Also, seeing as you’ve been trying for almost a year now to save me and our readers with your trolling, which I really hope one day you will realise is not how a genuine Buddhist should behave, I have no option but to ban you. I’ve run out of patience trying to engage you in conversation. Good bye.

I missed your questions until now. I believe the principles of devotional practice to be simple. Pick a conceptualization for your higher power and give yourself to that spirit. I believe that anything you come up with that exists in Hinduism or any other religion, or even from a comic book, can work if you are sincere in your devotion. I used the example of Ramakrishna as my model in some ways, and as my counter-example in others.

The teachings of Buddhism boil down to a very simple observation. If you want something or cling to something, it creates suffering. So when someone demonstrates extreme clinging, it’s not at all surprising that Buddhists are most likely to recognize it.

Openenlightenment.org is a demonstration of extreme clinging… specifically, clinging to the pompous and pointless idea, “I’ve got enlightenment.” Since Buddhism teaches precisely that attachment to such concepts (like all attachments) creates suffering, it’s perfectly natural that Buddhists can see the delusion in how you cling your beliefs. Seeing this delusion, Buddhists will make some attempt to help you see it yourself, so you can be cured of this disease. It’s amazing that you fail to see this.

Here’s a hint. It’s one thing to talk about your experience. It’s something different to interpret your experience in an arrogant way, by calling it “enlightenment.” The problems you have aren’t because of your experience, or because of talking about your experience. They arise from your clinging to an idea of I/my/me, and an idea of enlightenment… and steadfastly refusing to even examine why you cling to ideas, rather than attend to actual experience.

Stuart
http://stuart-randomthoughts.blogspot.com/

ah stepping off the pedestal onto the ground floor like the rest of us…the duality within the duality…

listen to the sound of your own breath…and you will discover there is no ground floor nor is there a pedestal to step off of…

It’s one more reason to like Brad Warner, too

Thanks. The gurubusting business has been incredibly busy this last week. And thankfully, there’s a few more folks out there doing it.