we have all along been taught to interpret concepts of heaven and hell as physical locations. question is - what if they are not? what if they are state of minds?
hmm... this is my own conclusion after a lot of deep reflection.
hmm... this is my own conclusion after a lot of deep reflection.
AChoong: They are very real places for other religions.
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me: perhaps it is easier to explain so... not every one can understand such concepts when told it is a state of mind.
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HYOng: it would stil be eternal bliss or eternal torment - even if it is in the mind
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BLooi: Belinda Carlisle said, "OOoo heaven is a place on earth." My sis' shifu said we should save the environment, keep our place clean. If we do it well enuff, why do we need to think of heaven when we can already be in one here on earth today? Alas, we chose to make earth a living hell. Nonetheless, at least we can make OUR immediate surrounding as heavenly as possible. So yah, it's a spiritual state of mind.
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me: when we do what our religion say it is right, we find peace of mind, conversely when we do wrong, we feel disturbed. it reminds me of the common phrases like - follow the word and you will be saved, disobey and you will be banished to hell. and when we begin to believe it, we get into a state of happiness (that we have done what we are supposed to do and hence will be blessed/ saved) or a state of fear (of being punished). state of mind.
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BLooi: true true...the problem arises when one's idea of heaven is another's idea of hell. X number of virgins is a viable concept of heaven when reality is filled with hunger, poverty and oppression. Doesn't even matter if the virgins are male or female! The mind is an abstract concept to define and study - that's where you need psychologists of all sorts.
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Sam: I always use this example : 2 persons may be sitting next to each other in a bus, but I may be in heaven and the other in hell. You do not have to wait till your next life to find out. Heaven and hell definately exist as state of mind. Whether there exist a phyical location, does it matter? Some "heavenly beings" as told in Buddhist texts are formless, so what physical existence are we talking about?
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JHo: different realms... (which we could never understand since we only know one - human).
Monday at 12:25pm · LikeUnlike
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me: @blooi: you talking about the achmed dead terrorist huh? i keeel you! ... your words reminds me so much of him... :-P
@sam: there are things in buddhists text that i do not fully undersatnd nor subscribe to and these include existence of heave...nly being etc. perhaps they too are states of mind. i don't fully understand and even some of the venerables told me they cannot fully explain as they have not experience them to be able to share. then again, i think it does not matter. heaven exists becos hell exists and vice versa. it's the same concept of yin and yang. when one recognizes that cause of the heaven and hell states of mind stems from one's delusions, one awakens. and when one achieves perfection and breaks the cycle of samsara, heaven and hell cease to exist. it's back to nothingness.
@jho: agree. and i do also think these different realms could also perhaps be manifestations of how people illustrates human emotions, states of mind, fear, anger, happiness etc in the ancient days. and we perhaps cannot and do not understand cos these are artefacts of ancient cultures which we, creatures of our own time, can at most second guess.