Notes From the Cave

Philosophical Moment: Are You an Artichoke or an Onion?

I have made the decision to dedicate this year to the study of Eastern philosophy and spiritual practice, specifically Buddhism in its various forms.

In my initial studies, I have come across three concepts that are "foreign" to most Westerners that obviously give me pause. They are:

1. The concept of reincarnation is a "given" in Eastern philosophy. Without a belief in it, nothing that follows makes any sense.

1a. As a corollary to the above, some in the West believe in a form of reincarnation in which we "come back" to complete something left unfinished in a previous life... kind of like a linear soul transmigration. In Eastern philosophy, this is not so. Rather, reincarnation is not something positive, but a negative concept... something to overcome through achieving enlightenment or nirvana.

At this point, I have no idea where I stand on this issue. Part of me believes that it is possible; however, the logical part of me tends to write it all off as rationalization. My cynical side simply believes that "when you're dead, you're dead."

Are we really free?

I am writing today to vent a frustration that many may feel, but are afraid to voice. This entire writing stems from a conversation with a friend, who has offended me in a way that I doubt he will ever understand. We have a mutual respect for the rights and freedoms we enjoy in this wonderful country of ours, but we part ways when we have to stand up and defend them regarding the religious connotation of life. The majority of us, which was illustrated in our conversation, try to live our lives based on moral religious beliefs

With that said, I will continue with a basic description of the conversation that has me disturbed. As I was exorcizing my right to express my opinion of our great country and what it truly stands for (in my belief), I was told that my rights were not being infringed upon and was made to feel as if I were intolerant. You see, I believe people who come to this country seeking freedom should learn to live as we do and adjust their way of life to reside together peacefully. I don’t believe they have a right to come to our country and expect us to change to accommodate them. If that were the case, we would be able to travel to their country and expect the same.

Turning to Christian belief, I will use a readily understandable argument to illustrate my point.

Comparing Religions

I am in the midst of taking an audio course on comparative religion. The course, from The Teaching Company, is called Great World Religions.

This series (which I highly recommend), contains courses on Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism.

I have completed the courses on Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Also, although I have not yet listened to the Buddhism course, it is a shorter version of a more in-depth course I previously listened to.

Each course consists of 12 half-hour lectures. The courses are available on DVD, VHS, audio CD and cassette tape.

I will have lots to say about comparative religion in future postings. However, at this point, it is interesting to me to listen to how similar Judaism, Christianity and Islam really are in terms of their origins. Also interesting to me is how Judaism and Islam have much in common.