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I don't think The Found has read my... posts which explain what I mean.
Why are you insulting those who celebrate Christmas? That is not Buddhist, but there isn't any point in typing this because The Found is going to ignore it anyway.
My points are all in my past posts especially the really, really long one on the first page.
O dear, dear Snowpaw! Thanks for your posts. I cannot believe you are a mere 16. You are so deep!
Remember the primary reading of the Latin word for to read (LEGERE) is TO SELECT. We all do that in our reading.
The beautiful thing about online forums is that you're able to do your best to clarify your own thoughts in your mind and then communicate these with others. Many will just simply misunderstand, others will vehemently disagree, and some will really be able to relate.
There's no accounting for the way people think or even why they might be stuck there.
I've been a little stuck in the mud about Christmas in the past, since I like it done "by the book;" that is, during the right season of Dec. 24 to Jan. 6 or 7. However, I'm beginning just to give in to Christmas at any time. It's just sweet to allow people to party.
I have to respect somebody who identifies as Christian and still embraces Buddhism. That tells me that he or she is a modern thinker, unbound by the fundamentalist chains of repression and intolerance.
I might even say I am a Christian. I think Jesus probably did exist, and probably said some pretty smart things. If the stories are to believed, he sacrificed his life to prove a point in a way that would never, ever be forgotten, not unlike the Buddhist priests who self-immolated during the Vietnam war.
I find the Bible a dreadful document, filled with inaccuracy, contradiction, and self-justified acts of unimaginable cruelty and horror. If you just read what Jesus said, however--at least according to the writers--he must have been a Buddha, or at least something close to it. He talked about love, and tolerance, and humility, in a culture that--if you go by the Bible--was wrought with violence and suffering.
In the same way as the Buddha, the Christ was forced to work with the tools at his disposal to reach a very difficult and resistant audience. His background was Judaism and the Torah (the Old Testament), so that was what he used, just like the Buddha worked within the framework of Hinduism.
Ultimately, Jesus did something brilliant. He martyred himself, ensuring his words would live for thousands of years. Unfortunately, the meaning of those words has become twisted and defiled for power and greed. The truth, however, is sometimes still discovered by some, and it those fortunate, illuminated souls who I consider "true" Christians.
Twice in my lifetime, I have been visited by a Bodhisattva in a dream. The first was Kwan Yin. She appeared to me in extra-dimensional space, a field of pure, infinite blueness. She smiled at me, chanting something in an unfamiliar language. Then she disintegrated into the field of blue, replaced by a great stuppa bearing a symbol. At the time the symbol was unfamiliar to me, but now I believe it was Om in Sanskrit. I may never know for sure. The dream changed my life, and I never saw things quite the same.
The second Bodhisattva was Jesus Christ. This dream was far less personal, as I was merely one of many standing before Christ as he spoke. He said many things, but one thing stayed with me. He explained that he felt the cross was a horrid symbol for Christianity, an image of violence that distracted from his true message. He never intended for people to get so hung up (pardon the pun) about his sacrifice. His intended message was that even death is not to be feared, nor the suffering of the body. All suffering may be transcended through faith in the presence of God; or, to put it in more Buddhist terms, purity of mind through universal awareness. Finally, he suggested that the peace symbol would have been a far more suitable choice of symbols for his teachings.
From that day forward, I have kept the peace symbol as my personal, private nod to Christ, the great Bodhisattva. Maybe he didn't exist at all. It matters not one whit. When all is said and done, Christ is just a thought in our heads. So is the Buddha. What they mean is all up to us.
Happy Holidays.
~ AD
What insight! I needed to post something on this thread so that i could easily come back to it later....Really though AD, you should write a book
Do I enjoy the Christmas season? Yes I do. Love it.
Do I admittedly enjoy receiving the odd gift or two? Yes I do.
Am I obsessed with and attached to receiving gifts and material things? No.
Do I delight in the generosity and giving gifts to others? I really do.
Do I enjoy seeing other people all happy around the holidays? Of course.
I don't see a lot wrong with Christmas from that angle.
Comments
O dear, dear Snowpaw! Thanks for your posts. I cannot believe you are a mere 16. You are so deep!
Remember the primary reading of the Latin word for to read (LEGERE) is TO SELECT. We all do that in our reading.
The beautiful thing about online forums is that you're able to do your best to clarify your own thoughts in your mind and then communicate these with others. Many will just simply misunderstand, others will vehemently disagree, and some will really be able to relate.
There's no accounting for the way people think or even why they might be stuck there.
I've been a little stuck in the mud about Christmas in the past, since I like it done "by the book;" that is, during the right season of Dec. 24 to Jan. 6 or 7. However, I'm beginning just to give in to Christmas at any time. It's just sweet to allow people to party.
And may all your Holidays be Bright!
What insight! I needed to post something on this thread so that i could easily come back to it later....Really though AD, you should write a book
Do I admittedly enjoy receiving the odd gift or two? Yes I do.
Am I obsessed with and attached to receiving gifts and material things? No.
Do I delight in the generosity and giving gifts to others? I really do.
Do I enjoy seeing other people all happy around the holidays? Of course.
I don't see a lot wrong with Christmas from that angle.
Let's let bygones be bygones, Please!