On Wed, 22 Sep 2004 00:55:45 -0400, "AC" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> said: > From: Infernal Elk you implied in your earlier post that zen > practictioners are "the most aware people" which seems presumptuous to > me.>> > > A presumption is something that is based on an assumption? As far as I > know, Buddhism is the only religion that lays any claims to > "Enlightenment." So presumably, Buddhists would be the most aware, or > enlightened people. No other major religion even remotely touches the > issue of enlightenment, self-awareness, awareness, etc. If you think that > Buddhists are not the most aware people, then present an argument for > your candidate, do not merely take a shot at me.
That is somewhat poor research. A simple search for 'mystical christianity', 'desert fathers' 'sufism', 'vedanta', 'upanishads' 'taoism' or 'kabbalah' will reveal that enlightenment is something people have claimed to discover all over the world for millenia and continue to do so. many of these with striking similarities to many kinds of Buddhism. > I have yet to hear of a Buddhist Temple that supports the homeless here > in America and has any kind of social welfare commitment. If there is > any, it would be nice to hear about it. There are. plenty in fact. if I am not mistaken, a simply google search with those phrases should turn something up. otherwise, I could dig something up for you. > So in a roundabout way, I guess I want to know what is Zen really doing > to help the world? Turning the Dharma Wheel in imaginary encounters is > one thing, feeding hungry people and helping those in need is the real > thing. Buddhism has a somewhat different paradigm of what constitutes altruism, as the priority is stressed on mental welfare. I realise this may not be quite in accord with modern materialistic thinking. In fact, it could be argued that Jesus agreed. ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Make a clean sweep of pop-up ads. Yahoo! Companion Toolbar. Now with Pop-Up Blocker. Get it for free! http://us.click.yahoo.com/L5YrjA/eSIIAA/yQLSAA/S27xlB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Noble Eightfold Path: Right View, Right Intention, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, Right Concentration, Right Livelihood Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZenForum/ <*> 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/
