tmnt and religio-spirituality

GreenWillow · 11-16-2002, 02:22 PM

~Well. now that I'm thinking about it it seems like I think Taoism's more exoteric stuff-- which is a lot like sympathetic magic, with lots of dieties-- could be thought of as the "fundamentalism" aspect of the religion. And what HT had spoken of a few pages (?) back on this thread-- the Buddhist practice that is very centered on prayer beads and it's whole pantheon of dieties, might represent that more literal approach.
It might be safe to say that all religions have their exoteric (or fundamentalist) aspects, and also their more esoteric aspects. One part is the literal interpretation that focusses on dogma and ritual and folklore, while the esoteric beliefs have more to do with spirituality. And I think of spirituality as a person's direct relationship with Spirit, and how that manifests in one's life; how we deal with others or with life in general.
So you could have a very religous person, who was not very spiritual, or a very spiritual person who is not at all religious.

~GW

11-16-2002, 02:22 PM	#24
GreenWillow Hench Mutant Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: The Mountains Posts: 425	~Well. now that I'm thinking about it it seems like I think Taoism's more exoteric stuff-- which is a lot like sympathetic magic, with lots of dieties-- could be thought of as the "fundamentalism" aspect of the religion. And what HT had spoken of a few pages (?) back on this thread-- the Buddhist practice that is very centered on prayer beads and it's whole pantheon of dieties, might represent that more literal approach. It might be safe to say that all religions have their exoteric (or fundamentalist) aspects, and also their more esoteric aspects. One part is the literal interpretation that focusses on dogma and ritual and folklore, while the esoteric beliefs have more to do with spirituality. And I think of spirituality as a person's direct relationship with Spirit, and how that manifests in one's life; how we deal with others or with life in general. So you could have a very religous person, who was not very spiritual, or a very spiritual person who is not at all religious. ~GW __________________ Hugs, kisses, GreenFaerieDust(tm) and a small vial of Belladonna. Life is good.