Holte's corner

Hi Chris,

Thanks for your illuminationg comments on the 7 principles. I agree with you, but just wasn't able to fully articulate it the way you did.

Namu Myoho Renge Kyo,
Ryuei

This is an important article, especially considering our own flawed democracy. In a recent letter to the editor at our local newspaper here at the University of Illinois, a writer suggested some glaring problems with our national government and his solutions.

1. If someone votes to send our young off to war, they should put their own kin on the front lines as well.

2. Congress/Senators must live under the same retirement system (Social Security) that the rest of us citizens must live under.

3. Congress must never be given a pay or benefit increase without a proportional increase in the minimum wage or social service benefit to the needy.

4. With our continued involvement in war, Veteran's benefits - especially medical and disability services should increase and not decrease.

Decomracy is a great system until the those writing the laws believe that they are above it.

Charles

Chris,

I was wondering about your view of death? and life perhaps. All we know are human perspectives, and everyone has messages from God or the heavens, but no one actually comes down or up here to speak to the press or hold a press conference and illuminate. You may hold dear to you heart what you think is precious about life, others like Charlie Manson may not, and what is the difference? Is one good and bad? What if Charlie Manson was the majority and you (Chris) were the minority? Is there is right and wrong, or good and bad, or is there just your views, my views, and everyone else's views. No one that claims to be a Buddha has any special view, don't be fooled.

In 1979, I died for five minutes, there were no signs of life in my body, I was thought to have been dead, but when my eyes opened a nurse holding my hand at an accident site yelled "He's alive, he is not dead".

Nichiren chanted for his mom to be reborn, we have all heard of miraculous stories, but when I awoke, there was no one there chanting for me, no one praying for me, no one cursing me, no one thinking of me, no one burning incense or candles.. BUT WHAT IF.. then i may have connected he dots wrong and came to the wrong conclusion..

Thanks Buddy, I liked you blog..
Maltz

Cat Stevens had a song "Only my dyin will tell" before he converted to Islam that expresses the conundrum of what it means to be human. Still my own physical senses and experience tells me that there is not likely to be a literal heaven or a literal hell -- nor is there a "Humaniform" God -- at least as described by the more childish accounts.

There is a story of Brigham Young, how he didn't hear "God" talking to him until he had a vision in his sleep in which he conversed with his Master and his master told him to listen to the "still quiet voice". After that he led the movement with a mix of determination and sometimes literalism that was astounding.

The heavens spoke to me and told me to write a poem years ago, this is one of the more recent Stanzas:

"There ain't no burning bush,
No beckoning pillar of fire,
There ain't no kind of miracles,
to take us from this mire.

We've dug our holes and spilled our hates,
and poured out bile and lies,
And we face the consequences each living day,
Blinded by our own mistakes.

We build our heavenly spires,
High up above the skyline and tall,
And we burn our hells on our lonesome
it takes nearly as much energy to make them fall.

Yeah, I saw the burning Bush,
the beckoning pillar of fire
That made a smoking sign by day,
and a fiery beacon by the night.
But God didn't mandate man put that here.
Men did that in their hate and fear.
The choice between paradise and hell is inward.
WE Choose life, the plow, or the sword."
WE are the fools who have to live with the ashes.

Chris