Chant to Jesus?

chanting to Jesus

Brooke:

I fully support your idea of chanting to Jesus. It is what I do. For the past 18 months I have worked very hard to find a way to reconcile my long-term dedication to Jesus as my guide and the wonderful  new walk available to me through Buddhist thought.  I've been blessed with a kind and understanding mentor who has helped me see that Jesus, as well as Shakyamuni and Nichiren and many others, is a Buddha in whom I can place trust. I could also see Jesus as a bodhisattva, but I see him as fully enlightened, so I choose the term Buddha.

Chanting as a way to meditate and prepare to learn came more easily than accepting Nichiren as more than just a good teacher.  I struggled with accepting the Gohonzon as an object with which to fuse my thoughts and life.  In e-mail after e-mail I poured out my difficulties to my mentor who suggested that I try chanting to Jesus as I became more acquainted with Nichiren.  Without this key connection, I could not have made any progress in this walk.  I have a long, long way to go, but  by chanting to Jesus, to Nichiren, to the Gohonzon (which is to me much more than a beautiful caligraphic work), and with the interconnected whole that we are, I find strength, peace and purpose, and a way to move ahead in this life.  

I am certain that some people would consider the practice to be slander, just as many of my Christian friends worry that I have gone off the deep end by exploring and espousing Buddhist practice.  It is working for me, and I believe we need to discover Buddhism that works in our native societies, not just adopt practices from another culture.  

I fully concur with you that we should practice "being of service, knowing that my (our)thoughts, words and deeds influence and are influenced by a realm beyond my (our)ordinary five senses."  To me, the biggest change in my life comes from being mindful of the fact that our causes can be wisely chosen to have good effects.  We are influenced, as you say, and have great support from the life-force of which we are parts.  Beyond that, to know that we directly affect life by our choices gives us such power to affect life for the good if we choose to do so.  What better goal is there?

So there you are--you aren't alone, Brooke.  Let us continue to chant and fuse with the consciousness of any Buddha and bodhisattva who helps us move life forward!

Ellen

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by: searcher13 @ Mon Sep 08, 2008 at 01:11:41 AM UTC

Chant to Jesus

I want to thank both Brooke and Ellen for speaking on topic that, although having nothing to do with Jesus, is the reason I began chanting. Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo and the Gohonzon meant nothing to me, I was on the path of the Tao. It was my fiance,a mentor to many, who pointed out to me that chanting could be a dialogue with the Tao. That I didn't have to convert to whatever it is that Nicheren Buddhism is, I could stay on the path and let chanting help me navigate.

Since I moved out of the way of the Catholic church 40 years ago, I have moved in with lots of religions, new age philosophers, Native American Shamans and Zen "Ohm" chanters,even one who gave up 80 days a year to sit in silence in front of a picture of the Dalai Lama, none have resonated with me as the Tao and chanting Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo in front of the Gohonson. Now, I feel I have found the way to light the pathless path that takes me home. A place filled with awareness of the vibrations that come from the causes we make while we work to fight our inner darkness and achieve enlightenment in this lifetime.  

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by: Frankie @ Mon Sep 08, 2008 at 02:48:35 AM UTC

Chant to Jesus?

Dear Brooke and all,

When I was a child, my family was Presbyterian.  Unfortunately, my beloved father, adored by all, contracted a virulent form of cancer when I was 12, suffered nobly, but terribly, and though a handsome man, endured a facially disfiguring operation, and sickening chemo until this 6 foot being dropped to 95 lbs.  He died just before my 15th birthday.  Believe me, I had prayed and prayed during that ordeal.  It left the most fundamentally indelible scar on my life, the principally driving force for me ever since.

Not only had Christianity not elucidated why my father/mentor got sick, no amount of prayer on my part even visibly ameliorated his suffering.  One night, in the middle of this unbelievably painful and seemingly useless fight, I went outside in the clear Colorado mountain night.  To the brilliant, star-studded sky, I shook my fist as a determination to the firmament and said, "If there is any way to understand and heal this kind of suffering, to this, I want to dedicate my life."  After all spiritual and medical interventions possible, James died sadly and painfully and our family fell apart.

At 16, I read through the entire Bible twice.  Just after I got out of high school and flunked out of "The Colorado College" (majoring in marijuana and boys while my government dropped burning jellied gasoline on Viet Nam villagers), at 18, I went to Boulder, a religious mecca, where I studied Buddhism, (met Chogyam Trungpa), Taoism, Scientology, and everything else I could get my hands on.  Ran out of money/jobs, had to return to the Springs.  Got "shakubukued" (introduced) to ND's Buddhism 3 times in one week.  The Universe had tapped me on the shoulder.  I took note.  Nichiren explained a lot, a huge amount.  I lit off like a rocket, got tremendous benefits, got launched in life, enrolled successfully back in college, blah blah.  Leader in the org.

30 years later, running into walls.

After I had practiced with the company, as a leader, for 30 years, I ran into Jesus.  His energy was incredible.  Fascinated, I thought, "What to do?  I cannot ignore this."  I started going to a liberal lefty church with a brilliant pastor who knew how to interpret the 4 Gospels in context.  I went nearly every Sunday for the next 4 years, getting the tapes of the services and memorizing them and integrating everything I could find that was useful and there was much that was, indeed, useful.  Also, I read the New Testament, settling on the Gospels -- Jesus' life set down.  I read 7 translations, some several times, and inculcated everything I found valuable there.  

Lord Jesu is real.  He became a very real part of my life and still is, however I no longer consider myself a "Buddhist/Christian" though I did for a long time. Strictly, as a company leader, I never shared these experiences/thoughts in that forum or with the members -- I was exactingly an org leader, and I still am, as that is my "job" there, my responsibility.

I tell you this as my background because I have learned certain things through this process which may have meaning to you who are dealing with these issues.  Jesus, in my understanding, never wanted us to "worship" him.  If you "worship" a being, you give that being your karma and ask them to fix it, which burdens them and they usually will not or cannot as that doesn't help/empower the believer.  It just increases the difficulties in the world.  The brilliance of Nichiren and his enlightened Buddhist forebears is that they said, "This is YOUR karma.  You deal with it."  And Nichiren offered the ultimate way to do that.

Who did Jesus pray to?  That is a seminal question.  He was always going apart from the disciples and going up mountains in the middle of the night or whatever, praying deeply and profoundly.  If you are going to chant with Jesus in mind, one might recommend that you chant/pray to whom his light led us to pray to, which wasn't him.  He said, "If you ask in my name, it will be granted you".  Not "If you ask me."  So, to whom was Lord Jesus pointing to?  I submit that is the question.  He said, "Become perfect as my Father is perfect."  Was that "Father" male?  No, he was speaking  to people at the very edge of understanding anything.

As far as whether Lord Jesu taught Buddhism, well, he did, including reincarnation (in the Transfiguration, if you are familiar with that scene).  Did he have to travel to India to lean this?  No, he is divine, he just scooted over there telepathically and studied the Indian geniuses, in my opinion.  Make no mistake, he IS, in my real experience, divine.  But perfect?  Even he does not claim that.  We could go through the Gospels and discuss how he treated the woman about the crumbs on the table and how he zapped the fig tree to death as it was not bearing fruit when he was hungry, an accurate account, I gather.  This is not enlightened behavior.  Bodhisattava, par excellance, but Lord Jesu did not appear to teach enlightenment, but to teach the Way (the Truth and the Life) of the devoted bodhisattva.

So, for those of you who have trouble chanting to the Gohonzon, even Nichiren commented many times that it is not necessary to chant to the Gohonzon to understand the concept of your suffering as your karma, take responsibility for that, make recompense, and make appropriate changes to one's behavior.  There are a lot of questions this brings up, which are what is at the core of human life.

What is the function of daimoku?  What does it do?  How do I use it most effectively?  If I don't want to chant to the Gohonzon, what does it mean to chant to a fallible being, which Jesu himself admits repeatedly?  Is there some essence of infinity that is perfect and pure that one can chant to, enabling it, receiving energy and wisdom in return in order to do the work in the world?  I submit that there is, and that it can be found in the Gohonzon, it can be found in the Ultimate Divinity that Lord Jesu himself prayed to, it can be found in the Tao, and in the Way, but it must be thoughtfully understood as divinely perfect and profound.

I leave you with the questions, how do you chant and what do you chant for? What works for you or not?  One's daimoku can become so powerful, in all humility, one has to have the mindfulness to not even *think incorrect thoughts without correcting them immediately.  There are apparently no limits to the power of NMRK, in my experience, we just have to be up to the responsibility of understanding what it is that we want to do with our minds, lives, and how to lessen the suffering of our planet and the universe, as is appropriate to our own beings, thus fulfilling our missions on an ongoing basis.

Just my thoughts/experiences on the matter,
Armchair

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by: Armchair @ Mon Sep 08, 2008 at 05:51:43 AM UTC

Hallelujah

Brooke, I heard it from Cris. I had no idea that it resonated with you so much.

I don't know about chanting to Jesus, but I'm right there with you regarding saints and grace.

I'm not crazy about the Catholic church, but it occurs to me that Catholic theology offers feminine archetypes that I can relate to more than I can relate to the feminine in Buddhism. Primarily St. Mary, as you mentioned. While Catholics might pray for her "intercession," I see her more as a refuge and source of consolation. (In Buddhism, we don't get consolation -- we just gotta tough it out and win.)

What archetype is there in Buddhism like St. Mary/universal mother? Tara? Kishimojin? Dragon King's Daughter? I dunno.

Speaking of "universal mother" archetypes...when I think of Catholicism, I don't think of the Pope and all the crap regarding the church. I think of my own mom and the way she practices Catholicism with amazing compassion, tolerance and practicality.

"Chant to Jesus" recalls the ongoing debate about who is the original Buddha. Some say that we must revere Shakyamuni as the source of enlightenment, others say we should revere Nichiren, others say it's the Mystic Law.

Whether we say Jesus or Shakyamuni, are we talking about the same thing in essence?

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by: deardenver @ Mon Sep 08, 2008 at 17:06:10 PM UTC

Lemme have it. Dissect mercilessly. You won't hurt my feelings.

For what it's worth I totally agree, for a lot of people:

While I feel a fondness for Nichiren and a connection to the Gohonzon, I admit that there's something hopelessly abstract and alien to me about Japanese, kanji and the pantheon of Buddhist gods and demons. I can understand the concepts, of course, but I feel no gut, emotional connection to the symbolism and imagery of Buddhism.

AND

I've felt that I was failing to connect with heart of Buddhist practice. It never occurred to me that it might be the other way around, and Buddhist practice was failing to connect with my heart.

There has been a failure to relate Buddhism to the Western mindset. Buddhism came to the West but to date there is no "successful" form of Western Buddhism.

This may be a little technical, poorly worded and unorthodox but I understand Myoho Renge as a "Universal Law" comparable to the Tao, Brahman, Godhead, etc. This ineffable  (unable to be described) Law was elucidated or manifested by Shakyamuni in the title of the Lotus Sutra as Myoho Renge Kyo. Only through Shakyamuni is the Law "personified" and enters our reality. IMHO Shakyamuni and Nichiren have offered the best explanation and practical application of this Law.

Nichiren states that we realize this Law (which exists in us and is us) by chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo, if possible to a mandala he inscribed.

This Law, Myoho Renge "exists" regardless, and you could use the coarse metaphor, like gravity. Whether you believe or are aware of gravity it still functions. If you understand how gravity works you can make it "work for you" and avoid the consequences of doing stupid things, like trying to fly off tall buildings.

Until you reach a state of Nonduality this Law can seem very abstract and impersonal hence the need for most people to see it through a Deity.  

Whether we say Jesus or Shakyamuni, are we talking about the same thing in essence?

Indeed the above is applicable both are sages and teachers but not deities. I have nothing against Jesus or people who choose to chant to him. I do think it is a regression to a lower form of Buddhism or Deity worship as Ken Wilber points out "in spades"

I guess the main question for me is "Why aren't people taught how to chant in the first place?" If they were taught to chant properly they wouldn't need "Deities" like Jesus, Shakyuamuni, or Nichiren. They would receive "experiential evidence" or actual proof and transcend this regression.

With respect

Frank

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by: fwalmsley @ Mon Sep 08, 2008 at 19:26:49 PM UTC

Chanting with Jesus (and the rest of the interconnectedness)

Frank,

You make good points, and I was considering earlier whether to clarify that what I do now is chant daimoku, focusing on Jesus and to some extent Nichiren, but being more aware that I am tapping into the interconnected power available to us all. So, in the interests of accuracy, I should probably say that it is more a sense of chanting "with" Jesus...much like Cris Roman says in his book that he sits down with his good buddy Nichiren to talk things over.

I don't view Jesus, Nichiren or any other Buddha as deities, and prefer to look at the sacredness of the eternal life force of which we are all parts.  When we salute each other with "Namaste" we are recognizing the sacred in each of us and of all of us.

Thanks for your comments,
Ellen

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by: searcher13 @ Mon Sep 08, 2008 at 21:04:28 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

I really like your idea of chanting "with" Jesus.

Ellen et al,

I really like your idea of chanting "with" Jesus. Jesus is by far the most influential person of the last two centuries and IMHO the most misunderstood. There is a real difference between "Jesus of the Cross" or organized religions unfortunate version and "what Jesus actually taught" which was as Joesph Campbell says at times "pure Buddhism"

I know it sounds a little odd and perhaps to some heretical but I would like to see Jesus on the Gohonzon representing a manifestation of an  "Enlightened Bodhissatva" I can certainly relate better to Jesus than a Shinto deity like Hachiman.

Deities as Archetypes are, again IMHO, a valuable and necessary function of legitimate human needs and a basis for understanding or wisdom. As long as we don't get into a "I am week but he is strong." mindset and relinquish our own power as we are ultimately equal to the Buddha (or whoever)

Both Taoism and Zen are very "impersonal" Zen states "if you see the Buddha on the road kill him" to make their point. This should not be taken literally but is a "backlash" against excessive personification that can lead to Deity worship. Perhaps this is a reason why Taoism and Zen have not been widely embraced.

Deities/Archetypes perhaps provide a "Magic or Phantom City" for people to "rest up" ?

I have a stupa to Yakuo on my Budsudan and a small Buddha (with blue eyes painted on him/her) and at this evenings Gonyo I look forward to chanting "with" them both.

Thanks

Frank

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by: fwalmsley @ Tue Sep 09, 2008 at 01:49:39 AM UTC

Not a slander, but also not for everyone

Good for you on bringing this up, Brooke.  

One major faction of the Nichiren constellation is strongly vested in conveying a loud undertone of fear, designed to enforce the idea that "slander" consists in any deviation from their own explicit dogma.  Under that rubric, there are subtle, and plentiful reminders that if members persist in unsanctioned behaviors throughout life, the dreaded "Avichi Hell" awaits them at death.

In intent and effect, their message is not far removed from what we see and hear in fundamentalist, and some mainstream forms of Christianity.  So why not "chant to Jesus"?  (I'm kidding - obviously, the Jesus you are talking about is not the same one the fundies are working hard push down our throats, on both the political and personal level.)

I have always understood that there IS nothing else but Namu Myoho Renge Kyo -- that it is the underlying force, indeed the very stuff, of all that we are capable of perceiving or sensing on any level.  So why would it matter whether we chant to Jesus or a rock if Namu Myoho Renge Kyo resides in all equally?

Unfortunately, my own upbringing (Atheist) long ago denied me the ability to identify with any iconic representation of spiritual energy on an emotional level, whether it is the cross, a statue of Shakyamuni, or the Gohonzon.  However,  it is probably easier for me to incorporate incomprehensible  underlying concepts like nonduality into my daily life and practice, than it is for those who were raised within theistic and dualistic systems, such as  Christianity.

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by: EllBu @ Wed Sep 10, 2008 at 14:17:03 PM UTC

Prayer of St. Francis

I find the spirit of Buddhism and Christianity to be compatible; the human heart seeking to help and to heal is compatible with other such hearts, and so our disparate religious teachings find their commonality in heartfelt prayer. One of my favorite prayers is Prayer of St. Francis, my personal version:

Life, make me an instrument of peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy.

I vow that I will not so much seek
To be consoled as to console,
To be understood as to understand,
To be loved as to love:
For it is in giving that we receive,
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
It is in dying to selfishness that we awaken to the eternal.  

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by: auntie @ Wed Sep 10, 2008 at 19:10:09 PM UTC

Mindful prayers

Thank you, Auntie, for posting the prayer--I, too, have used St. Francis' thoughts in meditation, and I like so much your choice of "Life" to begin it.  Life does teach us, both the interconnected life and the experiences we encounter by our choices.  Your reminder was perfect for me today as I work through some adjustments I've chosen--you helped me to move from "Have I made the right choice?" to "I'm here, and glad to be--give it my all."  

Thank you, as well, for recognizing that the spirit of kindness does live in both Buddhism and Christianity.  Only confused people in each cause division, even when they have the best interests at heart.

Namaste,

Ellen

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by: searcher13 @ Wed Sep 10, 2008 at 19:56:20 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Maria Kannon

What archetype is there in Buddhism like St. Mary/universal mother? Tara? Kishimojin? Dragon King's Daughter? I dunno.

That would be the feminine, female forms of Avalokitasvara. One of these is, in fact, Maria Kannon. The Koyasu form of Kishimojin is also considered a matarnal form of Kannon.

Sung-Zi Kwan Yin, Kariteimo-Kishimojin, Koyasu-Kannon, Kosodate-Kannon, Juntei-Kannon, Cundi, Zibo-Kannon are others.

http://www.mkzc.org/

More on Avalokitasvara here:  

http://gongyosense.blogspot.co...  

Gongyo on Line
Current topics: Daimoku / Gongyo
Music Playlist; Current Selection: Strange Magic
http://gongyosense.blogspot.com/

Ninth Consciousness
Current topics: Power of Fours; Qualities of Bondage and Unbinding
Music Playlist; Current Selection:
http://mettasense.blogspot.com/

Gohonzon On Line
Gohonzon Woodblock Print dated 1254
http://honzonsense.blogspot.com/

robin

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by: robin @ Wed Sep 10, 2008 at 23:27:35 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Jesus =

Samantabhadra /  Fugen, one of the 4 trace gate gate bodhisattvas on the Mandala Gohonzon. He is usually seen riding an elephant.        

robin

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by: robin @ Thu Sep 11, 2008 at 00:30:31 AM UTC

Jesus on the Gohonzon

Robin, you are an outstanding scholar, but I cannot imagine for a second that Jesus, in any form, is on the Gohonzon.  There are only 2 severely flawed entities on the Gohonzon, as I understand it:  Kishimojin and Dairoku-ten-no-mao.  Do you have any specific reference for this or are you attributing seemingly like behavior?  Is there an entity on the Gohonzon that can raise from the dead or heal leprosy at a touch as Jesu apparently could do?  I am confused here.  Please, if you can, clarify, as I am not comfortable with the idea that I am chanting to the entity of Jesus on the Gohonzon.

Best regards,
Armchair

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by: Armchair @ Fri Sep 12, 2008 at 06:50:04 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Jesus was Samantabhadra

Samabtabhadra is connected with the Buddhist Confession and Repentance rite, as is Kuan Yin {Mary}.

http://nichirenscoffeehouse.ne...

The child of Buddha, with an all-pervading body,
Can go to the lands in all directions,
Liberating all the oceans of living beings,
Entering into all the parts of the cosmos.
Entering into all particles of the cosmos,
The body is endless and undifferentiated;
Omnipresent as space,
It expounds the great teaching of the realization of thusness.
(Flower Ornament Scripture pp. 179-180)

They also form this thought: `I should accept all sufferings for the sake of all sentient beings, and enable them to escape from the abyss of immeasurable woes of birth and death. I should accept all suffering for the sake of all sentient beings in all worlds, in all states of misery, forever and ever, and still always cultivate the foundations of goodness for the sake of all beings. Why? I would rather take all this suffering on myself than to allow sentient beings to fall into hell. I should be a hostage in those perilous places - hells, animal realms, the nether world, etc. - as a ransom to rescue all sentient beings in states of woe and enable them to gain liberation. (Flower Ornament Scripture pp. 534-535)

"This description of the bodhisattva is extremely reminiscent of the "suffering servant" imagery which is found in the book of Isaiah, where it pertains to Israel's mission to the world, and throughout the New Testament, where it pertains to the person of Jesus of Nazareth. It would seem, then, that the practice of Universally Good has truly been felt and expressed throughout the world in different ways. Just like the suffering servant or the crucified Lord, Bodhisattva Universally Good represents the power of sacrifice for the sake of others. It is a transfer of merit from a being of universal proportions to those who are so immersed in suffering that they are unable to help themselves." -- Ryuei

"A couple of weeks ago I reread the Flower Garland Sutra and there are many passages where the bodhisattvas vow to take on all sorts of horrendous suffering in order to liberate others. They even vow to become food and drink for those who are thirsty or starving (this is my body, this is my blood). Either the early Mahayanists were getting reports from Palestine or they were tapping into the same archetype of self-sacrificing love that the early Christians tapped into when making sense of the death of Jesus. It is one of the main reasons why I identify Jesus as an emanation of Samantabhadra Bodhisattva (the other reason has to do with the idea of the Cosmic Man whose body contains and is immanent in all things - a motif that appears in the Flower Garland Sutra and the New Testament)."
-- Ryuei

robin

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by: robin @ Sun Sep 14, 2008 at 23:36:36 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Jesus on the Gohonzon

Robin,

This is amazing to read and I will read it over.  Thank you for your consideration.  Is "Samantabhadra" Kuan Yin or is there a translation into Japanese that I might recognize?  For whatever reason, and I have wondered about this if you have an idea, at least in the Gohonzons I have seen, Nichiren left Kuan Yin (the goddess of Compassion) *off the Gohonzon.

Are the Flower Ornament Scripture and the Flower Garland Sutra the same writing, and, I gather, precedent to the Lotus Sutra?

In other words, is this being, per se, on the Gohonzon, or, are you saying that just those qualities are embodied in the Gohonzon?

Just wondering...
Armchair

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by: Armchair @ Mon Sep 15, 2008 at 02:24:11 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Fugen = Jesus

Is "Samantabhadra" Kuan Yin

No.

is there a translation into Japanese that I might recognize?

Fugen

Nichiren left Kuan Yin (the goddess of Compassion) *off the Gohonzon.

Yes. Maitreya probably takes that spot, possibly Yakuo.

Later on, Nakayama Lineage seems to have identified Kishimojin with Koyasu Kannon.

Are the Flower Ornament Scripture and the Flower Garland Sutra the same writing

 

Yes

and, I gather, precedent to the Lotus Sutra?

In the Tiantai 'flavor scheme' yes.  

robin

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by: robin @ Fri Sep 19, 2008 at 00:52:06 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

What's on the Gohonzon/Jesus

Thank you, Robin, for taking the time to reply:

In the comparatively meager study I have done,
Kuan Yin (the goddess of compassion) and Kannon
are synonymous, neh?  Neither are on the Gohonzons
I know of that are in contemporaneous distribution,
nor are Maitreya, the Buddha of the Third Age.  Fugen-
bosastu is a great being, but, as I have researched,
he is not on any contemporary Gohonzons.  Not to be
confused with Fudo-myo-o -- he who sits in fiery
meditation when our butts on fire and we want to quit
chanting, middle outside right, neh?

I suppose you, knowing the background of so many
extant Gohonzons, can know/tell us if Fugen is on
any Gohonzons, in your opinion, alliterative to
Lord Jesu, so that we could, or SHOULD NOT equivocate
that information into our praise/worship/dedication
to the Gohonzons that reside in our dwellings.

I don't know if you care about any of this, but if
you have time to clarify even more, I would be grateful,

As ever,
Armchair

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by: Armchair @ Fri Sep 19, 2008 at 05:19:56 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

I Combine Heresy & Apostasy Into One Neat Origami

Hi,

I'm a student of The Urantia Book and neither a Christian nor a Buddhist (or am both deppending on one's POV.) I often pray to Jesus, never pray to Shakyamuni or Nichiren, feel that when I do daily gongyo that I am aligning myself more and more with the Mystic Law of First Source and Center, the Paradise Father to whom Jesus prayed and who's will he followed. I'm reading "Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand," right now and am committed to years on a path of binaural beat brain entrainment that is decidedly Tibetan Buddhist in flavor. But for me it always returns to the Fatherhood of God. His son Jesus' bestowal upon our planet in the flesh of a mortal of the realm, the bestowal to all mortals of the realm of the Thought Adjustor, a pre-personal fragment of First Source and Center. I have no doubt about an existential god, First Source and Cebter, an evolutionary god revealed as God the Supreme or the eternal salvation of my personality and my soul.

I have, as a priest in the Santería religion, much respect for the Roman Catholic Church's aesthetic and powerful archetypes though I don't consider there to be much of the Truth about Jesus' religion in any Christian church, which churches, while springing up mostly from early Paulian and Petrovian decisions after the resurrection of Jesus Christ, are almost exclusively religions about the creator son who incarnated, lived as Joshua ben Joseph, died, and was resurrected from death on our benighted planet instead if the religion our creator son taught and lived during his short sojourn here.

Namasté,

Jai

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by: JaiGohonzon @ Fri Oct 03, 2008 at 22:29:14 PM UTC