mike..i see...however how many are willing?..merle
Merle, That's the point. We have the potential to do so regardless of how many don't. Mike Sent from Yahoo! Mail for iPad ________________________________ From: Merle Lester <[email protected]>; To: [email protected] <[email protected]>; Subject: Re: [Zen] how good is that? Sent: Sun, Jun 23, 2013 4:29:57 AM mike ..we "might" have the potential to rise "above"...however how many of us do????????? merle Merle, >how many folk rise above their instincts and desires?... You keep missing my point. By being born human we have the _potential_ to transcend our instincts and desires - something no other organism consistently demonstrates. We are much more fortunate. In Buddhist/Hindu terms, being born human is akin to falling off a ship and rising to the surface to find a wooden yoke directly above us. >the other organisms that you say are trapped by instinct... Are you saying they are not? >how beautifully they live..as bill says free from attachments... they just >are.. "Beautiful"? I'd say that's a very anthropomorphic term. You're a gardener. Ever seen a vegetarian spider or a fox help a chicken cross the road? >we ..us humans strive to be...the other organisms just are.. They just "are" includes being driven by blind instinct. We can transcend that, even though many don't. >no wringing of hands and wrestling with philosophies, religions >psychology.... free to be........ how good is that?... It's not a question of being superior to other animals, but that we are unique - at this stage of evolution - as self-transcending beings. >let us take a leaf out of these organisms books so to speak,.... Everything is our teacher. > by the way we are those organisms.. have you not met in your travels the human reptile?.... Many times. How many times have you met a reptilian Jesus or Dalai Lama? Mike Sent from Yahoo! Mail for iPad ________________________________ From: Merle Lester <[email protected]>; To: [email protected] <[email protected]>; Subject: [Zen] how good is that? Sent: Fri, Jun 21, 2013 11:38:32 PM mike..ho ho ho.. how many folk rise above their instincts and desires?... just take a look at this crazy world... the other organisms that you say are trapped by instinct... how beautifully they live..as bill says free from attachments... they just are.. we ..us humans strive to be...the other organisms just are.. no wringing of hands and wrestling with philosophies, religions psychology.... free to be........ how good is that?... let us take a leaf out of these organisms books so to speak,.... by the way we are those organisms.. have you not met in your travels the human reptile?.... merle Bill!, I'd say the difference is a major one. Animals are driven by instinct and are largely prisoners to it. We are too, but we do have the potential to transcend them (instincts). Mike Sent from Yahoo! Mail for iPad ________________________________ From: Bill! <[email protected]>; To: <[email protected]>; Subject: Re: [Zen] no sound is heard what so ever Sent: Fri, Jun 21, 2013 8:31:54 AM Mike, It's just possible that "no other organism' needs these gifts (the dharma). Since we humans make our own suffering through attachments it's possible that is not a problem, or at least as big a problem, in other organisms. Just a thought... ...Bill! --- In [email protected], uerusuboyo@... wrote: > > Merle,<br/><br/>I sometimes wonder if your view of humans is influenced by > your personality or your exposure to Christian-Judaeo thinking. It certainly > seems in accord with ideas like Original Sin! I see things differently. Those > of us alive right now 'owe' it to the fact that every single one of our > ancestors survived to reproductive age and procreated. We also can see our > place in the universe and our origins. We have been born in a time where > there is a teaching (Dharma) that shows us how we can experience ultimate > reality and end our suffering. No other organism has these 'gifts'. How > extraordinary and lucky we are!<br/><br/>Mike<br/><br/><br/>Sent from Yahoo! > Mail for iPad >
