Which is the most tolerant religion?

[breakwall]

My vote's for Buddhism.

Everyone's welcome, everyone's part of the whole, everyone's a potential Buddha.

And the Dalai Lama is one of the greatest living spiritual teachers I've heard speak, if not the greatest.

To be fair, there are some pretty intolerant branches of Buddhism as well. But if you want to be and let be, Zen Buddhism is about as relaxed as you're going to find.

 

[Recidiva]

To be fair, there are some pretty intolerant branches of Buddhism as well. But if you want to be and let be, Zen Buddhism is about as relaxed as you're going to find.

Yes, but the leader of that school is the Dalai Lama and he's branched out during this lifetime to be reasonable about the dogma.

He's not a vegetarian all the time because it makes him sick. He advocates reason with practice.

He thinks he's the wrong guy for the job and maybe they picked him in error. But he's still going to do his best every moment to honor what he was raised to believe.

I like him.

Intolerance isn't from his leadership. I think they picked EXACTLY the right guy.

 

[Recidiva]

OOoooooooommmm..

There are...you know...other schools of thought about transcendent states and such...

 

[Ulaven_Demorte]

There are...you know...other schools of thought about transcendent states and such...

Shhh.. I'm projecting my consciousness into the bedroom.. my naked consciousness.

 

[Recidiva]

Shhh.. I'm projecting my consciousness into the bedroom.. my naked consciousness.

I feel my third eye opening. Astral projection. Oh yeah. Kundalini me.

 

[breakwall]

Yes, but the leader of that school is the Dalai Lama and he's branched out during this lifetime to be reasonable about the dogma.

He's not a vegetarian all the time because it makes him sick. He advocates reason with practice.

He thinks he's the wrong guy for the job and maybe they picked him in error. But he's still going to do his best every moment to honor what he was raised to believe.

I like him.

Intolerance isn't from his leadership. I think they picked EXACTLY the right guy.

He's the leader of the Tibetan Buddhism school.
And he's actually a bit of an oddity in buddhism itself. No other Buddhist sect has a single "leader". There are teachers of different degree, but only the Tibetan branch has designated an overseeing authority.

 

[Recidiva]

He's the leader of the Tibetan Buddhism school.
And he's actually a bit of an oddity in buddhism itself. No other Buddhist sect has a single "leader". There are teachers of different degree, but only the Tibetan branch has designated an overseeing authority.

But I see them fighting the good fight and doing so with grace, dignity and reason.

Despite the self-immolating buddhists (who I consider to be nihilists given to painful tantrum), the Dalai Lama will urge those who wish to support Buddhism's precepts to not harm themselves, to not martyr themselves.

He keeps saying stuff I agree with and keeps saying it well.

Buddhism has suffered its share of corruption (fifth patriarch, am I right?) but I think right now at this moment of time, they have a golden age, and it's because of the leadership.

They're getting hammered, but they're fighting the good fight.

 

[Bad_Doggie]

Not all religions are intolerant. this has been made clear.

So no, most tolerant is the apt wording.

But, unfortunately not enough. Especially amongst the big league religions.

But, the point I have never understood is, which ever God there is supposed to be, why he/she/it would care so much about whether you believe in him/her/it and require you to pay homage?

Maybe he/she/it wants you to be generous, kind, loving, and honest etc- and never mind what you believe.

It is the human eliment that demands aligance and so negates the religion at the outset.

Woof!

 

[Recidiva]

But, unfortunately not enough. Especially amongst the big league religions.

But, the point I have never understood is, which ever God there is supposed to be, why he/she/it would care so much about whether you believe in him/her/it and require you to pay homage?

Maybe he/she/it wants you to be generous, kind, loving, and honest etc- and never mind what you believe.

It is the human eliment that demands aligance and so negates the religion at the outset.

Woof!

Exactly. I decided a God that would want that wouldn't be a God I could respect anyway. Poser.

 

[Vail_Indigo]

Exactly. I decided a God that would want that wouldn't be a God I could respect anyway. Poser.

thats the real thing, isn't it?
So many of the characteristics assigned to god make it out to be, well, fucking insane.
Or, at least, insane in that we can't possibly understand it at all, which means, well, you don't know what you are supposed to do/not do because it could all be a set up.

anyhoo, imho, if there is a god, we are either in big trouble, or just fine.
pretty much all of us.

 

[Recidiva]

thats the real thing, isn't it?
So many of the characteristics assigned to god make it out to be, well, fucking insane.
Or, at least, insane in that we can't possibly understand it at all, which means, well, you don't know what you are supposed to do/not do because it could all be a set up.

anyhoo, imho, if there is a god, we are either in big trouble, or just fine.
pretty much all of us.

My conclusion is that we're all God and we all aren't. Two sides of the same coin thingy.

My spiritual motto is: "Maaaaybe."

 

[Ulaven_Demorte]

I usually draw comparisons between God and a small child who's grown bored with his ant farm and wandered off to do something else for a few thousand years, or a dead beat Dad..

Either one pisses off religious types.

 

[Vail_Indigo]

My conclusion is that we're all God and we all aren't. Two sides of the same coin thingy.

My spiritual motto is: "Maaaaybe."

well, since no one has given me any reason to believe in a supernatural god, I can only assume that we created it, which means, in fact, that we are god.
which is kind of what you are saying.
the divine within ourselves.

 

[Recidiva]

well, since no one has given me any reason to believe in a supernatural god, I can only assume that we created it, which means, in fact, that we are god.
which is kind of what you are saying.
the divine within ourselves.

Part of a creation, shared power. Very dilute and subject to group agreement.

For instance, the concept of money is strictly supernatural agreement magic. It only works because everyone agrees it does.

Determining the nature of the group agreements is the name of the game.

 

[Weird Harold]

I usually draw comparisons between God and a small child who's grown bored with his ant farm and wandered off to do something else for a few thousand years, or a dead beat Dad..

Either one pisses off religious types.

My favorite "balsphemy" is:

God Created the world in six days and on the seventh he rested -- the bible says so.

The oldest texts we can find use a word that menas "a period of time," so the correct meaning is God creaed the Wrold in Seven Periods of Time.

Science agrees with the later wording; there are seven distinct divisions in the history of the universe roughly coresponding to God's actions on each of the six days of Creation -- and his day of rest.

Unfortunately, we are still in that seventh period of time, ergo God is still resting.

 

[breakwall]

I find that Religion doesn't really have all that much to do with "God". Religion is a systematic response to mankind's need for a relationship with a higher power. It's the finger pointing at the moon. Religion is the finger, it's not the moon.

People say that you can't separate a Religion from the deity it worships, but actually you can do that quite easily. By studying a religion as a system it becomes a fascinating investigation into the minds of the adherents.

Hinduism, a religion born in a world of high population and limited space absolutely HAD to be inclusive. When your neighbour is constantly at your elbow, it's imperative that you get along somehow.

On the other hand, Western religions, with more space and less population, enjoyed the luxury of isolationism, and could afford to be exclusive.

 

[Recidiva]

I find that Religion doesn't really have all that much to do with "God". Religion is a systematic response to mankind's need for a relationship with a higher power. It's the finger pointing at the moon. Religion is the finger, it's not the moon.

People say that you can't separate a Religion from the deity it worships, but actually you can do that quite easily. By studying a religion as a system it becomes a fascinating investigation into the minds of the adherents.

Hinduism, a religion born in a world of high population and limited space absolutely HAD to be inclusive. When your neighbour is constantly at your elbow, it's imperative that you get along somehow.

On the other hand, Western religions, with more space and less population, enjoyed the luxury of isolationism, and could afford to be exclusive.

I've pretty much categorized "prayer" as a side effect of one of the steps to grief - "bargaining."

Who else can you bargain with when humans can't help you? You have a compulsion to bargain, it's gotta be someone. Invisible friend.

 

[breakwall]

I've pretty much categorized "prayer" as a side effect of one of the steps to grief - "bargaining."

Who else can you bargain with when humans can't help you? You have a compulsion to bargain, it's gotta be someone. Invisible friend.

Spirituality is different from religion. One can be intensely spiritual and have practically no religious affiliation whatsoever. Non-credal religions tend to let you loose to find your own path.

Unfortunately, people like to be told that following a plus b equals redemption, and religions that pander to that mindset, such as Catholicism and Islam tend to draw the crowds.

 

[Recidiva]

Spirituality is different from religion. One can be intensely spiritual and have practically no religious affiliation whatsoever. Non-credal religions tend to let you loose to find your own path.

Unfortunately, people like to be told that following a plus b equals redemption, and religions that pander to that mindset, such as Catholicism and Islam tend to draw the crowds.

I don't expect spirituality to make sense. It's got to be bigger than what I can comprehend.

Not so much smaller that I'm grossed out by it.

 

[breakwall]

I don't expect spirituality to make sense. It's got to be bigger than what I can comprehend.

Not so much smaller that I'm grossed out by it.

I'm always amazed at the lengths religions will go to in order to out-freak each other.
"We won't insult cows."
"We won't even breathe in bugs"
"We put horribly mangled corpses strung up on torture devices right in the front of our churches."

"...er...you win."

 

[Recidiva]

I'm always amazed at the lengths religions will go to in order to out-freak each other.
"We won't insult cows."
"We won't even breathe in bugs"
"We put horribly mangled corpses strung up on torture devices right in the front of our churches."

"...er...you win."

Cake or death?

The torturing religions don't really win. They just push people faster into a karma cycle so they can come back as buddhists and be indifferent to PR tactics.

 

[breakwall]

Cake or death?

Thank you for flying Church of England.

 

[Recidiva]

Thank you for flying Church of England.

"What is this, the psychotic bastard religion?"

Taoism I like because it really puts you in a place of having to say "You know, I don't know, and that's okay."

Something that's very hard for people to think or do. Taoism taught me a lot of valuable spiritual lessons, but I'd have to say that for me Taoism is really just the book. Read it. Reread it. Repeat forever.

The religious practice seems entirely superfluous to the book, which just really says it all, including "Don't go to church and don't think you know the answers."

It was a huge bit of spiritual vertigo to let go of all the comforting notions I had and really be in that "I have no idea" space. Once I did it, though, I got why it was of immeasurable value.

But there's really no world presence of religious taoism, so I don't consider them so much of a religion. More of a philosophy.

 

[breakwall]

But there's really no world presence of religious taoism, so I don't consider them so much of a religion. More of a philosophy.

Buddhism is the same way. A lot of religious scholars debate about the fact that Buddhism, in it's purest sense, is more of a lifestyle rather than a religion. A sort of a...7 Paths of Highly Effective Deities.

Except you don't have to buy all the daytimers, coffeemugs and dvds.

 

[breakwall]

Although there is a nice Zen drinking glass you can get:

http://www1.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve/82253/2/istockphoto_82253_cupped_hands.jpg