The devil AKA Satan.
Do you believe in the devil?
Many fundamentalist Christians would obviously say "yes" with the sage and knowing comment that the greatest trick of the devil is to convince us that he doesn't exist.
Myself, I think his greatest trick is to convince us that he he does.....which doesn't really make sense I know, but is rather funny when you think about it.
The Dharma, Buddhism, does have its own version of the "lord of darkness", Mara. Mara often acts as someone who would seek to convince us that "enlightenment/salvation" can never be ours.
Once, on a Buddhist forum, another poster spoke of his own outlook. He only believed in bodhisattvas, surrounding us, "enlightenment beings" who have renounced the joys of nirvana in order to share our sufferings, making them their own, aiding and supporting. Angels in a sense I suppose. I saw his outlook as life giving. I still do.
I don't think we need believe in fairies to reap the benefits. A "bodhisattva" can be in the smile of a child, an act of a stranger. Tangible. Real. Lifegiving.
No poll here I'm not interested in any vote. Truth is not democratic.
Many fundamentalist Christians would obviously say "yes" with the sage and knowing comment that the greatest trick of the devil is to convince us that he doesn't exist.
Myself, I think his greatest trick is to convince us that he he does.....which doesn't really make sense I know, but is rather funny when you think about it.
The Dharma, Buddhism, does have its own version of the "lord of darkness", Mara. Mara often acts as someone who would seek to convince us that "enlightenment/salvation" can never be ours.
Once, on a Buddhist forum, another poster spoke of his own outlook. He only believed in bodhisattvas, surrounding us, "enlightenment beings" who have renounced the joys of nirvana in order to share our sufferings, making them their own, aiding and supporting. Angels in a sense I suppose. I saw his outlook as life giving. I still do.
I don't think we need believe in fairies to reap the benefits. A "bodhisattva" can be in the smile of a child, an act of a stranger. Tangible. Real. Lifegiving.
No poll here I'm not interested in any vote. Truth is not democratic.
