[MD] emptiness

[MarshaV]

Hello Ham,

Sent from my iPad

On Jan 2, 2012, at 2:32 AM, "Ham Priday" <hampday1 at verizon.net> wrote:

> Hi Mark, and a Happy New Year to All --
> 
> On Friday, 12/23/2011 at 1:17 AM, Mark "118" <ununoctiums at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
>> Hi Ham,
>> I am attempting as best I can to not make Marsha feel put upon.
>> You know my opinion, so I can understand why you are confused.
>> 
>> Two things that inherently exist?  How about a dog and a sunflower.
>> I can provide more if you want, for example you exist inherently,
>> believe it or not.  There is nothing conventional about these things,
>> they are all uniquely unconventional.  Show me something
>> conventional and I will show you a mistake.  I have been where
>> you are and back.  Trust me.
> 
> Marsha has misconstrued Buddhism as a philosophy founded on nihilism, and this does an injustice to Pirsig's Quality thesis.  I had hoped to see the promised outline of your ontology over the holidays, which is why this response is delayed.
> 

Not true.  To be a nihilist, would be to believe things do not exist at all.  Thingso conventionally exist; they exist as patterns of value; they exist as useful fiction (as in the tale of Nagasena and King Milinda).
 

Marsha