ZERO Tolerance - religious V non religious
- Thread starter Theoryofrelativity
- Start date
no the dimensions are the samsara, the 6 or so co existing dimentions, god realm earth realm etc, that is from certain buddhist teachings and sects, not daoism, the dao philosophy and following resides in the scripts from the tao te ching, and lao tzu.
there is no heaven and hell to daoists, just the real universe that we can study, and the empty force that holds form tot he whole universe, the ever changing universe, the unseen energy that runs through everything, the dao,
the buddhist teaching of samsara is not daoism, confunctionism buddhism and taoism are mixed and jumbled up in china they are not seperated all are accepted at the same time,
there is no god, heaven or hell in daoism,
http://www.luckymojo.com/esoteric/religion/taoism/taofaq.htm
quote from link "TAOISTS do not believe in the Wheel of Life of the Buddhists nor in the Heaven or Hell of Christianity. "TAOISTS view existence as glorious. The whole Universe, they teach, is a marvelous, vibrant Unity wherein everything, visible and invisible, pulses with energy and changes. As being develops through the experience of existence, its vessels ... are swept onwards by the mighty stream of the eternal TAO to other forms of expression and activity. Man does not die; he merely extends into new fields ."
peace.
there is no heaven and hell to daoists, just the real universe that we can study, and the empty force that holds form tot he whole universe, the ever changing universe, the unseen energy that runs through everything, the dao,
the buddhist teaching of samsara is not daoism, confunctionism buddhism and taoism are mixed and jumbled up in china they are not seperated all are accepted at the same time,
there is no god, heaven or hell in daoism,
http://www.luckymojo.com/esoteric/religion/taoism/taofaq.htm
quote from link "TAOISTS do not believe in the Wheel of Life of the Buddhists nor in the Heaven or Hell of Christianity. "TAOISTS view existence as glorious. The whole Universe, they teach, is a marvelous, vibrant Unity wherein everything, visible and invisible, pulses with energy and changes. As being develops through the experience of existence, its vessels ... are swept onwards by the mighty stream of the eternal TAO to other forms of expression and activity. Man does not die; he merely extends into new fields ."
peace.
EmptyForceOfChi said:
This quote is taken from the link you provided, it states it's a religion if you use it as way of life.
"Is TAOISM a Religion or Philosophy?
TAOISM is both a Religion and a Philosophy. It is a philosophy when it is discussed as such, it is a religion when it's teachings are adopted as a way to live.
[sez]
Scholars divide TAOISM into philosophical and religious systems. "Philosophical TAOISM" refers to the writings of Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu and the "Religious TAOISM" to a vast range of "popular" religious traditions in China. Religious Taoism is historically related (mainly as an ancestor) to Chinese [Chan] Zen Buddhism.
[ch]
I have a very technical answer for you.
Religion is the set of behavior manifest by people based on the things they believe to be true. This set of beliefs may be conditioned or rationally founded but not superficial. For example, people frequently act in ways that are contrary to the things they profess - and this is because even though they profess a thing their belief in it may only be superficial. By this definition "socialism" and "capitalism" are both religions and this is a little controversial. However, I prefer this definition to the popular one because it is far less vague.
Philosophy is rather more detached - an intellectual exercise. TAOIST Philosophy is what you might find enumerated in a philosophical encyclopedia or text book and would, in general, be that set of premises put forward by Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu. There is nothing in Philosophy which dictates that a person act upon it. When the behavior of a person is directly influenced by a belief in a philosophical premise then that behavior is religious.
The Western TAOIST begins by acknowledging their Western nature, influences and history yet is inspired by the philosophy of Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu. The Western TAOIST witnesses the truth of the non-theistic TAO vision and the other insights of TAOIST Philosophy and believes them to be eternal truths beyond culture. So, a person does not need to be Chinese or even pay any attention to Chinese Religious Taoism or Chinese Culture to be a TAOIST. The Western TAOIST goes further and asks an important question. In the light of the TAOIST enlightenment what are the implications on how we now behave? With that question Western TAOISM becomes a religion which at times challenges established Western behavior and at times affirms it.
You'll note that my definition of religion does not require the notion of "God" - we frequently mistake Theism for Religion - they are not one and the same thing. Religious Chinese Taoism has all the trappings that we would popularly associate with "religion" in the West."
http://www.crystalinks.com/taoism.html
from above link:
"Some Taoists searched for "isles of the immortals," or for herbs or chemical compounds that could ensure immortality. More often, Taoists were interested in health and vitality; they experimented with herbal medicine and pharmacology, greatly advancing these arts; they developed principles of macrobiotic cooking and other healthy diets; they developed systems of gymnastics and massage to keep the body strong and youthful.
Taoists were supporters both of magic and of proto-science; they were the element of Chinese culture most interested in the study of and experiments with nature.
Some Taoists believed that spirits pervaded nature (both the natural world and the internal world within the human body). Theologically, these myriad spirits were simply many manifestations of the one Dao, which could not be represented as an image or a particular thing.
As the Taoist pantheon developed, it came to mirror the imperial bureaucracy in heaven and hell. The head of the heavenly bureaucracy was the jade Emperor, who governed spirits assigned to oversee the workings of the natural world and the administration of moral justice.
The gods in heaven acted like and were treated like the officials in the world of men; worshipping the gods was a kind of rehearsal of attitudes toward secular authorities. On the other hand, the demons and ghosts of hell acted like and were treated like the bullies, outlaws, and threatening strangers in the real world; they were bribed by the people and were ritually arrested by the martial forces of the spirit officials. The common people, who after all had little influence with their earthly rulers, sought by worshipping spirits to keep troubles at bay and ensure the blessings of health, wealth, and longevity.
The initiated Taoist priest saw the many gods as manifestations of the one Dao. He had been ritually trained to know the names, ranks, and powers of important spirits, and to ritually direct them through meditation and visualization. In his meditations, he harmonized and reunited them into their unity with the one Dao. ...."
What's this all about then Chi?
from above link:
"Some Taoists searched for "isles of the immortals," or for herbs or chemical compounds that could ensure immortality. More often, Taoists were interested in health and vitality; they experimented with herbal medicine and pharmacology, greatly advancing these arts; they developed principles of macrobiotic cooking and other healthy diets; they developed systems of gymnastics and massage to keep the body strong and youthful.
Taoists were supporters both of magic and of proto-science; they were the element of Chinese culture most interested in the study of and experiments with nature.
Some Taoists believed that spirits pervaded nature (both the natural world and the internal world within the human body). Theologically, these myriad spirits were simply many manifestations of the one Dao, which could not be represented as an image or a particular thing.
As the Taoist pantheon developed, it came to mirror the imperial bureaucracy in heaven and hell. The head of the heavenly bureaucracy was the jade Emperor, who governed spirits assigned to oversee the workings of the natural world and the administration of moral justice.
The gods in heaven acted like and were treated like the officials in the world of men; worshipping the gods was a kind of rehearsal of attitudes toward secular authorities. On the other hand, the demons and ghosts of hell acted like and were treated like the bullies, outlaws, and threatening strangers in the real world; they were bribed by the people and were ritually arrested by the martial forces of the spirit officials. The common people, who after all had little influence with their earthly rulers, sought by worshipping spirits to keep troubles at bay and ensure the blessings of health, wealth, and longevity.
The initiated Taoist priest saw the many gods as manifestations of the one Dao. He had been ritually trained to know the names, ranks, and powers of important spirits, and to ritually direct them through meditation and visualization. In his meditations, he harmonized and reunited them into their unity with the one Dao. ...."
What's this all about then Chi?
I think I'm special (so special) and better (faster stronger harder) than everyone else, but that's because I'm me and not you and you are not me. Pretty simple really.
My beliefs (or adamant refusal to admit that my non-believing is a system of belief or whatever) aren't inherently better than anyone elses; they're better because they're mine.
It's quite simple, really.
My beliefs (or adamant refusal to admit that my non-believing is a system of belief or whatever) aren't inherently better than anyone elses; they're better because they're mine.
It's quite simple, really.
Oh, yes, the UK, the country with an established state church, a monarch using a religious title, and with religious figures serving as legislators...oh, yeah, you're real secular...Godless said:
Personally, I'm athiest, but I don't care if people believe in a god as long as they aren't so fucktarded fanatics about it.
Little_Birdie
Registered Senior Member
Hapsburg said:
i aplaud you as a true atheist as few who claim that title on this site are as true to the ideal as you
I consider myself an atheist, meaning that I don't believe in any ruling superbeing. There are many definitions of God, and the one I am referring to is a sentient, conscious, and thinking God. To me that seems ridiculous. I do not feel that I am better than religious folk, as theoryofrelativity put it, but I do feel like I am closer to the 'truth.' Then again, doesn't every person feel that way no matter what their beliefs?
Nonetheless, I readily admit that my beliefs and/or views about the way the universe is could be 100% wrong.
Nonetheless, I readily admit that my beliefs and/or views about the way the universe is could be 100% wrong.
Roman said:
My thoughts exactly
This is, in a nutshell, the most pervasive erroneous tenet of human philosophy.Roman said:
The word, "better", when applied to a belief should mean "more accurate", or on the other hand, "more beneficial", if not more accurate.
Your beliefs are yours, that is all - don't pretend they gain some value because you hold them, but we need to define "better" to really discuss this.
as do I.