tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1513199068907090344.post7168942073244282801..comments2024-03-26T16:24:34.218+00:00Comments on Meeting The Masters: The Meaning of ChristmasWilliam Wildbloodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13231219533755925897noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1513199068907090344.post-45413595606924288632016-04-20T08:59:34.209+00:002016-04-20T08:59:34.209+00:00When I wrote the book I was trying to be more univ...When I wrote the book I was trying to be more universal in my descriptions of spiritual reality as I wanted to somehow integrate all spiritual traditions into one truth. I don't think I had fully appreciated the differences between them. However my instincts kept peeping out, as for instance in the passage about the absence of God in Buddhism or when I said that there was a duality beyond non-duality. Also, how the Masters were like wise abbots of a Christian monastery rather than teachers of enlightenment (a word they never used). And it's quite true that they were. Their teachings revolved around love and humility. The path of knowledge, which is basically the path of enlightenment, was certainly secondary to them though they did insist on the need to develop intuition.<br /><br />I still stand by the book but I feel my understanding is more nuanced now. It has become so since being challenged by non-dualists after a post of mine ( The Non-Duality Trap) was put on a non-duality website. This led me to study the implications of pure non-duality more deeply which made me realise that my assumptions about it were incorrect. (These were that it was not dissimilar to Christian mysticism). Its rejection of God and the individual are, I now believe, completely flawed for reasons I have given in various posts.<br /><br />So what I am saying ( and I say it in the book too) is that individuality is important. The Masters have transcended identification with their limited individuality as they are one with God who is the centre of their lives but they are still full individuals. In fact, even more so than most of us who are only half-formed individuals. I can assure you they have a sense of humour too. There are one or two examples in the book and they showed it on other occasions too that I haven't mentioned there. A heaven of identikit saints would be a sort of hell, wouldn't it?William Wildbloodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13231219533755925897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1513199068907090344.post-19526908817406446252016-04-19T20:05:38.498+00:002016-04-19T20:05:38.498+00:00This seems to have answered some important questio...This seems to have answered some important questions for me. In particular it explains why Buddhism is incomplete compared to Christianity. An important milestone for me ad a former lay Buddhist of sorts before I became a Christian. The holy trinity as a relationship between father and son and mediated by the spirit of love. The model for any ideal relationship between two souls. Oddly I had not quite thought of the trinity like this until now. <br /><br />When I read your book it sometimes feels like a work of perennial philosophy as you happily borrow seemingly disparate elements from both western and eastern religious traditions such as karma, concepts of atman and brahman from Hinduism and a kind of individual God emerging from the void or formless Nirvana to delight in being for the joy of relationships and personhood. I like this vision of the divine. I also want to lose my egoistic persona and to mature spiritually but I don't understand how I can remain an individual without some kind of ego? When purification has occurred to such an extent will all the saints not look the same? Surely our joyous individuality actually comes in part from our imperfections, idiosyncrasies and personal qualities rather than the uniformity of pure traits? I do hope these masters retain a sense of humour (for example) or prefer one thing over another such as a hobby or interest (even if it is designing plants or mountains for a brave new world or exploring a new mathematics or musical harmony) otherwise I'm afraid I'm too feeble a human to relate to the higher world's with affection over detached confusion or even fear of losing my identity or a sudden fear that I don't really know what my *true* identity really is. You have certainly made me think :-)David Balfourhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12099160562774064281noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1513199068907090344.post-5852469580147004242016-04-11T05:37:50.270+00:002016-04-11T05:37:50.270+00:00Just sharing an off-topic article...
http://www.hi...Just sharing an off-topic article...<br /><a href="http://www.hinduism.co.za/jesus.htm" rel="nofollow"><i>http://www.hinduism.co.za/jesus.htm</i></a><br /><br />...worth reading (but a bit lengthy)!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com