I ran across this quote

[Angry Dragon]

To my mind this would solve a lot of the world's problems.



We can reject everything else: religion, ideology, all received
wisdom. But we cannot escape the necessity of love and compassion....
This, then, is my true religion, my simple faith. In this sense, there is no need
for temple or church, for mosque or synagogue, no need for complicated
philosophy, doctrine or dogma. Our own heart, our own mind, is the temple.
The doctrine is compassion. Love for others and respect for their rights and
dignity, no matter who or what they are: ultimately these are all we need.
So long as we practice these in our daily lives, then no matter if we are
learned or unlearned, whether we believe in Buddha or God, or follow some
other religion or none at all, as long as we have compassion for others and
conduct ourselves with restraint out of a sense of responsibility, there is
no doubt we will be happy.


~ Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama ~

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. True indeed...

Alas that so many cannot live by these simple ideas.

K&R

[tblue]

2. Lovely!!! You are so right. It would solve almost everything. nt.

[NYC_SKP]

3. Rec.

[Tobin S.]

4. I like that and that's the way I try to treat others

But it gets really difficult at times because it seems that most people don't care about anyone but themselves. That leads to a lot of dickery and assholery and it's hard to react to that in a compassionate kind of way. I find myself getting angry at people and it stews in me for long periods of time. It's hard to love people when they do things that make you hate them.

[cry baby]

5. That's so beautiful. Thank you!!!!! knr

[patrice]

6. "Our own heart, our own mind, is the temple."

I just saw The Road. I read the book twice. Cormac McCarthy's story strips everything away, all churches, theology, dogma, religion, philosophy, civilization, economics, law, government, culture, environment, EVERYTHING, and then contemplates the question of what is left of "humanity" under the absolute worst conditions imaginable. No pretty stories about angels and miracles here, no deus ex machina. Yet, McCarthy's answer to that question is very organically consistent with what this Dalai Lama says.

[Betty Karlson]

7. Where did Mr Gyatso receive this insight?

[Angry Dragon]

8. It is believed by some

that the journey that man needs to travel and the answers he seeks are within him or her. The Gospels of St. Thomas, the ones that are not in the Bible, state that "god" lay within us and all we need to do is search our own souls to find the answers.

Could be one reason they are not in the Bible, one would not need churches to tell you how to think and believe. Each person would in essence have a different god because we all are different so it must lay in the common thread of love, tolerance, compassion, and forgiveness.

[Betty Karlson]

10. I see.

The Gospel of Thomas, however, has experienced strong Gnostic influence, and was written several centuries after the four "Standard" Gospels were completed - which might be another viable reason for leaving it out of the Bible. Then there is textual consistency - which Thomas' gospel does not share with the four standard ones.

Applying Derrida to the idea of the person-based divinity, we might conclude that it is our IMAGE of God that differs, rather than the Deity Himself (or Herself, of course).

And this brings us back to Mr Gyatso, who stands in the theoretical tradition of all Lamas who went before him (or were emanations of the same soul, if that's what you believe). The first one of these Dalai Lamas lived at the end of the 14th century, and ruled an indefinite number of Tibetan patches.

It was not until the 5th one, Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso (1617 - 1682) that Tibet was unified. By consequence, the present Dalai Lama stands in the tradition of priestly feudal overlordship over a labouring class - precisely what many people on this site resent in theocratic Republicans' ideals.

The only reason Mr Gyatso doesn't any longer practise these principles is because he was forcibly removed from power by the biggest bully of the class of 1950: China. I'm well aware of Mr Gyatso's hardships, but renouncing his feudal power he did not.

Numbers 6 through 12 slowly warmed up to the rest of the world, when Thubten Gyatso (# 13) flung wide the gates of Tibet. This process of cultural exchange was, indeed, an exchange - which means that Mr Gyatso (14) inherited a system of thought that had at least in part been influenced by what we may dubb modern western thought.

My question, therefore, aimed to learn from what part of this polymorphous body of Tibetan thought Mr Gyatso had derived his insight from. Or does he claim it comes naturally to him, without any preceding acculturation?

[Delphinus]

11. I, for the most part, agree with

the thought that all answers lie within. They're *OUR* answers and others may disagree, depending upon their point of view.

[mdmc]

9. I just finished reading Seven Years in Tibet

what a great book and great movie..

[laughingliberal]

12. Thanks, that was beautiful nt