/lit/ - Literature

The image explains the Zen story in the green text, if that wasn't clear.

niqqa u high

Finally, from so little sleeping and so much reading, his brain dried up and he went completely out of his mind.
-- Don Quixote

>>4149594
"life is 2deep4u"

-anon

>>4149999 Get

>if you read a lot you´ll become Buddhist and Christian
Ah right, us stupid, edgy Atheists. Once we grow up we´ll see the truth.

"I´m smarter than you and if you disagree you´re just not as smart as me" is not really an argument

>>4149649
>"I´m smarter than you and if you disagree you´re just not as smart as me" is not really an argument

Nobody has said that. Put no limits on what you read. Read The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins, and read The Bible as well.

>>4149649

Don't you know? Theism is the hip new thing, all the cool kids are doing it, therefore it's true

>>4149654

I could say the same thing to all the New Theists on here

>>4149649
Also, the point of this thread is not religion. It is happiness and a clear understanding of the world.

>"White magic [...] makes our world what we want it to be by giving us the power to see that the real world is already more beautiful, more wonderful, and more harmonious than we can possibly imagine."

-a hidden text

You are doing yourself a disfavor if you see the world in a negative light. You can call it white magic if you want, but you should do whatever it takes to view the true nature of reality as being a positive and beautiful thing, with or without a God. That is what true Buddhism is, anyways; understanding the true nature of reality without God. Which is completely compatible with Christianity; for every good Christian is a Buddhist who believes in God.

>>4149654
Look, I'm plenty atheistic, but The God Delusion just sucks. You'd be better off reading Nietzsche or something.

>>4149673
I can tell you've never read "The God Delusion" and you've likely never read Neitzsche, either.

Furthermore, Buddhism is actually not knowledge gained by reading much...it is knowledge gained by REMOVING unnecessary ideas that books have taught you. Jacques Derrida's deconstruction can teach you quite a lot about Buddhism, if older texts are not as appealing.

>>4149673
Have you actually read it? I have a feeling that many people who hate the book have not read it. A person who is not delusional should go and experience everything first-hand instead of trusting second-hand knowledge.

Secondly, do you know how to remove pre-affirmed hate for a book? Coudl you honestly sit down and read The God Delusion without any bias? You probably can't do this unless you have some good discipline over your mind...something very few people have.

You will probably reply to this post and say, "Fuck you, I have control over my mind. I'm not subjected to bias!" And yet I can see it now: you open up the God Delusion, saying in your mind

>"This is gonna fucking suck. I'm ready to tear his argument to shreds...b-b-but I'm not biased!"

Face it. You are not in control of your mind. If you want control of your mind, go to Buddhism first. Believing in God is a second step which is totally up to you.

>>4149675
I did read it. I liked it at the time. Came back to it a few years later and was thoroughly unimpressed by Dawkins's total inability to understand religious thought.

I mean, I'm cool with not being religious, or even with actively disliking religion, but if you're going to write a book about the subject you should try to understand it on a somewhat less superficial level.

>>4149680
>Dawkins's total inability to understand religious thought
Looking back, I guess I should have clarified a bit: I liked it the first time around because he did have a halfway-decent grasp on the kind of simple, superficial fundamentalism I was familiar with, but then he treats ALL religion as being that simplistic and superficial, which is wrong and intellectually lazy to boot.

>>4149675
the thing about dawkins is that he has no anthropological sensibility; The God Delusion is shit

There is absolutely no necessity to learn how to read; meat smells a mile off, anyway.
-- Mikhail Bulgakov, Heart of a Dog

>>4149649
fuck off, nobody was talking about religion. You really need a God

>>4149594
>that shopshop

>>4149678
The God Delusion is mostly a summary of other philosophers' arguments. IIRC he doesn't put forward anything of his own, except hammering on about evolution, which is his angle. There was also a section about how religion was the cause of all strife on Earth.

>>4149725
>The God Delusion is mostly a summary of other philosophers' arguments.
And he didn't even present them as well as the original philosophers. Which kind of makes sense, considering his vocal disdain for philosophy.

>Hey guys, philosophy is shit.
>Writes a book full of philosophical positions and arguments.

>>4149594
This, basically.
Everything is bad for you in excess, even knowledge and spiritual study.

>>4149706
>nobody was talking about religion
>Cross and Buddha in OPs picture

Yep. Has nothing to do with religion, move along, citizens.

>>4149758
what about excessive moderation?

>>4149772
Almost impossible to attain if you have various subjects you enjoy on rotation.

>>4149776
>almost impossible
>almost

>>4149783
If you've never felt to an extreme, then what the fuck is the point of living? I'm not advocating tdelusions of grandure or depression, but things need to contrast to be real.

>>4149795
>feeling extreme emotions
>the point of living

are you female?

>the "religion is hip" strawman

Why is THIS now the most criticized thing about the religious? That we're only doing it because it's "hip". There isn't anything more personal and more individual than one's spiritual development...only the dumbest, most mindless retards would pick up a religion to be hip.

>>4149805
Yeah man, my Buddhist believes are totally genuine!

>>4149805
It's just straw against straw, as pointless and ridiculous as "Internet atheists *tips fedora"

Though I'm not saying that the zeitgeist has never influenced spikes in religious or irreligious activity with the populace.

>>4149807
So you assume that every person interested in Buddhism is just doing it to "be hip"? That's delusional. You should pick up Buddhism since it helps remove delusional thought processes.

>>4149812
>My religion will help you see clearly!

>>4149810
And there is no way to prove that any particular person picked up a religion to be hip unless they admit it, so there really isn't any point even discussing it.

>>4149814
>Buddhism
>religion

Slow down there. Yes, a few sects of Buddhism have some religious ideas, but some, like Zen, are not a religion at all. Those types of "pure Buddhism" are a philosophy meant to teach you how to REMOVE foolish thoughts that are currently plaguing your mind. Buddhism does not teach you anything new, but rather, removes your delusions. It is a negative philosophy, the MOST negative philosophy, the most nihilistic.

It is pretty silly that most people associate nihilism with depression and hopelessness. Nihilism makes the Buddha smile.

>>4149817
>I-it's not a cult... I swear!

>>4149819
>buddhism
>cult

Alright, now you're either trolling or you're just some random dude from another board or underage and under-read.

>>4149821
>trolling... me?

your religion is clearly poolluting your mind, pls read dawkins

i am puzzled by this bit:

If anyone can distinguish the black from the white, I will admit that you have seen me in person.

>>4149771

the topic is zen (although you wouldn't know it by reading the thread)

>>4149803
Have fun being dead inside without any one thing to aspire to. Enlightenment counts, too.

>"Before I had studied Zen for thirty years, I saw mountains as mountains, and waters as waters. When I arrived at a more intimate knowledge, I came to the point where I saw that mountains are not mountains, and waters are not waters. But now that I have got its very substance I am at rest. For it's just that I see mountains once again as mountains, and waters once again as waters.

-Ch'uan Teng Lu, 22. (The Way of Zen 126), http://www.sacred-texts.com/bud/zen/sayings.htm

I suppose the idea is to live an ordinary live once again and to take things as they are in the present where as buddhism is just an artifical method to get back to the natural state of mind, but buddhism itself isn't the goal. It's a tool. I think one Buddha even said that once you're enlightened you should discard buddhism because it has become useless.

Now, scientiests are a lot like buddhists who are trying to achieve enlightenment, at least in my humble opinion, and some of them develop a very objectified perception of the world. Meaning, a mountain for instance isn't just a mountain anymore but rather a collection of material that originated through certain processes as you try to understand the nature of reality. But let's say every secret of the universe suddently reveals itself to you, what would there be left to do besides living?

So much ignorance and faggotry in this thread. You should all kill yourselves.

>>4149830
translation:

>if you can truly perceive reality; if you can truthfully distinguish black from white, good from bad, then you already know everything about me.

most people can only see grey.

>>4149878
>But let's say every secret of the universe suddently reveals itself to you, what would there be left to do besides living?

You've got it.

>people thinking they can get actual understanding of dhamma merely by reading books
I shiggity

>anyone ITT implying you can control your mind

I seriously hope you guys don't do this.

>>4149479
the guy from the right is the same as the guy from the left: deluded

2deep4you

>>4149942
>being this pleb

>>4149677
Yea Derrida's explanations and his ideas are very similar to many of the older Buddhist texts.

Though his use for it is mainly in literature and meaning, Buddhist are doing something similar as they are explaining the nature of both meanings and reality. I feel like Buddhists have gone beyond Derrida.

>>4150011
Get out, Schopenhauer. Hegel was better anyway.

>>4150101
>>4149677
Interesting! Can either of you recommend some texts that go into more detail regarding the links between Derrida and Buddhism?

>>4150638
There's a sort of cottage industry of this in academia by now, look at this paper

http://sucra.saitama-u.ac.jp/modules/xoonips/download.php/BKSK210202.pdf?file_id=19710


They generally tend to compare Derrida with Madhyamaka

>>4149594

>>4150011
Pretty good, /lit/. Pretty good.

>>4150638


"Do tell me, who is the stupid fellow sitting next to me?"

- Frau Edouard Devrient

>>4149479
According to some Hindus Buddha was the ninth incarnation of Krishnu.

Jesus was the tenth.

Oh and Vishnu was the eighth.

Seeing Buddha and a cross in the same picture reminded me of that.

There's some Zen story. I forget the details, but basically a Zen student asks his mentor permission to leave the monastery and travel to better reinforce what he's learning. The teacher grants permission and the guy leaves.

A while later the student comes back and sits down with the teacher to talk. Teacher asks him what he's learned about Zen during his travels. The student meditates for a moment, and replies (paraphrasing here): "the clouds reflected in the river don't let us see the pebbles."

The teacher gets all derisive, like "seriously? you went away and travelled and that's all you got? at this rate you'll never reach enlightenment." The student starts to cry. With tears in his eyes he goes like "well, why don't YOU tell me what Zen means?"

"I'll damn tell you what it means: the clouds reflected in the river don't let us see the pebbles."

Upon hearing those words, the student reaches enlightenment.

>>4151012
those are called "koans"

Bump for enlightenment

has anyone read the new Zom-b book?
calling it right now:
Dr. Oystein is Mr. Dowling

>>4151012
zen monks are fucking cool
we need more people willing to slap other people in the face for asking stupid questions

>>4151044
that's not a koan and the meaning is immediately apparent if you understand what zen buddhists emphasize in their practice
lol

>>4151044
Delicious

>>4152201
It's pronounced "Co-ahn." Don't you know Japanese pronunciation? This is 4chan man, get a grip.

bumpo

>>4151000
Interesting...well if Jesus was Krishnu, who is Satan? I am not an expert in Hindu, but I thought there was only a God of death/destruction and a Goddess of war...who would Satan be?

> Implying you can reach enlightenment just by reading a lot.
> Implying all reading does is make you realize that the weather sucks.

>>4155231

>implying you can't travel to a different plane of existence through your mind and a good book

Getting lost in a book is literal anon. Lose yourself in a different world, cast off your emotions, desires, and thoughts, and become the observer of another set of beings unrelated to your place in the world. Go get lost in a book.

There is a difference between seeing the world as it is and subscribing to a comforting ideology that generates cognitive dissonance upon inspection. The former is coming to terms with the Camus' Absurd, the search for meaning in an inherently meaningless universe, and starting the search for your own ikigai. The latter ideologies come with inherent meanings that are based off of other individuals rather than finding your own in your pursuit.

>>4150638
Ok, I'm interested in understanding a few things that are confusing me now. For instance, what exactly does Derrida's deconstruction offer that Hegel's dialectic does not and what distinguishes them? I haven't looked into Derrida much, but all I understand is that he seems to be more interested in subverting hierarchical concepts as opposed to apparent opposites with his framework. Why would Derrida's idea's be closer to Buddhism than Hegal's?