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Where I live, churches constantly and insistently aid the homeless, sometimes to the detriment to the community because the churches make no distinction between the responsible homeless and the criminal homeless. They help both elements, which ultimately is quite irresponsible inasmuch as the...

I never investigated the two sub-sects. As a solitary practicer, I'm simply a Shin adherent, which I suppose is equivalent to being a non-denominational Christian. As a matter of "lineage", I adhere primarily to Shinran's and Rennyo's teachings without placing importance on subsequent teachings...

Hi, Nick - Actually the two questions you cited were asked by another poster, not me. But it is true that in Shin, only Amida Buddha grants enlightenment. We cannot do it for ourselves, which differentiates Shin from all other Buddhist schools. We rely solely on the Buddha for redemption in...

My questions are hypothetical, mostly because I'm a student of comparative religion and enjoy collecting religious ideas and experiences for their nuances and beauty. Not too different from collecting rare art, stamps, or butterflies...

The Buddha taught that there is no real, immortal soul, thus his doctrine of Anatta, or No Self. His countrymen's religion took the opposite view of Atman/self and claimed that it is eternal and subject to reincarnation until it realizes its non-duality with Brahman. In Buddhism there is no...

Thank you. Yes, the ego is a strong complex that is so fearful of its own loss or transformation that it balks at the idea of enlightenment, or turns a blind eye to it...

KS, thanks for replying. I especially like "Enlightenment is love without boundaries or judgement". Very nicely put. :)

Nick, thanks very much for your informative and detailed reply, it is much appreciated. Yeah, only the topmost enlightened persons are able to initiate others, which is a standard that "seekers" should constantly keep in mind so as not to be bilked or have a "master" who is not at the very high...

I meant "J" in Ohai. :)

Just a couple of idle questions: If you became enlightened - in the mystical, spiritual, Buddhist-Hindu sense - would your outward life change in a way noticeable to others? Or would you continue doing what you normally do while observing it and the world from your newly-awakened awareness? If...

1. Maybe because we are hard-wired to be spiritual? 2. Maybe because we experience an existential vacuum that only spirituality can fill? 3. Maybe because from the earliest times humans have experienced "things of the Spirit", shared the experience, after which sects, cults and religions arose...

I am neither Jewish nor Christian, but it is clear that the Jewish Bible is the only true source for identifying the Messiah. He will do what Jesus failed to do, namely, make Israel and Jerusalem the cite of world worship where all peoples will congregate, which Jesus failed to do; live to be...

In Mahayana, Buddha has three manifestations or "bodies": the Dharmakaya, the Sambhogakaya, and the Nirmanakaya. The Dharmakaya is uknowable from a human standpoint - it's ineffable like the Godhead in apophatic terms. The Sambhogakaya is a Buddha's manifestation in a "godly" or heavenly mode...

As a Jodo Shinshu/Shin Buddhist I fully accept the premise of sole reliance on Other Power - the one facet that separates Shin not only from other Buddhist schools, but from other Pure Land schools, including Honen's Jodo Shu.

Very well said - and funny, too! :)

I would think that it not only needs to defy (current) explanation, but that it also needs to meet the requirement of sacredness and holiness. They would need to be "godly" in a way that (say) an alien intervention or a paranormal are not. Although of course a sufficiently advanced technology...

The highest truth and/or the ultimate reality in Mahayana Buddhism- the Dharmakaya - is ineffable - thus without words. And without form. If my memory serves, it can only be known by perception via manifestation of a Sambhogakaya or a Nirmāṇakāya Buddha Body. So in a way cosmic Compassion sees...

In my Jodo Shinshu/Shin Buddhist faith, both go together, the idea being that Amitabha Buddha's merit and grace confer salvation (not from sin but from avidya or ignorance) and on our birth in the Pure Land, will vivify our hitherto dormant Buddha Nature and we ourselves will become Enlightened...

"Street epistemologist" Matt Dillahunty has said that he can't imagine anything that would absolutely convince him of divine presence/intervention, on the principle that any sufficiently advanced technology would not be distinguishable from magic. It could be God or gods or aliens. I myself...

Aw, how nice - thanks, Cino. I've only just begun, but this looks like a nice place for civil and informed discussion. :)