Nicholas
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Post by Nicholas on Jan 7, 2019 22:18:49 GMT
St Maximos (d. 662) is a major influence on Christian sages, the Orthodox in particular. Here is a site that gives excerpts from his writings as found in the compilation Philokalia.
Philokalia readings
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Post by DKTrav88 on Jan 8, 2019 0:46:34 GMT
Would you say there are similarities between Buddhists and Christian monks/mystics?
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Post by Διαμονδ on Jan 8, 2019 1:10:38 GMT
@eodnhoj7 Different. Christianity the image of monks is taken from John the Baptist and Jesus. Buddhists have absolutely strange mysticism.
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Post by Elizabeth on Jan 8, 2019 1:12:28 GMT
Philokalia seems a religion based on philosophy just by looking at the name. Also it's not mentioned in the bible so I'd think it was a philosophy book or class just by seeing the name alone.
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Post by Διαμονδ on Jan 8, 2019 1:20:56 GMT
ElizabethThis is the love of good deeds. Since it is based on Christian and biblical standards, it only works within the Christian Church and religion.
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Post by Elizabeth on Jan 8, 2019 1:24:41 GMT
Actually now makes me think philokalia is the fear of philosophy. Either way seems a strange word.
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Nicholas
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Post by Nicholas on Jan 8, 2019 1:26:38 GMT
Would you say there are similarities between Buddhists and Christian monks/mystics? Regarding the monastic lifestyle yes, but the motivation & practices differ widely. The Theravada school wants wisdom, liberation from automatic rebirth and pure virtues. Mahayana is motivated by the bodhisattva ideal - helping all become buddhas over endless lives, as well as becoming buddhas themselves.
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Post by Διαμονδ on Jan 8, 2019 8:47:37 GMT
@eodnhoj7 Different. Christianity the image of monks is taken from John the Baptist and Jesus. Buddhists have absolutely strange mysticism. Strange is a relative term, you will have to elaborate. Strange it is Mahayana and the principles on which it is built. And so on. It is absolutely strange why a Buddhist is interested in Philokalia when it is built on Gospel truths and absolutely alien to Buddhism and any philosophy.
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Nicholas
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Post by Nicholas on Jan 8, 2019 13:22:52 GMT
Regarding the monastic lifestyle yes, but the motivation & practices differ widely. The Theravada school wants wisdom, liberation from automatic rebirth and pure virtues. Mahayana is motivated by the bodhisattva ideal - helping all become buddhas over endless lives, as well as becoming buddhas themselves. And becoming Christ and having knowledge of God is that different? You let me know when you get there.
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Nicholas
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Post by Nicholas on Jan 8, 2019 13:35:00 GMT
Strange it is Mahayana and the principles on which it is built. And so on. It is absolutely strange why a Buddhist is interested in Philokalia when it is built on Gospel truths and absolutely alien to Buddhism and any philosophy. Why do I care about the teachings in Philokalia? Because I care about right living. As Buddha taught in the Dhammapada: 168. Arise! Do not be heedless! Lead a righteous life. The righteous live happily both in this world and the next. 169. Lead a righteous life; lead not a base life. The righteous live happily both in this world and the next.
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Post by Διαμονδ on Jan 8, 2019 13:54:04 GMT
Strange it is Mahayana and the principles on which it is built. And so on. It is absolutely strange why a Buddhist is interested in Philokalia when it is built on Gospel truths and absolutely alien to Buddhism and any philosophy. Why do I care about the teachings in Philokalia? Because I care about right living. As Buddha taught in the Dhammapada: 168. Arise! Do not be heedless! Lead a righteous life. The righteous live happily both in this world and the next. 169. Lead a righteous life; lead not a base life. The righteous live happily both in this world and the next. If youre cared for these teachings seriously, you would know: The Elder answered: The Lord Himself said to the apostles after the resurrection: exchanging, teach all the tongues to baptize them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, to teach them to observe all, Heavenly commandments to you (Matthew 28, 19. 20)Therefore, it does not work outside of the Christian Church. As for the Buddha, we cannot be sure what he said. After all, he lived 2500 years ago.
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Nicholas
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Post by Nicholas on Jan 8, 2019 15:36:28 GMT
Back to the topic; more from St Maximos:
St Maximos the Confessor
Four Hundred Texts on Love
First Century
1. Love is a holy state of the soul, disposing it to value knowledge of God above all created things. We cannot attain lasting possession of such love while we are still attached to anything worldly.
2. Dispassion engenders love, hope in God engenders dispassion, and patience and forbearance engender hope in God; these in turn are the product of complete self-control, which itself springs from fear of God. Fear of God is the result of faith in God.
3. If you have faith in the Lord you will fear punishment, and this fear will lead you to control the passions. Once you control the passions you will accept affliction patiently, and through such acceptance you will acquire hope in God. Hope in God separates the intellect from every worldly attachment, and when the intellect is detached in this way it will acquire love for God.
4. The person who loves God values knowledge of God more than anything created by God, and pursues such knowledge ardently and ceaselessly...
9. Since the light of spiritual knowledge is the intellect’s life, and since this light is engendered by love for God, it is rightly said that nothing is greater than divine love (cf. 1 Cor. 13:13).
10. When in the intensity of its love for God the intellect goes out of itself, then it has no sense of itself or of any created thing. For when it is illumined by the infinite light of God, it becomes insensible to everything made by Him, just as the eye becomes insensible to the stars when the sun rises.
11. All the virtues co-operate with the intellect to produce this intense longing for God, pure prayer above all. For by soaring towards God through this prayer the intellect rises above the realm of created beings.
12. When the intellect is ravished through love by divine knowledge and stands outside the realm of created beings, it becomes aware of God’s infinity.
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Post by Eugene 2.0 on Jan 8, 2019 17:55:20 GMT
Would you say there are similarities between Buddhists and Christian monks/mystics? Yes, absolutely. Practices aside: If you do just a little researchin the base traditions of Catholicism, Orthodoxy, Buddhist and Taoist religious services there are alot of similarities. The primary difference between these Christian Sects and the corresponding Eastern Ones comes down to a Subjective vs Objective approach to understanding reality. The reason for originating monasteries was not a way of escaping of this world, but as the opposition to the white Christianity which was legalized by Constantine the Great in 33... (I don't remember the date) year A.C. Besides, there were many different types of monks as monasteries too. Some monks were led by mistique intentions, some of them were led by social intentions. The same reason for Catholics monasteries with Francis and Thomas ways. I think the same is for Buddhists monks too. There was Nyaa school as the example of way of straight thinking, not misterious way.
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KGrim
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Post by KGrim on Nov 8, 2019 1:28:35 GMT
St Hesychios (121)
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KGrim
Full Member
Coming back to Arktos...for a little while anyways...just to see how things are doing.
Posts: 442
Likes: 238
Country: USA
Region: South East
Location: East Texas
Ancestry: Scotch-Irish
Politics: Conservative
Religion: Eastern Orthodox
Hero: Jesus
Age: 33 soon to be 34
Philosophy: Hesychasm
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Post by KGrim on May 15, 2020 3:04:08 GMT
Some hold that the practice of the virtues constitutes the truest form of spiritual knowledge. In that case, we should make every effort to manifest our faith and knowledge through our actions. Whoever trusts blindly to knowledge alone should call to mind the words: "They claim to know God, but in their actions they deny Him" (Titus 1:16) - St John of Karpathos, "Texts for the Monkds of India" (17)
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