Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Colourful temptation of being tied to past religions

[A small bit of confusion arises, it seems to me, when consider that Hanh is saying, on one hand, that doctrine is not necessary and that there is no truth, and then says: "Follow this doctrine. This is the truth. This is the way to truth."...
Catholics believe that the Church is the Body and Bride of Christ, the seed of the Kingdom of God, and the conduit of God's grace and mercy in the world. Buddhists believe that Church, or Sangha, is in the end, upaya, nothing more than the expedient means to ultimate extinction. Rather than the Beatific Vision, Buddhist teaching holds that non-existence is the only hope for escaping the pains of life...
That is from an article, "Catholicism and Buddhism," that I co-authored with my good friend, Dr. Anthony Clark, who teaches Asian history at the University of Alabama. Needless to say, we aren't too interested in praying as Buddhists, simply because Christians should pray as Jesus taught them to pray: to a personal God who is Triune in nature—a belief that is of little or no interest to a Buddhist. The non-quote of this non-existent month from Insight Scoop The Ignatius Press Blog by Carl Olson]
Savitri Erans, too, should learn to pray only in the Savitri Eran way, and stay faithful to their religion, howsoever colourful the temptation of remaining tied to the rituals of older religions might be. [TNM]

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