Did Jesus practice Bodhicitta

originally posted by: Itisnowagain

That title, "I am" is the Jewish name of God.

Notice that Gods name is not 'I was' or 'I will be'...............God is not in time!!
'I am' is now...'I am' is present tense.

But "the present" is within and constrained by time.

You are arguing that a God, outside of time, is constrained by "the present" time, which is nonsense.

God is outside of time while also being able to be 'in' any time at whim. You can envision it like God looking down upon, and external to, the timeline that constrains us. God can poke a finger into the timeline while still being beyond it.

Is there anything other than what is happening now?

Yes, it is basic physics.

All time, past, present and future exist. The past is. The present is. The future is.

None of them get dismantled and unmade because they are removed from a present view. That's obvious.

You are like a small child who gets upset because a model train goes into a tunnel.

Now is what is occurring ............as it occurs it disappears...........yet now never comes or goes.

Bwahhh, the train has gone!

'I am' IS the way the truth and the life.

Actually, Jesus said "I am the way and the truth and the life. No-one comes to the Father, but by me".

He is clearly identifying Himself, not the Father, as being the way etc.

originally posted by: chr0naut

originally posted by: Itisnowagain

That title, "I am" is the Jewish name of God.

Notice that Gods name is not 'I was' or 'I will be'...............God is not in time!!
'I am' is now...'I am' is present tense.

But "the present" is within and constrained by time.

The 'present' is that which is always present.................regardless of what time it is on the clock or what appears to be happening.

a reply to: chr0naut

All time, past, present and future exist. The past is. The present is. The future is.

None of them get dismantled and unmade because they are removed from a present view. That's obvious.

Obvious how? Because you have been told.................have a look with fresh eyes............where exactly is the past?
If there really was no past or future how peaceful do you think you whole being would feel? If you had no thought of the morrow? What's there to worry about if there was only what appears here and now?
Faith in God is faith in now and not going into time to secure yourself.
If you believed in God why fear at all?

originally posted by: Itisnowagain

originally posted by: chr0naut

originally posted by: Itisnowagain

That title, "I am" is the Jewish name of God.

Notice that Gods name is not 'I was' or 'I will be'...............God is not in time!!
'I am' is now...'I am' is present tense.

But "the present" is within and constrained by time.

The 'present' is that which is always present.................regardless of what time it is on the clock or what appears to be happening.

What this moment is, the present, becomes the past in the next moment. It doesn't cease to exist. That is why time-like curves allow us to revisit the past.

originally posted by: Itisnowagain
a reply to: chr0naut

All time, past, present and future exist. The past is. The present is. The future is.

None of them get dismantled and unmade because they are removed from a present view. That's obvious.

Obvious how? Because you have been told.................have a look with fresh eyes............where exactly is the past?

A second ago is exactly 299,792,458 meters (3,540,855,803,150 feet) away from this present second, in the direction of the axis of time.

If there really was no past or future how peaceful do you think you whole being would feel? If you had no thought of the morrow? What's there to worry about if there was only what appears here and now?

Just buy something fantastically expensive on credit. Reality will assert that there is future consequence.



But really, you are suggesting that just because you can't see something, it doesn't exist.

And this despite the fact that there is future consequence that absolutely happens and there is a past which is recorded and unchangeable and for which we also must give account.

We know there are things that we cannot see, that still exist.

As a 'reason' it is irrational, to the point of stupidity, to suggest that there is no past and there is no present.

Faith in God is faith in now and not going into time to secure yourself.

Think about that word, "faith", is faith about something you presently see, or is it some future hope and unseen?

Now faith is the assurance of what we hope for and the certainty of what we do not see. Hebrews 1:11

If you believed in God why fear at all?

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. Proverbs 9:10.

a reply to: chr0naut

if the Gospels are BS, even slightly, why should we give a lie any credence? Either they are entirely true, or they are worthless

All religions are affected by dogma and cultural influences because scripture is written by people that suffer from dogma and cultural influences. So its not a matter of saying Gospel of John says this, whilst others says that, then turning our back on Christianity. Its a matter of weighing which facts are more likely to be truer than not. Thus building a belief system based on brick and mortar, instead of straw.

We know that Apostle Peter was in Rome so he had greater opportunity to put gospel to paper. But Acts 4:13 tells us that Peter was also unschooled. So that reinforces Papias of Hierapolis assertion, that it was a companion of Apostle Peter, John Mark, that wrote his Gospel, now incorrectly titled, Gospel of Mark.

So I personally weigh Gospel of Mark very highly knowing that it was very likely sourced from an Apostle that was trained by Jesus. If we look closely at the Gospels that followed we can see an evolution of Christianity that perhaps addresses the christian flocks questions about Jesus, more so than spirituality itself.

So no, I am not urging you or anybody else to turn your back on Christianity.

a reply to: Seede

Wise and beautiful words Seede. Something I read in Hinduism many years back still sticks in my mind - "Its not the act, but the thought behind that act, that really matters". So that's why I been trying hard to understand how one can love someone we don't like or even despise.

So I have another question regarding the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone. If these acts are not done by the soul of the person but by the snake that entraps them, then why punish the soul and not the snake?

a reply to: glend

I think there is absolutely no fault in asking that question.

Jesus' teachings and the practice of bodhicitta are far, far more alike than they are different.

We're just quibbling about branding then I guess.

a reply to: yughii

Thank You yughii. On hindsight, I should have thought the brainding through a bit more. So people wouldn't get offended.

originally posted by: glend
a reply to: yughii

Thank You yughii. On hindsight, I should have thought the brainding through a bit more. So people wouldn't get offended.

No, I don't think your OP was bad in that regard. It seems to me that is what we all do when we focus on relatively small differences in our religious creeds while seeming to be blind to some pretty important common ground.

edit: I was thinking about the church experience of lets say a Southern Baptist and then a Tibetan Buddhist and realize that I shouldn't say that there are only relatively small differences i guess, but that we shouldn't be oblivious to the very important common grounds that different faiths sometimes share.

a reply to: chr0naut

O taste and see that the LORD is good; how blessed is the person who takes refuge in Him! - Psalm 34:8

When can taste happen and when does seeing happen?
Tasting, seeing, hearing are happening ...

Think about that word, "faith", is faith about something you presently see, or is it some future hope and unseen?

Faith is faith that all is well.
Hope is about future things.

Do you have to hope things will be ok now or do you hope things will be ok in the future?

originally posted by: glend
Its a matter of weighing which facts are more likely to be truer than not. Thus building a belief system based on brick and mortar, instead of straw.

Is belief better than knowing for sure? Why build a belief made of anything?
Find what is true.

Jesus knew about Adviata Vedanta. Adviata means not two. Jesus was sharing the message of non duality..........no separation.

The root of all religion is non duality..........not two.

The assumption is that you are separate to all that is............divided from God.

When the two become one..........the kingdom shall be revealed.

originally posted by: chr0naut

originally posted by: Itisnowagain

originally posted by: chr0naut

originally posted by: Itisnowagain

That title, "I am" is the Jewish name of God.

Notice that Gods name is not 'I was' or 'I will be'...............God is not in time!!
'I am' is now...'I am' is present tense.

But "the present" is within and constrained by time.

The 'present' is that which is always present.................regardless of what time it is on the clock or what appears to be happening.

What this moment is, the present, becomes the past in the next moment. It doesn't cease to exist. That is why time-like curves allow us to revisit the past.

There is a pub just down the street that has this sign above the bar.
FREE DRINKS ALL DAY TOMORROW.

a reply to: chr0naut

A second ago is exactly 299,792,458 meters (3,540,855,803,150 feet) away from this present second, in the direction of the axis of time.

Who told you that?
Who has eaten from the tree of knowledge?

a reply to: chr0naut

You will never see or hear anything that is not happening in your presence.

Can that which is hearing ever be heard? Can that which is seeing ever be seen?
So strange that the seeing/knowing presence gets overlooked!

Nothing can appear outside the seeing/knowing presence.


But it seems that concepts like 'Jesus' and 'Buddha' and 'things' that happened in 'time' are blinding the vision.

originally posted by: Itisnowagain
a reply to: chr0naut
O taste and see that the LORD is good; how blessed is the person who takes refuge in Him! - Psalm 34:8

When can taste happen and when does seeing happen?
Tasting, seeing, hearing are happening ...

Think about that word, "faith", is faith about something you presently see, or is it some future hope and unseen?

Faith is faith that all is well.
Hope is about future things.

Do you have to hope things will be ok now or do you hope things will be ok in the future?

Have tasted, will taste...

You are trying to base a philosophy upon rejection of all but one semantic tense.

We have descriptions of the past and future tenses because they are relevant. They are relevant because they exist.

One might just as validly suggest that the duration of the present is entirely undefined and is so vanishingly small that, when compared to near eternities of the past and future, it does not practically exist.

The actual 'present' is far too fleeting for us even to sense or measure (it must be less than the Planck time, which, at 5.39 × 10^−44 seconds, is the interface between the future and the past).

So, in actuality, there is practically no measurable 'present moment' and our concept of the existence of such a thing is just a persistent delusion. There is only the point where the future turns into the past.

originally posted by: Itisnowagain

originally posted by: chr0naut

originally posted by: Itisnowagain

originally posted by: chr0naut

originally posted by: Itisnowagain

That title, "I am" is the Jewish name of God.

Notice that Gods name is not 'I was' or 'I will be'...............God is not in time!!
'I am' is now...'I am' is present tense.

But "the present" is within and constrained by time.

The 'present' is that which is always present.................regardless of what time it is on the clock or what appears to be happening.

What this moment is, the present, becomes the past in the next moment. It doesn't cease to exist. That is why time-like curves allow us to revisit the past.

There is a pub just down the street that has this sign above the bar.
FREE DRINKS ALL DAY TOMORROW.

How about FREE DRINKS ALL DAY YESTERDAY or FREE DRINKS IN THE SUB-NANOSECOND PRESENT INSTANT? All just as impossible as each other and therefore a lie.

originally posted by: Itisnowagain
a reply to: chr0naut

A second ago is exactly 299,792,458 meters (3,540,855,803,150 feet) away from this present second, in the direction of the axis of time.

Who told you that?
Who has eaten from the tree of knowledge?

It was "the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil". We had "knowledge" before that.

Nom, nom, noms!