--- On Sat, 26/3/11, Chris Austin-Lane <[email protected]> wrote:
I've always read that Christianity == a Jewish religion of oneness transformed
by Greek philosophical dualism.
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MEL: That's a possibility, but it's also possible that the Jews themselves
transplanted themselves from their homelands to spread the word to the West for
reasons only they knew back then
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I'm not sure about others, but every time you write "Semitic" as a perjorative
term, I assume that you are aligned with the historical school of anti-Semitic
dualistic thinking, which splits people into good kinds and bad kinds.
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MEL: I use the term SEMITE today as shorthand for Christian/Jew/Muslim. I can't
speak for the Jews of today, but I detest the evangelical fervour of the other
2. Religiously speaking, yes, I am anti-Semite...WITH ALL 3, and tried as I
did, I could never find a place in any faction when I myself regarded myself
with pride back then as a spiritual descendant of then ancient Semites..in this
case, the Hebrews..
Without getting into all the techicalities of today's Modern English language,
rightly or wrongly, I may even use the word 'semite' in a discussion of ancient
Middle East so I don't have to say.....
- Babylonians
- Assyrians
- Syrians
- Canaanites
- Ugarits
...and so on
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I at least would find it more comfortable if you'd find a different term.
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MEL: Ok. Rightly or wrongly, most Christians I knew were not comfortable with
my stance of putting myself in the same basket as Moses, Jonathan, Rebecca,
Miriam, Ehud, and so on... when I was with the Anglican Church(Church of
England/Episcopalian Church), or the Quakers for that matter, back then. I had
no problem refering to myself back then as a spiritual descendant of the
Semites because...
'..These are the families of the sons of Noah, after their generations, in
their nations; and by these were the nations divided in the earth after the
flood...'
Book of Genesis, Chapter 10, Verse 32, KJV/Authorized Version
Having said that, I am sure people will still regard me as anti-Semite(as in,
anti-Jewish) no matter what. I'm not attacking one religious faction belonging
to Yahweh...I'm attacking(so to speak) all 3 of them(*laughter*), but only when
they get evangelical with me. Some of them ask me for actual words on the
Buddha's teachings and often get annoyed with my answers(which are often the
same that I give out here). I tell them to clear their heads while listening to
me, and the next thing I know is that WW3 had started. Wouldn't you get annoyed
with someone when they're sort of listening to you(but not really) because
they've already got a ready reply to your words even before you finished the
sentence? I would. Is that dualist on my part. Of course it is(*laughter*)
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"Those nasty Western dualists!"
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MEL: I don't know what you meant by that particular one...*grin*..but anyway...
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Although then I would wonder, wasn't Buddha's whole point that all humans have
brains that keep creating dualism?
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MEL: That's also a part of my understanding
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If dualism was invented by Semites, how could Buddhism have arisen outside of a
Semitic religion?
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MEL: Dualism came from everywhere(my understanding), but the old man/prince
back then was the one who detected its short-comings. According to studies done
by (Shunryu)Suzuki-sensei himself, the old fella was never entirely free from
dualism even after that 'big special event' under the tree(or somewhere else,
for all I know)
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Also, I will (again) state that the practice of Christianity can be
accomplished in non-dual ways. Anyone from Christianity that says that they
know God's mind and are speaking for God is not really representing the
experience of worshipping accurately.
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MEL: The difference between you and I would probably be how you read today's
bible translations (in English) on one hand, and the big selection of Zen
literature out there today in practically every major Western city
I am also not at the Soto temple that I go to on a regular basis. In fact, I've
been absent for a while(*laughter*). I also have a different way of being
around the Zen priesthood. Our resident Japanese Zen monk didn't give me some
super secret during the short time I conversed with him, nor was I expecting
any. In the temple, I don't ask for instructions before first watching and
listening to everyone...and then I do...
What I'm saying here Chris, is that how you and I read literature(religious, or
otherwise), meditate, live daily life, and so on influences how you and I come
up with thoughts on your last statement above. No right or wrong answer..just
different outlooks..
Buddha be praised
Mel
