tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8448378901591621575.post7956983472587634057..comments2023-10-31T03:44:21.678-07:00Comments on Mount and Mountain: Rami's Reply to Mike's second 3/29 PostMike Smith and Rami Shapirohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12797108504119005047noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8448378901591621575.post-40820238862470736712008-04-01T06:00:00.000-07:002008-04-01T06:00:00.000-07:00This is Rami: I, too, believe that we are each the...This is Rami: I, too, believe that we are each the architects of our own religion, which is why I think it is so important not to mistake the menu for the meal. Religion is always at least one level removed from Reality. Because we do invent our own religions to suit ourselves, we should be very humble about our faith. <BR/><BR/>I also agree that religion is more about the past than the future. It is part of the ego's efforts to create a story about the past that explains and sometimes excuses the present. And I agree that there is no roadmap for where we should go. Truth, as Krishnamurti said eighty something years ago, is a pathless land. <BR/><BR/>We do have a compass, however, and that is the te of God, the universal principles of justice, compassion, humility, love, etc. We have to chose every step with care, but the compass does allow us to be certain that we are going in the right direction.<BR/><BR/>Thanks for participating in this, by the way.Mike Smith and Rami Shapirohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12797108504119005047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8448378901591621575.post-51782503072330029312008-03-31T06:57:00.000-07:002008-03-31T06:57:00.000-07:00Rami, your comments are thought provoking. They ca...Rami, your comments are thought provoking. They cause me to reexamine definitions for old familiar words. I have never considered that religion could be a box, however, I readily agree that the possibility exists, especially when we speak of the religion of a mass of people. Religion, as I understand the word, is a set of beliefs and practices that give definition to our faith driven quest for God, Truth, Reality or whatever label we place on it. Religion can become a box only if we allow the language and practices of the masses to direct our quest. Ultimately, I believe that each of us is the architect of our own religion. Religion becomes a box only if we choose to box ourselves in. <BR/><BR/>Rami or Mike, please correct me if I am wrong. Is it possible that religion could be better understood as giving definition to where we have been rather than a roadmap for where we should go?<BR/><BR/>Like Rami, the times that I have felt the unmistakable presence of God have been apart from the ritual and rhetoric of religious practice.Leonard Raderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06873945605641751243noreply@blogger.com