There is a ceiling on how far man can go on his own

[Sunada has left a new comment on the post "Buddhism in the West": Specifically, I am thinking about one key difference between Buddhism and the Judeo-Christian doctrine: Buddhism says that humans have an inborn potential for reaching the ultimate, whereas theistic traditions teach that man and God are separate. The latter implies to me that there is a ceiling on how far man can go on his own. I think that point can have a profound effect on how one views one's own potential, and one's relation to the ultimate (however you happen to define that). Mind you, I'm no expert on theology, so I may be misrepresenting things here. But regardless, the things of which I speak aren't cultural baggage, but a true difference of doctrine that can affect how we view ourselves in relation to our world. I'm not trying to argue that any faith is more "right" than any other. I do believe that all the world religions offer genuine paths to the ultimate. But to reach the highest potential with any one of them, I think we have to specialize and take on the relatively unique perspective that one's chosen faith presents. By analogy, you can't become a virtuoso pianist if you spread your energies around to also learn how to be a wind instrument player. It's up to each of us to determine which of those doctrines are helpful to our own circumstances and life choices, and whether they are helpful to our personal growth. Sunada Takagi www.mindfulpurpose.com Posted by Sunada to Integral Options Cafe at 8:09 AM]

An exquisite dissection of the ontological limitations that the dominant religions perpetrate. [TNM]