>On Wednesday, December 14, 2005 1:51 PM Al posted: >From: "Ian" <> Is there a difference between saying "I am Buddha" and "I am >God" ? >Dear Ian, >Thank you for putting into words a concept that was nagging at me. As a >person who grew up as a Christian, every time I hear "I am Buddha" or >something like that, I am reminded of the many incredibly shallow if not >evil persons who I remember claiming to be one with Jesus. [...balance snipped...]
Ian and Al, [The following post is my non-authoritative opinion only! Caveat Emptor!] First point: 'God' refers to a separate, external deity. You can establish a relationship with God, but cannot become God. [Jesus is of course one of the three facets of God in Christianity; along with God the Father and the Holy Spirit. I think it would be a great topic to discuss the Christian Trinity vis-à-vis Buddhism to discover analogies, or not - but not in this posting.] 'Buddha' refers to an integral, internal state of awareness. You can awaken this state of awareness and allow it to subsume your self. You can become Buddha. (Actually you already ARE Buddha - but not in this posting.) Second Point: Sometimes my postings 'talk about zen'. Sometimes my postings are 'zen talk'. Saying 'You create your own reality.' is 'talk about zen', (or maybe about something else). Saying 'Mind is Buddha.' is 'zen talk'. Third Point: Saying 'I am Buddha' is zen talk directed specifically to the comment/question Al posed to me, which was: >>You are your own god. Nothing above you, everything is below you?<< My response was first a positive one: 'I am Buddha', meaning I am aware that Buddha is my before-thought mind; and continued to address Al's question about 'above' and 'below', to point out their dualistic, non-zen nature: 'Above and Below - where are they?' The object was to have Al (or any reader) to become aware of the dualism in this question, to think about where 'above/below' comes from, to realize it comes from his dualistic, after-thought mind, and to JUST STOP IT!, ...and become Buddha too, ( - but not in this posting.) >Does every religion has the same archetypes? Fanatics, skeptics, true-believers, etc.?? Of course. Haven't you ever heard of Tookie Williams? (Oh, I forgot, Tookie is discussed in another thread, but - not in this posting.) Gassho...Bill! ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Join modern day disciples reach the disfigured and poor with hope and healing http://us.click.yahoo.com/lMct6A/Vp3LAA/i1hLAA/S27xlB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Current Book Discussion: Appreciate Your Life by Taizan Maezumi Roshi 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/
