Bill!,
Tribalism has been the history of Humans. And with tribalism, violence and the
old "us-versus-them" has also been a key part of our heritage.
Some religions embrace violence and killing, and use it for "religion's" ends,
in spreading the religion, and to make a display of "righteousness" against
Infidels.
Some religions attempt to dissolve a tendency toward violence by dissolving
tribalism. They do this by showing to each member that the tribe is not a
collection of individuals, but instead that the individuals all partake of the
consciousness of the tribe. That is a radical difference.
I think the Zen sangha is tribal, but it is not opposed to other sanghas
because we recognize that there is an even larger "tribe": all the
instantiations of Buddha Nature. All the 10,000 Things are members of our
tribe with us
(and, ha ha, this allows us to say that all our "fights" are just "internal"
squabbles ...which they are). ;-)
Christianity does this "larger inclusion" too, in its teaching that we are all
"Children of God", and that all things are "His Creations". Thus, we
cannot/should not fight each other tooth and nail, because we would then
besmirch the intent and substance of "God Himself".
And this is yet different from the peaceful-seeming Nature religions of the
Native American tribes. It's well known that those tribes were warlike against
other tribes. They competed for territory, for hunting ranges, and for
women-folk. Their religions' "Great Spirit" may not have been the SAME "Great
Spirit", from tribe to tribe, I don't know. And each tribe had its OWN
origin-stories, as originating from its own Tribal God. So, the American
Indians were free to compete and slaughter each other, probably with the Gods'
consent. Their tribe was not as extensive as the tribe of the Zen sangha.
Islam is not only a religion of a tribe, but it is a fractionated religion
among fractionated tribes, the worst situation of all.
I sing, with the Grateful Dead's Jerry "Captain-Trips" Garcia, the line:
"It's a shame those boys can't be more copacetic".
--Joe
> "Bill!" <BillSmart@...> wrote:
>
> Mike, Merle, Joe, et al...
.
.
.
> I think religions in general foster an 'us versus them' attitude, but that's
> much more pronounced in monotheistic religions that have to maintain they
> literally have the 'keys to the kingdom', in other words are custodians to
> the only way to salvation.
>
> ...Bill!
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