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Like a breath of fresh air.......................... Thomas, Yes, just like the word "Church", "Sangha" can have many differing connotations, each seeming to expand and deepen its significance and scope. "Catholic" indeed! From my own Buddhist perspective, there is great beauty in the...

Dor, In the context of my post I was using the words of William Barclay more to demonstrate the "treacherous sea of language" than as any sort of argument one way or the other for Universalism. Obviously I have deep sympathy for the Universalist position, but only in as much as it at least...

Thomas, I appreciate the time and effort you have put into this. Thank you. :)

Hi, Yes, to be fair to the friend I spoke of, he first mentioned that any question that cropped up concerning his faith, his first port of call was the Bible. On this ocassion he turned to the words from the book of Revelation, where it is said that "every tear will be wiped from our eyes"...

The question seems to be, are we now living in a reality that will for all eternity include within itself suffering and alienation..................or can there eventually be an ultimate reconciliation? Once again, Compassion speaks and says: Can you be saved Yet see the whole world...

From my old liberal christian days I have always kept a little note in my wallet and close to my heart. It is a few words by the English mystic Julian of Norwich concerning the resurrection....... He is Risen! The worst conceivable thing has happened, and it has been mended..............so...

Earl, Just reading through your post again, and picking up on what you say concerning "metaphysics" as dogma, contrasting this with what is seen for oneself - or can be, if one has the courage/grace to look. In his latest book "Living With the Devil", Batchelor speaks of the "anaesthetic of...

Vaj, I think we owe a great debt of gratitude to those like Thomas Cleary and Bhikkhu Bodhi who must devote so much time to the translation of various Buddhist texts (Mahayana and Theravada) so that the likes of you and I are able to access them - not knowing the original lingo! (Well...

I'm currently reading the Avatamsaka Sutra (also known as the Flower Ornament Scripture) It is a vast text, running to over 1500 pages. D T Suzuki speaks of it as follows........ (As) the consummation of Buddhist thought, Buddhist sentiment, and Buddhist experience...................here not...

Quahom1, Thanks for your response to my post. I would only say that just as there are the "facts" of Christian belief, there are also the "facts" of Buddhist belief. And such "facts" are open to endless interpretation and understanding......................(I.e. there are many Christian...

As I was watching my local soccer side win their latest home game at a cantor, I gave some thought to this. I remembered the "logic" of the Inquisition being explained.....................That correct belief was indispensible for salvation and therefore heretics - and non-believers - were going...

Earl, Yes, I would not seek to be dogmatic about this..............as if!!:D Getting back to Thomas Merton and reflecting upon his life, I can see how the strong "beliefs" he first grasped gave him the strength to move forwards from his youthful waywardness. That the fortress of his faith...

Cyberpi, As I hinted before, I would not like to speak for "Buddhism". "Buddhism" is as vast as Christianity, with many mansions. I speak from out of Dharma practice, which in a sense is "Buddhism" converted into Upaya - skilful means - appropriate to the individual. Many Buddhists would...

Will any belief system necessarily conflict with an "ethics of empathy"?

The following quote is offered for discussion. Though drawn from the writings of a Buddhist, I believe they have relevance for those of any faith. Dharma (Buddhist) practice requires the courage to confront what it means to be human. All the pictures we entertain of heaven and hell or cycles...

Cyberpi, My experience on Buddhist forums has convinced me that I'm not particularly orthodox. I find some of what you say difficult to truly understand - perhaps a failure of intellect (mine!), but anyway, for a variety of reasons I have no inclination to "correct". Ideally all people and...

Just dredging up a few memories from the distant past, and remember again watching a TV discussion programme involving a couple of Christians and a Rabbi, Lionel Blue. The Christians were asked exactly what "Christ" meant for them and one answered by saying something like......."I believe that...

I've been reading through this thread with interest, heartening to many posts, disagreeing with many others! Anyway, a few words came to mind - spoken in fact by Oliver Cromwell - but repeated by the scientist J Bronowski upon his visit to the Auschwitz prison camp..................I beseech...

InLove, Thanks for drawing out the significance of the words of Francis king. I must admit that in my own rush to answer points being made for my own benefit, I originally bypassed the post...:( It all seems part of "going beyond" what is more often than not a superficial "surface" that...

Wil, it all seems part of the ripple effect mentioned before......:) Because of another post I just happened to look up a particular book and by chance my attention was drawn to the story of the two brothers. Just one of the many ways the grain gets distributed..................without loss...