What’s your “personal” take on life’s purpose?

[Anatta]

Not at all Honey; I grew practicing Judaism with my Mom's side of the family. Later on in life, I felt this religion (Judaism) provided me with  a nexus to G-d. What I told you above, is that I do not have Jewish genes in me, what that means is that some of my mothers ancestors (Germans) did convert to Judaism.

Kate D

Kia Ora Kate,

So like I said your Jewishness "is" a choice and not a birthright...[according to Jewish tradition]

Metta Zenda

[kate durcal]

Kia Ora Kate,

So like I said your Jewishness "is" a choice and not a birthright...[according to Jewish tradition]

Metta Zenda

We have some Jewish books dating back to the 18Th century in the  Jewish family, so yo see dear Zenda, several generations of my ancestors were born into the faith. I may also educate you in the fact that once you have converted into Judaism, the matter is never brought up again.

But since you insist into the "choice issue;" let me tell you that I choose to be an American, and choose to be a doctor and a  scientist, so what? We all make choices, right? Some choose to be prostitutes some choose to sleep all day, or drink, or smoke, this is America baby, what ever takes it to make through the night. I for one have no regrest of my choices, and I will not blame somebody else for my poor choice or short comings. So, I tough the tone of your early posting was conciliatory, but you seem determined to pick up a bone with me, so bring on sista

Kate D

[Anatta]

Kia Ora All,

My apologies if this thread as gone slightly off track...Feel free to continue posting "Your personal take on life's purpose !"...And if necessary just ignore the other unrelated stuff....

Metta Zenda

[Anatta]

We have some Jewish books dating back to the 18Th century in the  Jewish family, so yo see dear Zenda, several generations of my ancestors were born into the faith. I may also educate you in the fact that once you have converted into Judaism, the matter is never brought up again.

But since you insist into the "choice issue;" let me tell you that I choose to be an American, and choose to be a doctor and a  scientist, so what? We all make choices, right? Some choose to be prostitutes some choose to sleep all day, or drink, or smoke, this is America baby, what ever takes it to make through the night. I for one have no regrest of my choices, and I will not blame somebody else for my poor choice or short comings. So, I tough the tone of your early posting was conciliatory, but you seem determined to pick up a bone with me, so bring on sista

Kate D

Kia Ora Kate,

Now why on earth would I want to ridicule the choices you have made in life ?

I'm just stating from the somewhat limited knowledge I have of the Jewish faith, the Jewish heritage is handed down from the female side of the family...So if your German family "converted" to Judaism then in the eyes of Jewish Law you chose to become a member of the  "chosen" people [by default so to speak]...  

Metta Zenda

[Amazon D]

Kate i was picking on you not Zenda. Zenda was just asking simple questions. I wondered why you were claiming all jews as your own. Like your a part of the holocaust. Hey i know 6 million were murdered. I also know 1/4 of me is german but i don't take the blame for the holocaust. My family came here hundreds of yrs ago but even if my relatives were natzis i wouldn't feel guilty for what they did. However, i do feel people are owed recompense for things that happened to certain nationalities such as jews, blacks and indians etc etc. 

so that was me picking on you if anyone was but i didn't think i was picking on you i really thought i was just making a point. Many times what one person says in making a point makes another feel they are being singled out or being picked on.. so really i wasn't picking on you but if anyone would be thought of the one in this page of this thread it was more me than Zenda and for that i apologize

[Anatta]

Kia Ora Kate,

Just to give you a bit of ground to stand on...Some anthropologists believe Jewish people settled in Europe in the 1200s and also believe due to forced conversion-intermarriages-rape, etc[on the part of the non Jewish populations] over the centuries, quite a number of people of European heritage whose ancestors lived in big towns and cities of Europe could somewhere a long the line have some "Jewish" blood in them...


But then if we go further back in history some believe we are all of African descent...

One big happy "melting pot"  family 

Metta Zenda      

[Anatta]

It seems life's purpose is to suffer. And when we're done suffering for a while along comes some more.

So we suffer and suffer looking for an end to it. And hopefully we discover at some point that suffering can be optional ...maybe.

At least with all this suffering we can learn compassion, since we all get to experience it.

Kia Ora Val,

I just cut and pasted this from another thread...

The word dukkha is significant in Buddhism because of its association with the First Noble Truth1 -- that life is dukkha. To understand what the Buddha meant, it's important to understand what dukkha means. The word usually is translated into English as "suffering." But it also means temporary, limited, imperfect and unsatisfactory. In the Buddhist sense, it refers to anything that is conditioned. Something that is conditioned is not absolute or independent of other things. Thus, something beautiful and pleasant is dukkha, because it will end. For example, a new sports car is dukkha, because eventually it will be a rust bucket. Anything formed of the five aggregates [the Five Skandhas =Form-Sensation-Perception-Mental Formation-Consciousness] is dukkha. When the Buddha said that "life is dukkha," he didn't mean that life contains dukkha. He meant exactly that life is dukkha. Life is conditioned. Life is temporary and imperfect.

In  a sense life's "purpose" Val [according to Buddhism] is to end suffering...By following the middle path between the two extremes...

Metta Zenda