I have to 100 agree with lungshushan. And at the risk of starting the flame war here, I’m going to have to say that isn’t it strange that while they spend so much time trying to cast down the “occult” ideals of others and claiming that they cannot find the peace they want, all the while they are the ones actually starting up the mess?
I can’t count how many times I’ve been minding my own business practicing in my yard, a park, on the beach or wherever and then only to be interrupted by some bible thumper trying to tell me I’m the embodyment of Satan and that meditation leads to the devils influence…
By the way, throwing around the word Occult IS offensive. Know why? Because everytime another religious extremist comes out throwing it around they are using it with venom in their intent. Kinda like your little link you posted there.
By the way what do you have against paying honor to those past? So what if people honor Buddha or Guan Yu. Isn’t that the same exact thing you are doing with Jesus?
Oh that link is full of it too…you want to know the light in Satan, he was once an angle…oh and about God and evil…didn’t he once flood the entire planet??? Oh and didn’t he sorta admit that it was just a tad wrong when he vowed to never do such an act again?
I’m not trying to bash religion, but its not exactly without its screw-ups either.
I’m not going to get into a religious battle now because its not worth my time. But seriously you are digging deep into something that you don’t even have to acknowledge. But at the same time you come here claiming to be finding a path of non-involvement and neutrality in spreading you own view, you slam it straight out bashing what others here might think with such a careless link…
Hmmmm…there was a time when Christians believed in reincarnation…
There might be a lot of schools that have a dragon scroll or a statue of Guan Yu…does that mean you have to acknowledge it? No most of the time its just there for decoration anyways.
Honestly if you are that worked up about something so trivial then you might just be better off in a boxing gym. Simple truth is you aren’t going to learn anything anyways if you keep trying to filter it through your stacked up screen…
Just take the lessons as they come and if you don’t like something just don’t do it…you will see there isn’t so much conflict as you think.
By the way there is nothing “touchy” about this topic…most of us go on throughout our daily training and think nothing of it…its only a select few that come along and can’t seem to make peace with their own surroundings.
I’m sorry if I have to much aggression in this post…but after being raised with native american tradition and shamanism, studying into wican and other euro based beliefs then eventually finding my way to Chinese ideals, I have been spit on, bashed and belittled just a bit too much to give much ground to the conservative mainstream religious banter that comes out in America so often…
And before anyone tries to say it, yes I do plan to live in Asia, actually I already did in Japan for 4 years and I will be going back…
My first Sifu who I respect very much was also a firm Christian. He never had any shame in his beliefs but at the same time he never once attempted to hold his to a higher pedastal than those of his students…He could see the value that was present in each’s beliefs and the place it had in our own lives. Not once did he attempt to sway us in any one direction but rather presented all he could and allowed us to find our way, only directed us forward in the way that we ourselves so chose…They are out there, but you are going to have to accept that there will be differences and you must live with that. Its a small world and its only getting smaller…
