Re (2): awakening

Hi..
I have to admit that my "One wonderful thing about being a Universalist..." comment was rather condescending. I keep stereotyping Christians, which is a very bad habit. Especially on a Christian Website! Talk about obnoxious!
Your response to my post was beautiful and I was touched by it.
I know how painful it is to go through a period of religious uncertainty, but it seems to be an essential and inevitable part of the purification process.
I, too, have been having a difficult time these past few months. I'm rather British in temperament, so, when I fall into doubt, I'm not the type to go howling in the wilderness or swilling down martinis. No one knows I'm suffering. I just plod on day after day, dead inside, and everything in life becomes an effort.
But, then...as with you...God returns to me (or I return to Him)...and my faith is strengthened.
So, back to Buddha. I don't think Buddha's "Be a lamp unto yourself" speech is that much different from Socrates "The unexamined life is not worth living."
You seem to imply that the struggle to be "lights to ourselves" conflicts, rather than contributes to faith.
I disagree with you. If we follow their injunction to, above all else, seek truth, we inevitably discover the limitation of reason and the poverty of our own self-will. It is a humbling experience...not self-inflating and it often leads to an authentic...not just inherited...faith.
Don't you agree?
Actually, I'm not a great fan of Buddha. I don't quite understand why he had to leave his wife and child and wander around in the wilderness for years seeking answers to questions that had already been resolved in the Hindu Scriptures. Being a "lamp unto yourself" is a great idea, but it doesn't mean you can't acknowledge the light of others....especially when they had been glowing for about 3000 years before you were born.
But, I guess I'll have to go to a "Buddhist Apologetics" website, to get a good answer to that one.
One thing I DO like about the Buddhists is the whole reincarnation concept. It seems more just somehow. Doesn't seem quite right that we're only given one life to either get right or screw up.
I'm starting to ramble. Guess I've said everything I wanted to say except, as always, thanks for creating such an interesting and thought-provoking website.

• Re(3): awakening - By karen September 25, 2005 at 05:54:23 PM
  • Re(4): awakening - By Sara September 26, 2005 at 10:26:13 AM
    • Re(5): awakening - By Eric November 5, 2005 at 02:41:30 PM