Welcome back, and Thanks, Woody. I got this much. tough. 'A symbol of hope.' What does that mean in this case?
I think of those coal miners that were just rescued in PA? Would it have been cool if everyone had taken the Dali Llama's approach to that rescue? All inaction, all symbols of hope? Or is it appropriate to take action? And how do we differentiate between things we do because we can do and things we do not do because we think we cannot do them? I'm just asking. I just don't get it today. On the meat eating thing, that quote was from a press conference he gave in DC in which my vegan friend was trying to reconcile the Llamas eating of hamburger with ahimsa, a path of non-violence. The Llama was quite proud to say that he had moslems that slaughtered the animals the meat came from, so it was not contrary to Buddhist 'law.' We got the same sort of in-group morality with Kebza at Claymont. (Kebza is the precursor to Sufism. It is still practiced in the Caucusus (sp?) Mtns and their tradition still recalls the day the fellow came up from Persia to 'steal' Kebza for Sufism..) In-group/Chosen People/Kingdom of God vs Gentiles. In the case of Kebza, stealing horses was forbidden within the Kebza group but was something to be proud of if you stole from someone outside of Kebza. Of course, J.G. Bennet held that the Sermon on the Mount lays out a similar morality directly from Christ. A dual morality: one for community of the converts (the kingdom of heaven or the kingdom of christ) and another for the (less than human) gentiles (non-christians, in this case). Bennet's insights, of course, are substantially different that what we as evolved humans usually think of : love for all living things. Love for those inside and those outside of our group, etc. More important for the powers that be, of course, is that, like Merla, we are precious inner energies are absorbed by our sense that we cannot live up to the standards that we have allowed to be imposed upon us. It's that continual sense of unworthiness, says John Trudell, that the ruling class mines from the subjugated. For them, it is yet another form of wealth. Let me state once again my unquivering admiration for the life and works of Rudlof Steiner. For him, it was never enough to just 'be,' he conceived of and created systems that are capable of making life better for everyone. (My appreciation is high for those who worked with him, also.) -Allan >Allan: > >Why do you assume the DL [bless his occasionally meat=eating person] has to >DO something--not that he doesn't do things. His BEING is enough, as guide, >inspiration and symbol of hope for many, including his countrymen. > >Woody
