tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14476094.post115183690214511750..comments2023-10-05T05:39:28.999+05:30Comments on A-Gyan: Samsara**Agyanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14503056769448425400noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14476094.post-1153569431235801232006-07-22T17:27:00.000+05:302006-07-22T17:27:00.000+05:30Well as usual I beg to differ. The biggest thing o...Well as usual I beg to differ. The biggest thing of Buddhism and why it caught on so fast was because of its sheer simplicity. If you observe Buddha's teachings, they are so brief and concise, it is mind-boggling, after so many years of philosophical pursuit, he came up with such simple rational thoughts.<BR/>The only reason the dominant religion - Hinduism - managed to counter Buddhism is by showing its adaptability. Buddhism also consequently got caught on in rituals, and as far as I know, split into sects much after Buddha. In fact, it happened during Ashoka (the chief spreader of the religion), who came at least two centuries after Buddha.<BR/>As for meat-eating, I totally agree that is a cultural phenomena. In fact, India is possibly the only country in the world where vegetarianism is so rampant. I just commeneted on the sheer irony of it, a religion whose singlemost dominant theme is 'Ahimsa' should definitely avoid if not prohibit meat-eating. And the question is raised through the voice of the kid.<BR/>By the way, I don't the wife was Buddha, it was just a man's conscience, the fatal flaw in the great characters as I call them. That's why Mahabharat is so good, each and every protagonist falls victim to some idiosyncrancy, making it briliiantly grey and murky.Agyanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14503056769448425400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14476094.post-1153157230514155912006-07-17T22:57:00.000+05:302006-07-17T22:57:00.000+05:30Nice review, loads of gyan.The points about renunc...Nice review, loads of gyan.<BR/><BR/>The points about renunciation and how Buddhism has moved away from what Buddha envisaged in his time.<BR/><BR/>The second issue is the meat eating bit.<BR/><BR/>First, my history tells me that Buddha went along two paths..the Hinayana and the Mahayana.....while I dont know what their modern equivalents are, I know for sure that Mahayana was even more ritualistic than the Hindusim which Buddha was trying to reform.<BR/><BR/>Also it is important to remember that the essence of Buddhism may have been carried to the world but they all interpreted it within their own contexts.<BR/><BR/>Third, the Buddhism we are wrestling with here is the Tibetan variant which was influenced by developments in Hinduism for a long time after Buddha. The Tibetan word for India means 'abode of the gods' and the fact that it had to adjust and fight for hegemony with the Bon religion that existed.<BR/><BR/>I think food habits are more determined by weather and living conditions rather than religion. So it would be grossly unfair to except the populace to live in that climate without meat.<BR/><BR/>The movie was released cause Pan Nalin's other movie Valley of Flowers was ready, so there was probably some market buzz about it due to the presence of stars like Naseer I suppose!itineranthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00764520998085530843noreply@blogger.com