Which of the following Religious Books do you read the most?

Yes, there is another religious, or spiritual
book that I have found, and is called
The Care Of The Soul.

Babs, there are so many spiritual books I wouldn't know when to start and end in their naming. There is a book written in 1930s by Sholem Asch, called "The Apostle" that connected the spiritual, very well, with religion.

This little poem says it all: It came from a tiny book written in the 1800s called The 13th Apostle. Was about a man who traveled for weeks, months, who knows, to get to the hill where Christ was crucified. He didn't make it in time because he constantly stopped to help someone in need. The message is, of course, that it's not the goal, but the path, that counts.

Those who look to Heaven to save their soul
will keep the path but will not reach the goal
While those who live in love may travel far
they'll end up where the blessed are

steissd, of course you are right. I should have made it clear that the only connection between Russia and China is communism. Both countries suppress[ed] (to put it mildly) religion. My apologies.

OK. Russia is no more a communist country, at least, since 01.01.1992. The only problem with religion it experiences is a problem with militant Islam. And if its adherents did not resort to terrorism, there would be no problem with this confession either.
By the way, the restored Communist Party of Russia (unlike the Communist Party of the Soviet Union dismantled in September 1991) declared tolerance toward all the religions in its programs; modern Russian Communists are rather Social-Democrats than classic Bolsheviks.
Russian President Mr. Putin regularly attends church (but he is not a religious fundamentalist); and all the religious minorities in Russia (Jews, Buddhists, Baptists, etc.) enjoy complete freedom of conscience. I do not refer specifically to you, Tex-Star, but many people in the Western democracies have obsolete idea of Russia as of the oppressive totalitarian empire, something like President Reagan's "empire of evil", but lots of changes occurred in the last decade.

steissd, i too appreciate your input into this question. learning more and expanding my knowledge. thanks.

You are welcome, Pueo. Feel free to ask questions about Russia, USSR and/or Israel, I shall be happy to answer. Well, tomorrow I will be drafted to the active reserve service in the IDF, but after 01.23.03 I shall be back home.

stay safe steissd.

Our thoughts and prayers go with you and as pueo says, stay safe!!

Many thanks, Pueo and Maxsdadeo.

steissd, Oh no, I only meant to speak of the Soviet Union before-the-wall-came-down. I have much respect for the Russia of today and all that has been overcome by the people.

Yes, from me too, stay safe. Just reading some of your posts, you must have some fascinating stories to tell. See you in the New Year.

Thanks, Tex-Star. All misunderstanding has been solved, to my mind. Happy New Year.

I don't see where the Tao te Ching was mentioned... or any other books about Taoism. I'm not sure that the Bhagavad Vita was mentioned, either.

I'd like to say that I was impressed with the Ba'Hai temple in Chicago and what I learned there. I think what impressed me the most is that in the temple itself, which is built as a symbol of the religion itself, nine-sided and beautiful, ther are only three kinds of vocalizations. THey are the prayers of other religions, the prayers and scripture of the Ba'Hai's and the human voice in song.

What was amazing is that even though we were not aware of this rule, the people who came into the temple were quiet. No one felt the need to giggle, gossip, or make offhand remarks. It was very nice. I recommend that anyone visit one of the temples and see it for themselves.

In Buddhism: No God, No Soul, No Self, No Beginnings or Endings.

Buddhism is like a physician's prescription for a terrible disease, Suffering. There is a cause of suffering, that cause can be known and eliminated by following a set of guidelines called the Eight Fold Path.

Meditation is a tool, a means to the end goal -- mitigation and elimination of suffering.

A lot of interesting comments here - thank you all for your input.

Asherman, Since you seem to know about the Buddhist religion, have you ever seen those monks walk into freezing water and hold their hands together while pressing certain fingers together? I've seen this ritual on t.v. a year or two ago, and wondered what that was all about? c.i.

Cicero,

Cann't say I know what you're talking about. The focused mind can make the body capable of doing what normally would be thought near impossible. Hand and finger gestures are called Mudras, and they have symbolic meaning within several Buddhist schools. I could only interpret the meaning of a mudra by seeing it clearly, and knowing the sect using it.

Well - it seems that you have altogether limited
our opportunities on this topic without discretion.
With none of the other holy books as an option,
what can a person answer, but none of the above.
There is so much good to be gleaned from the
reading of all inspirational literature; although
I contend that ONLY LIVING WITHIN THE FRAME
WORK OF A MOST THOROUGH EXAMINATION OF
ONE'S OWN DAILY LIFE- can we EVER be led to find
a life that is well lived, and is in keeping with the
most basic concepts of ALL of the world's religions.
To limit any populations' choices to such an EXTREME
degree is absurd. Freedom to believe as I choose is
MY RIGHT! Not a thing to be trivialized or narrowed
down to a few select favorite tomes with which you
may (or may not!) be familiar.
Who do you think you are?
What right do YOU have to pick and choose & then
ask us, now which of these do you want? You have
NO right, and you are a fool if you believe otherwise.
Just as there have been prophets & holy men
throughout all of our history & in all different worlds
and cultures, so I anticipate that this is continually an
ONGOING process - where ever more new spiritual
truths are even now being revealed to us, but revealed
only to those of us who are "openminded" enough to
accept what is good & wise & true, even if it is not over
2000 years old.

Just curious to see if you'd follow me here...

I must be irresistible...

The Upanishads haven't really been fully discussed here....also anything written by Alan Watts....