AboutJustin Choo Expertise When in doubt seek it out. All your questions will be answered, and you may not have to agree with the answers. Such is the beauty of Buddhism. You are free to decide. I follow the Theravada tradition. Please view my profile for more details. I have answered more than a thousand questions since joining this category. You are welcome to try me.
Experience I was brought up in the 50's as a Buddhist. For the past 30 years I have read numerous books on Buddhism and listened to numerous talks on Buddhism by well-respected and learned monks and lay teachers. I conduct Buddhist classes for parents of Sunday School children in a Theravada Buddhist Temple.
My teacher was the late Chief Reverend, The Ven. K Sri Dhammananda of The Brickfields Buddhist Mahavihara, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. You can view the relevent website in memory of my revered late teacher @
http://www.ksridhammananda.com
Organizations I am a life member of the Buddhist Missionary Society Malaysia.
Publications YOU ARE INVITED TO VISIT MY BLOG @
http://lifeislikethat999.blogspot.com/
Published a book called "The Rainbow And The Treasure". It is a compilation of extracts from various sources to introduce Buddhism to beginners. (Currently out of print)
Education/Credentials Bachelor of Commerce And Administration, Victoria University Of Wellington, NZ.(1974)
Question I have been asking questions about Buddism recently with a Buddist. I said that Buddism believes that all desire is bad. She said that I was wrong. Is this true. Also, if there is no God where did the law of Karma come from? And if there are God's how can they be in any way irrelevent?
Answer Hi Jeromy,
The "desire" the Buddha was referring to was about sensual desires. Sensual desires refer to desires of the 5 senses. These sensual desires are unquenchable. It is the very nature of physical senses. Take for example, hunger. Once the hunger is satisfied with intake of food; the process of depletion starts, and after some time one feels hungry again. Another aspect of sense desire is the stronger feeling of craving. One's craving to satisfy one's desire is itself a catalyst to crave for more. When this craving goes unchecked, one becomes crazy! So the option is opened to anyone who follows the Buddha's teachings: to continue feeding these desires with more craving, or to come to one's senses to reduce this crazy cycle of on-going "madness".
We do and will have desires of different sorts. It is up to us to live in moderation. If we don't have any desire, we will not be living beings anymore.
<<Also, if there is no God where did the law of Karma come from? And if there are God's how can they be in any way irrelevent?>>
Even if there is a God, where did the God come out from?
