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monoamine
umask 077(nonefor you)
Registered: 09/06/02
Posts: 3,095
Loc: Jacksonville,FL
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help me understand some Buddhist/Hindu concepts
#2015652 - 10/16/03 05:43 PM (20 years, 5 months ago) |
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I've been reading about Buddhism and I'm not sure I understood the concept of Maya. Does it mean there is absolutely nothing real in a hardcore Nihilistic sense,or does it just mean what humans call normal reality is just imaginary and there is an actual universe underneath it all? Like is it a form of Sophism or something?
What is meant by "the void" exactly?
-------------------- People think that if you just say the word "hallucinations" it explains everything you want it to explain and eventually whatever it is you can't explain will just go away.It's just a word,it doesn't explain anything... Douglas Adams
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truekimbo2
Cya later, friends.
Registered: 12/08/02
Posts: 9,234
Loc: ny
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Re: help me understand some Buddhist/Hindu concepts [Re: monoamine]
#2016493 - 10/16/03 09:55 PM (20 years, 5 months ago) |
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both. the void in buddhism is nothing. its where things go to "really" die kind of.
-------------------- You can check the last post in my journal for contact info.
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MarkostheGnostic
Elder
Registered: 12/09/99
Posts: 14,279
Loc: South Florida
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Re: help me understand some Buddhist/Hindu concepts [Re: monoamine]
#2017281 - 10/17/03 06:10 AM (20 years, 5 months ago) |
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Maya is used in Hinduism primarily to refer to the illusory nature of all phenomena, as compared to the changeless nature of Brahman - God. Now, banging one's 'illusory' head against an 'illusory' wall is gonna result in in some 'illusory' pain - but it's still gonna hurt! The point is that your head, the wall, and the pain all came into existence, and will all cease to exist in the phenomenal world. The realization of this is a step closer to identifying with the Witness, or Atman - the unchageable nature of God that also comprises who we are (in Hindu thought).
In Buddhism, the word 'samsara' is used to designate the same thing as 'maya.' Samsara is contrasted with Nirvana - the conditioned reality and the unconditioned reality. Nirvana refers to the subjective pole of experiencing 'sunya' or 'sunyata' - the Void. The Void is not merely nothing-at-all. The Void is the unconditioned state of Ultimate Reality. The Tibetan Buddhist traditions refer to The Clear Light of the Void. It is completely Transcendental, and therefore it defies ANY attempt to give it attributes and hence names. The Void parallels concepts of the Godhead (God without attributes) that are found in Judaism (designated by the Hebrew letter 'Ain'), Christian mysticism, and Islamic Sufism, as well as Nirguna Brahman in Hinduism (God without attributes, vs. Saguna Brahman - God with attributes, i.e., the Personal God). Hope this helps.
-------------------- γνῶθι σαὐτόν - Gnothi Seauton - Know Thyself
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NariusFractal
Sat Chit Ananda
Registered: 12/19/02
Posts: 804
Loc: USA
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Re: help me understand some Buddhist/Hindu concepts [Re: MarkostheGnostic]
#2017421 - 10/17/03 07:51 AM (20 years, 5 months ago) |
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Samsara can also be seen as the wheel of life and death. Reincarnation is a huge theme in Indian religions. To escape Samsara and arrive in Nirvana in Buddhism, you must meditate and become 'enlightened.' Moksha is the Hindu equivalent of Nirvana. To escape for the Hindu is to also realize this is Maya or Illusion and move up the system of castes through reincarnation of many lives until you realize the true nature and join the Atman (self) with the Brahman (Ultimate Power), which is the true nature of existence. Seperation is the Maya or illusion Presently the caste system is outlawed in India. I think it may still be practiced in a social sense though. What's funny is how the priestly class were the Aryan wanderers. Ok starting to get off topic but I think it is less like Nihilism than the other option, whatever it may be. Nihilism is interesting to think about, but really unfulfilling as a life style.
-------------------- You are the microcosm of the macrocosm.
Edited by sheister (10/17/03 11:21 AM)
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