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Why the hang up on, thou shalt not?
I'm a former Catholic, who almost became a Franciscan priest. Over the years, I have wondered, and, this is one of the reasons for my rejecting the Christian faith, seeking a better path. Why, do Christians, Catholics in particular, favor the enforcement of what I call, thou shalt not, commandments; especially when their own founder gave them many more 'thou shalt commandments?
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I have sought this answer for so many years, and still come up empty. Am I wrong that we should be living a life of those beatitudes, instead of crying and stagnating over the thou shalt not's?
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Comments
In Buddhism, bow to monks, light a bit of incense, become vegetarian, stroke the cat. Religion done until next life. Simple.
It may have something to do with the human brain's conditioning to flag every negative and let positives pass through the sieve? Have you ever read anything by Rick Hanson, best known for "The Buddha's Brain", I think? He has a buddy who he speaks and writes with, a neurologist, and they are both 'of the Buddhist persuasion'. They have done a lot of work in the 'new' neuroplasticity/mindful meditation scene, and consider Gotama waaaayyy before his time; what we're discovering now via modern measurement backs up Buddha's psychology and wisdom from two and a half millenia ago. About the human mind and interfacing with the All That Is, that is
Evolutionarily speaking, human brains are conditioned to flag life's negatives (hungry lions, marauders), and give them huger significance than nice, lovely things. We share this orientation with all living beings who want to stay alive. Maybe ancient humans-to-be who tended toward quietly experiencing the Oneness got eaten before they reproduced.
But seriously, people do tend to remember and abide by the painful lessons, and what promises future pain. A whole lot of conditioning going on!
Obviously, our conditioning can be transcended by intention. The Buddha and hopefully millions of others over time deconditioned themselves and uncovered the Noble Path, whatever they happened to call it, however they unpacked it according to the prevailing culture they rose from.
I found the Christian mystics many years ago, as well as Gotama the Buddha, kind of around the same time. The words they speak to us are ALWAYS encouraging, always reassuring, insisting that everything is 'gonna be alright'. But it's so sad, isn't it? That so many people suffer in the confines of conditioning that is either never questioned, or worse, hijacked by the powerful to oppress the rest? It's definitely worth years of wondering why.
Gassho
LG
I'm not saying that's universal, but this is a pretty standard Methodist Church.
Some Christians come to Buddhism with a sense of relief. Buddhism is not threat-based: You won't go to heaven if you do it and you won't go to hell if you don't. What a relief! But far from making things easier, at first this can make things worse: If there are no chiseled rules and regs, guess what -- it's your responsibility! For anyone who dares to practice, this can be pretty daunting and pretty scary stuff ... where's my back-stop?! Where's my support system?! Where's my god?! Where's my virtue?! Where's my ticket to heaven?!
Luckily, Buddhism has various formats or disciplines. And discipline largely means doing what you might otherwise not do or not-doing what you otherwise might. And it is within this realm that the thou-shalt's and thou-shalt-not's can creep in all over again. New spiritual outlook, same old gold-star or black-mark shit.
For my money, it is meditation practice that breaks this good-dog-bad-dog cycle. Not overnight, perhaps, but a bit at a time. Sit down, shut up, erect the spine, sit still and focus the mind ... day after day and week after week and year after year.
Don't say what happens, see what happens. Yes, there is discipline -- thou shalt and thou shalt not, however politely clothed they may be -- but there is also a recognition that starts to take hold in meditation: There are things to do and there are things not to do ... and that's all there is to it. It has nothing to do with holy or unholy or right or wrong or better or worse ... just things to do and things not to do. Why? Because things are more peaceful that way, more in accord with the honest life all around ... happier, I suppose. No one who's happy asks someone else whether s/he is happy or not. S/he already knows. Happy is happy, peaceful is peaceful ... though of course it may not make you the richest corporation in the world.
Catholicism, eh...?
Christians aren't supposed to take teachings from the Torah/Old Testament as Jesus' death on the cross made the covenant with Abraham null and void. I'd hazard a guess that church is more Christian than most
In metta,
Raven
I have not found or witnessed teachings of such a rigid legalistic nor of a fire and brimstone approach to the commandments in my involvement in the Eastern Church, of which the New and Old Testaments are also both part.
It is recorded in the Gospel that Christ said he did not come to destroy the law, or the prophets, but to fulfill them. This is how the church understands the Old Testament, so it is not entirely true that Christians don’t use or value the Old Testament as part of their canon, but it is true that some things are no longer practiced, such as animal sacrifices and the anointing of blood for the atonement of sin.
In order for one to truly understand scripture it is necessary for one to acquire the mind of the church which the saints reveal through their life, teachings, commentaries, treatises etc. The following are commentaries by two Latin saints shared by both churches:
Saint Bede [Homilies on the Gospels]: “The law was indeed given through Moses, and there it was determined by heavenly rule what was to be done and what was to be avoided, but what it commanded was completed by the grace of Christ… Moses foretold that if they observed the things of the law they would enter the land of promise,… but if they observed other laws, they would be laid low by the enemy. Grace and truth came to be by Jesus Christ because, when the gift of the Holy Spirit was given, He granted also the ability to understand and keep the law spiritually, and He introduced those who served it into true blessedness of heavenly life, which is what the land of promise expressed.”
Saint Leo [Sermon 63, The Fruits of Passion]: “Everything belonged to the law, whether as to circumcision, or to the different offerings, or to the observance of the Sabbath, all gave testimony to Christ, and foretold the grace of Christ. And He is the end of the law [Rom. 10:4], not in that He brings it to nothing, but in that He fulfills it. And though He is the Author of both the New and the Old, He brought the mystical significance of the figures and promises to an end, in that He fulfills the promises, and caused the prophecies to cease, since He Who had been foretold had now come. But in the moral order there was no change in the precepts of the old law; rather were many of them enlarged through the Gospel teaching, that they might be clearer and more perfect, teaching us salvation than they were when promising us a Savior.”
Blessed are the clean in heart, for they shall see God. This vision is the reflection of the image found within one’s soul, which means life, but the mirror is stained and must be cleaned, and the passions are in disorder and must be put in order. Once that is accomplished then agape love is possible and the reflection of God is then seen in one’s life and embraces all.
So to enter the land of promise, the Kingdom of Heaven, where God is seen a pure heart is required. It is as simple as that, but we are slow to understand and are slaves to many passions, but there are those who say that the law infringes upon their freedom or is threatening, but this is really rooted in pride. The very same pride revealed in the story of the garden and the fall. The root of the passions is self-cherishing pride.
If one attempts to abstain from something they are very passionate about for a time they will easily see how much freedom is truly lacking and with it the realization that the law is freedom begins to dawn.
One doesn’t lament over wrong doing for fear of punishment, but because it is abundant love that has been transgressed against.
Most of these people are found on-line in my experience. Well, you can take birth in a Hell Realm if your karma sux badly enough .....
Too true. The "personal responsibility" factor in Buddhism is, in my mind, one of it's most attractive qualities.
Same here. Meditation practice is the key to all the things we might make rules about. The N8FP and the 5P all arise from practice. They're not rules we must follow. Besides, anyone can follow a rule, but following rules won't lead to enlightenment and the cessation of suffering. Practice will.
And yes, it takes time.
Then there are those of us who fail to grasp the logic of compassion and use others for their own gain. Perhaps it's just easier to make these people fear a grisly afterlife then trying to reach them in this one.
Personally, I think the commandments and rules are all too complicated. Instead of the 10 commandments, I'd just have one... Don't harm anybody. It could even work in the legal system if we instilled something like 10 degrees of harm.
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That being said, outwardly there would not be much difference between the Orthodox Catholics and Eastern rite Roman Catholics to the naked eye, including the administering of the sacraments, but the theology behind them is very different, so Eastern rite is not considered Orthodox by the Orthodox.
Most theological difference stem from the Roman assertion that the Holy Spirit proceeds from both the Father and the Son. The assertion changes the hypostatic relational dynamic of the Trinity and as such they way God as person, man as a person, and how their relationship is approached and then experienced.
Additionally, Orthodoxy does not recognize Roman doctrines such as Purgatory, Transubstantiation, or the Immaculate Conception to name a few.