The Great Dialogue

See Link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-13153536 - for an article from BBC regarding the death of Indian Guru, Sai Baba...Somehow I had missed hearing much about him until now...I was wondering as I read what the members of the Dialogue would think--mainly of him as a Syncretist?

from the Writer's Almanac [4/22] "It's the birthday of Enlightenment philosopher Immanuel Kant (books by this author), born in Konigsberg, Prussia, in 1724. His father was a saddle maker. He studied theology, physics, mathematics, and philosophy at university, and worked for a time as a private tutor; he made very little money, but it gave him plenty of time for his own work. He lectured at the University of Konigsberg for 15 years, until he was eventually given a tenured position as professor of logic and metaphysics in 1770. Though he enjoyed hearing travel stories, he never ventured more than 50 miles from his hometown, believing that travel was not necessary to solve the problems of philosophy. In his most influential work, The Critique of Pure Reason (1781), he argued against Empiricism, which held that the mind was a blank slate to be filled with observations of the physical world, and Rationalism, which held that it was possible to experience the world o...

Sometime ago, Psychology--as a field--moved in the direction of including spirituality as an important dimension of peoples' lives, and away from the longstanding position that God [and religion] was an unimportant concept...Now there are trainings, books, college courses on addressing the spiritual concerns of clients in therapy. As I was attending one lecture on this subject It got me to reflecting on the Essentials concept...it would be foolish to reject out of hand "any good thing," such as the concept of energy meridians or recent scientific discoveries about how the  body [and brain] process pain signals, or the nuances of someone's culture and how it affects their viewpoint--that having been said, I propose that holding to a set of Essential beliefs and behaviors, while helping to define a spiritual position, should not be allowed to create an unassailable, Monolithic viewpoint...there is always diversity in religion [even within denominations]...this is probab...

Supposedly, today is Buddha's Birthday. There is a "belief" that when he was born dragons flew down from heaven and poured out water and "all the flowers on land and water bloomed simultaneously" [writer's almanac]. As a consequence, people celebrate this day by decorating with flowers, carrying flowers to temples ceremonially, and in Japan children pour tea over the heads of statues of Buddha... It makes me think: maybe we DO need to canonize scriptures--this is likely not an Essential Buddhist belief, is it?  Besides, wouldn't he have been born TOO LATE for Dragons? I suspect that is also why some books were excluded from the Christian canon, e.g., because they held accounts of Jesus' acts or teachings that were markedly inconsistent with what was already accepted and known to have happened...odd, divergent accounts needed to be excluded on the basis they could not be credited...So here we see something in Buddhist lore that [and I realize this ...

Caste-based discrimination and a birth-based hierarchy are not an intrinsic part of Hinduism and represent a failure to uphold Hinduism's essential, spiritual teaching of divinity inherent in all beings.In a recent report the Hindu American Foundation (HAF)asserted that the caste-based system in Hindu society is NOT part of essential Hindu belief,even though some ancient texts appear to support caste and birth-based hierarchies. They further note that NONE require labeling some persons as "untouchable." Many of the Hindu scriptures state that divinity is part of ALL people. Caste does not fit with the belief that we should respect the divinity in all persons. SEE: http://www.hafsite.org/media/pr/not-cast-caste-big-picture-and-executive-summary?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=MEMBER+ALERT+-+HAF+clarifies+purpose+of+...&utm_source=YMLP&utm_term=Hinduism%3A+Not+Caste+in

Hello,   For context, See article, "Beginning the Journey" by Judith Lasater at: http://www.yogajournal.com/wisdom/462?utm_source=Wisdom&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=Wisdom The first yama is perhaps the most famous one: ahimsa, usually translated as "nonviolence." This refers not only to physical violence, but also to the violence of words or thoughts. What we think about ourselves or others can be as powerful as any physical attempt to harm. To practice ahimsa is to be constantly vigilant, to observe ourselves in interaction with others and to notice our thoughts and intentions. Try practicing ahimsa by observing your thoughts when a smoker sits next to you. Your thoughts may be just as damaging to you as his cigarette is to him. It is often said that if one can perfect the practice of ahimsa, one need learn no other practice of yoga, for all the other practices are subsumed in it. Whatever practices we do after the yamas must include ...

From the Writer's Almanac: "It's the birthday of science fiction  writer and Church of Scientology founder L.  Ron Hubbard, born in Tilden, Nebraska  (1911). He enrolled in George Washington University in 1930 to study civil engineering but was placed on academic probation because  of poor grades, and he left after two semesters. In 1950, he wrote Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental  Health, which formed the basis of the Church of Scientology's  teaching. The book explains that humans have 'engrams,' recordings of  painful events experienced in the past, stored in their subconscious and that  these are the basis of physical and emotional problems. In order to be cleared  of these engrams and unwanted spiritual conditions, a person takes part in an  'auditing' session, where a counselor uses an Electropsychometer, or  E-Meter, to measure the mental state of a person, helping to locate areas of  spiritual distre...

Steve - I agree that there is a need for ongoing dialogue about this - in almost every case when the state has a endorsed a "State religion" problems arise...and even in America, where there is a lot of freedom to choose one's religious practice and to carry it out unimpeded, we still see many trying to use courts and legislative actions to limit or remove one or another group's rights [sometimes even private citizens rights] to practice their own religion peaceably.       I certainly do not have any easy answers: this country was designed to allow tolerance of diverse ideas and views, but our international policies and actions seem to me, at times, to belie that. and internally, many of us are very intolerant of other's worldviews...I hope the Dalai Lama's decision plays out as he hopes... As for the USA, If Christians would take the lead in promoting religious tolerance it might help...I find it hardest to be that person when it comes to my closest associa...

Dalai Lama plans to quit as Tibet political leader http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE7290UK20110310

Please Pray with me for the People of Japan! http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12709598

Today is  International Women's Day, which has been celebrated in the United States, Russia,  and parts of Europe since the turn of the 20th  century. It was during this holiday in 1917 that women workers in Russia left  factories and took to the streets to protest food shortages. When Czar Nicholas  II ordered the military to intervene, they did not. Shortly afterward, he  abdicated, and shortly after that, women in Russia  were given the right to vote, three years before women in the U.S.  International Women's Day is celebrated in 28 countries and  recognized by the United Nations.

Good Morning! The link below is an article you may find of interest - I found it while thinking about some photos I saw awhile back on the Internet that disturbed me...friends [yes, actually] of mine posted photos of themselves dressed as Jesus [various "forms" of Jesus] in what was certainly meant to be a mockery of Him...it often seems to me that we are getting farther away from religious tolerance in the USA, not closer...in some ways I salute the spirit of the persons in the article linked below because they are using their freedom of speech to assert their views...I welcome that...but inflammatory things [like the photos I mentioned] seem pointed in the wrong direction...what to do about religious tolerance? http://www.peoplesworld.org/as-americans-turn-away-from-religion-atheists-plan-ads/

From today's Writer's Almanac: "Only half of Vermonters say they believe in God, compared with about 70  percent of the rest of the nation. People there attend weekly services at a  much lower rate than other Americans, and a much smaller percentage say that  religion is important to them. There are, however, a disproportionately high  number of American converts to Buddhism living in Vermont, and there are several Buddhist  retreat centers through out the state."

From the Barna Group Website, today:   Posted on January 12, 2009 For much of America's history, the assumption was that if you were born in America, you would affiliate with the Christian faith. A new nationwide survey by The Barna Group, however, indicates that people's views have changed. The study discovered that half of all adults now contend that Christianity is just one of many options that Americans choose from and that a huge majority of adults pick and choose what they believe rather than adopt a church or denomination's slate of beliefs. Still, most people say their faith is becoming increasingly important as a source of personal moral guidance. Choosing a Faith The survey shows half of Americans believe the Christian faith no longer has a lock on people's hearts. Overall, 50% of the adults interviewed agreed that Christianity is no longer the faith that Americans automatically accept as their personal faith, while just 44% disagreed and 6% were not sur...

Good Morning...It has occurred to me often that religions with some sense of scientific inquiry about them [I think of Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Yoga...] are growing in popularity [well, maybe not Taoism] whereas Christianity is so very focused on accepting things as true without much tangible evidence...Jesus did not experiment with meditative techniques or postulate the principles that guide nature and produce natural phenomena, nor the operating principles of Dharma and Karma - He spoke to his disciples and others about God and about man's behavior, and, about the need to believe in Him and be saved [with no mechanism involved other than faith and that God can do all things]...Now, it has been said that Islam is also gaining converts steadily - and I suspect that this is due to both a political impetus [in some situations it may be expedient to espouse Islam for one's own safety] and because it is in some ways more accessible to people - sin-debt is more simple: the balanc...

...Victor Hugo, said, ''There is one thing stronger than all the armies in the world: and  that is an idea whose time has come.'    I wonder how others are perceiving this upheaval in Africa and the middle east since the fall of Tunisia's previous government - it seems to me that once the Tunis and Egyptian conflicts were widely made know [now through all sorts of means, including social Media] the world under oppressive regimes began to catch "the Idea" -  and what of the religious components of these oppressive regimes? Seems to me there were some of these that were religious only in name, and that the man or men in charge were just military big shots...what country will be next?    There was some coverage on Thursday with NPR live interviewing a man in a rebel camp in Libya who when asked what did he think the world should do for them he said, "The US should intervene there now...not wait like they did In Tunisia and Egypt.." I thought, with so...

Good Afternoon, Friends!    I am looking for more members for the Blog - and am hoping you might pass this link below onto anyone who might be a good fit for us - you know, someone who wants to Dialogue, and who has opinions they would like to share about religion/spirituality, other types of worldviews and cultural perspectives relevant to this Dialogue...As founding members who have continued on to this point let me say THANK YOU and that I trust that our circle will grow, albeit slowly...Be sure to point out to perspective members the survey button at the bottom of the blog-page...Pax!    https://sites.google.com/site/4chandre/thegreatdialogue

From the Writer's Almanac, 2/24/2011 When Fidel Castro stepped down in 2008, people  around the world began to speculate about changes. Raul Castro [Fidel's brother who is in charge now] is very different from his brother. For one thing, Raul does not give big rousing speeches that go on for hours.  He's actually known for his 'inanimate delivery' of speeches. Within  months of assuming the office of president,Raul   allowed Cubans to own microwaves, rice cookers, DVD  players, and cell phones -- all of which had been prohibited when Fidel was  president. Unlike Fidel, Raul does not blame the U.S.  embargo as the root of all Cuba's  economic woes. Instead, Raul admits that it is Cuba's inefficient, unproductive  state-run economy that is the problem, and that the government can no longer  afford the huge subsidies -- in housing,  food, transportation, health care, retirement, etc. -- which the government  provides to Cubans in exchange for payin...

Dalai Lama Espouses Marxism: http://trueslant.com/abytharakan/2010/05/21/as-dalai-lama-embraces-red-will-marxism-help-where-hollywood-failed/

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