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Firebird
“Ask no questions of the moth in the candle flame.”
--Attar.
Death is the King of Masks.
In Islam, suicide
and unjust killings
are considered a sin,
yet Jihadists
twist up the Koran’s
teachings, do both
and expect a reward
in Heaven, including
those seven virgins.
In Christianity,
Jehovah and/or Jesus
are the only doorway
to deliverance,
teaching love,
compassion and honesty
as virtues, yet
hypocricy, pedophilia and cults
flower at the fecund heart
of it, fodder for Jim Jones,
and David Koresh, while
John Birchers, the K.K.K.
and white supremacists all
wear Jesus around their rednecks,
and use the bible to justify
cruelty, racism, and murder.
The Pope may disagree,
but Judaism was the cornerstone
of most Christian off-shoots,
and when Jews try
and live kosher, and true
to their beliefs, they
have been easy targets
for abuse and punishment
for thousands of years.
Buddhists do not believe
in God or Jesus or Mohammad,
spiritual guidance does not
come in a monotheisitic package.
Life is constant change
and Soul is eternal. Life
between lives in Bardo
replaces the Afterlife.
It may take several lifetimes
to achieve Nirvana, and once
enlightenment is achieved
a Soul has no need to be reborn.
It is ready to ascend to higher
dimensions and higher spiritual
calling. I cannot think of any example
of extremist groups using Zen teachings
as a front for evil and injustice.
Glenn Buttkus
Posted over at d"Verse Poet's Pub
16 comments:
Wonderful work here Glenn. I love the peaceful yin yang mindfulness of most eastern beliefs. They have their extremist followers, but it is peaceful eccentricity for the most part. The Lao Tsu’s Tao-te-Ching, in english translation, lies constantly open on my studio desk. The This english translation I cherish is by Gia-Fu Feng and features her calligraphy and fabulous photography by Jane English. I love to pick it up from time to time and discover what new it speaks to me each time I read it. This book, though from the 6th century, is full of relevant living inspiration. I find the bible mostly an obscure, a dead book, manipulated time and again for horrendous evil. Beautiful strong write here brother.
This is incredibly potent, Glenn! Unluckily for us, a few people in my part of the world taint the religion by throwing Jihad around like it's a joke. Jihad in its truest form is "a personal struggle in devotion to Islam especially involving spiritual discipline." You are right about them twisting up "the Koran’s teachings,".. and yes those imbeciles expect a reward too!
You rock!💝💝
Oh, I love this!
Your eloquent statements of history-validated manifestations of some religions can't be denied. It seems to me that the holy kernels of the religions were pure but then got into the hands of those who could see ways to exploit their words to personally benefit from and to justify all manner of atrocity.
I follow philosophical daoism and Zhuangism which is a close cousin of it, which is more a way of looking at the world than anything.
An interesting comparison of the world's most prominent religions. It seems everything as good as it may start out to be gets hijacked along the way, usually for money or power! It is so sad to see. I call it the atrocities of being right!
I agree with Lisa that your ‘eloquent statements of history-validated manifestations of some religions can't be denied’. I wonder what it would have been like if everyone believed that God was a woman, Adam picked the apple, and women wrote all the ‘holy works’. Sadly, men and religion are a toxic mix, especially where women are concerned, frequently vilified in every ‘holy book’. I would choose Buddhism every time.
Good point here, Glenn - I can't think of any Buddhist extremists off the top of my head. But where ever human will is involved, divine teachings can be twisted into something ugly. You've illustrated that point well here. And I absolutely agree with Kim's comment above.
is the moth suicidal or cannot it not get enough of the light before the heat shears its wings - all faiths lead to the one place but religions as espoused here often take the wrong path
I've often noted to myself that Buddha asked no one to worship him. To listen, and follow his wisdom, yes. But bowing down? To murder in his name? Religion casts strange shadows.
You summarise the problems and issues surrounding the extremist interpretations and broadcast of religion very well. Humans have an awful ability to twist the loftiest things to their own ends.
This is an interesting discussion of religions of the world....and then thinking about what they've become in the hands of man....sexist statement I know....but I smiled when I read Kim's comment wondering what it would have been like if Adam and Eve's role had been reversed. I remember reading in one of my philosophy classes that organized religion came about simply as a matter of social control. hmmmm.....
So true, as history demon-strates.
A fascinating dissection of modern religion, so often proclaimd but bastardized by greed and power, sad to say. You make a good case for Buddhism.
I always find that all the great religions are so full of contradictions so it's impossible to live by them as a law... and even Buddism has had its share of atrocities (eg in Myanmar)...
Within any religion is the capacity for wrong interpretation and misuse. If it can be wrongly done a human will do it.
I agree! The great religions are killing us.
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