The Improbability of God The Improbability of God by Richard Dawkins from Free Inquiry, Volume 18, Number 3. Much of what people do is done in the name of God. Irishmen blow each other up in his name. Arabs blow themselves up in his name. Imams and ayatollahs oppress women in his name. Why do people believe in God? So ran Paley's argument, and it is an argument that nearly all thoughtful and sensitive people discover for themselves at some stage in their childhood. What do all objects that look as if they must have had a designer have in common? This is not a circular argument, by the way. Of all the trillions of different ways of putting together the atoms of a telescope, only a minority would actually work in some useful way. We can safely conclude that living bodies are billions of times too complicated -- too statistically improbable -- to have come into being by sheer chance. The fossils tell us that life has been evolving on Earth for more than 3,000 million years. Return to Top
» 12 Essential Rules to Live More Like a Zen Monk “We have more possibilities available in each moment than we realize.” - Thich Nhat Hanh By Leo Babauta I’m not a Zen monk, nor will I ever become one. You probably don’t want to become a Zen monk either, but you can live your life in a more Zen-like manner by following a few simple rules. Why live more like a Zen monk? One of my favorite Zen monks, Thich Nhat Hanh, simplified the rules in just a few words: “Smile, breathe and go slowly.” However, for those who would like a little more detail, I thought I’d share some of the things I’ve discovered to work very well in my experiments with Zen-like living. “Zen is not some kind of excitement, but concentration on our usual everyday routine.” - Shunryu Suzuki Do one thing at a time. “Before enlightenment chop wood and carry water.
Eight (harsh) Truths That Will Improve Your Life... - Global One TV They say life is what we make of it. By the end of this post, I hope to have helped you decide whether that statement is true or not. There is no doubt that life has its ups and downs. However, how we deal with them can sometimes make all the difference. Today I want to share eight harsh truths that I've come to learn from life. Some of these lessons may be old-hat for you. 1. Friends will always come and go in your life; even though I'm back in the UK now, all my friends are in university around the country and not exactly in meeting distance. Important Lesson: There are an abundance of amazing people out there for you to meet and build relationships with. You won't always get what you want in life: people are going to be late, people will let you down, items you want won't always be available. Important Lesson: Don't look for happiness in material possessions and if things don't go your way, learn to accept them. 4. 5. As the saying goes - "Only those who are asleep make no mistakes".
FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS The Four Noble Truths represent the core of the teachings of the Buddha, and are as follows: The First Noble Truth - dissatisfaction and suffering exist and are universally experienced. The Second Noble Truth - Desire and attachment are the causes of dissatisfaction and suffering. The Third Noble Truth - There is an end to dissatisfaction and suffering. The Fourth Noble Truth - The end can be attained by journeying on the Noble Eight-fold Path. THE NOBLE EIGHTFOLD PATH: Right Understanding, Right Thinking, Right Speech, Right Attitude, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, Right Concentration. 1. 2. 3. 4.Right Action: Practice selfless conduct that reflects the highest statement of the life you want to live. 5. 6. 7. 8.
Zen Buddhism | Thematic Essay The essential element of Zen Buddhism is found in its name, for Zen means "meditation." Zen teaches that enlightenment is achieved through the profound realization that one is already an enlightened being. This awakening can happen gradually or in a flash of insight (as emphasized by the Soto and Rinzai schools, respectively). But in either case, it is the result of one's own efforts. Zen traces its origins to India, but it was formalized in China. Today, ink monochrome painting is the art form most closely associated with Zen Buddhism. Zen Buddhism's emphasis on simplicity and the importance of the natural world generated a distinctive aesthetic, which is expressed by the terms wabi and sabi.