Recent content by garro

Hi Lunitik, I sometimes wonder if the different religions and ideologies are just a trap for truth seekers. Each of these systems may well contain truths, but those who follow them become obsessed with protecting the system rather than finding these truths. Maybe I’m missing something.

For me the most wonderful thing about Buddhism is the invitation that people go look for themselves. The Buddha never asked people to accept thing on faith. He didn’t create anything new he just pointed at something already there. I don’t do well with any teachings that expect me to accept...

Thanks Lunitik, it does seem to be that sharing knowledge takes you away from the truth. I'm reminded of how the Buddha did not want initially to teach after his enlightenment. He had discovered something beyond words. Perhaps most religion is a clumsy attempt by people who have witnessed some...

Hi Thomas, you have given a wonderful description of not knowing in the Christian sense. I suppose that I have developed agnosticism towards anything that other people say has been revealed about the mystery. I am influenced by Buddhism but I use it much in the same way that a tourist might use...

Thanks Seattlegal, I do love the idea of beginner's mind.

Thanks Lunitik, it is amazing how such a simple change in my outlook makes the world appear so different. It is like by just admitting that " I don't know" the seeking has stopped. It seems too simple to be true, but that's what is happening. I'm a big fan of mindfulness, but I've completely...

It is that magical childlike wonder that is the payoff for my approach. My life was just so much more enjoyable when I didn't have opinions about everything. It has felt that with each new opinion there was something new to feel angry about – that no longer feels like progress to me. I can...

Yeah, I've no problem with learning new things - in fact I love it. As you say, I just don't want to mistake learning with knowing.

Thanks Gatekeeper, I hope this is a way of looking at life that I can maintain because it certainly simplifies things:)

Hi gatekeeper, one of my favorite quotes (no idea who originally said it) at the moment is that 'life is a mystery to be lived and not a problem to be solved'. I want to stop seeking and just enjoy the show for what it is. Picking up knowledge can be fun but I no longer believe that it can take...

Thanks IowaGuy, I suppose that my problem here is that it is so easy for people to become blinded by science. It has proved to be so successful that there is the temptation to grasp it as an absolute truth. I notice that there are those who are scientifically minded who squirm and get irritated...

Thanks Wii, I do think that it is acceptable to keep an attitude of unknowing in Buddhism. The problem I have with this is that there is a tendency (at least with me anyway) to use this attitude of not knowing as a means to get something; the hope that if I develop an attitude of ‘not knowing’...

Thanks IowaGuy, I did find that thread earlier and it does sound interesting. From reading about it I wasn't sure if Spiritual Naturalist maintains a skeptical attitude towards science - acknowledging at least the possibility that science could be taking us up a blind alley because the truth...

Thanks Seattlegal, I do like the idea of empty mind. I wonder how people experience such a way of living. I would imagine that it is easy for people to slip into the habit of thiking they know things again.

I am new to the forum and just happened upon this site from a random web search. I would say that I’ve always been a bit of a spiritual person. I grew up in a Catholic country (Ireland) but have lived in a Buddhist country (Thailand) for well over a decade. For most of my adult life I would...