--- In [email protected], "Llundrub" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > A valid point. I spent the day yesterday with a priest friend > who was showing me around the parts of the Palais des Papes > in Avignon that the tourists can't get to. This involved the secret > passages that the Popes used to get to their mistresses' rooms > and down to the torture chambers, where they gleefully joined > in. So logging on to FFL just after that and hearing more stories > of the TM Inquisition in action did push a few already-pushed > buttons.
> > ----Gotcha. > > That's sweet. > > The idea that the TMO couldn't evolve into the same self satisfied and self righteous institution as the Church is bogus because TMO is already many millions of light years ahead in terms of numbers and basic influence than Jesus was during his life. There is no certainty, but there is a possibility that the TMO could overtake the Church for numbers and influence someday. And in corruption and evil as well. It's not likely, in my opinion, because I really don't see the TMO lasting long enough or having enough members to get really evil on for that to happen, but the propensity is certainly there. They've already got the faithful trained to overlook minor outrages; from there it's just a short hop to getting them to overlook major outrages. But it's not gonna happen, because IMO, unless something radical happens to change the karmas, the TMO is going to be non-existent within 20 years. > This is why I find TMO so fascinating. It's like I've seen all this before > so many times now. Shankara was no different. Absolutely. > That all said, the real institution of religion is in the heart. Buildings > all be damned. Absolutely. > Give that shit to the poor and hurt. A real religion would tear its own > breast out and actively seek to immolate itself in charity. Especially if it's advaita. Couldn't agree more. The desire to create buildings and perpetuate itself almost *always* indicates a religion or spiritual path that has already died internally. > Of course the argument goes that the real way to help is to uncover the eternal bliss of pure consciousness, not to merely feed the bellies of the needy. But then as the Catholic Church points out, the system does become merely spiritual autoeroticism. A balance is needed. People need to uncover their bliss so that they can give to others. And they need to be taught the joy of giving it to others. It should be intuitive, but obviously is not. Look how quickly those who got into the "biz" to help others become bureau- crats whose only mission in life is to raise money to perpetuate their own jobs. > If paradox didn't lie at the very heart of the system then it wouldn't be > life- like. Because life is a paradox in every possible way. It's really beautiful. Yup. I agree, even though I can rail about it sometimes. Interestingly enough, the spiritual teacher who for me said it the best wasn't a spiritual teacher in the common sense at all (although he was), but a movie star: "Life is a tragedy when seen in close-up, but a comedy in long shot." - Charlie Chaplin 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/
