[Daffynition]

Thanks for the ping. I had no idea that this thread was still being discussed. And from what I have read, it looks as if it needs a little levity, as only the Dalai Lama can provide.

[Candor7]

I sort of swerved through the thread, and its strange to see so many who do not yet unbderstand that Buddhism , well most of Buddhism, is non-theistic. The Buddha is not " God" and the Buddha is not "worhipped"as an omnipotent force.He is an ordinary human who liberated himself from suffering, and transcended the cycle of birth, old age, sikness and death. People follow his example to do the same using myriads of techniques involving body , speech and mind, from the simple to the esoteric. Generally the continuum is:

Theism.........Nontheism.......Atheism.....Nihilism

Ghenghis is right when he says that Islam is "the same" as Islam, it is a Theistic Religion, monotheistic. But I have trouble putting Shinto on that continuum, they have many "gods" but hardly seem theistic, rather more animistic with a god thing thrown in.

Some Theists tend to want to denigrate and/or destroy other religions, which is quite evident on this thread.

I am surprised a Ghenghis's knowledge on the subject, and have always read his postings on other topics with interest.

As to the DL, I think he made a mistake in not fighting the Chi Coms in 1947. When Buddhas cut and run, the opposition takes their nation away. Thats been happening for oh so long.Only Buthan, Sikkim, and Thailand seem to have survived, and Thailand is on the forefront of a battle repeated many times over the last 1000 years or so.

Thanks for the *.gif. It will cause considerable humor on several venues.

[Vaquero]

“Hey, Lama, hey, how about a little something, you know, for the effort, you know.” And he says, “Oh, uh, there won’t be any money, but when you die, on your deathbed, you will receive total consciousness.” So I got that goin’ for me, which is nice.