XPost: alt.atheism, alt.religion, aus.politics   
   XPost: uk.politics.misc   
   From: fasgnadh@yahoo.com.au   
      
   Allan Matthews wrote:   
   > In article  74638b8ba2fe@m24g2000vbp.googlegroups.com>, richard.smol@gmail.com   
   > says...   
   >> On Mar 3, 11:38 am, fasgnadh  wrote:   
   >>   
   >>> For months Atheists have been denying that Atheism is a religion,   
   >>> now we have an atheist claiming that Buddha was an atheist!  8^o   
   >>>   
   >>> Ergo an "Atheist" believes in the soul being re-incarnated until   
   >>> it reaches enlightenment and escapes the wheel of Karma.   B^D   
    >>   
   >> But he didn't believe in any gods, hence he was an atheist. Yes, it's   
   >> THAT simple.   
   >   
   > However, the Buddha DID believe in the existance of gods.   
      
   That's why all these athei-buddhists worship him!   
      
   BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAAHAHAAAAAA!   
      
   > In the Pali canon he talks with them regularly.   
      
   Just like Richo and the other atheists,   ;-) ..that's why they insist   
   Buddha is one of them, he shared their belief in gods, devas and   
   reincarnation;   
      
   "Brahma is among the common Gods found in the Pali Canon. Brahma (in   
   common with all other devas) is subject to change, final decline and   
   death, just as are all other sentient beings in samsara (the plane of   
   continual reincarnation and suffering). In fact there are several   
   different Brahma worlds and several kinds of Brahmas in Buddhism, all of   
   which however are just beings stuck in samsara for a long while. Instead   
   of belief in such a would-be Creator God as Brahma (a benign heavenly   
   being who is in reality not yet free from self-delusion and the   
   processes of rebirth), the wise are encouraged to practise the Dharma   
   (spiritual truth) of the Buddha, in which the Noble Eightfold Path are   
   paramount and are said to bring spiritual Liberation and Awakening.   
      
   Other common Gods referred to in the Canon   
      
   Many of the other Gods in the Pali Canon find a common mythological role   
   in Hindu literature. Some common gods and goddesses are Indra, Aapo   
   (Varuna), Vayo (Vayu), Tejo (Agni), Surya, Pajapati (Prajapati), Soma,   
   Yasa, Venhu (Visnu), Mahadeva (Siva), Vijja (Saraswati), Usha, Pathavi   
   (Prithvi) Sri (Lakshmi) Kuvera (Kubera), several yakkhas (Yakshas),   
   gandhabbas (Gandharvas), Nagas, garula (Garuda), sons of Bali, Veroca,   
   etc.[20] While in Hindu texts some of these gods and goddesses are   
   considered ebodiments of the Supreme Being, to early Buddhists this is a   
   ridiculous idea. In the Buddha's view all gods and goddesses were bound   
   to samsara and were not in a aptly suited realm of the world of radiance   
   where beings could exist without form. From such a world a person could   
   attain to nirvana within a few fractions of a second, but the world of   
   gods according to the Buddha presents a being with too many pleasures   
   and distractions."   
      
      
      
      
   --   
      
      
         Subject: AQOTM fraud is a clear Breach of AQOTM RULES!!!!   8^o   
                  Quotemeister *nemo*toad implicated!  8^o   
         Message-ID: <49847258$0$3253$afc38...@news.optusnet.com.au>   
      
         http://tinyurl.com/b4hemx   
      
         BwAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA!   
      
      
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   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)