It is a flawed theology to fear a non-Christian would go to Hell practising their own faith, be it Buddhist, Islam, Judaism or any religion other than Christianity that promote moral conduct.
In assuming that if I don't believe in Jesus, then I'll go to Hell, the conservative Christian is endorsing a religious opinion that is based on flawed logic.
In my opinion, this is the devilish nature of that assumption: condemnation of non-believers and fear of non-Christian faiths.
Whether or not I go to Hell is not determined by what I believe, but by how I conduct myself. This too is true in Buddhism. Indeed, both faiths require their members to repent from immoral conduct.
Therefore, the religiously faithful of any religion who follow the tenets of their religion will not go to Hell by practising their faith.
Thus I question the condemnation of unbelievers by any religion. Though, Buddhism endorses us to not to blindly accept what the Buddha said but to test everything that is Buddhist.
Perhaps this is why I like Mormonism. While the history of the Mormon is complex, the willingness of Mormons to be open to limited religious pluralism is a good sign. It shows the ability to adapt to the influence of post-modern eucheminism on Mormon thought.
Because I know that unconditional love is the root of Buddhism and Mormonism, I am sure that it will be possible for me to moderate my Buddhist ideals with Mormon ideals. Yet it is unlikely that the mixing of the different flavors of both faiths will lead to strengthening of my core belief about unconditional love.
For that Love empowers both Mormons and Buddhists to improve their lives for the better.
As I grow in my experience as a neophyte Buddhist Mormon, I hope to disprove the assumption by naïve conservative Christians that the syncretism of Buddhism and Mormonism will condemn me to Hell.
In Mormonism, a member eventually will be reborn in one of three kingdoms, the Celestial, the terrestrial and the telestial. Yet the afterlife is not of this world. Even so, the metaphor of the Mormon afterlife can be applied to this life.
If you follow the moral code of Mormonism, then it is possible to achieve the glory of the Celestial kingdom. If you follow the moral code of a non-Mormon religion, then you may achieve the glory of the terrestrial kingdom. If you follow your own moral code, then the telestial kingdom is for you.
In contrast, if you slip up but stay faithful to the Buddhist precepts of moral conduct, then you may achieve Nirvana, which is freedom from the cycle of birth and death in the Six Realms of Desire. If you just follow your own moral code, then you will live your own life.
Whatever my destiny is as a Buddhist Mormon, my depth of faith in unconditional love determines the strength of my moral code which determines my moral conduct. Through meditation and prayer, it is possible to live by my moral code and improve my moral conduct.
Although I am not perfect, I hope to improve my life by abstaining from caffeine, nicotine, alcohol, and dangerous drugs. By doing so I plan on improving my health so that I may live long enough to be of service to other people, which is a core Buddhist tenet.
Since Mormonism is dedicated to service to other people, I find that it is amenable to my core Buddhist beliefs.
In Jodo Shinshu, the Japanese Buddhism that is the faith that I was born in, it is said that its founder Shinran Shonin once said, "I gladly will follow my master Honen to hell."
If conservative Christians might condemn me to Hell for "serving two masters", then that is based cherry picking Biblical quotes to support their religious opinion.
So, I certainly do not believe I am going to Hell. Although I have once stated that the Buddha is my Christ in jest, in all seriousness it is the foundation of the spiritual aspects of my life.
By declaring that "the Buddha is my Christ", I am only confirming the influence of the Buddha and the Christ on inspiring my life as a Buddhist Mormon.
Showing posts with label moral values. Show all posts
Showing posts with label moral values. Show all posts
20140307
Why Amanda Todd Killed Herself (satire)
this article isn't for the formalism of a normal article. so i'm not going to capitalize the appropriate words for the politically correct people.
anyway, i have sided with both parties in this tragic series of events. it was a teen suicide, which is a rising statistic among teens today, mainly due to unhealthy practices of self esteem raising in the public education system without the necessary checks and balances of exposing children to a wide range of ages in school.
all we do to children is raise them to be compliant workers, nothing more.
having said this, i don't believe public education is broken. i believe the government has broken it for us. with the incessant drive to make money, we are forgetting key values that my generation and the generations before it taught but that the modern world mocks.
this is also why more seniors are also committing suicide at growing rates too. all an old person has to do to die early is to be subject to care in an elderly care facility, and subject to chemical restraints for dementia when the best relief for dementia is daily exercise and the feeling of being useful in a society that focuses unhealthily on youth.
which brings us to Amanda Todd, the poster girl of online bullying, cyberstalking, and other maladies within this youth culture today.
last year we slut shamed miley cyrus, that irish girl, and amanda todd, among many other girls too numerous to name.
i don't have any respect for the shamers and the haters. you take your morally high ground today, but yesterday you might have been surfing for porn.
hypocrisy!
i could think of many reasons why amanda todd killed herself: the wrong people were paying attention to her, the cretins who mocked her and goaded her into killing herself, the perverts who wanted to have sex with her, and especially of all the lack of quality time with parents in an intact family.
however blame never solves anything. this is why the kody maxson outing as her so-called tormenter is off the mark. the real culprit is everyone who wished amanda would pick a better bleach next time.
people who want kids, before you even have one, remember this:
the internet will never be a safe place until you daily live the moral values you want your future children to have. so if you're a mouth breather on the Daily Capper, watching the crap on cameracapper, then i urge you, don't have kids. if you do, sell your computer.
over the years i have been many youtube account go stagnant when a pervert has scared a kid off the site. why? she's in grade school but she looks and acts 18.
all you perverts do is ruin the internet. without self control, all you have is your internet.
i pity you because without the internet you are nothing, a nobody, a bunch of people who would watch a person drown instead of saving her, because that's what you did from 2010 to 2012 as you watched this tragedy unfold and refused to help because nobody wants to be a hero or a blackmailer.
of course, given that the NSA is monitoring the Internet, and the FBI too, i wonder if the real reason why capping isn't exposed is because they are gathering evidence right now as we speak.
i supposed that's why nobody discusses it on googeplus. instead,everyone patted themselves on the back for stopping bullying.
out of all the kids that detest the bullying of amanda todd, few of them are brave enough to start an anti-bullying club in their school. that's because they're trained to be an audience, not a participant in society. public education has serve us so well.
what does that say about public education today?
me, i think the best role model for young girls online is not amanda todd, it's the porn star at duke university. at least, she's not drinking bleach, slitting her wrists or hanging herself.
anyway, i have sided with both parties in this tragic series of events. it was a teen suicide, which is a rising statistic among teens today, mainly due to unhealthy practices of self esteem raising in the public education system without the necessary checks and balances of exposing children to a wide range of ages in school.
all we do to children is raise them to be compliant workers, nothing more.
having said this, i don't believe public education is broken. i believe the government has broken it for us. with the incessant drive to make money, we are forgetting key values that my generation and the generations before it taught but that the modern world mocks.
this is also why more seniors are also committing suicide at growing rates too. all an old person has to do to die early is to be subject to care in an elderly care facility, and subject to chemical restraints for dementia when the best relief for dementia is daily exercise and the feeling of being useful in a society that focuses unhealthily on youth.
which brings us to Amanda Todd, the poster girl of online bullying, cyberstalking, and other maladies within this youth culture today.
last year we slut shamed miley cyrus, that irish girl, and amanda todd, among many other girls too numerous to name.
i don't have any respect for the shamers and the haters. you take your morally high ground today, but yesterday you might have been surfing for porn.
hypocrisy!
i could think of many reasons why amanda todd killed herself: the wrong people were paying attention to her, the cretins who mocked her and goaded her into killing herself, the perverts who wanted to have sex with her, and especially of all the lack of quality time with parents in an intact family.
however blame never solves anything. this is why the kody maxson outing as her so-called tormenter is off the mark. the real culprit is everyone who wished amanda would pick a better bleach next time.
people who want kids, before you even have one, remember this:
the internet will never be a safe place until you daily live the moral values you want your future children to have. so if you're a mouth breather on the Daily Capper, watching the crap on cameracapper, then i urge you, don't have kids. if you do, sell your computer.
over the years i have been many youtube account go stagnant when a pervert has scared a kid off the site. why? she's in grade school but she looks and acts 18.
all you perverts do is ruin the internet. without self control, all you have is your internet.
i pity you because without the internet you are nothing, a nobody, a bunch of people who would watch a person drown instead of saving her, because that's what you did from 2010 to 2012 as you watched this tragedy unfold and refused to help because nobody wants to be a hero or a blackmailer.
of course, given that the NSA is monitoring the Internet, and the FBI too, i wonder if the real reason why capping isn't exposed is because they are gathering evidence right now as we speak.
i supposed that's why nobody discusses it on googeplus. instead,everyone patted themselves on the back for stopping bullying.
out of all the kids that detest the bullying of amanda todd, few of them are brave enough to start an anti-bullying club in their school. that's because they're trained to be an audience, not a participant in society. public education has serve us so well.
what does that say about public education today?
me, i think the best role model for young girls online is not amanda todd, it's the porn star at duke university. at least, she's not drinking bleach, slitting her wrists or hanging herself.
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