Quote:
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Originally Posted by funky_unkle
God has proven Himself to me beyond any doubt. I have a steady faith since I stopped trying to convince myself and left it to Him. So when you boil it down, my trying to make God "probable" to you has very little value. Don't leave it to US to prove God exists, leave it to HIM. If He can't give you faith, nobody can. And if you've decided to close your heart and mind around atheism, nobody can open it again but yourself.
Am I making sense?
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absolutely
sorry to kind of hijack this thread, but heres my tangent
nos...on the topic of reincarnation (keep in mind im not trying to force you to believe this, just asking your subjective opinion on the matter)
if something is so concrete for the 14th dalai lama, one of the if not the greatest (in my subjective opinions) spiritual leaders of the world, who are you to say its not real?
"when i was barely three years old, a team charged by the lhasa gov't with the task of finding the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama arrived at the monestary in kumbum. various signs led these men to my parents farm, where they spent the night playing with me and observing me very closely. they returned a few days later with a set of objects that had belonged to the 13th Dalai Lama, and other identicle objects that not not belonged to him. presented with each one of the objects that had belonged to him, i would cry out 'this is mine! this is mine!' that is how i was eventually recognized as the new Dalai Lama."
some other quotes
"every action that is conscious, and that aims at bringing about a result, arises from a motivation. my religion is very simple: my key motivation is love. my religion is kindness."
"like and dislike, gain and loss, praise and blame, fame and disgrace: these are the eight mundane concerns which condition our existance."
"The history of humanity is, in some respects, the history of man's understanding. Historical events, wars, progress, tradegies, and so on, all of these reflect the negative and positive thoughts of mankind. All the great personalities of history, the liberators, the great thinkers, all such people reflect positive thinking; whereas tragic events, tyranny, and terrible wars have resulted from negative thinking. Therefore the only thing that is really worthwhile is to increase the power and influence of positive thinking, and to reduce the occurence of negative thinking. If you let anger and hatred run loose, you are lost. And no sensible human being wants to get lost."
"One might say that religion is kind of luxury. If you have a religion, that is good. But it is clear that even without religion we can manage. However, without basic human qualities such as love, compassion, and kindness, we cannot survive. They are essential to out own peace and mental stability."
"We acknowledge the existance of higher beings, or at least of a ceratin higher state of being; we believe in oracles, in premonitions, in dream interpretation, and in rebirth. But we dont attempt to impose these beliefs on anyone else, even though for us they are certanties. We never try to convert. Buddhism is an experience...and an experience that is personal. One of the main teachings of the Buddha is: 'Rely only on yourself.'"
thoughts, nos?