Stigweard

Thanks Artform ... I had heard about The Global Ethic Foundation before but I couldn't for the life of me remember the name The precept of "Do unto others" can certainly be a profound common denominator between all faiths and religions. From a Taoist point of view: Chapter 49 TTC One with wholeness of virtue has an unconditioned mind. He regards the mind of all being as his own mind. He is kind to the kind. He is also kind to the unkind, for the subtle nature of the universe is kind. He is faithful to the faithful, He is also faithful to the unfaithful, for the highest integral virtue of the universe is undecieving. In the midst of the world, he dissolves all minds into harmonious Oneness. All people strain their eyes and ears for excitement. One of deep virtue brings all people back to their childlike-heartedness.

amoeba cousins jellyfish brothers, seaweed friends all one 'neath the waves

Welcome resistance_fighter, Find a seat, how do you like your tea? Here's a few polls that are running to get you started: What is the Average Age of a Tao Bum? How edumacated are you? Do You Train Martial Arts? And don't forget to pop yourself on the TaoBums Map

Welcome lightminefire, Find a seat, how do you like your tea? Here's a few polls that are running to get you started: What is the Average Age of a Tao Bum? How edumacated are you? And don't forget to pop yourself on the TaoBums Map

Sometimes simple is good When we remove the politico-controlling element present in certain religions aren't they all trying to provide a means or a conduit for people to become 'ideal citizens'; to be wholesome individuals? Take a step back several thousand years. There was little presence of systems of control, religious or political, due to the fact that, for a large part, people were living more naturally in natural communities. Social structure was intrinsically based on the virtue of family coherence. Then, as the population grew (which certainly did ride on the ever-increasing harnessing of energy resources ... i.e. agriculture, coal, oil etc.) and competitiveness accelerated to unseen proportions, people lost touch with their natural virtue. Systems of population control started to arise and certain people greedily recognised that humanity itself was an energy resource that they could harness and exploit for their own competitive gain. So whilst religions have been used as such controlling systems we also have to give credence to the fact that, due to the sincere efforts of notable saints and sages, religions have also been there, however imperfectly, as custodians and as heralds of the natural virtue that is our inherent birthright. So the question remains ... how can we, in the face of the overwhelming social control, competitiveness and disparate inter-religious ideology, implement practical strategies to assist in the reestablishment natural virtue as the common thread that unites all humanity?

What would they agree on? My answer: That VIRTUE is the fundamental building block and primary goal of all spiritual endeavours.

Yep: Would like to hear how others experience "Qi" ? Martial vs Non Martial Is Chi Something You Can feel?

As well as following some simple rules of engagement when things get 'interesting'

Excellent post my friend!!! You are totally right, so often can we engage in a technique to give us that gratifying sense that, "Hey I am doing something" without being fully aware of whether the technique is 'doing something' constructive. There is a big difference between activity and results. Cheers Gold

I will continue your excellent post by saying that, as per the thread's title, we have to be practical and realistic. In the immediate short term, even if we wanted to, there is no way possible for religions to be abolished. So we have to work with the reality of the situation at hand and explore workable initiatives to try and resolve the discordant manifestations of interfaith disharmonies. And we have to be balanced with the progress. On one hand we do need to have the discerning analysis of folks like Ralis and Goldisheavy etc. who can see where the problems may lay. But if all we do is sit back in our seats and cast judgements based on our 'enlightened' perception then we are hypocritically perpetrating the same 'wrongs' as the religions we are condemning. So on the other hand we also need the folks who can bridge the traditional gaps and bring people together in sincere dialogue in order to co-create practical solutions. The reality is true lasting change cannot be forced on people; they have to want to change and they have to feel that the initiative for that change is coming from themselves not from some bunch of holier-than-thou intelligencia. Hence events like the Interfaith Summit are the frontline of this fundamental change; bringing the traditional stakeholders together in a well structured and inclusive format so that they can find areas of agreement and contribute to formation of a consensus action plan.

How would you like it to be defined?

Have a poke around over at the Qigong Institute. You may find what you are looking for there.

What was created? Well at the very least we managed to get through 4 days together without any disputes LOL. From best that I could tell there was a concensus aggreement from the delegates to actively pursue the objectives in practical ways within their own constituencies. Will it take hold? Time will tell I suppose. I am eagerly awaiting the formal draft of the declaration that was drafted and then see what progress will be initiated. I am also keen to see if the proposed national interfaith council comes to a reality and to see if Ven Master Chin Kung's vision of an interfaith university bears fruit. The Peaceful Warrior yes? It is an interesting balance I agree. To live practically in the world that exhibits the reality of conflict and violence, whilst retaining love and peace in one's heart.

You want a realistic attitude? Imagine this ... 600+ delegates and leaders from every major religion in the world gathered in one room with the intent on exploring the very topic of this thread. They have had to overcome deeply entrenched suspicion and lingering prejudices to even get there in the first place. Now picture some chap who gets up on stage before them and launches into a narration of how wrong they all are to have belief in their faiths and doctrines; about how wrong their religions have been. Exactly how far do you think his narration would go before he was shouted from the stage ... or worse? You want a realistic attitude? When you are standing on the front line of creating fundamental social change, when you are standing shoulder to shoulder with parties that have rankled with mutual animosity for centuries then the absolute worst thing you can possibly do is to openly challenge them by even insinuating that they are "wrong". Even if they are absolutely, without a shadow of a doubt wrong, if your intent is to further the cause of harmony, then you cannot ... cannot ... create the polarity of making any declarations of who is right and wrong. Now imagine those very same parties sitting around the same table opening engaging in dialogue, examining the core issues that have caused ill will between them and exploring concrete strategies to co-create an ever progressive interfaith harmony. And then, after 4 days of intensive dialogue, them all making a solemn commitment to the implementation of those strategies. And why have they been able to do this? Because we were able to engage each other with mutual respect, because we adopted the attitude of 'we are all in this together', because we were able to say to one another, "Your faith, your doctrine, your belief is worthy of respect and appreciation." With this regard we were able to draw together 600+ religious representatives from half a dozen nations in concrete bid for greater peace and harmony. And those 600+ delegates will return to their congregations and communities and be ambassadors for the strategies we agreed upon. So in terms of real and provable results in the world I am sufficiently content with my attitude. How about you?

hmmmm....

Everything you say is true. However progress toward the ideal will not occur whilst the finger-pointing of 'you are wrong' endures. If someone is told they are wrong then they will only further entrench themselves in the feeling they are right. I have lived through the maturation of 3 teenagers so I know all too well the truth of this These rifts will not heal whilst we stand on one side of the chasm and criticize the actions of those on 'the other side'. The truth is we are all one humanity and each and every one of us is responsible in some way for the current state of affairs.