nice post. more comments below- --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, TurquoiseB <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > It seems to me, based on my reading here and on a > number of other spiritual forums, that a lot can be > learned about spiritual movements and about the > spiritual seekers within them by how they respond > to the "D" word -- DOUBT. > > In some spiritual movements and traditions, doubt is > looked upon as a *healthy* thing. I remember meeting > a Paulist (Catholic) priest who told me that within > his order, no one was ever trusted with a position of > power within the Church until after they'd gone > through their own "dark night of the soul" and had > some serious doubts about the Church and Christ and > their relationships with both. Before they'd gone > through that, they were looked upon as novices, > "newbies," buying whatever had been told to them > without really ever questioning it, and in the process > of questioning it, making it "theirs." > > I've encountered other Eastern traditions in which > doubt is also seen as a very natural thing, and > actually encouraged. In face-to-face meetings with > the spiritual teachers of these traditions, it is > permitted and encouraged to ask ANYTHING, and to > question ANY teaching or point of dogma. In one > Tibetan tradition I know of, there is a system of > formal debate in which students are regularly > "assigned" the task of defending the very *opposite* > of the dogma that they believe and have been told is > correct. Interestingly, within ALL of these traditions, > there is *no concept* of being declared anathema, > of being told to leave the study or the movement. > > Compare and contrast to other spiritual traditions > in which doubt is looked upon as a weakness, or as > something that has to be hidden from the powers that > be, or worst, can be grounds for excommunication, > for being told that your doubt has no place in the > movement in question, and that you should get the > hell out and stay out and take your doubts with you.
yeah- on the one hand trying to find a middle ground of how to not dilute the teaching, and on the other hand wanting to expand the teaching to more closely adjust to the expansion of the students is a bear. And the ones trying to figure it out are on the path themselves, not having yet lived paradox, so the spiritual tradition either becomes rigid and alienates most everyone except the core followers, or becomes so diffuse and anything goes, like many Christian sects for example, that the path is lost that way too. I think any group movement can only lead us so far anyway, kind of like the nest, and then one day its time to fly. To expect them to be the be all and end all is only always for a small core group.
