The law of attraction

Exploring Theravāda's connections to other paths - what can we learn from other traditions, religions and philosophies?
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greggorious
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The law of attraction

Post by greggorious »

Do any of you Buddhists have an opinion on this new age theory of the law of attraction? Do you believe it actually exists, and even if it does, it it just another form or ego grasping? I.e you often see books on how to attract your prefect lover, how to win the lottery etc.
"The original heart/mind shines like pure, clear water with the sweetest taste. But if the heart is pure, is our practice over? No, we must not cling even to this purity. We must go beyond all duality, all concepts, all bad, all good, all pure, all impure. We must go beyond self and nonself, beyond birth and death. When we see with the eye of wisdom, we know that the true Buddha is timeless, unborn, unrelated to any body, any history, any image. Buddha is the ground of all being, the realization of the truth of the unmoving mind.” Ajahn Chah
Mawkish1983
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Re: The law of attraction

Post by Mawkish1983 »

It is nonsense.
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marc108
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Re: The law of attraction

Post by marc108 »

absolute nonsense. try it and see if you win the lottery. :jumping:
"It's easy for us to connect with what's wrong with us... and not so easy to feel into, or to allow us, to connect with what's right and what's good in us."
daverupa
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Re: The law of attraction

Post by daverupa »

Shades of New Thought; here's some history.

(Here is some interesting miscellany on that note.)
  • "And how is it, bhikkhus, that by protecting oneself one protects others? By the pursuit, development, and cultivation of the four establishments of mindfulness. It is in such a way that by protecting oneself one protects others.

    "And how is it, bhikkhus, that by protecting others one protects oneself? By patience, harmlessness, goodwill, and sympathy. It is in such a way that by protecting others one protects oneself.

- Sedaka Sutta [SN 47.19]
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manas
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Re: The law of attraction

Post by manas »

greggorious wrote:Do any of you Buddhists have an opinion on this new age theory of the law of attraction? Do you believe it actually exists, and even if it does, it it just another form or ego grasping? I.e you often see books on how to attract your prefect lover, how to win the lottery etc.
Hi greg,

I do think that our state of mind can influence what happens to us, if we change it for the better, even in the short term. But the proponents of that theory claim that everyone is literally creating their reality by their core beliefs and thought patterns continually, in real time, by the 'signal' they are broadcasting out to the Cosmos. If that were the case, then a quadriplegic with a totally severed spinal cord ought to be able to heal his or her spinal cord, utilizing the power of the mind alone, in the here and now. When a documented example of this occurs, I will be willing to take another look at the 'Law of Attraction', but for now I'm pretty sure it's yet another example of spiritual materialism, which is rampant in the so-called 'New Age Movement'. Plus it's a good way to sell lots of books and videos for it's proponents, thus 'manifesting' a goodly amount of 'abundance' for them personally... :P

kind regards,
manas
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To the Buddha-refuge i go; to the Dhamma-refuge i go; to the Sangha-refuge i go.
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Ben
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Re: The law of attraction

Post by Ben »

“No lists of things to be done. The day providential to itself. The hour. There is no later. This is later. All things of grace and beauty such that one holds them to one's heart have a common provenance in pain. Their birth in grief and ashes.”
- Cormac McCarthy, The Road

Learn this from the waters:
in mountain clefts and chasms,
loud gush the streamlets,
but great rivers flow silently.
- Sutta Nipata 3.725

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SarathW
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Re: The law of attraction

Post by SarathW »

With my own experience I believe in the Law of Attraction. I never won Lotto because I never wish for it.
All the people I knew who are Lotto winners died in a very short time of became poorer than before.
All the things you receive through low of attraction lead you to a bigger misery!
“As the lamp consumes oil, the path realises Nibbana”
duckfiasco
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Re: The law of attraction

Post by duckfiasco »

Seems like any attempt to further entrench a "me getting mine" worldview can only lead further into delusion and the suffering borne of any kind of ego-clinging :thinking:
What I've seen doesn't start from the sort of similar viewpoint of kamma, for the purpose of understanding our situation and doing something about suffering.
Instead, it looks like it's about pleasure seeking.
So from wrong intention, wrong view, and the whole thing is flawed.
In my opinion, anyway.

This is very much a popular thing right now.
I work as a captioner for the Deaf and hard-of-hearing, and one of the PBS specials I captioned this year was on this kind of thing.
They tried to wrap it up in science about how we only perceive a minute percentage of our sensory input, and something about quantum mechanics. Not sure how it was all supposed to tie together.
It seemed like spiritual materialism (as mentioned) being justified with the materialist reductionism that characterizes the Western worldview in our day and age.
Not to sound too snobby :sage:
Dr. Dukkha
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Re: The law of attraction

Post by Dr. Dukkha »

Now, I can ask questions from now until tomorrow about Law of Attraction for it is certainly an 'attractive' theory. But my true question is how New Age gurus and Sannyasa (Hindu) gurus, who obviously have read about Buddhism (they even mention the Buddha is some of their sermons), and according to Buddhism, lying will have kammic consequences, and the fact that Buddhism is the wisest thing ever... How could ANYone read about something as wise Buddhism (it doesn't require that much if an open mind to accept the Dhamma) and with a grin on their face, teach something adhammic. Either they know something we don't know, they haven't really looked into it (which is odd because they mention him on occasion), they're straight-up atheists laundering money, or they have too much delusion preventing such gifts of the universe. In fact, it's beyond me how anyone can read anything by the Buddha and not be completely mesmerized.
"There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth; not going all the way, and not starting."
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Mkoll
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Re: The law of attraction

Post by Mkoll »

Dr. Dukkha wrote:Now, I can ask questions from now until tomorrow about Law of Attraction for it is certainly an 'attractive' theory. But my true question is how New Age gurus and Sannyasa (Hindu) gurus, who obviously have read about Buddhism (they even mention the Buddha is some of their sermons), and according to Buddhism, lying will have kammic consequences, and the fact that Buddhism is the wisest thing ever... How could ANYone read about something as wise Buddhism (it doesn't require that much if an open mind to accept the Dhamma) and with a grin on their face, teach something adhammic. Either they know something we don't know, they haven't really looked into it (which is odd because they mention him on occasion), they're straight-up atheists laundering money, or they have too much delusion preventing such gifts of the universe. In fact, it's beyond me how anyone can read anything by the Buddha and not be completely mesmerized.
Unfortunately, not everyone has a change of heart the moment they read the Buddha's teachings. It took me a few years from when I first read about Buddhist teachings to fully come around. Some people never do. The Buddha's teaching goes "against the stream" of the world.
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
Spiny Norman
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Re: The law of attraction

Post by Spiny Norman »

Can anyone say in a nutshell what the law of attraction is? It it thinking a lot about what you want, or doing visualisations or something?
Buddha save me from new-agers!
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Mkoll
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Re: The law of attraction

Post by Mkoll »

Spiny Norman wrote:Can anyone say in a nutshell what the law of attraction is? It it thinking a lot about what you want, or doing visualisations or something?
This film, The Secret, greatly popularized the concept. You might find your answer there.
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
Spiny Norman
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Re: The law of attraction

Post by Spiny Norman »

Mkoll wrote:
Spiny Norman wrote:Can anyone say in a nutshell what the law of attraction is? It it thinking a lot about what you want, or doing visualisations or something?
This film, The Secret, greatly popularized the concept. You might find your answer there.
From Wiki: "...everything one wants or needs can be satisfied by believing in an outcome, repeatedly thinking about it, and maintaining positive emotional states to "attract" the desired outcome."

..sounds like an opportunity to develop tanha. :tongue:
Buddha save me from new-agers!
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Mkoll
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Re: The law of attraction

Post by Mkoll »

Pretty much.
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
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