Welcome home! Please contact lincoln@icrontic.com if you have any difficulty logging in or using the site. New registrations must be manually approved which may take several days. Can't log in? Try clearing your browser's cookies.
For the Middle Way view nothing really exists and this would include God.
words words words Where is the coherent statement? , and wow, get some SLEEP!
I think this whole argument of theism v antitheism is really one of form vs substance, or something along those lines. Both form and substance exist, but their interpretation is sorted out by the eyes of the beholder. There exists for the sincere seeker some common substratum that gets seen differently, depending upon which "form" you're familiar with or glued to. The substance, however, is the same.
Thus, for a lot of Buddhists, "Be a Lamp unto thyself" precludes grounding oneself in any other Great Being; whereas for the conscientious Christian or Muslim or Jew, although 'tis important to be a lamp unto oneself, the God (Allah, "The Deity") is often objectivized as a separate being. In the end though, dualism would fall away. Just as nonbeing is the ground of being, ultimately the impersonal is the ground of the personal. Theism has very little voice In advaita vedanta.
The main point to keep in mind is that wisdom and compassion manifests in the forms most needed to benefit people according to their capacities and spiritual inclinations.
Well said, @Silouan! I wouldn't change what you said but might stress that wisdom and compassion are learned or "built up" over time. Therefore, I don't think we should prejudge those who have not stepped out beyond the confines of their own narrow spiritual tradition if they've had no opportunity. But those who study the wisdom/spiritual traditions of others and are unable/unwilling to see any parallel truths d/t exclusivistic party loyalties we may very well rightfully recoil from.
If I was drowning in a lake and someone risked their own life to save me I don't think I would give a toss about the validity of their spiritual practice, but I certainly would be most grateful for their compassionate action.
I would know right away that they were a good ol' Southern Baptist folk, Georgia born and raised.
1
DaftChrisSpiritually conflicted. Not of this world.Veteran
If I was drowning in a lake and someone risked their own life to save me I don't think I would give a toss about the validity of their spiritual practice, but I certainly would be most grateful for their compassionate action.
I would know right away that they were a good ol' Southern Baptist folk, Georgia born and raised.
Same here. Raised Southern Baptist outside of Augusta.
If I was drowning in a lake and someone risked their own life to save me I don't think I would give a toss about the validity of their spiritual practice, but I certainly would be most grateful for their compassionate action.
I would know right away that they were a good ol' Southern Baptist folk, Georgia born and raised.
Same here. Raised Southern Baptist outside of Augusta.
Then you know the mentality I am talking about....
Comments
Where is the coherent statement? , and wow, get some SLEEP!
I think this whole argument of theism v antitheism is really one of form vs substance, or something along those lines. Both form and substance exist, but their interpretation is sorted out by the eyes of the beholder. There exists for the sincere seeker some common substratum that gets seen differently, depending upon which "form" you're familiar with or glued to. The substance, however, is the same.
Thus, for a lot of Buddhists, "Be a Lamp unto thyself" precludes grounding oneself in any other Great Being; whereas for the conscientious Christian or Muslim or Jew, although 'tis important to be a lamp unto oneself, the God (Allah, "The Deity") is often objectivized as a separate being. In the end though, dualism would fall away. Just as nonbeing is the ground of being, ultimately the impersonal is the ground of the personal. Theism has very little voice In advaita vedanta.
Well said, @Silouan! I wouldn't change what you said but might stress that wisdom and compassion are learned or "built up" over time. Therefore, I don't think we should prejudge those who have not stepped out beyond the confines of their own narrow spiritual tradition if they've had no opportunity. But those who study the wisdom/spiritual traditions of others and are unable/unwilling to see any parallel truths d/t exclusivistic party loyalties we may very well rightfully recoil from.