a quote i came across

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jcsuperstar
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a quote i came across

Post by jcsuperstar »

We are generally the better persuaded by the reasons we discover ourselves than by those given to us by others.
- Blaise Pascal

i think this sums up the feeling behind many of the arguments on here...
สัพเพ สัตตา สุขีตา โหนตุ

the mountain may be heavy in and of itself, but if you're not trying to carry it it's not heavy to you- Ajaan Suwat
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SeerObserver
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Re: a quote i came across

Post by SeerObserver »

Interesting point. Do you think that a passage found somewhere on your own might change your mind or interpretation on a subject more than if someone you were disagreeing with were to have referred you to it?
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jcsuperstar
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Re: a quote i came across

Post by jcsuperstar »

depends on the person im disagreeing with
สัพเพ สัตตา สุขีตา โหนตุ

the mountain may be heavy in and of itself, but if you're not trying to carry it it's not heavy to you- Ajaan Suwat
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Fede
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Re: a quote i came across

Post by Fede »

It doesn't matter if we find reasons for ourselves.... they are still, at some former point, put forward by others already.
So I think this comment is inaccurate.
Even if we come to a conclusion through our own cogitation, it is by investigating existing information.
"Samsara: The human condition's heartbreaking inability to sustain contentment." Elizabeth Gilbert, 'Eat, Pray, Love'.

Simplify: 17 into 1 WILL go: Mindfulness!

Quieta movere magna merces videbatur. (Sallust, c.86-c.35 BC)
Translation: Just to stir things up seemed a good reward in itself. ;)

I am sooooo happy - How on earth could I be otherwise?! :D


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Cittasanto
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Re: a quote i came across

Post by Cittasanto »

guess that is why there is an invitation from the Buddha to see for yourself.
Blog, Suttas, Aj Chah, Facebook.

He who knows only his own side of the case knows little of that. His reasons may be good, and no one may have been able to refute them.
But if he is equally unable to refute the reasons on the opposite side, if he does not so much as know what they are, he has no ground for preferring either opinion …
...
He must be able to hear them from persons who actually believe them … he must know them in their most plausible and persuasive form.
John Stuart Mill
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genkaku
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Re: a quote i came across

Post by genkaku »

jcsuperstar wrote:We are generally the better persuaded by the reasons we discover ourselves than by those given to us by others.
- Blaise Pascal

i think this sums up the feeling behind many of the arguments on here...
I think the quote points to the fact that you don't have to be a Buddhist to exercise common sense:

"It is not what others do and do not do that is my concern. It is what I do and do not do -- that is my concern" -- attributed to Shakyamuni Buddha in The Dhammapada.

"There are three kinds of men. The one that learns by reading. The few who learn by observation. The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves." -- American humorist Will Rogers

Etc.
floating_abu
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Re: a quote i came across

Post by floating_abu »

jcsuperstar wrote:We are generally the better persuaded by the reasons we discover ourselves than by those given to us by others.
- Blaise Pascal

i think this sums up the feeling behind many of the arguments on here...
I read it as -- we can only learn when we learn ourselves.
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