[Buddha-l] Doxastic minimalism (was: flat earth?)

[Jackhat1 at aol.com]

In a message dated 5/17/2007 5:21:30 P.M. Central Daylight Time,  
jkirk at spro.net writes:

Buddhadasa’s  rendering of the rebirth concept strikes me as bestowing 
optimism and courage,  much more so than the usual version that envisions a new 
identity in some kind  of existence after we die—a pie (or cow-pie) in the sky 
notion that operates  as a sword of Damocles hanging over thy or my head while in 
this life,  functioning as a carrot or a stick for the donkey. 


I would add that moment to moment rebirth fits in with the Buddha's  
insistence on our dealing with life right now instead of something after we are  dead 
(which he refused to talk about). This rebirth also gives meaning to the  
Cycle of Dependent Origination as something we can use in our life right  now.
 
Jack



************************************** See what's free at http://www.aol.com.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mailman.swcp.com/mailman/private/buddha-l/attachments/20070517/1ed47e93/attachment.htm