General philosophy Indian philosophy

[Cubey]

This thread will be for the three major Indian religions, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism (as well as their correspondence)

I know nothing of the vedics so that won’t be included here

 

[Cubey]

So the overview for this thread will cover the role of the individual (personal Self) in all three religions.

In Hinduism, the Self <spoiler>
In Buddhism, the Self <spoiler>
In Jainism, the Self <spoiler>

So that’s what we’re gonna discuss and then conclude with their interrelations (the three religions and their purpose)

 

[Goth Boy]

No Sikh?
No Northeastern tribal religions?

 

[Cubey]

No Sikh?
No Northeastern tribal religions?

I don’t know anything about Sikhism except the hair.

This thread will focus on the main three

 

[King of 🌽]

karma

 

[Cubey]

Ok I should also add that the crux of these elucidations is one concept that is nominally variant between the three schools of thought. It is the purpose of life according to them and that is moksha/nirvana/kevalya.

We will discuss them when I start detailing my points

 

[Cubey]

Samsara in Indian philosophy is the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth, indefinitely. Samsara is the constant around which all three religions, namely Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism revolve. Samsara’s function is to keep souls trapped under an oppressive spiritual regime that is based on karma. The idea is that if you do negative things in your life, such as impure thoughts, speech and conduct, you will invariably have to bear the consequences of them - those same things are going to happen to you later on when you think you’ve escaped samsara and the negative karma that is attached to your atman (individual Self). Your reactions to these consequences determines whether or not you pay off your debt. If you react with hostility, you will add to your negative karma and your life will get increasingly more painful. If you accept it, you will accrue good karma to balance out your outstanding negative balance. So what happens when you have a surplus of good karma? Well that’s the catch. You are no longer oppressed by consequences, you are now an oppressor as YOUR GOOD KARMA means OTHERS’ BAD KARMA. You are owed, spiritually speaking, and thus when you take advantage of that surplus, you are once again entering the cycle of samsara by virtue of virtue.

The focus of the three religions then is the escape from samsara. Each differs in its take on what it means to be truly liberated.

 

[Cubey]

Samadhi is a a form of meditation in all three religions. Its purpose is tied to its form - what it is. I’ll explain.

Samadhi is a form of meditation that doesn’t really focus on mindfulness, unlike other meditations. Mindfulness means “accepting the instance in any condition”. Practically I’ve never been able to be mindful for more than a mere moment. Maybe it’s possible to increase the duration of mindful meditation. I speak anecdotally when I say it comes and goes.

Now samadhi is the opposite of that. You are not accepting the instance, you are concentrating to a point where your awareness is all you can conceive. This allows for <spoiler for later>. Essentially you are so concentrative that your awareness has become immediately equivalent to your understanding.

Samadhi is extremely important in liberation from samsara.