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“ | The amount of energy necessary to refute bullshit is an order of magnitude bigger than to produce it. |
” |
— Alberto Brandolini[9] |
“ | Self-restraint[note 8] and benefiting others With a compassionate mind is the Dharma |
” |
— Nagarjuna[note 9] |
“ | The main thing is to develop a good heart | ” |
— Gen Lamrimpa[note 10] |
“ | Merit consists in doing good to others, sin in doing harm to others. | ” |
— Tukaram |
“ | A good man is a wise man | ” |
— Krishnamurti[note 12] |
“ | Knowledge speaks, wisdom listens | ” |
— Jimi Hendrix[note 13] |
“ | Being less reactive and more wisely responsive in any situation, you become a light in the world, contributing to less suffering and more happiness and well being for others and yourself. |
” |
— Richard Shankman[14] |
“ | Don’t be cruel. Elvis said it, and it’s true. | ” |
— Garrison Keillor[15] |
“ | God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God and God in him. | ” |
— 1 John 4:16 |
“ | having nothing—nothing—to do with fame or profit in any shape or form | ” |
— Hakuin[16][note 14][16] |
“ | Compassion is the crown of dharma. | ” |
— Nícaldās, The Ocean of Inquiry[17] |
“ | Neem het leven niet te serieus, je overleeft het toch niet. | ” |
— Armand |
“ | Do not take life too seriously. You will never get out of it alive. | ” |
— Elbert Hubbard |
“ | I think that the gist is that the Wikipedian is essentially unfree. Here we are not free to write what we please. Those who thrive upon Wikipedia have long understood that they are not here to serve themselves or their own ideological/religious preferences [...] I don't see my role as a Wikipedian as promoting my own personal preferences. I am not here to proselytize or evangelize. I serve the propagation of academic learning, since this is the main purpose of Wikipedia. | ” |
— Tgeorgescu[18] |
Hallo,
My main interest is in Buddhism, but I'm also trying to understand other Indian religions, especially Advaita Vedanta and related traditions of "nondualism".
Contrary to most people interested in spirituality, I don't believe that there exists any "transcendental reality," be it God, Buddha-nature, Brahman or The Truth. Religion is inherent to our cognitive make-up, and triggered and modified by socially constructed practices and institutions. This world and life is the "transcendental reality" we're looking for; all the transcendental rest is constructed by ourselves.
Approaches like social constructionism and Madhyamaka offer an alternative to both essentialism and relativism, showing the innate magic of a world which is not frozen in absolute and timeless truths, but is ever-changing and "ingraspable." Yet, Zen, Dzogchen and Shentong also point to groundless awareness, in which this amazing reality appears.[note 18] But... who or what creates this self-awareness of groundlessness?... "Mind" itself creates this awareness of emptiness, just as it creates the notion of "I." Thus, this luminous, self-aware "nature of mind" is just as empty as this "I"...[note 19] Karuna and agape, "horizontal transcendence," are the accompanying stance in life, which make life meaningfull. It's a magical world!