Do you think there is any meaning in this statement?

Oh yes, that is the absolute truth...you hit it right;))

Ha ha Righty...you made it sound disgusting...;))

I'm spell bound, yes Virginia...you are absolutely right. Attachment mean feeling of either attraction or aversion to anything, which you may develop in your interaction with world. Your attachments hold you back.Desire is the cause. Attachment is the result. Once an attachment is formed, it keeps the desire alive by inflaming it. Thus, desire and attachment create a complete circle in which beings become caught and experience a wide range of emotions. A person who is freed from past attachments, whose mind is established in knowledge, and who engages in desireless sacrificial actions, his actions become neutralized and his karma becomes dissolved.

VeenaDear, your beautiful post makes my heart sing.

Oh..".im glad ....dear;))

Hi, VirginiaL

I want to be very careful here.  As I have mentioned Lewis said that good as it grows differentiates itself not only from evil but also from other good.  

Western philosophy says that you can't be in two places at once.  Eastern philosophy says you can.  Whichever one you assume is correct becomes a basic principle by which you interpret subsequent experience with reality.

Personally, going in diametrically opposite directions seldom gets you to the same place unless you happen to be living on a sphere.

My suggestion would be to learn and practice one before you try to incorporate the other into your life, lest you ride a pendulum all your life.

Regards... This post was edited by tom jackson at April 18, 2017 9:53 AM MDT

Hi Tom, in the spirit of the lovely dialectic you and I share...I myself, I don't really see the oppositeness  between Eastern and Western philosophy...
I understood Eastern first, then from that foundation Western began to make sense to me, for the first time. To me they are saying the same things, same basic foundation.

And now that I have encountered Yeshua ben Joseph, along with a few of the Catholic saints, I would never relinquish either, never try to choose between them...however, I'm not totally sure I have really addressed the points you are making?

FJ Sheed in Theology and Sanity suggested a method useful in trying to "appreciate" (my word---for lack of a better one at the moment) the apparently contradictory notion of 1 God, 3 persons.

It turns out you seem to have used a similar method of dealing with the apparent contradictions in Eastern and Western thought in these matters and have essentially avoided a real potential problem that can arise from trying to distill the good from occasionally inconsistent statements.

So my cautionary answer above turned out to be inapplicable---I am glad. This post was edited by tom jackson at April 20, 2017 9:29 AM MDT

Oh Tom, I love the Trinity SO much...it is one of those elemental factors, found in all the great religions...maybe you knew?
And yes, completely compatible with One God....the mystery of Creation.

* * * 
At the same time, I do want to acknowledge the validity of the point you were making, at least as I see it...there is a time when we DO need to choose the outward form that makes most sense to us, and then just allow that tradition to take us deeper to the underlying unity. 

I am not completely sure because I love them all, but Christianity may be the religion I now love best...but that would be because of Yeshua ben Joseph. And I think he grieves at how his message of love has been so misunderstood.

I appreciate your fine dialog, your conscientious research, ty This post was edited by Benedict Arnold at April 20, 2017 9:43 AM MDT

"Choose the outward form."  CS Lewis would agree with you here as well---If you want to understand the great dance, pick one dancer and follow him throughout.

Also, in a similar vein, one of my physics professors at the undergraduate level told us to become "excellent" at either of two systems of units---MKS or cgs---[MKS is the system of units based on measuring lengths in meters, mass in kilograms, and time in seconds. MKS is generally used in engineering and beginning physics, where the so-called cgs system (based on the centimeter, gram, and second) is commonly used in theoretic physics.]

And as an aside, I am occasionally again amazed when I realize how my physics background synergizes so well with my philosophy and theology background.  There is much value in studying what we can observe and understand and infer in nature and thus have an expectation and direction with which to approach the supernatural. This post was edited by tom jackson at April 20, 2017 9:53 AM MDT

Hi Tom, you know, your physics background you mention, with amazement and perhaps I see some delight too? 
Well I am convinced that when we really apply ourselves to something wholeheart, then... all roads lead to Rome...

And we humankind tend to be quite unique there...for example John Muir, the great conservationist, wrote something on the order of; "The quickest way into the universe is through a forest wilderness."

Which makes sense, I guess, as all creation descends out of the Mystery...we just turn around and follow it back to the Source...

Delight?---Absolutely.  One of Lewis's books was Surprised by Joy.  (The subject was different, but the title is so descriptive of my faith journey.)  

I may be boring you with CS Lewis, but that is one of his points in his series, "The Chronicles of Narnia."  ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tash_(Narnia )   The "all roads" concept.

And while each of us does have our own story (and God will only reveal our story to us), the more information one has, the more one can choose the best road for himself, given his gifts and his time and place of insertion into the universe.

Dear Tom,
I wish for you...ever more and more bursting!

* * *
No, C.S. Lewis mention does not bore me. Like many others, I was the beneficiary of his wisdom, although for me it was quite transient, his writing was a rather quickly-taken stepping-stone. You and Didge are two who have drunk more deeply, and I take delight at that.

One of his lines by a character in The great Divorce was "Truth is made for the intellect as water was made for thirst."

Lewis can be read on many levels---each with its unique fruit.

Return often for the "refreshment" for the intellect---the water tastes even fresher and sweeter each time you return, and it also synergizes your growth.

Oh wow Didge so awesome....so profoundly put...thank U!

First time I've ever been accused of profundity. :) 

Ha ha you know you are ....we know you are too;))