fulltimestudent

Joined

• started 752 topics
• posted 3,901 times   see topics posted on
• send a message

Posts by fulltimestudent

• 
  26

  Rational Buddhism?

  by cappytan in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  does a type of buddhism exist that doesn't include the metaphysical aspects of traditional buddhism?

  .

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  fulltimestudent

  Some random thoughts.

  1. User100 has an interest in an emaciated Buddha.

  Maybe like this one?

  
  

  Without knowing precisely what you've seen, I would suggest that an emaciated looking Buddha-like figure could be Jainist in origin.

  The Jainists may more often go in that direction, whereas Buddhism (as we know it) more likely follows the 'middle road,' - not too much and not too little.

  Having said that, we can find a buddhist Buddha like this also, referring to the Buddha's fasting prior to his eventual enlightenment:

  
  

  The emaciated Siddhartha Gautama becomes Gautama the Buddha. This stone sculpture now at the Lahore Museum, dates to the 2nd century AD.

  
  Reference: http://www.ishafoundation.org/blog/yoga-meditation/history-of-yoga/buddha-pournami/

  and we may find a modern statue of Jainism like this, which is anything but emaciated:

  
  

  Indian spiritual thought around the sixth century BCE was full of different lines of enquiry. Buddhism and Jainism are just two of many, and it's often difficult to separate them, because the lines of thought often cross and re-cross.

  If you have not come across these ideas before, these two sites may be of interest to you:

  http://www.diffen.com/difference/Buddhism_vs_Jainism

  http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~pluralsm/affiliates/jainism/article/thought.htm

  -----------------------

  Village Idiot quotes the Dalai lama. Tibetan buddhism in a more modernised format is (apparently and paradoxically) quite popular in both China and the West. In many case its teachers have re-looked at their approach and rationalised their teachings. It is probable that the Dalai lama's decision to leave Tibet (after two years of being importuned by an American ambassador) re-invigorated the intellectual level of that religious sect.
• 
  16

  Israel fears extinction

  by abiather in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  what a spirited, brilliant speech isreali pm mr. nethanyahu delivered yesterday to the congress against the negotiated nuclear deal with iran which israel fears would make iran a legitimate nuclear power with the ability to wipe out israel.

  (http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/03/netanyuahu-congress-iran-nuclear-deal-path-to-bomb).

  he also said: if no one supports, israel would defend itself alone.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  fulltimestudent

  I'd like to raise a question.

  What right did the Jewish people have to migrate to the territory now called Israel and expel the modern inhab itants?

  If you read the modern history, these migrants won by using terrorist tactics against the occupying British.
• 
  13

  Which school of thought is right about How long were the Israelite's in Egypt 215 or 430 years?

  by terrypike in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  a lot is out there about how long the israelite's were in egypt which can be devided into two schools of thought, those for bishop ushers 215 model or the ex 12: model which stays faithful to the 430 years to the very day ex 12:41 the israelite's left egypt.. historically the dispute goes back a long way at least to the time of jophesus who advocated the view that the isarelites were in canaan before they entered egypt true enough when taken at face value, but look more closely at what the bible says about when jacobs name was changed to israel and then ask the question is there any evidence in the bible that israel was used for the decendent's of abram, isaac or jacob before god changed the name of 97 year old jacob to israel?

  a jw i invited to research this confirmed none could be found so that done it remains to look again at the definitions 'decendents' and 'israelite's' to further clarify.. the 400 years affliction as in gen 15: speaks of the decendents of abram only, nowhere does it say anything about the israelites, ex 12: on the other hand refers to the israelite's who came out of egypt 430 years to the very day and says nothing about the decendent's of abram so ex 12: is referring to 'israel' the decendent's of jacob not the decendent's of abram.

  consider here that isaac the first born of the line of the promise and a decendent of abraham, died 180 years of age never having set foot in egypt, 10 years before 130 year old jacob/israel entered to reunite the tribal family's as one people, so by no stretch of the imagination can isaac be confused with the israelite's as is so easy to do when the ex 12: 430 year timeline is tied back to the days of abraham as is advocated by the bishop usher model that argues the israelite's were only in egypt 215 years.. gal 3: can be a problem only when read in isolation of other texts, use the same procedure as you would if someone said there was a contradiction with the gospels saying different things and ask them to read all four gospels to get the full picture, like wise with gal 3: which appears to be saying, by itself, that there are only 430 years between the circumcision covenant and the law covenant , read gen 47: and acts 7: to get a more complete picture of what paul has not said about 130 year old jacob's entry into egypt in the second year of famine.. to get the age of jacob start with 30 year old josephs age when he stood before the ruler of egypt and add the 9 year total of 7 years plenty plus two years famine which makes joseph 39, then take josephs 39 years off the age of 130 year old jacob to get 91 the age of jacob when joseph is born as jacob completes his 7 years work with laban for rachael.. jacob then agreed to work on for the beasts and he confirms he had worked a total of 20 years when laban caught up with him: 7 for leah, 7 for rachael, and 6 for the beasts.gen 31:38-41.. the key question when talking with jw's is how old was jacob when his name was changed, ask the questions and let them confirm from the book they trust what it really teaches.. terry.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  fulltimestudent

  One point that may be gleaned from the maps is that from early times, what we think of as Israelite territory was likely under the control of Egypt, and later became a contested area in struggles between the Egyptian Empire and competitors.

  So rather than the Israelite ancestral heroes journeying down to Egypt, Egypt in the form of occupying armies and military governors, was right there with them.

  Or, alternately, we can see from the maps that there was a close association between the proto-Israelites (of Canaanite origin) and the Egyptian Empire. If there was a famine that caused a migration south to Egypt, we may understand that as a logical journey within the confines of the Egyptian Empire.

  Whatever the truth behind the fairy stories, we can see the close association and influence that ancient Egypt must have exercised on the peoples within the Egyptian empire.

  If you want to read a quick overview of the current scholarship on the subject, the Wikipedia entry at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Exodus seems to be a reasonable place to start.
• 
  29

  China's New export drive - trains and rail systems

  by fulltimestudent in

  1. social
  2. current

  four or five times a week i travel on sydney's extensive suburban rail network.

  these days, most services use a train like this,.

  which are modern, double-decked, comfortable carriages.. it's not generally known that most of these train-sets (i.e.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  fulltimestudent

  SonoftheTrinity - Democracy and freedom are supposed to be a little messy. If you want a cult of personality and a strong leader, why not just have a monarchy?

  (grin) Umm! Like North Korea? The Kim's are kings in all but name.

  SonoftheTrinity - with the woman shortage in China, the charms of Ethiopian women, especially in the impoverished towns along the length of the railway, will probably prove irresistable to many.

  Well, nature always wins, eh?

  I guess Cameroon is not quite Ethiopia, but maybe its near enough for you. So I smiled when I read your comment after earlier reading this report in a Chinese newspaper this morning.

  
  

  African-Chinese couples on the rise in Guangzhou, China
  
  March 1, 2015
  In China, parts of the southern city of Guangzhou have become a melting pot of Chinese and African cultures. The number of marriages between African immigrants and local Chinese has been on a steady rise. CCTV’s Audrey Siek reported.
  Kingsley Azieh is a businessman from Cameroon. In 2007, he started work as a trader in Guangzhou. From building materials to clothing, Kingsley is supplying Africa with what it needs. He has become a leader of the African business community in Guangzhou. It’s Guangzhou he put down roots. He met his future wife in northwestern Shanxi province where they married. Kingsley said the beginning wasn’t easy.

  
  
  Read more: http://www.cctv-america.com/2015/03/01/african-chinese-couples-on-the-rise-in-guangzhou-china#ixzz3TIJ3aGPr
  

  There's also a video at the link just above.

  And somewhere in this section I posted some more piks and info on Africans living in Guangzhou in south China.
  
  
• 

  Is there any difference between L.Ron Hubbard, C.T Russell, the Apostle Paul and Jesus ?

  by fulltimestudent in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qscrfanmzc#t=52

• 

  fulltimestudent

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QsCrFANMzc#t=52
• 
  29

  China's New export drive - trains and rail systems

  by fulltimestudent in

  1. social
  2. current

  four or five times a week i travel on sydney's extensive suburban rail network.

  these days, most services use a train like this,.

  which are modern, double-decked, comfortable carriages.. it's not generally known that most of these train-sets (i.e.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  fulltimestudent

  SonoftheTrinity

  you forgot Addis Ababa Ethiopia. Speaking of Ethiopia, they have a lot of similarities with China politically, Socialist in name while Fascist in practice.

  
  "Fascist" is a term that often gets used a lot without much understanding of what it means. One reasonable definition seems to be this:

  Fascists view World War I as having made liberal democracy obsolete and regard total mobilization of society led by a totalitarian single-party state as necessary for a nation to be prepared for armed conflict and to respond effectively to economic difficulties, such a totalitarian state is led by a strong leader as a dictator and a martial government composed of the members of the governing fascist party to forge national unity and maintain a stable and orderly society.

  And, of course, the definition is essentially one seen from the perspective of western (Anglosphere) liberal democracies, who glibly and rather self righteously preach 'democracy' to the world without any consideration of the real problems evident in western democracies.
  I see two major problems. The first is that governments in western democracies tend to be run by amateurs. Second, most western democracies are really semi-democracies. They tend to offer a choice to the electors, of voting for either one of two major oligarchies, who once elected ignore the wishes of the voters and run government as their own private fiefdoms. You may then think of a third problem, the fact that most of the voters do not understand the intricacies of modern political and economic problems, so that electioneering advertising is offered at a most simplistic level. When you consider those problems, you may prefer a fascist government (Joke).
  I have not studied Ethiopian politics. But I do study Chinese politics. The CPC has evolved into offering first class professional government that has succeeded in solving the problems of succession. It may be (as we outsiders study their system), that a lot of focus is currently being placed on evolving the system further to allow continual monitoring of citizen opinions on a variety or topics. This seems to be starting at the level we call local government. I recently attended a talk by a Professor from the National University of Singapore that examined four case studies of city/town level governments seeking citizen input. I cant forecast how it will turn out, but they may succeed in overcoming some of the problems that western governments are not overcoming.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• 
  29

  China's New export drive - trains and rail systems

  by fulltimestudent in

  1. social
  2. current

  four or five times a week i travel on sydney's extensive suburban rail network.

  these days, most services use a train like this,.

  which are modern, double-decked, comfortable carriages.. it's not generally known that most of these train-sets (i.e.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  fulltimestudent

  The second project is a heavy rail project to link the interior to the port of

  Reference: http://www.businessinsider.com.au/chinas-global-influence-is-growing-2013-3

  THE BUSINESS INSIDER AUSTRALIA.
  China's Latest Ethiopian Railway Project Shows Their Growing Global Influence
  JENNY VAUGHAN MAR 10 2013, 10:43 PM
  
  Photo: M.I.C Gadget via flickr
  Camels rather than locomotives lumber over the railway tracks in this remote desert, famously traversed by storied French adventurers Arthur Rimbaud and Henry de Monfreid in the early 20th century.The old French-built railway that connected Addis Ababa, the capital of landlocked Ethiopia, to the Red Sea port of Djibouti, is now being replaced by a Chinese-built electrified railway, a bold project that seeks to boost Ethiopia’s commercial exports.
  The new project also symbolises a shift in Ethiopia’s international relations.
  “You see nowadays that the dice are thrown differently. Chinese, Indian (and) Turkish interests are now taking over… times have changed,” said Hugues Fontaine, author of the recently published book “Un Train en Afrique”, or African Train, about the historic Ethiopian train.
  Indeed, Ethiopia is casting its dice eastward — seeking investors to help it achieve its grandiose Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP), which seeks to boost economic growth and achieve middle income status by 2025.
  The construction of the railway is a key component of the GTP: a series of eight rail corridors totalling 4,744 kilometres (2,948 miles), creating a series of key trade routes to neighbouring Kenya, South Sudan, Sudan and — crucially — to Djibouti’s port.
  Two Chinese companies are contracted to build the $2.8 billion (2.15 billion euro) line connecting Addis Ababa to the Djiboutian border by 2016, and Turkish and Brazilian companies are slated to construct other segments of the nation-wide rail network.
  “We are working day and night,” said Zacharia Jemal, project manager working for the Ethiopian Railways Corporation.
  Zacharia said the project will create 5,000 local jobs, and allow Ethiopia to boost exports of key commodities such as coffee and sesame. It also offers the opportunity to get Ethiopian workers trained by engineers from the Chinese Civil Engineering Construction Corporation.
  The company is building the line from Mieso to the Djibouti border at a cost of $1.2 billion (923 million euros), of which 70 per cent is financed by the Export-Import Bank of China and 30 per cent by the Ethiopian government.
  Another Chinese company will build the Addis Ababa to Mieso segment.
  While the economic benefits of the train — which will be used for both freight and passenger transport, replacing slow and costly truck transport — is widely recognised, some lament the seemingly inevitable death of the historic French-built diesel-powered train, which went out of service in 2008 after years of neglect.
  “In terms of the economy, the (new) train could be very profitable for Ethiopia, one machine could replace 10 trucks… and (maintenance) is easier and more cost-effective,” said Josef Petros, who worked for the French railway company for more than 30 years.
  But he said that if the old train ceases to operate, it will be a great loss for Ethiopia and for Dire Dawa, the commercial town in northeastern Ethiopia where the main train station and workshops were headquartered. The new station is slated to be built just outside Dire Dawa, a town renowned for its French atmosphere.
  “Dire Dawa will suffer,” said Josef, who is now the director of the French cultural centre in the city.
  The train station — known locally as “la gare” — and the workshops still stand, unused for years. Employees still arrive at work diligently just after dawn every day, only to sit among the abandoned train cars and imported French machinery, seemingly frozen in time.
  They still receive a monthly stipend from the company, which is now run by the Ethiopian government.
  They hold out hope that the diesel train will be revived one day, but the European Commission-funded project to rehabilitate the old railway at a cost of $55 million has stalled due to a contractual dispute.
  Nonetheless, the 750 employees — down from 2,000 — of the old line maintain a sense of pride at having worked for the French company. Many speak French and retain an extraordinary technical knowledge of the ancient trains.
  “When you worked for the train, you were considered to be a very important person,” said Josef. “If you had a son or a brother working for the railways, the whole family was very proud of this.”
  It brought many employees a sense of pride — in addition to a generous salary — to work for the French on a train that was conceived by Ethiopia’s first modern patriarch, emperor Menelik, who pursued the ambitious rail project to introduce modernity in Ethiopia, boost economic productivity and show the world “that the Ethiopian state was something to be considered seriously”, according to Fontaine.
  Similarly, the new electric train will launch Ethiopia into a modern era of rail transport. It will be one of the first electric trains in East Africa, will run at a speed of 120 kilometres an hour and will be both easier and cheaper to maintain, as it will be mechanised and rely on locally-produced hydropower to run.
  It’s also a source of pride for the workers involved in boosting development and contributing to Ethiopia’s industrialising economy.
  “It is good to be involved in this nationalistic project, it’s historic,” said project manager Zacharia, driving to a building site for the new train where Chinese men in hard hats show Ethiopian workers how to use Chinese-imported excavators.
  But whether the legacy of the Chinese in Ethiopia will have as strong an imprint as the French remains to be seen. Unlike the French, Chinese workers will not settle in Ethiopia permanently, and the cultural exchanges are limited to simple greetings exchanged in Mandarin between Chinese and Ethiopian workers.
  “This influence will stay on in history, but it will not be as significant,” said Josef.
  Copyright (2013) AFP. All rights reserved.

  
  
• 
  29

  China's New export drive - trains and rail systems

  by fulltimestudent in

  1. social
  2. current

  four or five times a week i travel on sydney's extensive suburban rail network.

  these days, most services use a train like this,.

  which are modern, double-decked, comfortable carriages.. it's not generally known that most of these train-sets (i.e.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  fulltimestudent

  SonoftheTrinity5 hours ago

  you forgot Addis Ababa Ethiopia. Well, so I did - thnx for pointing that out! Actually there are two Chinese rail projects in Ethopia
  The first is a light rail system with two intersecting lines, in the capital:
  

  Addis Ababa’s rail project keeps Ethiopia on track for transformation

  Although there will be shortfalls in the country’s infrastructure programme, the railway will be an impressive achievement
  
  Addis Ababa’s $475m light railway system, part of a five-year growth plan, covers a 21-mile stretch through the Ethiopian capital. Photograph: Carl De Souza/AFP/Getty
  Out of the dust and rubble of decimated junctions, soaring slabs of concrete are returning a semblance of order to the centre of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s mushrooming capital.
  The edifices are there to prop up Africa’s first light rail system, an arresting sign of Ethiopia’s progress since the dark days of famine and military rule (pdf) in the 1980s. The government hopes the project, funded and built by China, will be running next year – possibly in time to transport voters to polling booths at national elections in May.

  
  The $475m (£295m) electrified rail is one of many projects in an ambitious five-year growth and transformation plan that ends in July. Although there will be shortfalls in the Soviet-style strategy based more on aspiration than expectation, the rail is set to be an impressive achievement by a nation desperate to shed its tag as a poster child of poverty.

  There's more - read it if you want at: http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2014/oct/22/addis-ababa-monorail-ethiopia-on-track

  ===================================================================

  China-funded Light Rail Project Puts Ethiopia on Track for Transformation.

  
  

  

  

  Reference: http://english.cri.cn/12394/2015/02/08/3801s865446.htm

  
  

  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
• 
  13

  Which school of thought is right about How long were the Israelite's in Egypt 215 or 430 years?

  by terrypike in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  a lot is out there about how long the israelite's were in egypt which can be devided into two schools of thought, those for bishop ushers 215 model or the ex 12: model which stays faithful to the 430 years to the very day ex 12:41 the israelite's left egypt.. historically the dispute goes back a long way at least to the time of jophesus who advocated the view that the isarelites were in canaan before they entered egypt true enough when taken at face value, but look more closely at what the bible says about when jacobs name was changed to israel and then ask the question is there any evidence in the bible that israel was used for the decendent's of abram, isaac or jacob before god changed the name of 97 year old jacob to israel?

  a jw i invited to research this confirmed none could be found so that done it remains to look again at the definitions 'decendents' and 'israelite's' to further clarify.. the 400 years affliction as in gen 15: speaks of the decendents of abram only, nowhere does it say anything about the israelites, ex 12: on the other hand refers to the israelite's who came out of egypt 430 years to the very day and says nothing about the decendent's of abram so ex 12: is referring to 'israel' the decendent's of jacob not the decendent's of abram.

  consider here that isaac the first born of the line of the promise and a decendent of abraham, died 180 years of age never having set foot in egypt, 10 years before 130 year old jacob/israel entered to reunite the tribal family's as one people, so by no stretch of the imagination can isaac be confused with the israelite's as is so easy to do when the ex 12: 430 year timeline is tied back to the days of abraham as is advocated by the bishop usher model that argues the israelite's were only in egypt 215 years.. gal 3: can be a problem only when read in isolation of other texts, use the same procedure as you would if someone said there was a contradiction with the gospels saying different things and ask them to read all four gospels to get the full picture, like wise with gal 3: which appears to be saying, by itself, that there are only 430 years between the circumcision covenant and the law covenant , read gen 47: and acts 7: to get a more complete picture of what paul has not said about 130 year old jacob's entry into egypt in the second year of famine.. to get the age of jacob start with 30 year old josephs age when he stood before the ruler of egypt and add the 9 year total of 7 years plenty plus two years famine which makes joseph 39, then take josephs 39 years off the age of 130 year old jacob to get 91 the age of jacob when joseph is born as jacob completes his 7 years work with laban for rachael.. jacob then agreed to work on for the beasts and he confirms he had worked a total of 20 years when laban caught up with him: 7 for leah, 7 for rachael, and 6 for the beasts.gen 31:38-41.. the key question when talking with jw's is how old was jacob when his name was changed, ask the questions and let them confirm from the book they trust what it really teaches.. terry.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  fulltimestudent

  Half bananaa day ago

  According to Egyptian records the Israelites never were in their land en masse. Since the land of the Canaan was near Egypt, for generations they had sought work as paid labourers or went to market their meat or olives at Goshen in the north east .
  It must be remembered that the Israelites lived very much in the political and economic shadow of their neighbour. Egypt influenced almost everything they did and believed (and therefore the Bible too). There had been a time when Canaanite (Semite) influence had been present in Egypt during the Hyksos period but this was back in the early Bronze Age before the Israelites or Jews arose and it seems that the biblical captivity and Exodus stories are a folk memory reworking of this earlier event. The story was vital propaganda to Judaic nationalism since it upholds symbolically the nation’s escape from Egyptian authority.

  --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  To add to Half banana's comments, consider the areas controlled by the Egyptians at various times in world history:

  (Being very busy at the moment-New semester and all that!!! grin! - I've just grabbed these maps off the web, follow them up if you really want to understand that the Bible is just Israelite/Jewish nationalist stories (propaganda) used to explain why they (who had the only true god) were always being defeated by other nations (who all had false gods) ).

  Note: 15th Century BCE

  

  Note: and down to the 12th century BCE.>

  

  The two important empires down to the Battle of Kadesh (circa 1274 BCE)>

  
  

  The Battle of Kadesh (also Qadesh) took place between the forces of the Egyptian Empire under Ramesses II and the Hittite Empire under Muwatalli II at the city of Kadesh on the Orontes River, in what is now Syria.[10]
  The battle is generally dated to 1274 BC,[11] and is the earliest battle in recorded history for which details of tactics and formations are known.[12] It was probably the largest chariot battle ever fought, involving perhaps 5,000–6,000 chariots

  Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Kadesh

  

  Ramesses atop chariot, at the battle of Kadesh. (A Relief inside his Abu Simbel temple.)

  
  

  The Assyrian Empire *824 BCE to 625 BCE

  
  
  
• 
  2

  Rent-a-boyfriend (or, girl-friend) for Chinese New Year

  by fulltimestudent in

  1. social
  2. current

  the spring festival (also called chinese new year) is one of the biggest annual festivals in the world.

  families try to re-unite which often means that people whose life-styles are diverging from that of their parents must try to reconcile their lives with hometown tradition.. so arises a new occupation: the boyfriend (or girlfriend) for hire:.

  china central televison america explains this to americans:.

  1. 
  2. 
• 

  fulltimestudent

  The twist of the satirical knife though, comes right at the end. The chunyun visit home has been a success, the hired boyfriend has completed his oscar standard performance and charmed Mum, Dad and little brother. And so the 'happy couple' return to big-city life.

  As he's paid off, the hired boyfriend asks the girl to have dinner with him. He's turned down with a very cold, "Get out of the car."

  And, so the real social problem of life in modern China is highlighted, the so-called "dry branches," over 100,000,000 surplus men who will never find an available woman to marry.

  See: http://www.diplomaticourier.com/news/regions/brics/191-china-s-barren-branches