From: d.raleigh.arnold@gmail.com   
      
   On Mon, 02 Jan 2012 15:12:09 -0500, Just Sister wrote:   
      
   > That was an interesting "sleight of brain", LOL!   
   >   
   > I thought the Buddha's teaching was as follows:   
   >   
   > To be happy, we must eschew both craving and aversion.   
   >   
   > I thought the Buddha explicitly eschewed all theological exploration.   
      
   Of course there is no theology in Buddhism, but he   
   discouraged religious disputation, not exploration.   
      
   > Since there is no way in the world to know with certainty either the   
   > nature of God or that of the afterlife,   
      
   We assume with confidence that since we needed a previous   
   life to arise, we will have more because of craving.   
   You can't have eternal life without eternal death. We   
   reach these conclusions based on our own experience. We   
   cannot identify our first thought, nor can we imagine   
   one because our experience is that every thought   
   is brought on by one previous. That   
   is as close to certainty as possible under the circumstances,   
   and it does not depend on the word of beings who may   
   be lying to us.   
      
   The nature of God is that he does not remember his previous life.   
      
    we should simply  focus on what   
   > makes us happy.   
      
   No "what" can make us happy. Only you can make you happy.   
      
   > It does make us happy to think well of all beings, and to wish them   
   > well.   
   > So, that's what I am trying to do!   
      
   Therefore, be happy! :-) Metta, daveA   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)