From:wavy - view profile
Date:Thurs, Dec 7 2006 12:36 am
I find it odd that people who have problems with atheists point of view
seem to believe atheists have to force themselves 'not to believe'.
I feel a lot of insecurity coming from that.
It would seem that people who 'dont believe' are a threat to a belief
system influenced by our socially-derived "herding instinct".
Get about half a classroom saying they saw a UFO and most of the other
half will say they saw it too.
So here's a group that doesnt believe like their own group and they
have their own consensus.
OH MY.
And so it goes.
I must point out that I have and never will visit christian based
discussion groups to blather about the non-existance of God. They come
here to be annoyed by us.
Tell ya whut!
-WaV
V:
No one can force you to do something. Believe or not believe... but be
at peace with your beliefs.
Yes, herding instinct is right. I wonder about that with the thousand
or so lurker subscribers that do not speak up to tell the spiritually
sick atheists here they are giving atheism a black eye.
Hiding one's head in the sand is an old trick of theists. It should not
be adopted by atheists as well.
Right speech is the first principle of ethical conduct in the eightfold
path. Ethical conduct is viewed as a guideline to moral discipline,
which supports the other principles of the path. This aspect is not
self-sufficient, however, essential, because mental purification can
only be achieved through the cultivation of ethical conduct. The
importance of speech in the context of Buddhist ethics is obvious:
words can break or save lives, make enemies or friends, start war or
create peace. Buddha explained right speech as follows: 1. to abstain
from false speech, especially not to tell deliberate lies and not to
speak deceitfully, 2. to abstain from slanderous speech and not to use
words maliciously against others, 3. to abstain from harsh words that
offend or hurt others, and 4. to abstain from idle chatter that lacks
purpose or depth. Positively phrased, this means to tell the truth, to
speak friendly, warm, and gently and to talk only when necessary.
The Noble Eightfold Path describes the way to the end of suffering, as
it was laid out by Siddhartha Gautama. It is a practical guideline to
ethical and mental development with the goal of freeing the individual
from attachments and delusions; and it finally leads to understanding
the truth about all things. Together with the Four Noble Truths it
constitutes the gist of Buddhism. Please take note of section on right
speech.
1. Right View
Right view is the beginning and the end of the path, it simply means to
see and to understand things as they really are and to realize the Four
Noble Truth. As such, right view is the cognitive aspect of wisdom. It
means to see things through, to grasp the impermanent and imperfect
nature of worldly objects and ideas, and to understand the law of karma
and karmic conditioning. Right view is not necessarily an intellectual
capacity, just as wisdom is not just a matter of intelligence. Instead,
right view is attained, sustained, and enhanced through all capacities
of mind. It begins with the intuitive insight that all beings are
subject to suffering and it ends with complete understanding of the
true nature of all things.
2. Right Intention
While right view refers to the cognitive aspect of wisdom, right
intention refers to the volitional aspect, i.e. the kind of mental
energy that controls our actions. Right intention can be described best
as commitment to ethical and mental self-improvement. Buddha
distinguishes three types of right intentions: 1. the intention of
renunciation, which means resistance to the pull of desire, 2. the
intention of good will, meaning resistance to feelings of anger and
aversion, and
the intention of harmlessness, meaning not to think or act cruelly,
violently, or aggressively, and to develop compassion.
3. Right Speech
Right speech is the first principle of ethical conduct in the eightfold
path. Ethical conduct is viewed as a guideline to moral discipline,
which supports the other principles of the path. This aspect is not
self-sufficient, however, essential, because mental purification can
only be achieved through the cultivation of ethical conduct. The
importance of speech in the context of Buddhist ethics is obvious:
words can break or save lives, make enemies or friends, start war or
create peace. Buddha explained right speech as follows: 1. to abstain
from false speech, especially not to tell deliberate lies and not to
speak deceitfully, 2. to abstain from slanderous speech and not to use
words maliciously against others, 3. to abstain from harsh words that
offend or hurt others, and 4. to abstain from idle chatter that lacks
purpose or depth. Positively phrased, this means to tell the truth, to
speak friendly, warm, and to talk only when necessary.
4. Right Action
The second ethical principle, right action, involves the body as
natural means of expression, as it refers to deeds that involve bodily
actions. Unwholesome actions lead to unsound states of mind, while
wholesome actions lead to sound states of mind. Again, the principle is
explained in terms of abstinence: right action means 1. to abstain from
harming sentient beings, especially to abstain from taking life
(including suicide) and doing harm intentionally or delinquently, 2. to
abstain from taking what is not given, which includes stealing,
robbery, fraud, deceitfulness, and dishonesty, and 3. to abstain from
sexual misconduct. Positively formulated, right action means to act
kindly and compassionately, to be honest, to respect the belongings of
others, and to keep sexual relationships harmless to others.
5. Right Livelihood
Right livelihood means that one should earn one's living in a righteous
way and that wealth should be gained legally and peacefully. The Buddha
mentions four specific activities that harm other beings and that one
should avoid for this reason: 1. dealing in weapons, 2. dealing in
living beings (including raising animals for slaughter as well as slave
trade and prostitution), 3. working in meat production and butchery,
and 4. selling intoxicants and poisons, such as alcohol and drugs.
Furthermore any other occupation that would violate the principles of
right speech and right action should be avoided.
6. Right Effort
Right effort can be seen as a prerequisite for the other principles of
the path. Without effort, which is in itself an act of will, nothing
can be achieved, whereas misguided effort distracts the mind from its
task, and confusion will be the consequence. Mental energy is the force
behind right effort; it can occur in either wholesome or unwholesome
states. The same type of energy that fuels desire, envy, aggression,
and violence can on the other side fuel self-discipline, honesty,
benevolence, and kindness. Right effort is detailed in four types of
endeavours that rank in ascending order of perfection: 1. to prevent
the arising of unarisen unwholesome states, 2. to abandon unwholesome
states that have already arisen, 3. to arouse wholesome states that
have not yet arisen, and 4. to maintain and perfect wholesome states
already arisen.
7. Right Mindfulness
Right mindfulness is the controlled and perfected faculty of cognition.
It is the mental ability to see things as they are, with clear
consciousness. Usually, the cognitive process begins with an impression
induced by perception, or by a thought, but then it does not stay with
the mere impression. Instead, we almost always conceptualise sense
impressions and thoughts immediately. We interpret them and set them in
relation to other thoughts and experiences, which naturally go beyond
the facticity of the original impression. The mind then posits
concepts, joins concepts into constructs, and weaves those constructs
into complex interpretative schemes. All this happens only half
consciously, and as a result we often see things obscured. Right
mindfulness is anchored in clear perception and it penetrates
impressions without getting carried away. Right mindfulness enables us
to be aware of the process of conceptualisation in a way that we
actively observe and control the way our thoughts go. Buddha accounted
for this as the four foundations of mindfulness: 1. contemplation of
the body, 2. contemplation of feeling (repulsive, attractive, or
neutral), 3. contemplation of the state of mind, and 4. contemplation
of the phenomena.
8. Right Concentration
The eighth principle of the path, right concentration, refers to the
development of a mental force that occurs in natural consciousness,
although at a relatively low level of intensity, namely concentration.
Concentration in this context is described as one-pointedness of mind,
meaning a state where all mental faculties are unified and directed
onto one particular object. Right concentration for the purpose of the
eightfold path means wholesome concentration, i.e. concentration on
wholesome thoughts and actions. The Buddhist method of choice to
develop right concentration is through the practice of meditation. The
meditating mind focuses on a selected object. It first directs itself
onto it, then sustains concentration, and finally intensifies
concentration step by step. Through this practice it becomes natural to
apply elevated levels concentration also in everyday situations.
text: http://www.thebigview.com/buddhism/eightfoldpath.html
Good Luck,
V (Male)
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