from huffington post: Dalai Lama Tells His Facebook Friends That 'Religion Is No Longer Adequate' (PHOTO)
There's a dead ambassador and millions of gay people that can't marry that would disagree about the emphasis on tolerance and compassion.
Yes yes, reward evil for evil. As if eye for an eye did not make the world go blind. Are you truly just, in doing the same things, that people have done to you. Or to do what is right, period? Despite any cost.
And of course, the Dalai Lama is correct. Organized religion represents stagnation. Religion does a lot of good, but eventually people need to leave the confines of organized religion and seek gnosis, experiential knowledge of God, themselves. Religion only gets you part of the way there. Sure, it's great to commune with people of a likemind, but organized religion has never been the home to mystical experience, the truly edifying, radical communion with the Divine that needs to occur for a man's soul to be "changed in an instant." Religion is like the kindergarten-12th grade of spirituality. It is a base camp, a place to learn the fundamentals and to converse with people on the same journey. As we see everyday, organized religion does not have the capacity for radically changing the souls of mankind. This is why so much evil still exists within organized religion. It is meant to keep mankind from realizing its true spiritual potential and identity.
How can religion break down powerful institutions without resorting to theocracy. It can't. You need to have mobility outside of religious communities. I think that is what he's trying to express.
What are you talking about? Can you try replying to me points I've actually made in a concise manner rather than setting up strawmen and responding to points no-one made?
I can't teach you to reason, but if I had tried to reason with you, the little reason you have would try to contradict it. So why bother? Apparently you can't apply a simple law, to what you said earlier, and to see the point yourself.
This is true, but of course anything esoteric is looked upon as evil because it's part of the occult. Hell, my dad doesn't even believe that Kabbalah is a valid discipline, because it "relies on man's interpretations of scripture."
[quote name='"Roland_Deschain"'] This is true, but of course anything esoteric is looked upon as evil because it's part of the occult. Hell, my dad doesn't even believe that Kabbalah is a valid discipline, because it "relies on man's interpretations of scripture." [/quote] As someone who grew up learning Kabbalah through Hasidic Judaism, I'd say that your dad has it partly right. It does rely on human interpretation, but it's a system of interpretation (gematria) that is uniform across the board. The methods of revelation and direct communion with Ein Sof in Kabbalah are so structured that, if you're doing it right, it's extremely hard to come to radically different conclusions than most of the earlier sages. That's the beauty of Hebrew, and is something most non Hebrew speakers, or non Jews/non hermeticists can't understand. It's a shame, because Kabbalah has a lot of potential to change a person, and thereby change their surroundings, IMO.
I said nothing about any sort of eye for an eye retaliation for violence. I was pointing out that the main message of religions is not love and peace, there are corpses and oppressed people that support that point. But keep strawmanning and remain confident in your own superiority.
Until the religious learn the meaning of the word pragmatism, they will never be able to solve the world's problems.
Surely you're not implying that all religious people misunderstand pragmatism. William James' writings go a long way to show that many religious/spiritual people DO understand pragmatism, but ultimately their beliefs and practices cannot be said to form the basis of morality.
Fair point, it just frustrates me that people are so unwilling to experience divinity for themselves. How is Kabbalah looked upon in Judaism, are people encouraged to explore scripture for themselves and examine their lives in its context, or is there pressure to interact with a rabbi and discuss your thoughts?
It depends on the sect of Judaism. The main Orthodox sect really doesn't like Kabbalah. They say that only men should study it, and even then, they'd be better off studying Torah and Talmud their entire lives. They believe that "Hashem (God) has given us enough. Why do we need to delve deeper?" Some strains of the Orthodox absolutely abhor Kabbalah, and claim it is of the devil (which is an odd thing for a Jew to say haha) The sect I was raised in, Hasidic Judaism, stresses Kabbalah over practically everything else, and you learn it and participate within it your entire life. One of the scriptures of Hasidism is called Tanya, which is a "manual" of practical Kabbalah for everyday life. It was written in 1797, and is read daily by followers of Hasidism, along with Torah, Talmud, and a couple other scriptural books that expound on Kabbalistic philosophy. There is no pressure to interact with a Rabbi, although you certainly can. I have gone to my Rabbi with lots of questions and he has not only shared what he believes about a certain Kabbalistic principle, but he has pointed out why through gematria and Torah passages. Then you've got movements like Reform, and Reconstructionist Judaism which teach Kabbalah, but do not go in depth. The latter sect is the most interesting as it takes from several spiritual traditions and adds to Judaism where it sees fit, so it truly is a dynamic faith. However, Kabbalah isn't something that is necessary for Jews of these sects to know, whereas in Hasidism everybody knows Kabbalah.