Quote from: Morrigan on November 10, 2011, 06:48:36 AM
To argue gender binary based on wisdom vs. intellect, in most modern countries, would be very sexist and thrown out straightaway.
Arguing that our reality is not how we perceive it will not persuade us to believe in completely antiquated thinking like this.
Spiritualism and religion have also, for a long time known to be, completely unscientific, and do not present evidence to their causes.
At that level, gender take different forms, just like at atomic level, gender takes the form of proton and electron. Gender is about polerity opposites, at human level, it is related to the biological body and psychological perceptions. These different level of gender is valid as their polerity can be demonstrated.
Note what I describe about the the level of gender at the level of consciousness: "Thinking is the means whereby one can recognized the body (nirvana), the body (dharmakaya) itself does not depend on thinking, nor can one become the body. "
This is reflected in parallel to the gender at human level, for example this means is parallel to the man's ability to recognize the beauty and sexual attraction of the woman. The properties of the body (nirvana) is cessation of activity, this is reflected in parallel to the passiveness of the women. Another properties of the body (nirvana) is nature / original wisdom, wisdom is attractive / beautiful to the means (intellect) that recognize it, and this is parallel to the attractiveness / beauty of the human female.
As for the body (dharmakaya) itself does not depend on thinking, in term of the human female, the fact of her femaleness does not depend on the man's thinking, but that her femaleness is automatically reflected in her form (body).
As for "nor can one become the body", this is parallel to the fact that man who find a woman attractive, cannot become her, he is eternally separated from her, and it is for this reason the attraction of the opposite persists (as a reality). This is refering to the mental factors due to subject and object gender perception, and does not literally implied there is no possibility for MTF who wish to become female, since in such cases, the MTF would be considered female, but the man who perceive her feminine attractiveness cannot become her if the attraction is to be persist.
The original verse has doctrinal significance when it is concerning the buddhist tradition of the consciousness-only, which show the mechanism of body and means (a binary polerity which incidentally is parallel to the human binary gender, and both being mutually supportive).
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Many of those old ideas on consciousness are completely baseless and were mere casual observation.
Being old doesn't mean they are baseless, something that is universal, it has to be able to survive the passing of times, the buddhist tradition has being around for 2500 years, the buddhist tantra is much older. Truth is unlike a fashion trend where new is better, rather it is the reversed, new theory does not prove itself able to withstand the test of time through various discussion and debates. Truth is always victim of politics, as politics is never about truth but what suit their ambition. Throughout history, buddhism has being subject to persecution and suppression, for example it has being completely wiped out from India along with all sanskrit texts, due to domination of hinduism.
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Modern medical sciences can describe in detail how the brain works and why we react the way we do in most situations.
This is neurology which is branch of medical science, it is of cause and effect, hence fully recognized by buddhism. However, gender science is only about social science, it has no valid cause and effect component that can be acceptable to buddhism. Buddhism is not interested in external facts, as these are recognized as mere deceptive appearances, like dew, a dream, a mirage, an illusion, and lightning flashes. All phenomena is emptied of substantial existence, the fact of phenomena being emptied allow dependent origination, otherwise there is only permanence, nothing can change, no improvement possible and this make liberation impossible.
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While an eastern scholar may have been a genius in his time, science has refuted nearly all old world understandings of the body.
You misunderstood, this 'body' I refer to the body of consciousness, not the physical body which is covered by modern science.
Science didn't refute buddhism as it didn't cover the field of consciousness and reality, what it didn't cover it has no authority over. Science belong to buddhism in the cause and effect section of the buddhist's five sciences which cover virtually all field of technology and medicine (In ancient times, these are the only source of technology, but today we have what is termed modern science and medicine and we happily accept it).
