Nice post, Rick. This, in an odd way, is exactly the subject I have been trying (unsuccessfully, because it's a snakepit) on alt.meditation.transcendental.
My theory, which is not entirely mine (it has its antecedents in traditional Buddhism and other traditions) is that there is something inherently "wrong" with one particular spiritual teaching. That teaching is that "we" (the tradition, the teaching, the technique, the practitioners) are "the best." Some Buddhist traditions hold that this is a manifestation of a particular state of mind (think mini-state of consciousness, in MMY terminology) which is completely understandable (pandering, as it does, to ego, which we all have in spades). But they also hold that, viewed over a long period of time (centuries) that this state of mind is potentially poisonous. It leads the traditions that espouse it into Questionable Karma (the Crusades; the Inquisition; "off the program"). And it leads the followers into equally Questionable Karma (TM is the "highest teaching" and anything else is lesser and to be avoided and demonized; anyone who goes "off the program" is to be shunned and demonized even more; anything...ANYTHING...is permissible when protecting the "purity of the teaching"). What I find myself wondering these days is whether this Buddhist point of view might be onto something. The problem is not necessarily in the particular manifestation of this poisonous state of mind in the TM movement, but in the state of mind itself. In Christians, it manifests in one way; in Protestants, another; in Born- Again Xtians, yet another. But it's the same state of mind. I'm of the opinion that one can happily pass an entire incarnation or several on this rock without ever having to indulge in the claim that one's philosophy or religion is "the best," or that one's technique is "the best," or that one (the True Believer) is "the best." History seems to be on my side in this opinion. There have been a few (sadly, very few) spiritual organizations on this rock that have attempted to avoid stating or believing that they were "the best." These same organizations seem to have produced a surprising number of enlightened beings, and an even greater number of unenlightened seekers who managed to have a Good Time while seeking. I don't think the problem is with TM or Christianity per se. I think it's with the state of mind that believes that it is "the best." Unc/Barry --- In [email protected], Rick Archer <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Sunday Sermonette > Posted by James Wolcott > > "...has Christianity, in fact, stood for a better morality than that of its > rivals and opponents? I do not see how any honest student of history can > maintain that this is the case. Chistianity has been distinguished from > other religions by its greater readiness for persecution. Buddhism has never > been a persecuting religion. The Empire of the Caliphs was much kinder to > Jews and Christians than Christian states were to Jews and Mohammedans. It > left Jews and Christians unmolested, provided they paid tribute. > Anti-Semitism was promoted by Christianity from the moment the Roman Empire > became Christian. The religious fervor of the Crusades led to pogroms in > western Europe. It was Christians who unjustly accused Dreyfus, and > freethinkers who secured his final rehabilitation... The whole contention > that Christianity has had an elevating moral influence can only be > maintained by wholesale ignoring or falsification of the historical > evidence." > > [snip] > > "That the world is in a bad way is undeniable, but there is not the faintest > reason in history to suppose that Christianity offers a way out... What the > world needs is reasonableness, tolerance, and a realization of the > interdependence of the parts of the human family. It is to such > considerations that we must look, and not to a return to obscurantist myths. > Intelligence, it might be said, has caused our troubles; but it is not > unintelligence that will cure them. Only more and wiser intelligence can > make a happier world." > > --Bertrand Russell, "Can Religion Cure Our Troubles?" (1954) > > 05.08.05 12:56PM > > http://jameswolcott.com/archives/2005/05/sunday_sermonet_1.php To subscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Or go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ and click 'Join This Group!' Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
