--- In [email protected], "jim_flanegin" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > --- In [email protected], TurquoiseB <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > I suspect it all depends upon the level of conditioning > > that the fanatic was exposed to. Consider fanatical > > sects within the Catholic Church or Muslim faith or > > whatever, in which doubt is not only not tolerated, it > > is cause for expulsion. Consider a monk who has never > > had what he considers a spiritual experience his entire > > life, but at the same time, has been taught every day > > of that life that FAITH, even in the absence of exper- > > ience, is what counts. I would say that such persons > > would tend to dive into the Bardo with faith intact. > > > > And who knows...that may be a good thing, if what you > > want out of this life is some benefit in the next one. > > What you say is good advice to keep our eyes open at all times > and see what we are seeing. The TB life is a sad one, in my > opinion, and a poor trade off for the richness of this world.
Ah, but there are benefits as well. I have a number of friends who really *get off* on faith. They make *no* rational or pondered or thought- out decisions in their lives; everything is done on sheer faith that things will work out if they just "follow their bliss" or "follow their master." And, interestingly, more often than not, things *do* work out for them. Me, I chalk the difference up to predilection. If your predilection is to be more bhakti-oriented, and trust in a guru, then nothing else is going to offer you the same satisfaction in life. If your predilection is to trust in nature or the Tao or whatever, then nothing else is going to do it for you. However, if your predilection does *not* lie in that direction, and you attempt to adopt that lifestyle because people told you it was the Way to go, then very little works out for you. I think the key to a fairly happy incarnation is to figure out as soon as possible in that lifetime what your predilection is and follow it. Then again, there are probably some who set up a series of karmas and samskaras for themselves that were designed to *prevent* having a happy incarnation, and for them, following the "wrong" dharma for their body's predi- lection might be just the ticket. Surely there are people in this world, and people who follow the path of self realization, whose intent seems to be to make things as difficult for themselves as possible. They usually succeed, and when this tendency is pointed out, they usually ignore any advice that might make things a little easier for them and continue merrily on their Way to misery and difficulties. Surely this says something about their predilection in life. Whatever floats your boat, I guess. Some prefer rowing through water, others prefer rowing through mud. ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Get fast access to your favorite Yahoo! Groups. Make Yahoo! your home page http://us.click.yahoo.com/dpRU5A/wUILAA/yQLSAA/JjtolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> 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/
