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Discussion Four

The topic reply is due by Wednesday, February 21 at 11 pm Pacific Standard Time.

Peer replies are due by Sunday, February 25 at 11 pm Pacific Standard Time.

Discussion Topic

This is week’s discussion is about Buddhism.

First, please pick one of the following questions and post an answer. 

Please post your original comment by February 21 at 11 pm. 

Second, please politely respond to one other student before 11 pm on Sunday, February 25.

Questions

Does it make sense to believe in reincarnation? If “no,” are people like the Buddha deluded when they claim to remember past lives? If “yes,” what evidence is there for it? What difference would it make to you now if you believed you would be reborn and live again?

Do you think Buddha’s own experience (such as losing his mother as an infant, and being cosseted in a palace) had any influence on his outlook on life? Was it selfish of him to abandon his wife and child in order to seek enlightenment?

Is the First Noble Truth correct when it claims that “all existence is suffering,” or is Buddhism overly pessimistic in its assessment of the human condition? What sort of things are included in the scope of the term dukkha?

Can meditation be effectively practiced in an urban setting, or must it be reserved for secluded monasteries?