Why do people discuss what the founder of a religion or spiritual path actually meant?

[Spirit of Light]

I believe each person must find truth for themselves. Each has the ability to make that decision.

Why is it that those that are supposed to know the most about their faith are the ones in history that have rejected other Prophets from God? Why do those with this knowledge of their prophet, still reject others?

There is not better person than yourself Amanaki, than to make these choices, you need no teacher but to ask God with your heart, it is all within.

Regards Tony

Thank you Tony Even i cultivate Falun Gong under Li Hongzhi i know there are many many Gods, Buddhas, Daos out there with their own teaching, and i do not reject those teaching for those who follow them But what I want to say is that we humans would be better of by only follow one of the teachings at the time. Then of course if we should be able to enlighten to the teaching we follow now, then if we want to cultivate even further it is possible to do so by a new cultivation path. But mixing and matching from different paths in my understanding can only lead to confusion and difficulty when it comes to different mechanics that each path and teacher holds.

 

[TransmutingSoul]

Thank you Tony Even i cultivate Falun Gong under Li Hongzhi i know there are many many Gods, Buddhas, Daos out there with their own teaching, and i do not reject those teaching for those who follow them But what I want to say is that we humans would be better of by only follow one of the teachings at the time. Then of course if we should be able to enlighten to the teaching we follow now, then if we want to cultivate even further it is possible to do so by a new cultivation path. But mixing and matching from different paths in my understanding can only lead to confusion and difficulty when it comes to different mechanics that each path and teacher holds.

Thank you Amanaki, always a pleasure to talk with you.

I see the key is to find that oneness in all Faith, to me it is to find the light that shines from them all and I see it is the same light of Truth shines from all Faiths.

I see all the different God's are the same One White light refracted through a prsim.

It could be that a lot of teachings are not sourced from the light of truth, these become our differences and this is where we have the ability to choose.

Regards Tony

 

[Aupmanyav]

No need for someone to study the text of a different path then the one they themselves are on.

Well your view. But then if they are on a wrong path, they will continue to go on that. I have benefited from discussing the beliefs of religions other than mine. It has made me crystallize my views.

 

[Milton Platt]

In my time within this forum, I have seen many discussions about what Jesus meant, What God meant, What other founders of religions meant. But the more I think about it. How do people of today actually know or think they know what these enlightened beings from the past actually know or think about when they were teaching? When I cultivated Buddhism I too thought i understood what Buddha was actually saying. But I realized I was far from understanding it on Buddhas level or even were close to understanding it as it should be understood. The problem I faced was that. I could not ask him. Sakyamuni, what did you actually mean? So my realization is that for us to be able to discuss on a higher level, we are in need of having the founder actually here today to be able to ask questions, Not that they going to give a fully clear answer because it is up to our own cultivation to understand the teaching. But at least we do not need to worry about the text is wrongly translated or it missing teachings, because the teacher is already here today, and this is the reason I converted to Falun Gong. And in Falun Gong I can say our master is here today in life, so even he lives in a different country then I do, technically it would be possible to get some clarification if some issue does happen.

So my question is, Why are we discussing topics that actually are impossible to answer? would it not be better to keep the discussion within our own choice of the spiritual path? Christians discuss with Christians, Jews with Jews and so on?

Does it really help you in your spiritual path to have a discussion with someone who says, No you get it wrong, God, Buddha, or other enlightened beings did mean it like this, then they come with their understanding of what God, Buddha or others meant? HOW DO THE KNOW? It is their own understanding of what God, Buddha or others meant, not the actual meaning. But if we do have the master/founder/ teacher alive, we can say our Teacher says this, Then we quote what the Teacher says. that means it is the true words of the teacher, not a guess of what the teacher means. But we can of course say, My understanding of the teaching is this. then we give our own understanding of the teaching. But clearly note that it might not be fully what the Teacher actually know by their wisdom.

Note: I too have done the mistake of discussing topics I today see I was not qualified to discuss because I did not understand fully the teaching. But I realized the importance of being able to speak with the founder of the spiritual teaching, or at least be able to speak with those who are/were close to the teacher, Normally they will have a deeper understanding of what the truth of the teaching is.

You posit the question "how do THEY know?" I ask the question "how does anyone know, then?"

 

[firedragon]

In my time within this forum, I have seen many discussions about what Jesus meant, What God meant, What other founders of religions meant. But the more I think about it. How do people of today actually know or think they know what these enlightened beings from the past actually know or think about when they were teaching? When I cultivated Buddhism I too thought i understood what Buddha was actually saying. But I realized I was far from understanding it on Buddhas level or even were close to understanding it as it should be understood. The problem I faced was that. I could not ask him. Sakyamuni, what did you actually mean? So my realization is that for us to be able to discuss on a higher level, we are in need of having the founder actually here today to be able to ask questions, Not that they going to give a fully clear answer because it is up to our own cultivation to understand the teaching. But at least we do not need to worry about the text is wrongly translated or it missing teachings, because the teacher is already here today, and this is the reason I converted to Falun Gong. And in Falun Gong I can say our master is here today in life, so even he lives in a different country then I do, technically it would be possible to get some clarification if some issue does happen.

So my question is, Why are we discussing topics that actually are impossible to answer? would it not be better to keep the discussion within our own choice of the spiritual path? Christians discuss with Christians, Jews with Jews and so on?

Does it really help you in your spiritual path to have a discussion with someone who says, No you get it wrong, God, Buddha, or other enlightened beings did mean it like this, then they come with their understanding of what God, Buddha or others meant? HOW DO THE KNOW? It is their own understanding of what God, Buddha or others meant, not the actual meaning. But if we do have the master/founder/ teacher alive, we can say our Teacher says this, Then we quote what the Teacher says. that means it is the true words of the teacher, not a guess of what the teacher means. But we can of course say, My understanding of the teaching is this. then we give our own understanding of the teaching. But clearly note that it might not be fully what the Teacher actually know by their wisdom.

Note: I too have done the mistake of discussing topics I today see I was not qualified to discuss because I did not understand fully the teaching. But I realized the importance of being able to speak with the founder of the spiritual teaching, or at least be able to speak with those who are/were close to the teacher, Normally they will have a deeper understanding of what the truth of the teaching is.

The kind of discussion you request not to happen, must happen. They are crucial.

Lets take satanism. If satanists only discuss within themselves, everyone who thinks of satan as the evil of the universe will forever keep thinking that satanists worship evil. But only upon discussion with them you would understand the concept of their religion. So its crucial purely from a human connectivity point of view.

Then about we being inferior creatures so we will never have the wisdom of the idol we idolise or what ever definition we may place on someone like the Buddha, yes i agree that we may not have the wisdom to understand his words from his perspective. I also agree that we dont have the Buddha in our times to actually speak to him and verify so we maybe a long way off. But yet again, if we dont even try, even if we fail, why did a wise man then speak his words? Maybe he spoke wisely believing that no one will write his words down and wont pose a dilemma for people come a thousand years? Is that wise?

What happens in a lot of religions is that the authority declares the same thing you say, the man is dead, he was too wise for us to even get close, so listen to me since i am the authority. I dont know in the long run if this ultimately contributes to a much evolved world due to both sides fighting with eachother and eventually we all evolve into more advance people but this is the result of the same line of thought.

We must honestly explore and try to understand, but we must do it with the humility you have displayed in your post. If we could combine both approaches, it will be awesome.

 

[Jim]

In my time within this forum, I have seen many discussions about what Jesus meant, What God meant, What other founders of religions meant. But the more I think about it. How do people of today actually know or think they know what these enlightened beings from the past actually know or think about when they were teaching? When I cultivated Buddhism I too thought i understood what Buddha was actually saying. But I realized I was far from understanding it on Buddhas level or even were close to understanding it as it should be understood. The problem I faced was that. I could not ask him. Sakyamuni, what did you actually mean? So my realization is that for us to be able to discuss on a higher level, we are in need of having the founder actually here today to be able to ask questions, Not that they going to give a fully clear answer because it is up to our own cultivation to understand the teaching. But at least we do not need to worry about the text is wrongly translated or it missing teachings, because the teacher is already here today, and this is the reason I converted to Falun Gong. And in Falun Gong I can say our master is here today in life, so even he lives in a different country then I do, technically it would be possible to get some clarification if some issue does happen.

So my question is, Why are we discussing topics that actually are impossible to answer? would it not be better to keep the discussion within our own choice of the spiritual path? Christians discuss with Christians, Jews with Jews and so on?

Does it really help you in your spiritual path to have a discussion with someone who says, No you get it wrong, God, Buddha, or other enlightened beings did mean it like this, then they come with their understanding of what God, Buddha or others meant? HOW DO THE KNOW? It is their own understanding of what God, Buddha or others meant, not the actual meaning. But if we do have the master/founder/ teacher alive, we can say our Teacher says this, Then we quote what the Teacher says. that means it is the true words of the teacher, not a guess of what the teacher means. But we can of course say, My understanding of the teaching is this. then we give our own understanding of the teaching. But clearly note that it might not be fully what the Teacher actually know by their wisdom.

Note: I too have done the mistake of discussing topics I today see I was not qualified to discuss because I did not understand fully the teaching. But I realized the importance of being able to speak with the founder of the spiritual teaching, or at least be able to speak with those who are/were close to the teacher, Normally they will have a deeper understanding of what the truth of the teaching is.

The reasons for discussing what the founders mean might not always be good ones, and it might not always be beneficial. I’ll tell you what I think my reasons are, and how I think it’s beneficial, and see what you think. My spiritual teacher is an imaginary person that I think of as the author of some religious scriptures. I read His writings to help me learn to live the best life that I can. One way that my understanding of what He says improves is by seeing what happens when I try to practice it. Another way is by trying to understand what it means to other people who are trying to practice it. Sometimes my understanding might help some other people in the same way. That’s why I discuss it with other people sometimes.

 

[Jim]

Discussion within the same spiritual path is of course of benefit to practitioners, but to discuss across spiritual teachings is not going to help us understand our own path. Example a Christian would have little help in his or her advancement if they speak with a Muslim, in the form that the reachings are different. But if Christian speak with a Christian, they will be able to discuss the same topic from a different level of understanding. No need for someone to study the text of a different path then the one they themself are on.

A discussion between a Muslim and a Christian about their understanding of the words of Jesus can be just as fruitful and beneficial as some discussions between two Christians or between two Muslims, sometimes even more.

 

[Jim]

Discussion within the same spiritual path is of course of benefit to practitioners, but to discuss across spiritual teachings is not going to help us understand our own path. Example a Christian would have little help in his or her advancement if they speak with a Muslim, in the form that the reachings are different. But if Christian speak with a Christian, they will be able to discuss the same topic from a different level of understanding. No need for someone to study the text of a different path then the one they themself are on.

Paths between two Christians or two Muslims can be farther apart than the path of some Muslims and the path of some Christians.

 

[Jim]

Why should it be good if people from different faiths try to tell others they are wrong and my path is better then yours?

Do you think that it’s good if people try to tell others in their same faith that they are wrong and my path is better then yours?