Jim, still pissed off while claiming he's not: > > I'm beginning to think that since they both now grow their > spiritual roots in the medium of a failed tradition (Tibetan > Buddhism), *all* traditions are then seen as failed.
Not at all. I can't speak for Vaj, but I view *all* spiritual traditions, both current and of the past, as JUST OPINION. Therefore I view Tibetan Buddhism as JUST OPINION as well. Some of its OPINIONs I agree with, some I don't. Big whoop. > Seeing the world through x colored glasses, and all that. Better my color glasses than those worn by someone who would seriously suggest that TM 1) eliminates suffering and 2) creates world peace, and present that as if it were established fact. I would say instead, "Some TMers are of the OPINION that TM 1) eliminates suffering and 2) creates world peace. They hold this OPINION despite the rather obvious fact that the world has never been at peace, and despite the equally obvious fact that the vast majority (and probably more than that, given the numbers of people who have stopped practicing TM) have not eliminated their suffering." Then I would say, "It's perfectly fine for Jim to believe this, as his OPINION. When he starts claiming it as fact, then he's crossed the line into at best solipcism and at worst fanaticism."
