Gunna breathe some life into this forum. Believers of eastern philosophy please explain how it holds up in today's world. I see eastern philosophy as an internal philosophy. Always asking "How do I fit in to this universe? How can I make it work for me?". There is nothing wrong with this, but the one thing that can bother me about it is that once someone figures out what works for them, they pass it off as the objective truth... Ok, so you have answered your internal questions, now instead of projecting those answers on to the outside world, why not realize the outside world is a whole different question? If you have found a way to fit in to this world, why not find out what it is you are fitting in to? Instead of claiming your answers are THE answers. Just some thoughts of mine. It'd be nice to see some more activity in this forum.
Notmee I don't mean to be rude....you have made an inaccurate assumption. Eastern philosophy has the same objectives, absolute reality and truth. Any deviation would be a religious philosophy. Sure there are mentions of Ki around believe it our not only the truth well tell. There is little life in this forum because there is little need to. Eastern and Western philosophers ask the same questions and surch for the same truth. It really is just philosophy. The Love and pursuit of wisdom
eventually there comes a time when reading, writing (and arithmetic) become a hindrance Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
Spookz, what do you mean? Empty, this Ki is exactly what I mean. True that only time will tell, but what reason do you have to ASSUME it exists at all? And how do you explain the fact that with our advanced technology there isn't a shred of evidence?
Books Once there was a well known philosopher and scholar who devoted himself to the study of Zen for many years. On the day that he finally attained enlightenment, he took all of his books out into the yard, and burned them all. Source: Zen Stories to Tell Your Neighbors
Evilpoet, A very bold statement on his behalf! I believe in zen enlightenment, somewhat. Just not that it is the objective truth we live IN, but a subjective truth we live WITH. I have inner peace. But I have never claimed it to be peace in general.
notme, I am curious - why do you think that is bold statement? When I think of zen and truth there are two things that come to mind. The first is The Four Noble Truths and the second is this Italian proverb: You cannot write down a meaningful silence.
Actions speak louder than words, and his action is deafening. I don't know much about it, so I'm probably hasty in my judgement. But it seems all this chi energy, reincarnation, enlightenment, etc, is alot of huge assumptions.
notme, I agree, actions do speak much louder than words. Words are empty without any action behind them imo. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! I thought this link might be of interest: Eastern Philosophy, Glossary of Terms
Why not indeed? Eastern philosophers have been asking that question since Veda days. And, interestingly, the answers somehow morph to reflect the most advanced theories of the new science and I suspect it will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.... The clothes adapt to the changing environment. The internal and external become one - the whole.
Not really necessary, for Eastern Philosophy, in all its branches is deep, peaceful, tranquil, yet throbs with energy. "A full pot does not spill"- translated from an Indian language. It is eternal since it does not limit itself to a few stories, men or theories. It is open for reflection and is broad-based. Which philosophy are you talking about? In what I know, it is all about seeing oneself as part of a bigger game- much beyond the apparent- the internal being an extension of the external. Who did? If that were true, this forum would be much different- noisy and argumentative. Did you ever see that? On the contrary, this is a collective effort to move one bit closer to truth. For that matter, even the Eastern religions are very tolerant, open and don't have an expansive design. There isn't for most philosophy, Eastern or Western. It is a belief and experience. Possible! or might be real!! Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
There is no "eastern philosophy". There are many philosophies from Asia, just as there are many from everywhere else. Anf you will find that all the concepts discussed in the many "eastern philosophes" are also discussed in the philsophies of other areas. Reincarnation, enlightenment, the nature of the universe, how humans treat each others, and more, are discussed i philosophies from many places. This is why I object to having an "Eastern Philosophy" forum; there is no philosophical division which differentiates Asian philosophies from others. In fact, the only distinction is geographical.
after the essentials have been learned, thru books, thru a teacher, only then can you burn the books. even then please, just your copy! does anybody really think, philosophies that have been in the making for thousands of years, is imparted into you by some supernatural means. i assert that conventional forms of communication are necessary at the early stages of ones spiritual development. there are always exceptions, but for most of us, books are necessary
adam why dont you elaborate? make a case for your argument and who knows, e phil might be history! in fact make your case outside these forums as well. entire depts in education could be eliminated. infact lets do away with other western/eastern concepts. one civ, one culture...... i mean, shit, we all eat rice yes? Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
spookz, Do you mean something like a comparative study of eastern and western philosophies? If so, I think that is an excellent idea. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
Breath ! “If you have found a way to fit in to this world, why not find out what it is you are fitting in to? “ I believe in an ancient form of yoga and practice that for few years. It has worked for me ( or rather I have worked for that!). If I say it had worked, I mean better thinking, better focus in things, better control of my thoughts. Earlier the time span of steady state was lesser. When I started meditating I could increase the span of that steady state. I wanted to adopt this in to my whole life. Or there was a quest for that from within, which I do not know where it came from or originated ? As you said “If you have found a way to fit in to this world, why not find out what it is you are fitting in to?” Yes I did. I started searching about which I was practicing and believing. Then I could find similarities, for eg. In Prana Vidya, we practice the basic meditation for 14 years by which any practitioner is supposed to achieve some good results of meditation. If you go thorough some epic stories of divine people, we will find that they were are missing for a time period of 14 years, for example, Jesus Christ, Muhamed Nabi, Sree Ram and Lakshman, Lord Sree Krishnan, Ravanan (Ramayanam) etc. They all had the same character of a yogi. I have a lot of comparison details, like color, food habits, cloth used, method of prayers, advice to disciples, and many more which I am not providing in details because of the size of the content. I searched bible, then I found it is written in the beginning itself that God created a human by blowing the divine breath in to his body. Now my version - The human who got life tried to push it out the moment he got his sense. But by the power of God the same breath went in. Again he tried to push it out. This continued till he won by not allowing the breath to come in. I could find the bible is full of this prana vidya and its details and practices. Muhamed Nabi also followed a strict diet as specified in the Prana Vidya. He even detailed the essence of it in a practice known as Hadi Vidya (a practice of using Ha as the first syllable of reciting a prayer). And Sree Ram and Lakshman and many other divine beings from Bharath (India) all followed the strict rules of this Prana Vidya. You can call this practice any name, you can practice it in different methods, practice at different places and time but at the end it all stands for one thing..we are trying to understand a simple thing …the breath……If ever we are able to have a control on it them better try to keep the best part always inside our body so that it never goes out. It is scientifically proven that our average number of breaths per day is about 21600. Using astrology if we are to predict the life span of a person then we assume that a person takes 21600 breaths in a day and calculate time and events on his/her life based on that. If ever by practicing meditation a person changes this number even by one second, then the whole calculation goes wrong. As per astrology events which are supposed to happen at a particular time (when all other supporting factors are at its best) it originally occurs at some other time. This is the reason why the astrological science were not able to predict the life of a yogi. This goes correct for any human being who is calm. Because his breaths are a bit lengthy, this also stand correct for a person who is hyper active so that his number of breaths even increases. This might also explain the reason why astrology does not work correctly for many. Longer breaths increase the life span, and shorter decreases the same. Compare a turtle, Human and a mouse ! This science of the breath or pranan (we call the breath pranan as that is what keeps the body warm) is the real truth. This is the real cause of all eastern philosophy. The reason behind many epics, the reason behind many religions, the reason behind many meditation practices. Since the breath is universal and has no language this practice also becomes universal. Since this requires no explanation rather than practice, it propagates to all parts of the world crossing the boundaries of language. Since this if found in every one, every human being comes with the quest for it, since this is found to produce same results every one who puts time and efforts to it gets the same results, since this is about the truth…this is never ending…since this can be done any time it even beats the any other practice…since this can be mixed with anything else it goes well in any culture and since its about humans..it keeps the Gods in heaven (religion away). I think this is what “we all are fitting in to” ? Lov raj
Philosophy is a quest for knowledge and wisdom it seeks to clarify the general principels that govern our understanding of the world and to examine the language we use to describe it/ eastern philosphy is cpncerned with the traditions of thought and wisdom which came from the india and the far east, from india you have the wealth of ideas, of mental disciplines, religious and social practices that are collectively known as hinduism, along with the jain and buddhist philosophies that develop within hindu culture, from the far east you have the ancient traditions of confucianism and taoism, later blinding with buddhism to make the rich mixture of chinese thought. Then there are two wisdom traditions that are very different in approach- tantra and zen- the one based on ritual action and the creative use of the imagination, the other with an intuition of reality that goes beyond concepts.together these traditions streach back thousands of years and have contributed not onlt to the eastern cultures but all over the world.
