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Internet Sacred Text Archive

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31–40 of 130 posts

Re: Internet Sacred Text Archive

#31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Very little to do with Whitehead’s system other than being broadly “process” oriented.

“process philosophy posits transient occasions of change or becoming as the only fundamental things of the ordinary everyday real world.” I think you need to read more Daoist writings! It possesses that it is the transformation of yin into yang and back that creates everything in the world. https://www.heraldopenaccess.us/openaccess/yin-yang-a-method... The discovery that the motion of matter is not the result of ext…

Yes, again, Whitehead has a particular system that is pretty different from Taoism. It's a little more complicated than a Wikipedia summary sentence.

Re: Internet Sacred Text Archive

#32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you look at religion, folklore, mythology, as metaphors, then you really can’t exclude anything as a religion, that includes science, which is also a metaphor. All language is a metaphor. Science as you practice it today, to me, is also a religion. I don’t mean that to denigrate science in anyway. We need metaphors to make the infinite more manageable. And by metaphor I mean a thing regarded as representative or s…

You’re definitely correct about the religion part. That people want their religion to have “modern physics” shows just how religious science has become in the last century. Religion is supposed to be about guidance for people and how to live a good life as a part of the whole. Dealing with ethical codes, coping with the human condition of stress and suffering, familial and social bonds etc. Science on the other hand,…

> Science on the other hand, at least hard science, is focused on making predictions about the material world.

This was a purpose of the I Ching, divination!

What else is science, but only a more refined method of this practice?

And your definition of religion is very limited. Science can also guide us. I had to live a good life as part of a hole. It can also help cope with stress and suffering. Science gave us air-conditioning, and that reduces a lot of our suffering!

Re: Internet Sacred Text Archive

#33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

“process philosophy posits transient occasions of change or becoming as the only fundamental things of the ordinary everyday real world.” I think you need to read more Daoist writings! It possesses that it is the transformation of yin into yang and back that creates everything in the world. https://www.heraldopenaccess.us/openaccess/yin-yang-a-method... The discovery that the motion of matter is not the result of ext…

Yes, again, Whitehead has a particular system that is pretty different from Taoism. It's a little more complicated than a Wikipedia summary sentence.

As is Daoism! More complicated!

Re: Internet Sacred Text Archive

#35
post #15

You can't download an entire work, you can only view HTML pages of chapters. You can indeed read the texts online but the site seems designed to prevent downloading an entire text, try Project Gutenberg or the Internet Archive first if you want a local copy. "Q: Why all the short files? I want to download the entire book in one file! A: Sorry. The short files are for technical reasons which greatly reduce the cost of…

It would be great if someone could make a torrent of all of these in one go.

Re: Internet Sacred Text Archive

#36
post #4

I've been curious lately about the existence of any religion, mythology, folklore, etc that capture something closer to the current edges of modern physics and astrology. Basic assumption is that most/all are based on dated observations of seasons, planets, stars, etc -- things that were once mysteries in the mechanical universe. Are there any that touch on quantum weirdness or more recent astrophysics (black holes,…

They are doing some interesting stuff over at https://scienceandnonduality.com

Re: Internet Sacred Text Archive

#37
post #4

I've been curious lately about the existence of any religion, mythology, folklore, etc that capture something closer to the current edges of modern physics and astrology. Basic assumption is that most/all are based on dated observations of seasons, planets, stars, etc -- things that were once mysteries in the mechanical universe. Are there any that touch on quantum weirdness or more recent astrophysics (black holes,…

>Basic assumption is that most/all are based on dated observations of seasons, planets, stars, etc -- things that were once mysteries in the mechanical universe. I think this is pretty much propaganda from anti-religious people. I have read all of the major religious texts over the last two years and If you look at most religions and their scriptures they deal very little with the physical world in general and are mo…

> I have read all of the major religious texts over the last two years

you're doing better than a lot of monks did over their entire life time.

call me a skeptic, but even if I was able to accomplish such a herculean feat over 2 years time I doubt I would have the time to grasp much of any of the content that I blazed through -- but of course we're different people -- allow me to express my awe.

Re: Internet Sacred Text Archive

#38
Nice collection that is. I always find old tales and stories from the past very entertaining. Their knowledge about neutrinos was not very advanced, but still...

Nostradamus: "When the animal domesticated by man

After great pains and leaps will come to speak"

Re: Internet Sacred Text Archive

#39

Kind of related to what I was mentioning on the Godel thread, but IMO the Kundalini (or whatever you call it) experience is the "grand unifying theory" of religion and mythology (although it's not actually a theory, but an experience). It provides an explanation for where religions may have come from, beyond our typically pompous attitude that earlier generations of people were superstitious and stupid. Instead, it s…

Is that the same thing as “The mystical experience” as we know it in western writings, or “kensho” as the zen folks call it?

Re: Internet Sacred Text Archive

#40
post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Basic assumption is that most/all are based on dated observations of seasons, planets, stars, etc -- things that were once mysteries in the mechanical universe. I think this is pretty much propaganda from anti-religious people. I have read all of the major religious texts over the last two years and If you look at most religions and their scriptures they deal very little with the physical world in general and are mo…

> I have read all of the major religious texts over the last two years you're doing better than a lot of monks did over their entire life time. call me a skeptic, but even if I was able to accomplish such a herculean feat over 2 years time I doubt I would have the time to grasp much of any of the content that I blazed through -- but of course we're different people -- allow me to express my awe.

Many of these texts have been around long enough for many dedicated people to put forth their own translations, and if relevant (like with many Chinese texts) with some kind of further researched commentary/citations to better explain linguistic concepts/cultural references that may not immediately be obvious otherwise.

It helps a lot of texts without/before involving deities can actually be quite short and sweet, comparatively. Personally, I've found the greek classics to be much more difficult to get into than most of these "sacred texts".

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