Oliver Cromwell was a very civilised, intelligent and progressive individual. He was also a devout Christian. Why, then, did he agree to ‘ban’ Christmas? He carried out this progressive measure because he thought that it was a great evil for the State to ‘enforce’ a religious celebration upon its citizens. As a consequence, Cromwell oversaw the legislation that ‘banned’ the State sanctioning of a national holiday that had, in his and many other Christian’s eye, no connection with legitimate Christian practice.
Tag: religion
The Life Time of the Supreme Buddha – Shakyamuni – In Pictures
Original Chinese Source Text: China Buddhism Altar – by Kong Zhu (Translated by Adrian Chan-Wyles PhD) The origination: Saluting our teacher Shakyamuni Buddha! Saluting our
Sit like an Iron Mountain
This is the Venerable Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche. I know nothing about him – other than from his name he must be a Tibetan Buddhist
The Greater Over the Lesser Path
Therefore the teachings on karma and rebirth are applicable to the pre-enlightenment state and are not ultimately ‘real’ as they disappear with the realisation of profound emptiness. It is debatable that the Pali Suttas are ‘Hinayanic’, as all Mahayana thought clearly exists within their construct.
Two Remarkable Aspects of the Buddha’s Teaching
In at least two respects, the teachings of the Buddha were quite remarkable. In the first place, he insisted on the virtue of moderation. He
The Difference Between Gong-an and Ko-an Practice
It is bizarre to consider that as Japan descended into fascism and racism prior to WWII – the distorted, nationalistic Zen Buddhism of that time was popular in the West amongst intellectuals, despite a number of its masters expressing openly hostile attitudes toward the Western people. It is even more bizarre to consider that after WWII – many of these very same masters remained popular as they quietly pushed their formerly racist rhetoric into the background, and applied a more ‘neutral’ policy toward the acquisition of Enlightenment.
