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From: dhosek@jarthur.Claremont.edu (---)
Newsgroups: soc.religion.eastern
Subject: Re: Love vrs Hate in Buddhist meditation
Message-ID: <14672@phoenix.Princeton.EDU>
Date: 19 Mar 90 14:36:39 GMT
References: <14591@phoenix.Princeton.EDU>
Sender: mukund@phoenix.Princeton.EDU
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Approved: mukund@phoenix.Princeton.EDU

In article <14591@phoenix.Princeton.EDU> rsp@PacBell.COM (Steve Price) writes:
>Christmas (I love that name for a Buddhist writer!) says on page 140:
>"...those who hold that love is the guiding principle of life must remember
>that love, like any other principle, would be meaningless without its opposite."

>Is love NOT the guiding principle of the universe?
>What is he implying about HATE?  that it is "necessary"? inevitable? useful?

>How does this assertion balance with the assertion that "Compassion" for all
>must be the goal of walking the Path?  I thought that Buddhism says that love
>for all must be the purpose behind every pilgrim journey.

Where do you get "'Compassion' for all must be the goal of walking the Path"
from? The Four Great Vows of Buddhism (according to the Platform Sutra, S21)
are:

I vow to save all sentient beings everywhere.I vow to cut off all the passions
everywhere. I vow to study all the Buddhist teachings everywhere. I vow to
achieve the unsurpassed Buddha Way.

Zen Buddhism, I know, has no goal ("There is no knowledge, no attainment,
nothing to attain" -The Heart Sutra). I'm not sure if that's the case in
other sects of Buddhism, but I think that at the least some aspect of this
shows up there.

It appears that you are having difficulty letting go of your Western 
perspective when approaching Buddhism. That's OK, it's a difficult project,
but it's important to remember that Buddhism is _very_ different from
most Western religion and thought.

-dh
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