doc benway Posted June 9, 2013 I haven't followed anything here in a long time but I read the first few posts in this thread completely out of any context and, as usual Deci Belle.... _/\_ Â Lineage is meaningful only when alive and embodied in form and spirit. Otherwise what do we have but a list of names and claims - might as well burn it. The truth knows the truth when she sees herself... Â I love the story told by Anthony Demello which is marginally related to your earlier posts but I take any opportunity as an excuse to share it: Â "Let me end this with a lovely story. There was a man who invented the art of making fire. He took his tools and went to a tribe in the north, where it was very cold, bitterly cold. He taught the people there to make fire. The people were very interested. He showed them the uses to which they could put fire - they could cook, could keep themselves warm, etc. They were so grateful that they had learned the art of making fire. But before they could express their gratitude to the man, he disappeared. He wasn't concerned with getting their recognition or gratitude; he was concerned about their well being. He went to another tribe, where he again began to show them the value of his invention. People were interested there, too, a bit too interested for the peace of mind of their priests, who began to notice that this man was drawing crowds and they were losing their popularity. So they decided to do away with him. They poisoned him, crucified him, put it any way you like. But they were afraid now that the people might turn against them, so they were very wise, even wily. Do you know what they did? They had a portrait of the man made and mounted it on the main altar of the temple. The instruments for making fire were placed in front of the portrait, and the people were taught to revere the portrait and to pay reverence to the instruments of fire, which they dutifully did for centuries. The veneration and the worship went on, but there was no fire. Where's the fire? Where's the love? Where's the drug uprooted from your system? Where's the freedom? This is what spirituality is all about. Tragically, we tend to lose sight of this, don't we? This is what Jesus Christ is all about. But we overemphasized the "Lord, Lord", didn't we? Where's the fire? And if worship isn't leading to the fire, if adoration isn't leading to love, if the liturgy isn't leading to a clearer perception of reality, if God isn't leading to life, of what use is religion except to create more division, more fanaticism, more antagonism? It is not from lack of religion in the ordinary sense of the word that the world is suffering, it is from lack of love, lack of awareness. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
deci belle Posted August 27, 2013 (edited) WTF Â Where's the love? Where do you want it, Steve? Â Â Â Â ed note: add 2nd line. Edited August 27, 2013 by deci belle Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
