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Authors: Daniele Bolelli
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His followers bought an insanely vast amount of land, and promptly began building a new city in the midst of Oregon. Osho, in the meantime, had the less than spectacular idea to go into an extended period of complete silence and let his secretary, the highly disturbing Ma Anand Sheela run his affairs. Many scandals and a bioterrorist attack later (set up by Sheela against local opponents of Osho's community), Osho decided that maybe giving Sheela so much power had not been his best plan yet. Sheela was promptly kicked out, but still … any moron with a single digit IQ could take a look at Sheela and run for his life. She looked like what happens to an Indian woman if the restless
spirit of a Nazi dictator were to take over her body. Watching
The Exorcist
17 times in a row is less scary than a single “hello” from Sheela. So, just how the hell someone who was supposedly as smart as Osho chose to hand over his affairs to her?
spirit of a Nazi dictator were to take over her body. Watching
The Exorcist
17 times in a row is less scary than a single “hello” from Sheela. So, just how the hell someone who was supposedly as smart as Osho chose to hand over his affairs to her?
In any case … Osho's teachings were certainly much more controversial than Krishnamurti's. Whereas people either liked Krishnamurti or simply ignored him, Osho always elicited strong reactions. Some revered him as the most brilliant mind of the 20th century, while others viewed him as a self-aggrandizing charlatan (some also felt both ways and regarded him as the most brilliant charlatan whoever lived ….). But regardless of their differences, both Osho and Krishnamurti uncompromisingly attacked organized religions while simultaneously teaching meditation as the foundation of true spirituality.
50 WHY CAN’T WE MOVE THE STATE OF ISRAEL TO PARAGUAY?A brief look at Jewish history could make country and blues singers think that their lives are not so bad after all. The whole thing is as cheerful as a funeral invitation: being conquered by everyone who shows up in the neighborhood (from Assyrians to Babylonians, from Greeks to Romans), ending up as a religious minority among people who hate your guts, getting locked up in the
original ghetto (not Snoop Dogg's kind of ghetto …), pogroms, inquisitions, and the final touch of the Holocaust wiping out millions of your people.
original ghetto (not Snoop Dogg's kind of ghetto …), pogroms, inquisitions, and the final touch of the Holocaust wiping out millions of your people.
But in 1948, it looked like all of this could change. After enduring two thousand years of persecution, Jews finally managed to once again have a homeland of their own. Now that they had their own country, they would no longer have to live in fear. The creation of the state of Israel was seen as the dawn of a future of peace.
Things, however, didn't exactly work out that way.
With the usual Jewish luck, the promise of everlasting peace lasted almost a whole day. Barely 24 hours after Israel had become an independent state, the armies of four different countries (Egypt, Syria, Iraq and Lebanon) decided that the Jews shouldn't get too spoiled by peace and attacked them. The Israeli army managed to beat down its opponents, but a few more wars, never ending diplomatic efforts and sixty-plus years later, Jews and Muslims are not any closer to get along than they were in 1948.
Most Jews claim that the land belongs to them, since it was promised by God to Abraham, and was to be the “holy land” for his descendants. Most Muslims apparently didn't receive God's memo, and stand by the idea that
Jews are squatters onto lands that had been in Muslim hands for hundreds of years. To make things more fun, they also claim that the land holds for them religious importance.
Jews are squatters onto lands that had been in Muslim hands for hundreds of years. To make things more fun, they also claim that the land holds for them religious importance.
And religion is precisely what makes this conflict next to impossible to resolve peacefully. If this was only about some random piece of land, it wouldn't be too hard to find a compromise. Hell … just to avoid the headache, the United Nations could just dump insane amounts of money on any country poor economically but rich in acres, and buy a different land base for a new state of Israel. Perhaps, we could just move Israel to Paraguay and be done with it.
But once you throw religion into the mix, then the game changes, since giving up even one cubic inch of “holy land” would be a betrayal of a deal made with God. And so my brilliant Paraguayan solution is bound not to work (which kind of sucks, since I had a perfect spot on my bookshelf for the Nobel Peace Prize I would have undoubtedly received for solving the Israeli-Arab conflict).
The more extreme factions among Palestinians and allied Arabs deny Israel's very right to exist. The more extreme fundamentalist Jews will not be satisfied until they conquer every foot of the land they believed was set aside for them by God. This is why with absolute regularity, whenever cooler heads on both
sides try to work some kind of compromise, their own people sabotage the peace process. Just go ask Yitzhak Rabin, the Israeli prime minister, who was working on a peace agreement with the Palestinians … On second thought, don't go ask him, since he probably wouldn't be very loquacious. A Jewish fundamentalist, in fact, gunned him down to prevent any hope of peace with the “enemy.”
sides try to work some kind of compromise, their own people sabotage the peace process. Just go ask Yitzhak Rabin, the Israeli prime minister, who was working on a peace agreement with the Palestinians … On second thought, don't go ask him, since he probably wouldn't be very loquacious. A Jewish fundamentalist, in fact, gunned him down to prevent any hope of peace with the “enemy.”
This is why, so many years after the beginning of this story, we are nowhere closer to finding a solution. The Israeli-Arab conflict is a source of never ending trouble with global repercussions. And I’m afraid that as long as religious attitudes don't change, it is not going to be solved any time soon.
Being realistic about the odds of either side abandoning their religious attachment to that piece of desert, but not having given up about my Nobel Peace Prize nomination, I offer a Plan B. Let's call it “gladiators for world peace.” Israeli and Palestinian hardliners should be given swords and locked in a cage together where they could slaughter each other on pay-per-view until only one man would be left standing. They would be happy since they could kill God's enemies, and the rest of the world would be happy since their religious bloodbaths wouldn't involve everyone else—a brilliant plan, if there ever was one. I’d love to stick around and add more chapters to this book, but I believe I’m hearing a phone call from Stockholm …
FURTHER READINGZen And The Art Of Chopping Your Enemies’ Heads Off
I have chatted about Zen and the martial arts quite a bit in my first book,
On the Warrior's Path: Philosophy, Fighting, and Martial Arts Mythology
(Blue Snake Books, 2008). Two among the many, many great books about martial arts and Zen Buddhism are the
Hagakure
by Tsunetomo Yamamoto (any edition is good) and particularly John Stevens's biography of Tesshu,
The Sword of No Sword: Life of the Master Warrior Tesshu
(Shambhala, 2001).
On the Warrior's Path: Philosophy, Fighting, and Martial Arts Mythology
(Blue Snake Books, 2008). Two among the many, many great books about martial arts and Zen Buddhism are the
Hagakure
by Tsunetomo Yamamoto (any edition is good) and particularly John Stevens's biography of Tesshu,
The Sword of No Sword: Life of the Master Warrior Tesshu
(Shambhala, 2001).
The Filthy Little Atheist … Founding Father
The best source for Thomas Paine is Paine himself. Check out for yourself some of his most famous writings:
Common Sense
,
The Rights of Man
, and the infamous
The Age of Reason
. There are also more biographies narrating the main events of his life than I have space to reference here.
Common Sense
,
The Rights of Man
, and the infamous
The Age of Reason
. There are also more biographies narrating the main events of his life than I have space to reference here.
The Tao Of Being In Jail: How The
Tao Te Ching
Was Created
Tao Te Ching
Was Created
Considering that there really are no reliable sources about Lao Tzu's life, nothing beats reading the
Tao Te Ching
itself. I have read a dozen translations of it, and among the better ones I recommend the one by John C. H. Wu.
Tao Te Ching
itself. I have read a dozen translations of it, and among the better ones I recommend the one by John C. H. Wu.
The Disturbing and Unlikely Marriage Between Israel And Christian Fundamentalists
For the contemporary part of this story, keeping up with current events from a
variety of news sources is a good start. In terms of primary sources, Martin Luther's
On the Jews And Their Lies
and the biblical book of Revelation are your best bets.
variety of news sources is a good start. In terms of primary sources, Martin Luther's
On the Jews And Their Lies
and the biblical book of Revelation are your best bets.
Sex, Sake and Zen
Here are the main works about Ikkyu published in English:
• Stevens, John.
Three Zen Masters: Ikkyu, Hakuin, Ryokan
(Kodansha International, 1993). (This was later reprinted under the title
Zen Masters: A Maverick, a Master of Masters, and a Wandering Poet
.)
• Stevens, John.
Wild Ways: Zen Poems of Ikkyu
(White Pine Press, 2007).
• Sanford, James.
Zen-Man Ikkyu
(Scholars Press, 1981).
• Covell, Jon Carter and Sobin Yamada.
Unraveling Zen's Red Thread: Ikkyu's Controversial Way
(Hollym Intl, 1981). (This was also published under the title
Zen's Core: Ikkyu's Freedom
.)
• Covell, Jon Carter and Sobin Yamada.
Zen at Daitoku-Ji
(Kodansha International Ltd. Tokyo, 1974).
• Besserman, Perle and Manfred Steger.
Crazy Clouds: Zen Radicals, Rebels, and Reformers
(Shambhala, 1991).
• Berg, Stephen.
Crow with No Mouth: Ikkyu
(Copper Canyon Press, 1989).
Banzai!
I have seen a few discussions of Shinto and WWII but they tend to be overly scholarly for my taste. The best—atrociously graphic—example of the fanaticism of Japanese ideology in WWII is offered by Iris Chang's
The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II
(Penguin, 1998).
The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II
(Penguin, 1998).
Thank You God For Killing My Enemies’ Children
The Torah speaks for itself. See Exodus.
Deadly Alliteration: Moses The Mass Murderer
See Exodus 24–34 as well as Numbers 31.
How A Failed Siege Shaped The History Of Religions
This story is beautifully told in the first essay of Robert Cowley's (editor)
What If?: The World's Foremost Military Historians Imagine What Might Have Been
(G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1999).
What If?: The World's Foremost Military Historians Imagine What Might Have Been
(G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1999).
Fundamentalist Christian? I’d Love To Introduce You To My Pet King Cobra
See Mark 16:15–18.
Mammoth Porn And The Caveman's Hip Hop: The Origins Of Religion
The whole debate about the origins of religion can be found in any introductory textbook on world religions (albeit not always with the juicy details). Demonstrating
the creativity for which academics are renowned, just about every one of them is entitled either “World Religions” or “The Religions of the World.” One that deserves to be mentioned—if nothing else because it comes up with a different title—is John Loftin's
The Big Picture: A Short World History of Religions
(McFarland & Company, 2000).
the creativity for which academics are renowned, just about every one of them is entitled either “World Religions” or “The Religions of the World.” One that deserves to be mentioned—if nothing else because it comes up with a different title—is John Loftin's
The Big Picture: A Short World History of Religions
(McFarland & Company, 2000).
We Love Freedom of Religion … Except In The Case of Those Stupid Religions We Don't Like
Many books discuss in passing the religious oppression of American Indians in North America. However, very few focus on it exclusively or in a satisfactory manner. A good intro to the discussion is found at
http://ili.nativeweb.org/newstudy.html
. John Loftin's
The Big Picture
also touches on this.
http://ili.nativeweb.org/newstudy.html
. John Loftin's
The Big Picture
also touches on this.
To Beat Or Not To Beat (Your Women): That Is the Question
The obvious primary source is the Koran itself.
The Day God Stopped Being A Racist
The Book of Mormon is a good starting point. An extremely long list of sources on the topic is found at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_people_and_The_Church_of_Jesus_Christ_of_Latter-day_Saints
.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_people_and_The_Church_of_Jesus_Christ_of_Latter-day_Saints
.
Piss-Drinking, Druggie Priests Created Hinduism
The classic text on this is R. Gordon Wasson's
Soma: Divine Mushroom of Immortality
, (Harcourt, 1972). Another title worth checking out is Huston Smith's
Cleansing the Doors of Perception: The Religious Significance of Entheogenic Plants and Chemicals
(Sentient Publications, 2003).
Soma: Divine Mushroom of Immortality
, (Harcourt, 1972). Another title worth checking out is Huston Smith's
Cleansing the Doors of Perception: The Religious Significance of Entheogenic Plants and Chemicals
(Sentient Publications, 2003).
Stealing In The Name Of God
An interesting discussion on the connection between the stealing of the American continent and Christianity is found in David Stannard's
American Holocaust: The Conquest of the New World
(Oxford University Press, 1993).
American Holocaust: The Conquest of the New World
(Oxford University Press, 1993).
Orgies For Jesus
The bizarre tale of Carpocrates is referenced in Jonathan Kirsch's
God Against Gods: The History of the War between Monotheism and Polytheism
(Penguin, 2005).
God Against Gods: The History of the War between Monotheism and Polytheism
(Penguin, 2005).
Being A Jewish Messiah Is Not As Fun As Advertised
Among the many good books that deal with this topic at least for a few pages is Karen Armstrong's
A History of God: The 4,000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity and Islam
(Ballantine Books, 1994).
A History of God: The 4,000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity and Islam
(Ballantine Books, 1994).
If You Are Poor, It's Because God Hates Your Guts
The theory about the connection between Christianity and capitalism has been made famous by Max Weber in his
The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism
. The Gospels also offer great primary sources for Jesus's quotes about wealth.
The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism
. The Gospels also offer great primary sources for Jesus's quotes about wealth.
Crazy Wisdom, Lakota-Style
The figure of the Heyoka is discussed in plenty books about Lakota culture. Among them are Richard Erdoes's
Lame Deer: Seeker of Visions
(Simon & Schuster, 1994) as well as Joseph Marshall's
The Journey of Crazy Horse: A Lakota History
(Penguin, 2005).
Lame Deer: Seeker of Visions
(Simon & Schuster, 1994) as well as Joseph Marshall's
The Journey of Crazy Horse: A Lakota History
(Penguin, 2005).
BOOK: 50 Things You're Not Supposed To Know: Religion
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