[QUOTE="RadBooley"]That's where I've always gotten lost. Isn't having some sort of record of karma that influences one's new existance sort of supernatural? (I'm mainly referring to Theravada Buddhism here).
Maybe I'm thinking about it wrong. :?
foxhound_fox
That's the issue I've always found with Buddhism. If "you" are affected by karma, then shouldn't there be a definitive "you" that doesn't change? The concept of anatman is a little vague and I've never fully grasped it.
As far as anatman goes for Buddhists, it isn't supernatural. In some of the Mahayana discourses, there are things called "dharmas" that are like atoms that phase in and out of existence. Every time these dharmas phase out of existence and new ones come into their place, they carry over the "data" of the first, only with slight variation... and only VERY slowly do things change in an appreciable amount. It is their explanation of decomposition and further proof that things change and are impermanent.
It would be difficult for me to try and explain all these things, especially in enough detail for anyone to understand them, without going and finding my course notes and just copying them verbatim into a post.
Theravadin Buddhists very much play down the supernatural elements of the belief, despite the requirement of becoming an Arhat (or Buddha under the Buddha's Dharma) requires one to be male, so women need to be reborn as men and then join the sangha (the monks community). And the fact that the mythos surrounding the life of Shakyamuni Buddha is incredibly supernatural (virgin birth, etc.). Thus enforcing the fact that one needs to believe in reincarnation for one to become enlightened.
The only Buddhist sect that requires very little, to no supernatural belief or leaps of faith is Zen. All the previous sects require many lives of work in order to achieve enlightenment. Mahayana requiring at least two. Zen allows you to become enlightened straight up, no bull****.
But then you have to ask yourself, if there is no objective way to analyze enlightenment, how do we really know when someone is enlightened?Yeah, that's essentially what I've been unable to wrap my head around surrounding Buddhism. :?
Although, I had always just sort of rationalized karma as a means to improve the planet and the lives of those on it. Like, the good works one does affect future generations moreso than it does the actual person who does them. But hey, that's just me and my attempts to root the idea of karma into something observable and something that doesn't require anything supernatural to function.
Are there any Buddhist texts or resources that can help clear some of this up? (Not like your post didn't do a good job, I'm just interested in Buddhism and have no idea what I ought to be looking into.)
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