve anything? Does it change anything? Be active and make your point. Then move on. Life is short. How unfortunate would it be to die a momment too soon, to miss out on quality time with our family and friends? You can always buy a new bike, watch the rerun of your favorite tv show, or catch a late lunch. Whatever you do, where ever you go, make sure you apply this understanding. Understanding is nothing unless you use it. In otherwords, Education is what you remember after you have forgotten everything you’ve learned. Only through continuous application do we transition from the named principle to the unnamed way. The trick is to be aware of where you and what you are doing at that very moment. Don’t be preocupied by your thoughts and let what could be slip through your fingers. Being happy is just like being sad. Its a flip of the switch. It boils down to seeing a glass half empty or half full. The true nature of man is enlightenment. Only by realizing the fog of ego can one find everlasting peace. This doesnt mean nothing in this world matters. There is a journey both in life and in death. Action today sowes the seeds of tomorrow. So be earnest in all that you do.
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09.23.05
Posted in internet, Religion/Philosophy at 5:00 pm by site admin
Wow, a new study that saysPollution is bad and can cause a premature death. The asthma and childhood sickness are old news. Also another article that groups languages by structure. Its kinda interesting. Usually people go by the vocabularies of the languages. This article reminds me of my Sanskrit professor Douglas Mitchell at Rice. He is a heafty lingustic guru. He knows 32 languages (if i remember correctly). All indo-european. It is a commendable achievement. The scary part is that he said he taught himself. He says when he learns a language, he focus on the grammer and the phonetics. I reflect on his advice now and again, and I find it to be the Way.
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09.08.05
Posted in Religion/Philosophy at 10:44 am by James
I found this crazy article titled Supernova 1987A Decoded. It states that the current view that super novas occur when a star collapses is wrong. They state that evidence from Supernova 1987A provides evidence that supernovas may actually be massive electrical discharges.
Now the crazy part of the article is where it talks about 56- and 28-fold symmetry of high energy plasma discharges. They show the supernova exhibited the same pattern. They go own to say that many structures from antiquity (concentric petroglyphs, geoglyphs, megaliths, etc) exhibit a similiar 56- or 28- fold symmetry. The most renowned of course is the megalith Stonehinge with its 56-fold symmetry.
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08.30.05
Posted in Religion/Philosophy at 12:23 pm by James
The Unknown
As we know,
There are known knowns.
There are things we know we know.
We also know
There are known unknowns.
That is to say
We know there are some things
We do not know.
But there are also unknown unknowns,
The ones we don’t know
We don’t know.
—Feb. 12, 2002, Department of Defense news briefing
I found the quote first on: Rumsfeld’s Wisdom
Where the known meets the unknown is where science begins. Also found another reference to his quotes at: slate.msn.com. Of course you can always check out the source at dod.gov
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11.22.04
Posted in Daoism at 5:57 pm by James
On saturday, our kungfu class went out to eat after training. On the way out, we started talking about ‘treating other people like you treat the ground’. This daoist principle has both a positive and negative way of looking at it. At the end of the remark, we passed a woman and her kid loading groceries in the car. After the kid finished putting the last bag in the car, he kicked the cart straight back away from the car. The cart passed right in front of us. The idea of treating others like i treat the ground came up, and i left the cart where it moved to. The cart was too close to the car to allow the woman to back out properly. And sure enough, the kid had to get out and move the cart. I think next time he’ll push the cart further… hopefully he’ll put it somewhere it wont impede another car.
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11.18.04
Posted in health, Religion/Philosophy at 10:44 am by James
Article about the history of the chakra system. Nothing too exciting, but it did have the following which confirms a hunch about the correlation between chakras and nerve centers i had a few years back…
The word chakra is Sanskrit for wheel or disk and signifies one of seven basic energy centers in the body. Each of these centers correlates to major nerve ganglia branching forth from the spinal column. In addition the chakras also correlate to levels of consciousness, archetypal elements, developmental stages of life, colors, sounds, body functions, and much, much more.
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11.13.04
Posted in health, Religion/Philosophy at 8:34 am by James
I was searching the internet yesterday for info on no-mind. I stumbled to this article on Taming the Monkey Mind. Its a very interesting read with analysis contrasting eastern and western thought. The following stuck out as something i never really thought about:
Compared to the linear Left Brain, the Oriental Mind is a multiple processor able to process multiple data streams simultaneously – something that happens within the first 10 milliseconds of its impetus to action.
I did some looking, and i found the comparison is considered either linear vs. non-linear OR linear vs organic OR linear vs lateral thought. I saw one reference to lateral thought as chaos! I found the following on in this article on linear vs non-linear thought.
The WILLINGNESS to ACCEPT that there is uncertainty with regard to the future & complexity is an inherent feature within the issue for which solutions are being sought.Â
I think this might explain my inability to draw logical conclusions during conversations or in arguments. Sometimes I catch myself finding a lead thought only to pause and say to myself “i dont know if thats what they are referring to”. Many times i an just dumb-founded: “whats the point they are getting at?” Its either the NLT or my inability to draw conclusions- which is a charcteristic of linear thought.. if foo then bar else baz. I think my most common responses are: “I dont know”, “I’ll have to think about it”, or “I’ll have to sleep on it”.
I also found this page comparing eastern and western thought. Interesting read, but im not sure if i agree with everything.. For example, i think many asians are fairly materalistic. I suppose one could argue that its a western influence… but for most asians, money is king..
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