h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

So you don't really think you're "solely suffering"...

trying to accelerate the evolution of humanity and trying to end our suffering are not nearly the same thing, we can suffer and still evolve, evolution is just biology

> trying to accelerate the evolution of humanity and trying to end
> our suffering are not nearly the same thing, we can suffer and
> still evolve, evolution is just biology

In fact, for evolution to occur (outside of direct genetic manipulation), suffering is pretty much a requirement. The better adapted must outbreed the less well adapted. How can this happen without suffering?

most likely, if we were to end today's suffering, we would just find more things to suffer about.

All life is suffering - Buddha

if we didn't suffer we wouldn't have the concept of a heaven or a paradise maybe... it depends if we are *really* greedy still besides that

AKN - nice to see that you've moved on from just patting SS's back. If you want to prove him right, argument's the best way to go about it.
Nothing would be anything without a contrast to define it. Our lives would have no goal if not to escape suffering. In fact, suffering's a tool of evolution - it tells us what's going wrong where and how, and gives us an incentive to do something about it. The same seems to be going on with SS - suffering (what exactly HAVE you seen of suffering, SS?) has apparently shown him what's wrong and how to fix it.
Sorry about my religion posting yesterday, everyone. I didn't get round to linking it to the main argument before the FLH (fascist lords of the house) kicked me offline.
az - "Everything is fire" - Democritus. Just cos someone says something, it's not necessarily true. (Incidentally, Democritus met his demise jumping into a volcanoe. The power of thoughts, eh?)

Who is SS?

I remember that SS thing from my GrandFather. He died in Combat in Korea fighting for Democracy.

SS is a rather bad Acronym I think. It has Germanic 40's overtones.

I am concerned about the FLH. Who are they?

As for the religious posting, you have every right to express your views, just don't be surprised to be challenged on them.

Fnord,

It was just a quote - I didn't say I thought it was true just because someone had said it. Though I would say that it is true that all life contains suffering.

I agree with you that we need contrasts to help us define things. After all, we do seem to live in a world of opposites. How would I know when I was feeling good if I didn't know what it was like to feel bad? (for example).

az

"As for the religious posting" it isn't!!! It's philosophy.
Buddhism is not so much a religion, it's more a way of life.

Al

Alan - no no no, I meant yesteday when I came on, had a short rant against the church as self-inflicted security, then ran away.
For the uninitiated (ie everyone), the FLH are the damnable parents and their thrice-curs't hair.
Az - I wasn't criticising you, just the general habit of quoting. Then again, every experience provides its own contrast to the default state of not feeling whatever it is. (Oh, az - today in Philosophy we were asked what made us happy, and I got told off for saying "pheromones". Bloody FLC.)

Fnord,

I didn't think you were criticizing me at all! Also, apologies for still calling you Fnord. But your new name is too long and the short form - Mal - means 'bad' or 'evil' in Spanish, so I don't feel comfortable calling you that.

What is FLC?

And what's wrong with saying that pheremones make us feel happy? Because they do. Perhaps your prof thought you were just being glib? Perhaps your prof has no visible sense of humour?

Well, never mind. Noggin has already paid you a massive compliment by saying you are quite on the verge of becoming quite the philosopher. I'd go with Noggin's assessment.

btw, I agree with you that religions and 'the church' are a sort of self-inflicted security blanket thingy. I have no time for religion myself, but I also know people who get stuff they need by belonging to a religion. Whatever gets you through the night . . .

az

"All life is suffering - Buddha"

Only if you continue to yearn for things you don't have.

And who doesn't do that? If we didn't yearn for something better then we may as well just sit down and die, doncha think?

az

btw whoever asked, SS is SolelySuffering shortened, whom we've beeen /talking/ with here...

"And who doesn't do that?"

Buddhists, you would hope.


"If we didn't yearn for something better then we may as well just sit down and die, doncha think?"

I do believe that the whole point is to stop "yearning" and start *doing*. Both yearning and sitting down and dying hardly address the issues for which you are yearning, doncha think?

hi Neugen,

Normally when I find myself yearning for something I end up doing whatever I can to acheive or obtain it.

Not having desires sounds a bit bleak to me.

az

Hola azahar!

"Normally when I find myself yearning for something I end up doing whatever I can to acheive or obtain it."


That's great provided they are "virtuous" yearnings.

As you probably well know, Buddhism teaches that all selfish yearnings (lust, greed, hatred, anger etc.) should be faught and all virtuous yearnings (the desire to benefit others) should be acted upon.

Oh no! Not lust too!

az

sadly, yes.

guess that's why Buddhism never found a foothold in the west?

Hi again all, ok brace yourself cause here it comes!
I am so sick of the hopeless and helpless attitude of the human race. You want a good reason to kick religion right in the n&@s, there's it's placement of forgiveness and responsibility in the hands of some great non-existent and it's promotion of suffering and mythological b@%#^%$t. You absolutely do not need to know the pain of a good swift kick in the arse, to know the sweet comfort of a kiss from a loved one. It is possible to compare the sweetness of honey to the sour of a lemon, but absolutely unnecessary. You know damn well that each thing is what it is, with it's own characteristics, and you do not need to compare it to anything else to know it. I am angry that you give me shit for supposedly saying things just for the sake of saying them, and then pull up old myths to try and beat me down. Suffering may have beeen a great motivator in our evolution, but it is not a necessity, and not something to be glorified so you can ignore the fact that the little child next door is getting raped by their so-called adult caretaker. This is what makes me mad, this is what is unacceptable.