Some of the Founding Fathers may have had a sense of "self- actualization". Some were pretty conventional Episcopalians or Congregationalists. If the question is one of fulfillment, well, even the Buddhists developed the idea of the Bodhisattva, who in his infinite compassion held back from Nirvana to aid the supplicant in his attempt to purify his life and ascend to a higher level of rebirth. In the end, grace makes more sense to most people than "self- reliance", because human beings are a frail lot.......
you do have a gift with words Neocon, always a great
response from you regarding historical fact...the idea
of Buddha being already passing into that Pure Land
and achieving nirvanna ,
yet remaining behind to teach the way is the
"the great sacrifice".
To the Eastern mind , this is regarded with the highest
reverence , with as much love and devotion
as any Christian . It is the same principal at work .
This example
of spending 45years in constant traveling and teaching
princes and kings and poor alike , must have been
a story to have been told throughout the known world
at the time .
Especially when the largest Empire to the east
of Rome, the Ashokan converts to these teachings
250yrs before the dawn of the christian era,
and experiences a golden age no historian
of note could dare to ignore.
The parallel's between the two stories of Buddha
and Christ are so compelling as to leave me only to
marvel at how much denial there
is in the world today. Buddha taught the way
was steep and narrow but accessable to all.
Jesus in fact did the same. It was no longer
in the hands of the priests.
Then there is the Mahabharata and the Bhagavad Gita
and the story of Krishna...who can ignore these?
Love following the discourses here ...
regards
;-)
Mars
PS : I think if you go to the heart of thought
of some of our more prominent founding fathers
you would find secretly and even more openly
evolving a new kind of perspective , completely.
Almost Buddhist , in many respects , and pragmatical
when regarding "miracles" and views of God
hidden/revealing in nature. |
