Hello Dali

[Marla]

I recently saw an interview with the Dali Llama and he said that going to heaven was as simple as treating everyone with care and kindness in this life(a belief that I firmly believe in). Going to heaven for a Budest means that you can can come back as another being (not sure). When he said this, I said to my wife if I had my choice I would come back as a fully developed "hot babe" and she said that was perverted, which probably explains while I'm still in the closet after 40 years. Any comments? Marla

[uknowhoo]

Perhaps her reaction would have been less negative if you had said "woman" instead of hot babe :bs: (I probably would've said the same thing :cheeky: ).

Hugs,

Tammi

[melissacd]

Marla,

Simple is not always so simple. Budhism is a wonderful philosophy and many of its tenets resonate with me. Budhism does not have the same concept of heaven and hell as Judeo-Christian theologies, however, the basic premise is that you lead a good life (good thoughts, good actions), create good Karma and you move closer and closer to enlightenment. Good karma and bad karma, a sort of score board, tracks through many lifetimes and good in this life may not be recognized for many incarnations. The same with bad.

These earthly lives, samsara, are the playing field toward enlightenment. Eventually, hopefully, you reach enlightenment and you no longer have to return to samsara (earthly life).

The incarnations are tied to one another by a common universal I or self that is neither male nor female, it just is. That self is not the same self that lives in a unique life. The little self ties back to the big universal self (the connection to universal wisdom) and can tap into that knowledge if it knows how, however, for most of us we just experience this lifetime, this personality. The lessons and karma carry forward from life to life and in some cases threads of memories can bleed from life to life, however, for all intents and purposes this self, this life, this personality dies when you die. So there is eternal life for the big I self, but for each earthly life there is only one unique existence.

The lesson, be good, but also enjoy all the wonderous things of this beautiful life. Embrace all that you are and learn many good lessons. Be creative, be happy, be helpful, be respectful and just plain be.

Huggs
Melissa

[Paula Rae]

Hey Marla,
Whats this got to do with male to female crossdressing?

Ricki B

[Julie York]

When you 'need' to come back as a hot babe to enjoy the experience of overcoming vanity, self doubt, the shallowness of human relationships and the inevitability of age.......you WILL! Lucky you.

[Bridget]

Heaven? I'm not so sure about the Tibetan Buddhist system, but Heaven doesn't specifically exist in the Buddhist cosmology. Once you attain enlightenment, Nirvana lies before you, which is removal from existence, death, the removal of emotions of both happiness and sorrow. This is the ultimate goal of a Buddhist.

Each earthly incarnation is meant to be a step forward, as the Buddha the Shakyamuni himself, went through many incarnations as animals and men, each time taking a piece of wisdom about the universe. Until he was born as the miraculous son of Queen Maya, from her armpit, incidentally. By living a good life, one advances forward. Until one possibly is incarnated as one ready to attain Nirvana. However this takes many lifetimes.

[Bridget]

And to your wife I would say in my best sagely tone, "What is perverted? In order to tell what that is, you must first determine what is the natural order of things. But how can you determine what is the natural order of things? Can you round up and count every person, and declare that this is normal? And did not Lao Tzu say that 'When what is virtuous is seen as virtue, that is evil, when what is beautiful is seen as beauty, that is ugliness'?"

*Insert the meditation icon from DA here*