"I dream of a hard and brutal mysticism in which the naked self merges with the nonhuman world and somehow survives...Paradox and bedrock."-Edward Abbey

07 November 2010

Theological Sellouts

A couple of months before my mother died, I found myself being interested in Pantheism-http://www.pantheism.net/index.htm-one of the many different theologies I least researched back in the day. I also blame reading John Muir and more science-y stuff on this. It seemed like a nice addition to my practice of Buddhism, which, at its heart, is more of philosophy than a religion.

I've only been to a few Dharma talks, a few guided meditations, and one or two ceremonies in the Buddhist context. My practice of Buddhism has always been rather heretical, idiosyncratic, solitary, and internal. Besides, I sincerely believe you do not have to hang out in a crowd or go to a building to experience one's spirituality. Those things are stage props. Anytime I question my take on that, I run into this sort of thing;

http://www.elephantjournal.com/2010/10/i-like-your-buddha-i-do-not-like-your-buddhists--marissa-faye/?utm_source=Elephant+Journal+News&utm_campaign=November+2%2C+2010&utm_medium=email

It does bother me how anyone can cheapen something so beautiful so. Be it art, science, philosophy, or religion. Such things, after all, are not fashion. They transcend that. Perhaps an aspect of enlightenment is to understand that little fact.

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