Andre, My comment to dmb's post addressed only the concept of 'truth as relative,' and within Buddhism it is stated that 'relative truth' is the conventional way we perceive reality. Truth as relative was the extent of my post to dmb. That's all folks. If you would like to start a thread whose subject is the Middle Way, the Three Jewels, the Four Noble Truths, and the Eightfold Path, please do.
Marsha On Sep 29, 2010, at 3:12 AM, Andre Broersen wrote: > Marsha to dmb: > Maybe you should write to the various Buddhist communities to convince them > to refrain from stating that 'relative truth' is the conventional way we > perceive reality. Until then I'm not much interested in what you think on > cognitive relativism. In fact, that's why I don't want to discuss with you, > dmb. I think you don't really know what you're talking about. Sorry. > > > Andre: > You are passing the buck Marsha...as usual. > 'Given that all things emerge from a kind of cosmic continuity, Buddhism is > well known for its emphasis on non-dualism. Instead of viewing the world in > terms of "good" versus "evil," "liberal" versus "conservative," "us" versus > "them," Buddhism recognizes that the orientations and views humans take stem > from particular perspectives that each yield their own conclusions > (/perspective relativism/). Though this is a kind of relativism, Buddhist > morality avoids moral relativism by acknowledging the Universal reality of > interconnection and interdependence. A Buddhist cannot act in any way he or > she pleases, in a selfish manner, because hurting others does not acknowledge > this basic reality of interconnection and interdependence. The > acknowledgment of /perspective relativism/ is useful for its practical > applications in everyday life, and to avoid the pitfalls of extremism that > arise when one forgets he or she can only view the world from his or her > unique but limited perspect ive. The Buddhist Path, a "Middle Path," rejects extremism. > When considering how to obtain reliable information from the world of which > we are part and parcel, Buddhism embraces three primary epistemological (/how > one comes to know/) methods: > 1) testimony of an authority; > 2) account of an authoritative text; and > 3) personal experience (/experiential verification/) > > All of these components must be considered, and no single source of knowledge > is sufficient to generate an informed understanding of the world. However, > method (3), experiential verification, plays a particularly prominent role in > Buddhism. This is often demonstrated in the Buddha's famous admonition, "Be > a light unto your selves." (Jim Eubanks, Buddhist Principles) > > Your stance on relative truth, relative cognitive truth or relativism in > general is very disingenuous Marsha. It shows that you do not even know the > basics of the Buddha's teachings nor of (your favorite) Nagarjuna. > > How can the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path be regarded as positing > a relativist perspective in both thought and action? I would suggest rather > that they posit its opposite. > > Maybe YOU should write to the Buddhist communities! > > > > > > > > Moq_Discuss mailing list > Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc. > http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org > Archives: > http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/ > http://moq.org/md/archives.html ___ Moq_Discuss mailing list Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc. http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org Archives: http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/ http://moq.org/md/archives.html
