What do you guys think of the Far Eastern religions?

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Dear Oren,

“And anyone, even if they don’t have knowledge of any of the Revelation from God could see that just from their own reasoning.”
quote, Oren.

Tell it to the Dali Lama, Oren.

Revelation is revelation; human reason is human reason.
The idea of a Creator might occur to someone:
St.Paul: “They have no excuse.”

But the God of Israel and Jesus are arrived at only
by revelation.

Human beings are situated in time and place.
If an individual’s parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles
are Buddhist, there’s a pretty good chance that
he/she might accept Buddhism as “true”.

To impose a template of Western Judeo-Christianity
on the East is to misunderstand, profoundly I think,
what happens in other cultures.

The knowledge that God is One [Hear, O Israel, the
Lord our God, the Lord is One," and the further
knowledge of the gospel of Jesus has to be
proclaimed to be known.]

You know, I never spent 10 minutes reading
anything on Hinduism. The prospect of no God
is more understandable to me than polytheism.
I mean no disrespect by that, it just never struck
me as remotely credible.

reen12
 
reen12 said:
“Buddhism has always been primarily monastic and ascetic in nature…” quote, Fr. Ambrose

That’s why I said:

“The difficulty I find with Gautama’s answers, is that
the “practice” that he calls for doesn’t really “work”
for the family man, the busy housewife, the men
and women who are dealing with the loss of their
parents, and so on.” quote, reen12

I find the idea of reincarnation distasteful, because
here are working men and women raising families,
who are then burdened by the lack of time to
“reach nirvana” and therefore face another round as
of some kind of lifeform. How very dismal.
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I think that this is where Orthodoxy has a better teaching that Catholicism. Progress does not stop with death. After death we continue with the “never ending journey” into the infinity of God. So, putting it a bit crudely, you could say that monks and nuns could have a head start because of their intense spiritual struggles here on earth. But the ordinary householder is only a few steps behind and both are on the same path which will go on and on forever after death.

And, just to keep monks from getting too bigheaded about their spiritual status, there are quite a few stories in the “Sayings of the Desert Fathers” where God sends a monk out of the desert to see a man or woman who is way ahead of the monk spiritually. Lo and behold, this turns out to be a regular Christian in the city, running a grocery store, but he devotes an hour a day to prayer, tries to live in God’s presence every minute, he lives at peace with his neighbours and teaches his children to love God, he gives a third of his income to the poor. The monk suitably chastened, returns to his cell in the desert.
 
Dear Fr. Ambrose,

Oh, that is so funny! I was having to drink in pictures
of you in a zendo, contorted on a platform, in full lotus,
and I must say, I was having a hard time picturing same!😃

As someone from the UK once said: “I say,
have I missed a chapter???”

OK, everybody, Fr. Ambrose was *not *a Buddhist
earlier in life.:o
Sorry 'bout that,
Maureen [reen12]*
 
Dear Fr. Ambrose,

“And, just to keep monks from getting too bigheaded about their spiritual status, there are quite a few stories in the “Sayings of the Desert Fathers” where God sends a monk out of the desert to see a man or woman who is way ahead of the monk spiritually. Lo and behold, this turns out to be a regular Christian in the city, running a grocery store, but he devotes an hour a day to prayer, tries to live in God’s presence every minute, he lives at peace with his neighbours and teaches his children to love God, he gives a third of his income to the poor. The monk suitably chastened, returns to his cell in the desert.” quote, Fr. Ambrose

Here, here! Let’s hear it for those kind of householders.
What about householders who try to do the above,
but also enjoy an afternoon snooze?

You know, that is a grand image…deeper into the
infinity of God. It makes so much sense.

BTW, did you know that Judaic theology stresses
doing everything for God…i.e., the afternoon snooze
replenishes me so that I can better serve God when
I wake up? I find this a distinct comfort.
Maureen [reen12]
 
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reen12:
Oh, that is so funny! I was having to drink in pictures of you in a zendo, contorted on a platform, in full lotus,
and I must say, I was having a hard time picturing same!😃
Click to expand...
Hey, what’s so funny! 😉 Orthodox monks and nuns use (or can use, if their spiritual father/mother gives a blessing for it) an 8" high platform for the Jesus Prayer.

The “Jesus” Prayer. In Eastern Christian tradition it developed from a simple form to a more sophisticated one. It is a prayer of the heart—Hesychasm—quietness. Nicephorus, the Solitary: Attention is repentance, renunciation of sin, turning to God, serenity of mind. It is necessary to seek a teacher who will show from his own sufferings what must be done. To breathe we use our lungs which develop the heart. Breathing in the words of the prayer we bring the prayer to our hearts. Together with the air we force the mind to enter into the heart and stay there and repeat the Jesus prayer. When our lips are silent, desires speak from the breast. We must force the heart to say only the Jesus prayer. St. Gregory of Sinai is considered the greatest teacher of Hesychasm. How shall a man discover or better be discovered by Christ whom he received at baptism? Through the fulfillment of the commandments, or by obedience to the spiritual father in the practice of the memory of God: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have mercy on me”. St. Gregory describes the practice: Sit on a low stool 8 inches high, bow low, force the mind into the heart and repeat “Lord Jesus Christ;” after some time switch to the second part of the prayer. Control the breath, breathing slowly and quietly. This practice should always be taught personally and paced for the individual.
 
Someone mentioned that lack of a personal God in Hinduism and Buddhism.

This was something which brought a young American from Buddhism to Orthodox Christianity. He was a Buddhist and a pupil of Alan Watts. One day the absence of a personal God who knew him and loved him was no longer bearable to him… and entering a church in San Francisco, he suddenly met God… As he put it in his own words…

“For years in my studies I was satisfied with being ‘above all traditions’ but somehow faithful to them… When I visited an Orthodox church, it was only in order to view another ‘tradition.’ However, when I entered an Orthodox church for the first time (a Russian church in San Francisco) something happened to me that I had not experienced in any Buddhist or other Eastern temple; something in my heart said that this was ‘home,’ that all my search was over. I didn’t really know what this meant, because the service was quite strange to me, and in a foreign language. I began to attend Orthodox services more frequently, gradually learning its language and customs… With my exposure to Orthodoxy and to Orthodox people, a new idea began to enter my awareness: that Truth was not just an abstract idea, sought and known by the mind, but was something personal–even a Person–sought and loved by the heart. And that is how I met Christ.”

He went on to become a monk, Fr Seraphim, and a member of a small and remote monastery in the hills of California. He entered deeply into the mystical life of Christianity, and became a focus and a beam of truth for many people who visited the monastery. Some believe already that he is a Saint (he died in 1982) Icons exist and people pray for his help.

Here is a small page about him with pics…
orthodoxphotos.com/Orthodox_Elders/Various/Fr._Seraphim_Rose/

 
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Greek:
The mercifulness of Buddhism is taken to higher level than Christianity. In Christianity, it’s “Worship Christ or rot in Hell!” According to Buddhism, committing worngs will make you reincarnated into a lesser being but not necessarily tortured for eternity, which is how missionaries scare nonChristians into converting. Also, Christianity has a much more violent past with the Inquisitions and Crusades (I despise the Crusades for the sacking of Constantinople) than Buddhism.
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One of the things that history buffs discover early on is that no race or nation on earth is guiltless when it comes to commiting atrocities or violence. As a homeschooling parent I try very hard to give my children a balanced view of history and that means doing some research. Name me a few of these Buddhisitic countries that you think were less violent then Christian countries and give me a couple days, I can find you some examples of injustice-probably every bit as horrrific as the Inquisitions. In Hindu countries bride burning comes to mind; a custom that didn’t stop until the English put it down. Of course, judging an entire culture by the mistakes that they have made in the past is as silly as whitewashing everything about that culture.
 
Dear deb 1,

Well said. And my hat is off to you for home schooling.

reen12
 
The mercifulness of Buddhism is taken to higher level than Christianity. In Christianity, it’s “Worship Christ or rot in Hell!”
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Not only is this an ill-informed understanding of Christianity, it is ironic that today Catholicism celebrates the Solemnity of Divine Mercy.

thedivinemercy.org/message/history/
 
DHARAMSALA, April 3 - His Holiness the Dalai Lama offered special prayers for His Holiness Pope John Paul II yesterday during the last leg of his three-week teachings.

After the passing away of His Holiness Pope John Paul II, His Holiness the Dalai Lama issued this condolence message.

“His Holiness Pope John Paul II was a man I held in high regard. He was a determined and deeply spiritual minded person for whom I had great respect and admiration. His experience in Poland, then a communist country, and my own difficulties with communists, gave us an immediate common ground. The first time we met, he struck me as very practical and open, with a broad appreciation of global problems. I have no doubt that he was a great spiritual leader.

“The Pope felt as I do that as human beings we not only require material development but we also need spirituality. Certainly, improved material facilities provide us with physical comfort but we also have unique intelligence or mind that mere material provision cannot fully satisfy.
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 “We were also in complete agreement about the need to promote harmony amongst different religious traditions. I was privileged to participate in the inter-faith meeting held at Assisi, a very important and significant event, at his invitation. It demonstrated to the world community that our different traditions really could pray together and send a message of peace from one platform
…"

http://www.phayul.com/images/news/articles/0504020932525T.jpg
 
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JCPhoenix:
Regarding the Crusades…well, yes, I support them. Maybe not all, but then again, I am still studying this. But I do support defending our territory and therefore souls already saved by Christ against those who would convert them to a religion which contradicts the divinity of Christ yet still claims to worship the same God. I’m sorry you have such a poor understanding of Christianity. I will pray that your heart and soul be opened to the grace of our Lord Jesus. God bless you and may the peace of Christ surround you.
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I am not talking about the Church’s teachings, bu what members of the Church used to practice, and what they practice now.
 
**The Hare Krishnas give their condolences:
**

**
**

We are saddened by the passing of His Holiness Pope John Paul II and offer our condolences to our Catholic friends worldwide along with our heartfelt wishes that they find joy and strength in remembrance of his selfless service to God
Code: 
           The passing of John Paul II is a great loss not only to the Roman Catholic               Church, but to all people of faith. As a religious leader, Pope John Paul II               fought for his principles as vigorously as he practised them, giving strong,               meaningful guidance to his Church. We pray that these qualities of               leadership and commitment will continue to serve as an example to all.

           As a Vaishnava community, we are especially thankful for the Pope's firm yet               compassionate defence of the dignity and sanctity of human life, his sincere               appeal for the protection of the oppressed and weak, and for his call to the               younger generation to seek purpose in life through devotion to God.
 
Who cares what I think of Far Eastern religions. A better question is what does God think of them? Jesus himself said, “No one comes to the Father except through Me.” Any religion that tells people otherwise - that’s there’s some other “path” to God EXCEPT through our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ is a tool of the Devil who wants nothing more than to lead as many as possible straight to hell.
 
Ahimsa said:
The Hare Krishnas give their condolences:
We are saddened by the passing of His Holiness Pope John Paul II and offer our condolences to our Catholic friends worldwide along with our heartfelt wishes that they find joy and strength in remembrance of his selfless service to God

The passing of John Paul II is a great loss not only to the Roman Catholic Church, but to all people of faith. As a religious leader, Pope John Paul II fought for his principles as vigorously as he practised them, giving strong, meaningful guidance to his Church. We pray that these qualities of leadership and commitment will continue to serve as an example to all.

As a Vaishnava community, we are especially thankful for the Pope’s firm yet compassionate defence of the dignity and sanctity of human life, his sincere appeal for the protection of the oppressed and weak, and for his call to the younger generation to seek purpose in life through devotion to God.
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Thanks for posting that - it was a very considerate thing to do 🙂 - and a generous tribute​

 
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Greek:
The mercifulness of Buddhism is taken to higher level than Christianity. In Christianity, it’s “Worship Christ or rot in Hell!” According to Buddhism, committing worngs will make you reincarnated into a lesser being but not necessarily tortured for eternity, which is how missionaries scare nonChristians into converting. Also, Christianity has a much more violent past with the Inquisitions and Crusades (I despise the Crusades for the sacking of Constantinople) than Buddhism.
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There is a reason for worshipping Him - to do so, is not a mere order without meaning: as though the difference between worshipping Him, and rejecting Him, depended solely on God’s whim. That would be absurd.​

He is worshipped, and worthy of worship, because He is the One Who has made us for Himself: He has designed us so that we cannot be eternally full-filled, without being conformed to Him. Man is designed for God - and for nothing & no one less.

To encourage someone to love Christ, is like saying, “See how wonderful this picture is,” “how beautiful this music is,” or, “how marvellous that sunset is.” It’s an encouragement to share a joy that one possesses oneself; to share something which has possessed one, and which can be enjoyed only if it is shared as widely as possible.

Hell is merely the enjoyment of eternal life without the God Who alone makes it worthwhile to have - without Whom, it is frustrated. Irreversibly. And by one’s own free choice. Christian theology can’t be accused of trivialising free will - for we can use it to do ourselves that sort of harm. And we don’t have to. ##
 
i personally find the far eastern religious to be fascinating studies, especially in the manner it has affected their culture. for example, hinduism, which evolved out of sandskrit writings brought by the aryans to india thousands of years ago, caused the caste system to evolve. they believed that there were (i believe - its been so long since i read up on this) 5 castes and the untouchables. in each life, a person was expected to fulfill certain duties, and if they did, they would be born into the higher caste, until they complete the highest and their spirit is set free. consequently, it was ok to caste the untouchables from the villages and force them to clap paddles to let those of other castes to know they were coming. untouchables had either done something gravely wrong in a previous life, or else had just moved up from an animal spirit (i think), and therefore they were so unclean that even just contact with them would hurt the karma of other castes. in india today it is still considered an insult to call someone a tanner, because only untouchables touched the skin of dead animans (unclean). i once knew a hindu who said his father would get up between 330 and 4 in the morning so have at least four hours to pray to the different gods before work. do i believe a word of it? no, but it is interesting to study the influences and how much of that has just been so implimented in the indian culture.

as for buddhism, i find it to be an admirable philosophy, a depressing one, yes, but still admirable. they acknowledge that all people suffer, no matter how rich or poor, young or old you were. the trick was to get past the suffering and become Enlightened. the peace of the monks, especially the tibeten. i admire the dalai lama veryyy much. the stories surrounding him (that there is really only one dalai lama, that is reincarnated each time the other one dies, and that special officials receive visions about where to find the new incarnation, and when they find the child that is in the visions, they give him a series of tests, example, giving him two sets of prayer beads, one the former dalai lama’s, one new, and ask him to take his, and he must pass these tests to become the new leader). his patience and peace, esp. after the chinese invasion is especially interesting. he has never crossed paths with the chinese leaders, dispite the nazi like treatement of native tibetans.

obviously there are many very fundemental flaws with each of these religions, they do not acknowledge God or Christ, but they are quite interesting to me (on a culture level), and as other posters have mentioned - many have found their way through buddhism to christ
 
Dear luvthelight,

I profited from reading your post.

Yes, I too think that Buddhism is an admirable
philosophy, given the circumstance and time
in which it was created. As I say, it does
strike me as an ultimatley cold philosophy.

It’s the idea that somehow Buddhists have rejected
Christ that gets me. I mean, there you are in
Lasha [sp?], pretty much cut off from the outside
world, and you’re rejecting…what? Who?

Good grief.

Again, I enjoyed your post.

reen12
 
Hello,

I’m trying to wrap my mind around the concept of
Buddhists “rejecting” Christ.

I mean, there you are in Lasha [sp?], pretty much
cut off from the outside world, and you’re rejecting…
what? Who?

Good grief.

reen12
 
The Crusades were a noble thing and I think we need one right about now.
 
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