tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1513199068907090344.post2957873899382180879..comments2024-03-26T16:24:34.218+00:00Comments on Meeting The Masters: More on Differences Between Buddhism and ChristianityWilliam Wildbloodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13231219533755925897noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1513199068907090344.post-592958486765554132021-11-26T16:46:51.213+00:002021-11-26T16:46:51.213+00:00I read a couple of books by him years ago and he i...I read a couple of books by him years ago and he is quite a good writer on Eastern religion but you have hit the nail on the head when you say he was more of an entertainer. I wouldn't really recommend him though I don't know his talks. I'm sure he was clever and witty, not so sure he was really a spiritual person in the sense that he lived what he talked.William Wildbloodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13231219533755925897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1513199068907090344.post-77783879832468613162021-11-26T16:23:11.752+00:002021-11-26T16:23:11.752+00:00Hey William,
Have you ever heard or listened to A...Hey William,<br /><br />Have you ever heard or listened to Alan Watts? He was an English writer/theologian supposedly popularizing and teaching Buddhism, Taoism, and Hinduism for a Western audience. I recently discovered him and thought his talks were pretty interesting and compelling although I'm not sure whether what he says should be taken very seriously because he seems to be more of an entertainer than an actual guru or something along those lines. I was just curious about your opinion if you ever had a chance to listen to any of his talks. Best wishes, love your blog!Vytautashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01148215497645520717noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1513199068907090344.post-87628242877424805822021-11-26T15:10:14.630+00:002021-11-26T15:10:14.630+00:00This comment has been removed by the author.Vytautashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01148215497645520717noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1513199068907090344.post-50934612411571000592021-10-04T05:25:04.567+00:002021-10-04T05:25:04.567+00:00Many thanks Many thanks Brief Outlineshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18153534581115253885noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1513199068907090344.post-13700792143556570032021-09-29T13:39:24.736+00:002021-09-29T13:39:24.736+00:00No rudeness felt there William, I experienced it a...No rudeness felt there William, I experienced it as someone who has clarity on a topic speaking their mind. I find clarity and frankness today gets lazily mis-characterised as someone 'being dogmatic'. It's another lesson of how crucial it is to pay attention and be alert to the spirit of Christ ...'awake thou that sleepest'<br />thanks for your work.Nathanaelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1513199068907090344.post-37438800881374552062021-09-28T12:51:19.744+00:002021-09-28T12:51:19.744+00:00Thanks Nathanael. I was a bit concerned I may have...Thanks Nathanael. I was a bit concerned I may have seemed rude but it's usually best to say what you think - as long as you aren't actually being gratuitously rude.William Wildbloodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13231219533755925897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1513199068907090344.post-33793843649877005392021-09-28T12:18:51.117+00:002021-09-28T12:18:51.117+00:00William, your reply to the video was fantastic, an...William, your reply to the video was fantastic, and thank you for that honesty.<br />I have discovered people like this are hugely narcissistic and form a cult.<br />In a sense i see them as anti-christs. <br /><br />See here:<br />https://www.satyoga.exposed/<br /><br />To note; I am interested in following Christ, and helping my brothers n sisters cut through the snares that lead us astray. What you are pointing to with buddhism is exactly the kind of thing I have had many discussions over with people who cannot see implicit and degenerate buddhism in their work or who they follow.<br /><br />Best to you.Nathanaelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1513199068907090344.post-24519502629504068712021-09-28T08:27:43.988+00:002021-09-28T08:27:43.988+00:00Why do people choose destruction, especially, at t...Why do people choose destruction, especially, at the present time, so many? It's a hard question but I believe that it comes down to the old "Non serviam.". Better to reign in hell than serve in heaven. William Wildbloodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13231219533755925897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1513199068907090344.post-64171759087218487012021-09-28T04:48:00.859+00:002021-09-28T04:48:00.859+00:00As an important addendum to that, it is quite clea...As an important addendum to that, it is quite clear some people on this planet have chosen destruction and the hierarchical promises attached to that(by what or whom?). We have plenty of physicists and astronomers arguing that destruction will occur within the current universe no matter what (pun intended?). So what is the appeal then? Perhaps more control? <br />We could all choose creation and still face destruction eventually, at least on a personal and identifiable level, within this level. No its not a video game i swear ;)<br />So what then, is it fear? Is it some odd balancing mechanism that is too vast for us to understand? If the Brahmanic cycle already encompasses destruction as one half, why ever choose it? <br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1513199068907090344.post-74459360237201751152021-09-28T04:28:53.313+00:002021-09-28T04:28:53.313+00:00Whenever good and evil come up as descriptions of ...Whenever good and evil come up as descriptions of phenomenae rather then qualitative things i have problems with that. This is one small step removed from the more extreme forms of non-dualism which state that 'at the highest level there is no separation'. While that might actually be true it also pre-supposes we are at that level, or even capable of reaching it (yet). It also leads to inaction from the weird notion that 'things are already as they should be'. But if we take the fairly abstract idea of God as the multiverses experiencing themselves -through us- or even -as us-, which lead me to interpret interaction with God as us opening up the connection to the more fine-tuned, less dense aspects of everything, and never information uniformly -coming from- (since the source is both one and divided). However since both things must be true at all times, we cannot simply state at any point 'this is how things are' because all states are being examined at the same time and exist at the same time. We can see ourselves as branching points forward within all possibilities, but never exclude ourselves from this infinite network of possibilities. This includes all kinds of organisational systems imaginable, and since the planet did not blow up after a billion people saw 'Star Wars' its safe to assume we are at a level where 'mind over matter' does not work quite that way, therefore a spiritual hierarchy exists. If hierarchy exists, it is not a large stretch to assume that dualism also exists at the current level. I interpret it as creative force versus destructive, and perhaps duality is -inherent- to the level where physicality is dominant or at least important, from a framework of non-infinite resources and physical energy consumption/ conversion and such, again only at the current level. As per the title of your book, this is exactly what we are here to experience, similar to what some of the Veda's mentioned. At certain levels separation and duality must be the case because without opposites there is no distinction between one thing and another. Systems and hierarchies must be present because otherwise everything would fold back into one again, and thus shapes our perennial adventure :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1513199068907090344.post-48168333576110246602021-09-26T15:00:44.388+00:002021-09-26T15:00:44.388+00:00I agree with you, JM. You say "Spiritual sin...I agree with you, JM. You say "Spiritual sins are in fact far worse than sins of the flesh". Yes. Pride has always been regarded as the deadliest of sins and that is a spiritual sin really. The worst being in the universe was at one time one of the best beings, best as in highest. In Tolkein's world Morgoth, Sauron and Saruman were all high spiritual beings before they fell. William Wildbloodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13231219533755925897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1513199068907090344.post-73054615725279104252021-09-26T13:45:58.683+00:002021-09-26T13:45:58.683+00:00Reading this post, it occurred to me that much of ...Reading this post, it occurred to me that much of what we now call "spirituality" posits only one great division in the cosmos, the division between spirit and flesh, spiritual and carnal, mind and matter. Most people who add the second great division between good and evil simply map it onto the first division, so that spirit is good and flesh is evil. This tendency exists in Christianity, but I think the correct and main tendency in Christianity is to run the second division orthogonal to the first. Spirit is superior to flesh, but that does not mean that spirit is necessarily good. Spiritual sins are in fact far worse than sins of the flesh, and I presume an evil spirit is far worse than a merely bad man (since the bad man retains a capacity for repentance).<br /><br />I think it was a great mistake for enlightened Christianity to radically deemphasize the traditional teachings about evil spirits and the humans who traffic with them. I understand the the imagery of witches and demons needed an update, but it was disastrous to lose the underlying insight that the great division between good and evil runs orthogonal to the great division between flesh and spirit. When a person (typically female) has told me "I am spiritual," I have sometimes responded by asking "are you a witch?" Those who answered yes, I believed. When I long ago recklessly dabbled in "spiritual" exercises, I found that I had opened myself to a realm that had as much darkness as light.JMSmithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14502377102987849260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1513199068907090344.post-42705568791988876672021-09-23T19:15:49.808+00:002021-09-23T19:15:49.808+00:00Sorry Nathanael I watched a bit but I really can&#...Sorry Nathanael I watched a bit but I really can't take this kind of spiritual waffle, delivered in portentous tones, seriously. To me it just seems one spiritual cliche after another, delivered by someone who is acting the role of the enlightened guru. I hope I'm not being offensive in saying that but really, "popped the quantum wave of ego-consciousness as a structure that has disseminated through the morphogenetic field of the planet" Oh dear! <br /><br />But if you tell me what interests you about it I will try to comment more intelligently.William Wildbloodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13231219533755925897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1513199068907090344.post-44965113414874283992021-09-23T16:23:09.013+00:002021-09-23T16:23:09.013+00:00Hi William,
If you watch this video. Could you sh...Hi William,<br /><br />If you watch this video. Could you share some comments on it in light of your post?<br /><br />https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOFYNNtqdDE<br /><br />Thanks,<br />NathanaelNathanaelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1513199068907090344.post-53553729615617110982021-09-21T08:29:35.096+00:002021-09-21T08:29:35.096+00:00Who really understands the Trinity, Chris? I could...Who really understands the Trinity, Chris? I couldn't claim to do so but I feel there is a great truth there. A great mystery too. But surely the point is that it is a Trinity of persons? Not just three facets of God like sat-chit-ananda but three actual persons, Father , Son and Holy Spirit.William Wildbloodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13231219533755925897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1513199068907090344.post-86626131969671546962021-09-20T22:03:38.684+00:002021-09-20T22:03:38.684+00:00Hey William,
Your recent posts have been super in...Hey William,<br /><br />Your recent posts have been super interesting. <br />There is something that you said that made me pause and reflect- is it the case that there cannot be love without individuals ?<br />I'm not so sure. After all, the Trinity is non-composite and yet perfect love.<br />Thoughts?Chrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04865413665629644313noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1513199068907090344.post-57263990094376795752021-09-19T17:40:39.257+00:002021-09-19T17:40:39.257+00:00I feel that before Jesus Nirvana was the apex of s...I feel that before Jesus Nirvana was the apex of spiritual endeavour in terms of dealing with the suffering inherent in existence. We forget that for a long time serious Buddhism was a purely monastic religion though it evolved other aspects as it spread across the Eastern world.<br /><br />However, with Jesus suffering became something else. He turned it away from meaningless pain to a way of healing the fractured self. This is what 'take up thy cross and follow me' means. I'm sure there are quite a few people who do want Nirvana or what they think is Nirvana but many of them have modified the concept in subtle and not so subtle ways, especially people in the West. I have to say that to a proper Buddhist love should be a meaningless idea. It needs an individual self and other individual selves. That is, as it were, non-negotiable!William Wildbloodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13231219533755925897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1513199068907090344.post-79246021789691427182021-09-19T15:23:20.709+00:002021-09-19T15:23:20.709+00:00@William - Helpful.
One way I think of these mat...@William - Helpful. <br /><br />One way I think of these matters is that until Jesus Christ there was no Heaven (or, it was not accessible to Men), and the afterlife of Sheol/ Hades seems to have been one of demented ghosts who had lost memory of their selves. So - unless one believed in a Messiah to come - there was nothing to look forward to after death.<br /><br />But after Jesus - it seems that the discarnate souls in Sheol were given the chance of resurrection and Heaven. <br /><br />My assumption is that these were souls who had agreed to incarnation and therefore Sheol, knowing that Jesus would later come and free them. Probably, they were not aware of the passage of time while discarnate ghosts - so it may not have felt like 'waiting'. <br /><br />I'm not sure how the Buddha and Nirvana fits into this; whether it was an alternative to Sheol, and if so - whether it was intended to be permanent? <br /><br />But, like you, I feel pretty sure that the alternatives to Heaven or Hell are being closed off by Man's development of consciousness. While they may remain theoretical possibilities even now, in practice - the Men who reject Heaven nowadays seem to want Hell, since they do not discard the self and with it morality - but instead become intensely *but inversely* moralistic. <br /><br />And the Eastern religions that have systems of 'punitive'/ retributive, karmic reincarnation seem to have retained morality in a way that is incompatible with genuinely wanting to discard the self and re-assimilate to non-personal deity. <br /><br />If there are genuinely modern Men who want Nirvana, I think they would not speak or write of this - but would quietly 'get on with it'. After all, why proselytize for Nirvana? It makes no sense. Bruce Charltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09615189090601688535noreply@blogger.com