Those Peace Loving Buddhists...

[dales]

selah

[Rick]

Well Andrew I'm stumped I guess I'll just go cry now...

[rubato]

It's a man-bites-dog story. Buddhists have no tradition or history of brutality and violence (compared to the other 'world religions') so we're shocked and amazed by it.

No one bats an eye when Christians or Moslems murder and torture and Jews have made up a lot of lost time in this area as well. But Buddhists!


I'll still hope for the best from them elsewhere, no matter that regression to the mean* is a powerful law of nature.


yrs,
rubato

* yes. Intentional.

[dales]

the sound of one hand clapping is deafening

[rubato]

the sound of one hand clapping is deafening

Sleep it off dales. Drink water, take a vitamin, and when you wake up get some calories on board for the hangover.


yrs,
rubato

[dales]

Do Buddhists have a sense of humor?

I believe the Dali Lama does, but rube does not.

[Rick]

Uh Huh, and as my post insinuates the word Andrew was looking for was not epiphany it was capitulation especially in light of the OP...

[Andrew D]

The story I posted is entirely true. The building in question was this one. The date of the event which I described was, if memory serves (and in this case, it probably does) was 25 June 1978. As I wrote, the house was designed by Julia Morgan.

North Star Christian Academy was a private religious boarding school for troubled youths at least from 1978 through 1983. I know that for a fact: I was there.

The boarding rooms were in fact named after biblical cities. I did in fact live in all of the rooms which I named. Anyone who cares to come to my house can see the original Jericho sign which used to hang over the door to that room and now hangs over the door to our guest bedroom.

The building looks quite a bit different now than it did when I was there. And when I was there, it looked quite a bit different than it did originally. But if you look at the picture here describing new flooring, you are looking at what was the student lounge. Through the window on the left, you can glimpse the stairway that led to the aforementioned biblically named rooms. (At the top of the stairs, the boys' rooms were to the right, and the girls' rooms were to the left.)

And if you look at the photo here, the upper-floor window on the far right is the window from which I was hung by my ankles. The brick stairway over which I was suspended is not visible. Just as the stone porch does not extend all the way to the corner in the front center of the photo, it also did not extend all the way to the corner in the far right of the photo. The portion of the brick stairway over which I was hanging was almost exactly at the ground level of the porch's stone wall.

Rick can call it capitulation or whatever he wants. The fact of the matter is that when I was hanging head down out that window, I realized that whether, at any particular moment, I live or die is only partly up to me and largely the result of things completely beyond my control. I consider that an epiphany.

[Andrew D]

For those for whom the previous posting was too tedious, the upper-floor window from which I was hung by my ankles is on the far right here.

[Andrew D]

As to Crackpot's movie reference, although I do not dispute that I am humor-challenged, I do dispute that my failure to grasp that reference is an instance of my humor-challengedness. I never saw the film, so why would I catch the reference?

And the idea of Buddhism as every person for her- or himself is not farfetched. After all, in Buddhism, one does not become enlightened by begging some capricious God, who knew before he ever created you whether you would be saved or not, for enlightenment/salvation. In Buddhism, one attains enlightenment by dint of one's own efforts. One can get help, of course, but in the end, one attains enlightenment by working for it, not by begging for it.

On the other hand, Christianity being a hopeless muddle of contradictions, maybe begging is not enough. Maybe one must "work out [one's] salvation with fear and trembling" (Philippians 2:12).

[Rick]

On the other hand, Christianity being a hopeless muddle of contradictions, maybe begging is not enough. Maybe one must "work out [one's] salvation with fear and trembling" (Philippians 2:12).

Yeah Yeah same stuff different day.

However I am glad they did not drop you...

[Crackpot]

Not getting the reference is fine but missing the inentioinal humor of equating a religion most known for it's concepts of interconectedness and blind self interest is not. it is what made the joke funny in the first place. karma and "everyman for himself" are mutually exclusive concepts so much so equating the two becomes absurd.

[dales]

I don't see it this way, I see the vision of The Cross in dazzling clarity.

(am I any better than anyone else?........not by a long shot, Andrew!)

On the other hand, Christianity being a hopeless muddle of contradictions, maybe begging is not enough. Maybe one must "work out [one's] salvation with fear and trembling" (Philippians 2:12).

◄ 1 Corinthians 1:18 ►

Parallel Verses

New International Version
For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

New Living Translation
The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God.

English Standard Version
For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

New American Standard Bible
For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

King James Bible
For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but it is God's power to us who are being saved.

International Standard Version
For the message about the cross is nonsense to those who are being destroyed, but it is God's power to us who are being saved.

NET Bible
For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
The message of the crucifixion is insanity to the lost, but to those of us who have life it is the power of God.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
The message about the cross is nonsense to those who are being destroyed, but it is God's power to us who are being saved.

King James 2000 Bible
For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us who are saved it is the power of God.

American King James Version
For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but to us which are saved it is the power of God.

American Standard Version
For the word of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us who are saved it is the power of God.

Douay-Rheims Bible
For the word of the cross, to them indeed that perish, is foolishness; but to them that are saved, that is, to us, it is the power of God.

Darby Bible Translation
For the word of the cross is to them that perish foolishness, but to us that are saved it is God's power.

English Revised Version
For the word of the cross is to them that are perishing foolishness; but unto us which are being saved it is the power of God.

Webster's Bible Translation
For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish, foolishness; but to us who are saved, it is the power of God.

Weymouth New Testament
For the Message of the Cross is foolishness to those who are on the way to perdition, but it is the power of God to those whom He is saving.

World English Bible
For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are dying, but to us who are saved it is the power of God.

Young's Literal Translation
for the word of the cross to those indeed perishing is foolishness, and to us -- those being saved -- it is the power of God,

[Andrew D]

On the other hand, Christianity being a hopeless muddle of contradictions, maybe begging is not enough. Maybe one must "work out [one's] salvation with fear and trembling" (Philippians 2:12).

Yeah Yeah same stuff different day.

Looking in the mirror yet again.

[Andrew D]

karma and "everyman for himself" are mutually exclusive concepts ....

In some ways, superficially, they are. When one goes deeper, they are not.

[Andrew D]

And one need not dive especially deep. One need only read the Buddhacarita to recognize that the Buddha himself attained enlightenment by dint of his own efforts.

[oldr_n_wsr]

One doesn't need to put the word "God" into the serenity prayer to get the meaning of it.

May I have the serenity to accept the things I cannot change
courage to change the things I can
and wisdom to know the difference.

I believe it defines Andrews epiphany (if not, you may correct me Andrew)

[dales]

Indeed...if more people would practice the 12 steps, the world would be a better place!

[rubato]

If you would practice the twelve steps this would be a better place.


Yrs,
Rubato

[Sean]

So a Buddhist goes to a hotdog stand and says, "Can you make me one without the sausage as I am a vegetarian?"