posted March 02, 2008 02:40 PM         

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Its about opening your heart and mind.

And contributing your own unique perspective

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i'll try to do that more often, although i think i'm pretty good at it already.

mannu,

thanks for the history lesson, i've learned a lot with you, i feel like your a guide for me.

i'll keep this in mind:

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A self introspection and a self journey that you undertake is the only way to develop wings of awakening. May be in your journey a guru will come as a spouse, a child , a parent, a teacher (or messiah). These are ok upto a certain time. However the ultimate awakening must happen inside of you as an individual. Thats what is true freedom.

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posted March 02, 2008 09:10 PM         

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All phenomena are like a dream, an illusion, a bubble and a shadow, Like dew and lightning. Thus should you meditate on them
- Buddha in The Diamond Sutra
(from an ancient chinese scroll - oldest dated book in the world; 11th May 868 CE)
http://www.diamondsutra.us/?gclid=CPXz_onv75ECFQggQAodQn3Fqg

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Section XVIII. All Modes of mind are Really Only Mind

Subhuti, what do you think? Does the Tathagata possess the human eye?

Yes, World-honored One, He does.

Well, do you think the Tathagata possesses the divine eye?

Yes, World-honored One, He does.

And do you think the Tathagata possesses the gnostic eye?

Yes, World-honored One, He does.

And do you think the Tathagata possesses the eye of transcendent wisdom?

Yes, World-honored One, He does.

And do you think the Tathagata possesses the Buddha-eye of omniscience?

Yes, World-honored One, He does.

Subhuti, what do you think? Concerning the sand-grains of the Ganges, has the Buddha taught about them?

Yes, World-honored One, the Tathagata has taught concerning these grains.

Well, Subhuti, if there were as many Ganges rivers as the sand-grains of the Ganges and there was a Buddha-land for each sand-grain in all those Ganges rivers, would those Buddha-lands be many?

[Subhuti replied]: Many indeed, World-honored One!

Then Buddha said: Subhuti, however many living beings there are in all those Buddha-lands, though they have manifold modes of mind, the Tathagata understands them all. Wherefore? Because the Tathagata teaches that all these are not Mind; they are merely called "mind". Subhuti, it is impossible to retain past mind, impossible to hold on to present mind, and impossible to grasp future mind.

Read complete text here: http://community.palouse.net/lotus/diamondsutra.htm

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posted March 19, 2008 02:07 PM         

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Its about opening your heart and mind.
And contributing your own unique perspective.

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I agree with your quote HSC, but on the grander scheme of things, until humanity finds one truth to believe in that keeps no secrets, we're all lost.

my previous statements were meant to articulate my belief that all things related to religion keeps us in the dark and keeps our minds in clouds.

Once we find that truth, we will then be brought down to earth, and reality will set in, like its never done before.

posted March 21, 2008 11:00 PM         

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Christians believe that Christ will one day come back and that his second coming is near. But i was watching 'the real mary magdalene' on the history channel and the speaker stated that Jesus told magdalene that there will be no messiah coming from the heavens and that salvation is about enlightenment, this statement is found in the gnostic gospels, i think the book of Mary. But what i don't get is that both ideas contradict one another.
I just don't get it. Can someone help me understand why the bible and the gnostic gospel both have opposing views of salvation yet are influenced by the same man, Jesus Christ?

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Why cant both be true?

I have studied this stuff some,
and what I have heard, and seen for myself,
is that scripture often has more than one meaning.
I dont think it is entirely contradictory
to say that the Christ is within,
and must/will be realized internally,
and that there may be a kind of rapture as well.
If you consider that the physical world reflects inner dynamics,
then it seems reasonable that Christ may come in both worlds.
Every so often, a great soul incarnates,
and every so often, a truly great soul incarnates.
The incarnation of such a being is not unconnected
to the vibrations that individuals,
respectively and collectively, are emitting.
In a very real sense, we are all connected.
In a very real sense, we are one organism,
with one cross, which we all share and take turns carrying.
Perhaps, when one person in a group of souls makes it, really makes it,
they take everyone in that soul group along with them --
because the one who made it is a part of the others,
and, perhaps, the most central part.
I think this may be one meaning of the biblical verse:
"By one man sin came into the world,
and by one man all sins are redeemed."

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my previous statements were meant to articulate my belief that all things related to religion keeps us in the dark and keeps our minds in clouds.

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I'm not so sure. Have you studied history at all?
Nihilism and other forms of "irreligion"
were a huge craze in the late ninteenth century,
and continue to be, to this day.

Revolutions have been waged, and governments have been set up,
based on the premise that religion is obsolete and degenerative.
These proved to be just as internally contradictive,
and just as violent, as any religious movements.

"I, for one, do not wish to make the mistake of blaming Christianity for what men have done to it."
~ Carl Jung

But I admire agnosticism as a position.
Its certainly more logical to withhold judgement in these matters.
In the words of Marcel Proust,
"The atheist forgets that what he affirms is, precisely, a negation."
In other words, we cannot possibly say that God does not exist.
At best, we can only say that the evidence for God does not exist.
It is my understanding that this is precisely the position taken by Buddhists.
Buddhism, it is said, is not really a religion.
It is more of a philosophy, science, and way of life.

You might appreciate this:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4731070621 85745866&q=pema+chodron&total=20&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=1

The scriptures of the Hindus say "God is and is not" (Upanishads),
and there are similar verses in the other major religions.
Do not be fooled by popular opinion,
and by what the majority say about religion.
Even those who practice are frequently ignorant
of the true meanings and origins of their religions.
Keep searching, and find the truth for yourself.

Speaking for myself,
I think that the gods are within us,
and we are also within the gods.
And, no, I dont see the contradiction.

The gods, to me, are symbols of inner psycho-spiritual processes.
But I also think that they actually have form and substance,
and may be interacted with, just as any person may.
But, omitting special cases,
they do not appear to those of us
who have not developed our own spiritual sight.

On the other hand,
by the highest standards set forth by certain sects,
visions of gods and goddesses are commonplace among true seekers,
and these visions, or visitations,
viewed from the highest point of view,
are not seen to be blessings, but distractions.
They are just another trick to deceive and mislead us.
The meditator is encouraged to pay them no mind.

But,
although this may be true from the highest point of view,
from a bit lower down on the totem pole,
these are divine occurences --
visitations by teachers who may impart wisdom.

Only the highest wisdom is silent.

But this is a difficult teaching.

Who is ready to receive it, let him receive it.