Tuesday, January 22, 2008

The not-so-well-known story of creationism

Before I asked about the theory behind the creation of this earth as we know it, we first talked about the apocalypse. It won't be for millions more years, according to scholarly calculations, that is until two more Buddhas become incarnated - we've already had five (?) Buddhas come and go and are waiting for the sixth and seventh. However, a Buddha can only be reborn in a civilization without any concept of Buddhism. In other words, civilization would have to end, and begin the next one, before the sixth Buddha will appear. What that means to us personally depends on how you define "civilization" - which is clearly up for debate.

Whenever it is the apocalypse happens, it will go something like this: the earth will draw closer to the sun (or vice versa) until it burns the surface and through all levels of existence, the multiple dimensions of hell, earth, and heaven. A type of collapse of the solar system onto itself, if you will.

How depressing. I asked if this story is supposed to scare people. In fact, not really, because by the time of the apocalypse, humans will apparently be able to fly away from this earth in search of another!

Crazy. So back to the creationism story. That's right, we flew here. Or rather, at the time the earth was still forming, some divine formless beings were hovering around and watching. When solid matter started to form, they ascended to the earth out of curiousity and began tasting it. Some consumed more than others and began to take shape from what they ate and it was too late to escape and fly away.

As the earth continued to evolve and form more organisms, including fungi and a kind of elongated rice with a husk so soft you could eat it completely raw, these beings evolved into characteristics of the human beings we know now - upon discovering new and different crops, they developed the concept of "self" versus "other" and began hoarding these new resources for themselves. They also began to develop sex differences, whereas before they were sexless, and with those differences came the female-male "relations" we know today.

In explaining why things are they way they are - questions I ask myself like "Why do we have two hands and five toes on each foot and different color hairs and freckles" etc. - I guess the only explanation to ponder is that things only come to be as a result of certain conditions coming into place. Some of these conditions we have no control over, and others we do and can control with our minds. And as such the universe - or multiverses, pardon me - operates as we know it to.

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If your mind is what you know, then does it mean that the more you know, the more your mind can control?

Monday, January 21, 2008

xanga revisited: a tribute

Starting this blog brings me to look back on my xanga days and in revisiting my posts, my past self surprises my present self - I had many, many angry and frustrated rants on the same topics and issues I still think about today. I am hopeful though that my attitude has matured into one of at peace versus one at war.

This post is a tribute to the icons of non-violence and peace who despite having done everything right in their own power still had everything turn out so wrong for them. Let their memory be a reminder that love and understanding must go on even when we don't.

"Perception is everything. Without, it is nothing." -my past self , January 19, 2004

Sunday, January 20, 2008

your mind is what you know

There is no empirical basis for the concept of a cup. The existence of "cup" cannot be believed to be anything other than a conventional truth, as it is not absolute or ultimate truth. Absolute or ultimate truth is what comprises the conditions that form the "cup" concept - and nothing more?