leonardcohenforum.com

Apropos of Christ

There is a language of Love
in which the world
is cruel no more.
There is a dying and
a resurrection.

Dying
to the past, to
attachment, resentment, fear
and separation.

A coming to life
in this full-fledged Now.
Boundless.
Beautiful.
Surrendering itself to itself.
Ever-present
Mystery.

Abandon all beliefs
& ye shall find.

"Ye believe in God, believe also in me."

John 14:1

Seek the meaning of those words. What do you find? What does it mean to believe in him?

According to John the evangelist one thing. According to the Gospel of Thomas, for instance, quite another.

I encourage you to go beyond thoughts, ideas, concepts, images and belief. Seek God where He has no name. Seek your own nameless essence.

Look to the Christian mystics for guidance. Eckhart, or Dionysios the Areopagite. Anyone interested in this theme would also benefit from Elaine Pagels' book Beyond Belief.

~Taigaku

Taigaku, this poem- concise, honest, brave; alluding to that beyond words and beyond belief.
I like the way you think

Kind regards, Witty Owl.

Taigaku, you seem to have an inner peace that eludes us all. Keep writing.
Your words are fundamental thoughts.
Georges

Well my dear Taigaku

you encourage us to go beyond thoughts, ideas, concepts, images, and belief, and to seek God where he has no name.

This offcourse is not an thought, an idea, a concept or a belief

Regards

Peter

peter danielsen wrote:This offcourse is not an thought, an idea, a concept or a belief

Well, if you insist! By all means, let's call it just that.

I merely point to something - being willing to see what it is I am pointing to is a prerequisite to actually finding it. It's that simple.. And if you don't want to see, that is your prerogative. I believe someone termed this phenomenon 'free will'...

On the other hand I am very happy that some of you seem to appreciate me voicing this kind of thing. Thank you.

May the lights in the land of plenty shine on the truth some day

~Taigaku

Apropos of ...

me and Peter both using LC quotes to illustrate our points

It suddenly reminded me of how different passages from, and different interpretations of, the Bible has been used to give legitimacy to very dissimilar behavior and belief, both on the personal level and in respect to whole groups of people.

Words have power. Like all forms of power, they can be abused.

~Taigaku

Yes, Taigaku!

Well said. Your poem is simply and perfectly true.

One thing I would like to point out to Peter is that, in his words,
"....thought, an idea, a concept or belief", was the absence of the word knowledge. Perhaps "offcourse" (sic) was correct?

As Carl Jung said, "The needful thing is not to know the truth, but to experience it."

You cannot truly 'know' what you have not witnessed or experienced, personally.

Also, those who "believe" they 'know' what the Bible (or any other mystical writing) is saying, would do well to remember the Apostle Peter's admonition, in reference to Paul's letters:

"...speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which those who are untaught and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures." 2nd Peter 3:16

Love & Light,
~ Makera

PS For a better perspective on my comments here, anyone interested is welcome to read one of my contributions on Allpoetry (that's where I've been lately)... http://allpoetry.com/Poem/585954

A footnote:

When asked in an interview if he believed in God, Carl Jung replied,
"I don't have to believe - I know!"

"We must never forget that Christ was an innovator and revolutionary, executed with criminals. The reformers and great religious geniuses were heretics." ~ Carl Jung

Truth, Love & Light
~Makera