RELIGION or POLITICS ?? How about DEATH....yours...? (Cont'd.)

Hi y'all, Well, what do you know, here it is friday already. Where do the days go? Guess when you are having an enjoyable and beautiful life, not rich mind you, just beautiful and the days go faster.. I feel so good when I get through chanting, and my prayers in so doing, I can't help but give thanks with gratitude, and why I say at the end, declaring..." I am too strong for fear, too kind for anger, and too happy for worry." ............... So to continue on from the last blog of Death.

We finally seem ready to recognize the fundamental error in our view of life and death. We are beginning to understand that death is more than the absence of life; that death, together with active life, is necessrary for the formation of a larger, more essential whole. This greater whole reflects the deeper continuity of life and death that we experience as individuals and express as a culture. Our central challenge is to establish a culture based on the understanding of the relationship of life, death and eternity. Instead of disowning death, we could thereby confront and correctly position it within the larger context of life.

Buddhism speaks of an intrinsic Buddha nature existing in the depths of phenominal reality. This nature depends upon and responds to phenomal conditions. and it alternates between states of emergence adn latency. All phenomena, including life and death, can be seen as elements of the cycle of emergence and latency, or manifestation and withdrawal.

Cyles of life and death can be likened to the alternating periods of sleep and wakefulness. Just as sleep prepares us for the next day's activity, death can be seen as a state in which we rest and replenish ourselves for new life. In this light, death should be acknowledged, along with life, as a blessing to be appreciated. 

The Lotus Sutra, the core of Mahayana Buddhism, states that the purpose of existence, the eternal cycles of life and death, is to be "happy and at ease". It further teaches that sustained faith and practice enable us to know a deep and abiding joy in death as well as in life, to be equally "happy and at ease" with both.

Nichiren describes the attainment of this state as the "greatest of all joys".

So there you have it, my friends, for your ponder and consideration for your future happiness.

 I notice that for Glenn Beck followers, he respectfully suggests that the country turn back to God, and get familiar and accept in our lives, the principles and values. I prefer to call it a spiritual re-awakening. And I shall probably make comments and my views on this as we go on from here. I too think the masses have to wake up to the very real dangers this country is in, and take action on Nov. 4th.  Cheers and have a great weekend, y'all.         CJ