Hell as oblivion

[kahljorn]

They are buddhist and gnostic concepts ;/ I even used the official words. Goto the wikipedia links, I posted them for a reason. I don't know if you were insulting me though, I can't tell. Maybe you were talking about the rosicrucians?

The funny thing is the eternalist thing sounds like one of the steps on the eight-fold path, and also one of the steps to becoming a yoga. Essentially, objectivity. However, from what I've heard the only reason buddhism disagrees with Eternalism(I guess there has been an open interest in this line of thought) is because they refuse to give any factors/dimensions/names to their objectivity.. So rather than trying to look with just objective time, they reason you should simply strive for pure objectivity of thought. Rationality can't really hope to be acheived with any sort of prejudice.
Anyway, I think buddhists are just a little anal about things sometimes-- devotion seems a little pointless, even by their standards. You'd think they'd be happy that society is catching up to the things that they've been saying for thousands of years.

[Cosmo Electrolux]

Originally Posted by ziggytrix

It bugs me that hallucinogin induced "revalations" (by which I mean paranoid or blissful delusions discounted upon regaining sobriety) sound like Buddhist and Gnostic concepts. :/

I've read a lot of instances of Christian mystics having those types of religious hallucinations...even getting so enraptured that they supposedly floated off of the ground and fluttered around the room. Agreed, they are much less common in mainstream christianity than in other religions....I think that it goes back to the Middle Ages when those types of mystical experiences were probably linked with witchcraft or the "devil" and were considered heresy...

The revelation of St. John sounds a LOT like acid trips I've had.....

[kahljorn]

THE CHYMICAL WEDDING OF CHRISTIAN ROSENKREUTZ.

I still can't tell if ziggy was making fun of me for some reason ;(

[ziggytrix]

I was being honest and sincere. It bugs me because I'm not a student of the metaphysical. I'm pretty much a materialist when I'm awake and sober. I'd like to believe in eternal souls and a benevolent God and all that jazz, but I'd just as much like for Santa Clause and leprechauns to be real too.

But sometimes I have these flashbacks or panic attacks or something. It's like an overwhelming sense of deja vu. They used to scare me, but I've gotten fairly comfortable with them.

Either it's a lingering deficiency caused by several years of chemical debauchery followed by abstinence, some sort of anxiety disorder, or a glimpse of enlightenment.

I have no fucking clue, honestly.

[kahljorn]

Oh, I can kind of understand that. For the most part I see the world as a pretty materialistic place too. The problem is my 'meditations' or gnosis isn't just brought on by drugs, but for the most part I accept that if I want the house to be clean I'm going to have to clean it.
I don't think gnostics nor buddhists believe in a benevolent God, though, so I wouldn't worry about that. As far as I can tell neither one of them believes in God in any sort of a conventional sense, especially as far as good or evil or right or wrong go. Those are just aspects of dialectics, they'd probably say. ;(

[Sethomas]

Instead of making a new thread for my video on the subject, I'm resurrecting an old one. I made a YouTube on the subject.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cz4KakpjQd0

I add that I think that the idea of hell is very important from a sociological point of view. Being told that devils will sodomize you for all eternity is more of a threat than saying you won't exist after death. Ah well.