Re: truth
JLNobody wrote:Thunder Cloud, my statement earlier about not accepting the notion of religious leadership or authority is to be understood primarily in the context of my preference for the meditative branches of Buddhism. The Buddha's final words were "Be a lantern unto yourself." The assumption here is that all people have "Buddha Mind", that we all have within us all that is needed to become spiritually enlightened beings. Now this individualism is not obvious in theocratic societies (perhaps with the exception of theocratic Tibetan Buddhism) where political and religious authority are fused and where individuals feel constrained to conform to communal norms of belief and ceremonial conduct. I do not know much about the religious systems of Native Americans in the United States (perhaps a bit about Pueblo nations), but I have lived for three years among Maya townsmen and villagers in southeastern Mexico, and have seen what happens when the village's religious leaders (somewhat, but not completely) coincide with its elders--where these leaders are able to effectively ostracize young men by denying them the right to communal lands if they prove to be doctrinally unorthodox. I saw mostly conformity and punishment, very little worship and appreciation in that system. Protestantism is making great inroads into such communities because of their failings. And this is partly because of the relative separation of protestantism and religion. The pastors, wether Americans or natives, have no political power. They can cajole but not coerce.
I agree that everyone has the potential for spiritual enlightenment, but sometimes there are things which put spiritual blinders on people. Anyone with a true knowledge of this greater understanding called enlightenment knows that the majority are clueless. One can only begin to imagine the ramifications regarding spiritual unity on the N. American continent if the Universal Hierarchy itself recognizes a depleted, reclusive, and virtually unknown group of people. One only need to speak with people and read forum posts to see that there are so many different opinions regarding all aspects of Religion and recognize that there is more confusion and unknowns than anything else.
This is not even to say that there is more than mere potential for spiritual leadership or that there is more than a mere link, or window to the once well-gounded spirituality of the people on the continent.
What is the mindset of those who acknowledge their own championship in life, without knowing that the cards were stacked in their favor? Is it a true sense of self-confidence? It would not take a great medical scientist to determine that the American Indians have been emotionally handicapped. Taking advantage of someones weakness in a competitive atmosphere is one thing, but taking advantage of handicapped people is quite another matter. Is it not?
Whether it was their spiritual awe, or their wearing of feathers, the Apache were once a group of people who existed near other "races". They were stigmatized as useless cowards. The people of Iran have ancient scrolls which depict those who wore feathers. When Iranian students were invited to the U.S. in the late 70's, the first thing they did was visit one of the Reservations. One can only imagine that they were told or got the impression that some of the American Indians felt like hostages in their own country. Didn't the Iranians become the "bad guys" when they protested? There is also much more to what happened in those days.
Often when I think I have something down well...one little truth can suddenly change it all. The truth of a matter depends upon the angle which it is viewed from, so I try to see things from all angles and determine the least incorrect conclusion.
