Thank you everyone for the welcome
Buddhism does not have the cast system, but wouldn't you say that the system is a somewhat natural step from the idea of karma and rebirth?
While Buddhism rejects the caste system, it still believes that you are born into the life you deserve due to your past karma. While Hindus usually choose to leave the suffering to sort out their own karma, Buddhists believe in helping the suffering. This sounds great at first, but the problem, for me, is in the definition of help. While it's all good for a Buddhist to give me food when I'm starving, matters of emotional suffering are dealt with in a way that has only ever made this worse for me, and then blamed me for not being helped. Buddhists believe that suffering can be ended completely once you "discover your true nature", whatever the heck that means.
My own death bothers me. The Buddhist cure for this suffering is realize the truth that death isn't the end, rather than find meaning in the life we have here. While believing in an after existence would surely alleviate my suffering, I'm not sure it's healthy for society if people are cured by, what is most likely, lies. Either way, it's caused me a lot of pain over the years trying to force myself to believe in something that I just can't find evidence for, and believing that if I could just get rid of my doubt, I'd be able to achieve Enlightenment and no longer experience any suffering.
I'm not sure if that was a good answer to your question, though!
I'm curious, is Vill(i)age Idiot a name you were given as a result of a disagreement or did you just come up with it?
As a teenager, I read Sophie's World, and Socrates became my hero. He was considered the village idiot, as I'm sure you already know. At the time, I was the most unpopular kid in school with both the other students and the teachers. Not much has changed to be honest. I'm no great philosopher, but I do love philosophy. If you ask most people, they'd tell you I'm an idiot.
[on the Dalai Lama advocating meditation being taught in schools] Even if revelations prove elusive it should perhaps be taught. Anything that makes people calmer, more reflective and less aggressive is okay by me.
The Dalai Lama isn't just the Tibetan spiritual teacher, he's also the Tibetan government in exile. The Dalai Lama doesn't believe in the separation of state and religion.
Does meditation really make children more relaxed and less aggressive and more reflective? Adults who take up meditation are usually making an effort to relax themselves, and they are probably choosing to be less aggressive and more reflective, rather than being inspired by the meditation they are doing. After meditation, I suspect that violent children will go back to just as violent as they were before.
People do not need tools like mediation to be kinder to each other. They just have to choose to be kind. I don't think children should be taught that God, or mediation, or whatever other tool will help them to be better people.
If you think that children should be taught to relax, then teach them a technique no so heavily associated with religion. I'm sure that just laying back in a comfortable chair without talking is just as effective at relaxing people. And it gives you plenty of opportunity to reflect.
Topic: Hi. Not sure if this is the right place...