Posted by giveawayboy on February 19, 2003 at 07:40:18:
In Reply to: one more before bed posted by giveawayboy on February 19, 2003 at 01:42:31:
Bob: But then, after a couple of years, I got the point -- It isn't about showing respect to the material items themselves... it is about maintaining a mindfulness of what they represent. Showing them respect is a habit that forces you be maintain mindfulness of more than just the material.
Bill: I began to realize this as I began to receive help from some Buddhist teachings, esp. the Bhaddekaratta Sutta and also from some other Hindu books, esp. The Ramayana. I began to realize that although I do not regard them as scripture as I do the books in my own religious tradition I have to at least acknowledge that to others they are holy books. I think this humbled me.
WHEN I POSTED THIS ORIGINALLY I LOST MY TRAIN OF THOUGHT AND POSTED GIBBERISH> Here's what I meant to say:
I began to realize that although I do not regard them as scripture as I do the books in my own religious tradition I have to at least acknowledge that to others they are holy books. I think this humbled me. I began to be mindful of the presence of these other people and the things they held sacred. Here I'm not commenting on my comparison of Christianity with other systems of thought. What I'm trying to point at is the fact that I became aware of whole sections of humanity and the world that before this were mere footnotes in an encyclopedia. I began to see myself in relation to all these people. I began to be mindful of them.