<HTML><BODY style="word-wrap: break-word; -khtml-nbsp-mode: space; -khtml-line-break: after-white-space; "><BR><DIV><DIV>On May 22, 2006, at 6:37 PM, ilsa wrote:</DIV><BR class="Apple-interchange-newline"><BLOCKQUOTE type="cite"><DIV><FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffff00">Buddhism</FONT> is a truth seeking path and not a religion of any kind. <BR></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>With all respect I have for Buddhism, the above is clearly not the case. One of my best friends just took refuge last weekend. Another acquaintance is heading off in a month for a three year plus three months major retreat and will likely become a Buddhist nun. The taking refuge was a very moving and real religious commitment to a religious path. There was nothing ambiguous about this. Yes it is a kind of truth seeking but the path is fundamentally one filled with well known religious practices and aspirations, especially in the Mahayana traditions with their strong focus on the liberation of all beings. There are many schools/sects to Buddhism as I understand it. Many of them have things like reincarnation, cyclic existence, six realms of being (including hell realms) within which one may be at some time incarnated, heaven-like realms (Pure Land), deities and a decidedly mystical view of reality and what is really important. </DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>If that doesn't qualify as religion in your mind then I would very much like you to explain what does. </DIV><BR><BLOCKQUOTE type="cite"><DIV> there are the every day new agers who call themselves Buddhists and have given the prevailing colors to this current popularity but that is the first turning of the wheel. Buddha gave 84 thousand suturas. there is the first: all life is suffering, the second turning is called the middle way and represents the walking on the razor edge between the pairs of opposites and the third turning which is a vast scientific study of all realities.<BR></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>That is not the way Buddhist friends have expressed these to me and your summary of each leaves much to be desired. This is not a request to explain them fully here however.</DIV><BR><BR><BLOCKQUOTE type="cite"><DIV> </DIV> <DIV>imagine all this overlay ed on the biology and physics of the here and now. what after all do we have access to but you and me baby. <BR><BR></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>All of what overlaid on what? Could you please bother to be a bit more coherent?</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>- samantha</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV></DIV></BODY></HTML>