At 01:50 AM 12/14/2005 -0500, you wrote: >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. I recall that >whenever I would hear someone make any claims regarding spiritual unity with >Jesus or the Holy Spirit, it was a sure sign that they were arrogant, >egotistical, selfish people who expected special treatment because of their >claims about Jesus. > >So how is it different? Certainly on the internet, status and adulation are >not the same thing. However, do people who are always claiming Buddhahood as >spiritually fraudulent as the average Christian who claims some spiritual >connection to Jesus? There does seem to be a strain of Buddhists that in >many ways resembles the kind of Christians that will drop on the floor and >flop-around speaking-in-tongues. Does every religion has the same >archetypes? Fanatics, skeptics, true-believers, etc.??
Hi Al I think it's quite possible, within a Buddhist context, to arrive at a undeveloped or incomplete understanding where ego takes on "transcendent" clothing and goes about with as much fanaticism as someone claiming to be Jesus. It's the "I am" still operating. Attaching to a REALLY BIG transcendent ego, is still ego. It's still attachment. An especially monstrous one. Not that I can think of a good example of someone like that really. But it seems possible. But, I think within Buddhism at least, there's some built-in safety to keep one from staying at such a place and going about starting temples devoted to oneself. That's because of how often the Buddha discussed non-attachment, seeing not-self in all things large, small or what have you. But sure, any religion can be taken up wrongly. As the Buddha said, grasping the teachings wrongly is like grabbing a snake by it's tail, instead of it's head. Ian ------------------------ 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/
