Comments on: A Day of Inner Exploration in Boulder http://www.rebelbuddha.com/2010/11/a-day-in-boulder/ on the road to freedom Sun, 22 Jan 2012 21:50:46 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: dz http://www.rebelbuddha.com/2010/11/a-day-in-boulder/comment-page-1/#comment-1110 dz Mon, 06 Dec 2010 03:16:36 +0000 http://www.rebelbuddha.com/?p=2246#comment-1110 Two quotes come to mind: "I don't think it would be any more unusual for me to show up in another life, than showing up in this one." --Eleanor Roosevelt "When asked once by one of his Western students puzzling over Buddhist teachings of egolessness, 'Well then, if there is no self, what is it that reincarnates?' the Tibetan lama Chogyam Trungpa laughed and answered without hesitation. 'Neurosis,' he replied." --From Going to Pieces Without Falling Apart, by Mark Epstein Two quotes come to mind:

“I don’t think it would be any more unusual for me to show up in another life, than showing up in this one.”
–Eleanor Roosevelt

“When asked once by one of his Western students puzzling over Buddhist teachings of egolessness, ‘Well then, if there is no self, what is it that reincarnates?’ the Tibetan lama Chogyam Trungpa laughed and answered without hesitation. ‘Neurosis,’ he replied.”
–From Going to Pieces Without Falling Apart, by Mark Epstein

]]> By: Robert Bullock http://www.rebelbuddha.com/2010/11/a-day-in-boulder/comment-page-1/#comment-1062 Robert Bullock Wed, 01 Dec 2010 16:43:54 +0000 http://www.rebelbuddha.com/?p=2246#comment-1062 Kim, don't sweat the reincarnation stuff... It's a complicated idea and not necessarily well explained by most teachers or texts. I personally feel like there is something going on here that points towards something <strong>like</strong> reincarnation, but nothing close to the way it's commonly thought about. Kim, don’t sweat the reincarnation stuff… It’s a complicated idea and not necessarily well explained by most teachers or texts. I personally feel like there is something going on here that points towards something like reincarnation, but nothing close to the way it’s commonly thought about.

]]> By: Lungtagirl http://www.rebelbuddha.com/2010/11/a-day-in-boulder/comment-page-1/#comment-1057 Lungtagirl Tue, 30 Nov 2010 20:09:05 +0000 http://www.rebelbuddha.com/?p=2246#comment-1057 Well done - thanks so much! Well done – thanks so much!

]]> By: Tweets that mention A Day of Inner Exploration in Boulder - Rebel Buddha - -- Topsy.com http://www.rebelbuddha.com/2010/11/a-day-in-boulder/comment-page-1/#comment-1031 Tweets that mention A Day of Inner Exploration in Boulder - Rebel Buddha - -- Topsy.com Mon, 29 Nov 2010 17:11:38 +0000 http://www.rebelbuddha.com/?p=2246#comment-1031 [...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by norman steinberg, Rebel Buddha. Rebel Buddha said: Right within pop culture, leaping beyond forms with Dzogchen @Ponlop Rinpoche & friends at the Boulder Theater 11/27 http://bit.ly/htCgAe [...] [...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by norman steinberg, Rebel Buddha. Rebel Buddha said: Right within pop culture, leaping beyond forms with Dzogchen @Ponlop Rinpoche & friends at the Boulder Theater 11/27 http://bit.ly/htCgAe [...]

]]> By: Tyler Dewar http://www.rebelbuddha.com/2010/11/a-day-in-boulder/comment-page-1/#comment-1015 Tyler Dewar Mon, 29 Nov 2010 03:44:56 +0000 http://www.rebelbuddha.com/?p=2246#comment-1015 Thank you for this, Beth. I've been very excited to learn how things went it Boulder. It sounds as if they went marvelously! Thank you for this, Beth. I’ve been very excited to learn how things went it Boulder. It sounds as if they went marvelously!

]]> By: Kim Dragotta http://www.rebelbuddha.com/2010/11/a-day-in-boulder/comment-page-1/#comment-1014 Kim Dragotta Mon, 29 Nov 2010 03:30:33 +0000 http://www.rebelbuddha.com/?p=2246#comment-1014 I like Buddhism and most of concepts in Buddhism make perfect sense to me; dependent origination, the ten worlds, the 4 noble truths and the eightfold path. But lately, I realize that I have a problem with Buddhism. While all of these other concepts that I mentioned make a great deal of sense, there is one concept that I have come to realize sounds like nonsense to me. Reincarnation. I mean reincarnation that leads from death to a new life on this plane; I just can’t wrap myself around this one. Granted, I am not a leap of faith kind of guy. There’s just too much room for good salesmanship to lead you into the mire. There are some folks that tend to think that reincarnation is simply a rebirth from one state of being to another; like from one of the ten worlds to another. Ok, whatever. Using me as my guide (consistent with the teachings of Shakyamuni), I choose to accept those things in Buddhism that make sense to me and to reject the concept of reincarnation. I do the same thing, really, with any school of thought that I study. So I am a Buddhist in the Bible belt, not a “real” Buddhist by any sect’s definitions, or a nameable representative of any fraternal organization or established religion. The formation of any club on the basis of artificial criteria brings some people together and at the same time is divisive. It synthesizes an “us” and so allows for the creation of the “them”. Proof of reincarnation is presented to us in the form of testimony only. That’s all we have. We can easily see that there is cause and effect in the world, as in dependent origination. It’s also reasonably obvious that the Ten Worlds do exist. But there is no intuitive or empirical data pointing to the reality of reincarnation. You cannot devise double blind testing to prove reincarnation. We are left only with testimony. But people lie. I am with Greg House on this point. I love my mother, but she claims to have spoken in tongues and I don’t believe her. She wants it to be true. I want reincarnation to be true, but it’s not. People invent all sorts of rationalizations from their fears. So, I have moved on again. It was disturbing at first when I thought of the possible implications. Now I feel better. I am awakening, albeit in small stages. My time is taken up in bringing home the bacon and tending to my family. I have always felt that beliefs are dynamic and that I am evolving. Not into a new species, but within the potential of what I am. There is no proof, empirical or intuitive, no sensible path of logic which leads us to any conclusion about what happens to us after our physical bodies fail. Nothing. So why dwell on it? That, by the way, is paraphrasing the Buddha. I’ll even still argue that I am not an atheist, although I don’t see any reason to believe in a western sort of God. There is obviously an "everything", at least in a sense. Every thing exists within the “everything”. Makes sense to me. I am open to argument which avows the existence of spirit as well as quantum physics lessons on the nature of matter. In fact, I find sublime wisdom in the philosophies of Buddhism, except for reincarnation. If you can provide any evidence, better than word of mouth, to prove, or even to provide for the possibility of reincarnation, I will join your team. Otherwise, the higher wisdom would be not to fall into the quicksand of “us” and “them”. But you won’t find any such evidence. The greater wisdom will always be the “everything”. We are in it always, before our lives, during and after. Laws of cause and effect may be in play, but there is nothing to point to anything other than dynamic change, remixing of physical and spiritual elements, versus the self returning as a former self in any way. Comments always welcome. Peace. I like Buddhism and most of concepts in Buddhism make perfect sense to me; dependent origination, the ten worlds, the 4 noble truths and the eightfold path. But lately, I realize that I have a problem with Buddhism.
While all of these other concepts that I mentioned make a great deal of sense, there is one concept that I have come to realize sounds like nonsense to me. Reincarnation. I mean reincarnation that leads from death to a new life on this plane; I just can’t wrap myself around this one. Granted, I am not a leap of faith kind of guy. There’s just too much room for good salesmanship to lead you into the mire. There are some folks that tend to think that reincarnation is simply a rebirth from one state of being to another; like from one of the ten worlds to another. Ok, whatever.
Using me as my guide (consistent with the teachings of Shakyamuni), I choose to accept those things in Buddhism that make sense to me and to reject the concept of reincarnation. I do the same thing, really, with any school of thought that I study.
So I am a Buddhist in the Bible belt, not a “real” Buddhist by any sect’s definitions, or a nameable representative of any fraternal organization or established religion. The formation of any club on the basis of artificial criteria brings some people together and at the same time is divisive. It synthesizes an “us” and so allows for the creation of the “them”.
Proof of reincarnation is presented to us in the form of testimony only. That’s all we have. We can easily see that there is cause and effect in the world, as in dependent origination. It’s also reasonably obvious that the Ten Worlds do exist. But there is no intuitive or empirical data pointing to the reality of reincarnation. You cannot devise double blind testing to prove reincarnation. We are left only with testimony. But people lie. I am with Greg House on this point. I love my mother, but she claims to have spoken in tongues and I don’t believe her. She wants it to be true. I want reincarnation to be true, but it’s not.
People invent all sorts of rationalizations from their fears.
So, I have moved on again. It was disturbing at first when I thought of the possible implications. Now I feel better. I am awakening, albeit in small stages. My time is taken up in bringing home the bacon and tending to my family. I have always felt that beliefs are dynamic and that I am evolving. Not into a new species, but within the potential of what I am. There is no proof, empirical or intuitive, no sensible path of logic which leads us to any conclusion about what happens to us after our physical bodies fail. Nothing. So why dwell on it? That, by the way, is paraphrasing the Buddha.
I’ll even still argue that I am not an atheist, although I don’t see any reason to believe in a western sort of God. There is obviously an “everything”, at least in a sense. Every thing exists within the “everything”. Makes sense to me. I am open to argument which avows the existence of spirit as well as quantum physics lessons on the nature of matter. In fact, I find sublime wisdom in the philosophies of Buddhism, except for reincarnation.
If you can provide any evidence, better than word of mouth, to prove, or even to provide for the possibility of reincarnation, I will join your team. Otherwise, the higher wisdom would be not to fall into the quicksand of “us” and “them”. But you won’t find any such evidence. The greater wisdom will always be the “everything”. We are in it always, before our lives, during and after. Laws of cause and effect may be in play, but there is nothing to point to anything other than dynamic change, remixing of physical and spiritual elements, versus the self returning as a former self in any way. Comments always welcome. Peace.

]]> By: Bill http://www.rebelbuddha.com/2010/11/a-day-in-boulder/comment-page-1/#comment-1013 Bill Mon, 29 Nov 2010 03:26:44 +0000 http://www.rebelbuddha.com/?p=2246#comment-1013 The conference was excellent. Wisdom, compassion and humor - now there's a recipe! The conference was excellent. Wisdom, compassion and humor – now there’s a recipe!

]]> By: Real Rebel http://www.rebelbuddha.com/2010/11/a-day-in-boulder/comment-page-1/#comment-1012 Real Rebel Mon, 29 Nov 2010 03:24:35 +0000 http://www.rebelbuddha.com/?p=2246#comment-1012 An excellent, informative recounting of what sound like it was a wonderful day. Hopefully, Seattle will provide the same next week. An excellent, informative recounting of what sound like it was a wonderful day. Hopefully, Seattle will provide the same next week.

]]> By: Brian Spielmann http://www.rebelbuddha.com/2010/11/a-day-in-boulder/comment-page-1/#comment-1009 Brian Spielmann Mon, 29 Nov 2010 03:06:12 +0000 http://www.rebelbuddha.com/?p=2246#comment-1009 Thanks so much for posting. Especially helpful for those of us that have been traveling over Thanksgiving holiday and had to miss the event in Boulder. Thanks again. Thanks so much for posting. Especially helpful for those of us that have been traveling over Thanksgiving holiday and had to miss the event in Boulder. Thanks again.

]]> By: John Bass http://www.rebelbuddha.com/2010/11/a-day-in-boulder/comment-page-1/#comment-1008 John Bass Mon, 29 Nov 2010 01:56:23 +0000 http://www.rebelbuddha.com/?p=2246#comment-1008 Thank you sooo much! I really appreciate being able to read about and see pictures from the Boulder event and of course Rinpoche's and the panel's teachings there! Great Quotes! Thank you sooo much! I really appreciate being able to read about and see pictures from the Boulder event and of course Rinpoche’s and the panel’s teachings there! Great Quotes!

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