The calling

I just got done watching the four-hour PBS documentry, The Calling. The documentry follows Muslims, Catholics, Evangelical Christians and Jews. (Where are the Asian religions? Oops!).

I guess one can describe all of them as having been called by God to do his work. The calling for each, however, appears to be subjective this calling going no further than the religious culture each elects to follow which is hardly spiritual.

Lets face it, the followers of the major religions of today generally use religion for other than its intended purpose, its intended purposed being to realize ones true nature which is absolute spirit. A historical case in point. The Christian Paul said that the New Covenant is one of spirit (pneuma); not one based upon letters. Paul even says that the Lord is spirit ((O de kyrios to pneuma estin). It is safe to say from Pauls letters that those who take Christianity at a literal level belong to the Old Covenant which keeps the spiritual covenant veiled.

But the obvious references to spirit or pneuma in Pauls letters, as we know, did not stop the followers of Christianity from making a counterfeit Christianity which is arguably, anti-spiritual; which has been used primarily as a means of social controlmainly to keep the rich, rich and the poor, poor. As a result of many years of being despiritualized, the Christian ministry, itself, has been transformed into a ministry of condemnation (II. Corinthians 3:9). Does all this sound familiar dear Buddhists? It should.

The same mind that made a counterfeit Christianity is busy destroying Buddhism; turing it into something which is spiritually dead. It always seems to be the case that what emerges after the flowering of true religion, over time, paradoxically turns into a system which destroys true religion, making the soil for its growth and development, barren. Thus religion eventually becomes its own hangman. What is originally spirit, over time, beco! mes veil ed. The clergy not only become the guardians of the veil, they also become overseers and guardians of herd values, values which insure the veil will never be lifted!

Buddhism is the last stronghold of true religion which is still growing in the soil of mysticism which includes shamanism. But its destruction is likely given the fact that it is being rapidly westernized which is to say, it is being turned into a religion that celebrates herd values; that, in addition, makes the profane man (prithagjana) the great hero despite the fact that this mans history in recent memory has been one of genocide and the destruction of earths biosphere.