1. Kerry O'Brien's exclusive interview with the Dalai Lama

Comment #193032 by mtnmann on June 14, 2008 at 1:16 pm

Hey! I was thinking of Friends after I started writing it, but I first realized it when I was about 15... Anyway, thanks for the sarcasm.

2. Kerry O'Brien's exclusive interview with the Dalai Lama

Comment #193029 by mtnmann on June 14, 2008 at 1:10 pm

Is altruism really just self-centered stuff tied up in semantics? Seems to me that we will always operate in a "selfish" mode. That is, even when we are acting in an altruistic matter, it's really because it makes us feel good in some way. I can't imagine anyone doing anything that didn't have some kind of pay off. Either feeling good/better or quenching guilt... Or an implicit I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine. Still - hardwired altruism may just be that our brains makes us feel good about protecting our children or doing other acts that appear altruistic. None of this means there's anything wrong with acting either "Altruistic" or "Selfish". It is what it is.

3. Kerry O'Brien's exclusive interview with the Dalai Lama

Comment #193018 by mtnmann on June 14, 2008 at 12:53 pm

Since buddhism claims there is no self it can't be egotistical

Great Teapot: It's a tough idea to get your mind around...been debated forever... Assuming there is a self seems like Dualism to me. If you are a self, who are you? Are you the same person you were when you were 7 years old? Are you the same self you were yesterday? Who were you before you were born? Who are you when you are angry, at peace, sad, happy? I'm not trying to oversimplify it, but if we are a self, then we certainly could never pin it down to a single thing... Nobody says we don't have personalities, just that you really have multiple personalities... That's a wee bit scary...

4. Kerry O'Brien's exclusive interview with the Dalai Lama

Comment #193013 by mtnmann on June 14, 2008 at 12:42 pm

Since Buddhism points out that there is no "Self" - i.e. no ghost in the machine of our brain - the narcissism claims are a bit overblown. One of the goals of Buddhism, especially Zen Buddhism, is to get the practitioner to the point where they clearly realize that the self is an illusion. It's tough to be selfish without the self. They also point out that nothing is more important than compassion, for "self" and others. I'm not Buddhist, but I've been reading about and experimenting with Zen Buddhist meditation since college. Once you throw out all the superstition, there is, as Sam Harris points out, a wealth of experience

From the point of view of our contemplative traditions, however, to boil them all down to a cartoon version, that ignores the rather esoteric disputes among them, our habitual identification with discursive thought, our failure moment to moment to recognize thoughts as thoughts, is a primary source of human suffering. And when a person breaks this spell, an extraordinary kind of relief is available.

I point this out because I see a lot of caricaturisation of what is at the heart of Buddhism. Buddhism has no dogma, it is anti-dogma. It's main tenant is to learn for yourself and accept no authority. Having said that, of course there is room for abuse and religionizing, which has happened. But this is one of those areas where a little research may show that we don't want to throw out the baby with the bathwater.

5. Judge orders La. school district to stop Bible giveaways

Comment #166661 by mtnmann on April 23, 2008 at 11:20 am

I wonder if this is related to the Wedge Strategy. Are they trying to overwhelm the legal system by creating these kinds of cases all over the U.S.? My thought is that if there are enough of these, the Fed might actually start handing out fines under the next administration... We'll see.