Roaring Lion Publishing

Zen, Christianity and a lot of BULL
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"Religion has failed man! Shocking? Yes! Truthful? Yes! Is there a better way? Yes!"   The flames of anger still burn between Arabs and Jews, Catholics and Protestants, and Muslims and Hindus.  It’s sad isn’t it? Once the world was three-quarters Buddhists – did war dissolve? Did jealously subside? Did greed vanish? And what has Christianity left in it’s wake? Bloody crusades, sadistic inquisitions, ethnic cleansing, and two world wars.  Even the blind can see the bestial part of man renders religion impotent.  Despite the Bible’s many depictions of Christ’s compassion and its claim that “God is Love,” a beast still rages within the human heart. Why?    "You are born into an immense human family that inhabits the five continents and spans the seven seas."   Yet, you are a solitary soul, and while others may share your home and even your bed, you are born alone, you live alone and you die alone.  Neither religion nor relationships can grant you salvation or enlightenment.   "Are you that rare soul, that individual supreme, who is courageous enough to 'walk through the valley of the shadow of death, fearing no evil' as the demon within dissolves?"   If you allow me, I will guide you through a modern translation of the ancient story of “The Seven Bulls of Zen.” While I can’t promise you will find Buddha or Christ as you these pages, you will, most assuredly, find yourself.   - Peter   Forward By Hal Wilson   Imagine having a friend who has studied the world’s great religions so thoroughly, that he can quote them chapter and verse at will.  Imagine sitting around a warm, crackling fire, sipping wine, and discussing the meaning and purpose of life with such a friend.   Then, in answer to your heartfelt question, imagine having such a one weave an elaborate and beautiful tapestry of illumination from the thousands of dusty, tangled threads of though, originating in dozens of different ancient and modern traditions.  To suddenly realize that all these traditions are not irrationally antagonistic to one another; but that beneath the layers of dogmatic graffiti and ritualistic gibberish, lie diamonds of real value that all hold in common.  It is like suddenly awakening from a long, distorted, and incomprehensible dream to have your eyes dazzled by the bright, clear light of a new dawn.   Now, you don’t have to imagine it, for if you will furnish the fire and the wine, this book will provide you with a hint of Peter’s warmth, humor, and skillful ability to illuminate the arcane.  In these pages you will come to see the tapestry of wholeness that is the birthright of all the tangled threads you have had dangled before you by those who could see only dimly through the fog of their inherited preconceptions.  For after all, what sort of Divine would not be whole?   Peter refers to various sutras and scriptures of the world’s major religious traditions to illustrate that The Way is beyond the ownership of a single tradition.  Beneath the dogma and diatribe, each tradition preserves great truths which they all hold in common, but which are only rarely seen in their true light.   All the world’s religions advocate an abandonment of the world of sense gratification in one form or another, as a prerequisite to finding salvation or spiritual union with the Divine.  Yet, how many go on the realize that their versions of spirituality are also just other forms of illusion – of the ten thousand things- that perplex the mind and exercise the passions to believe in a dysfunctional separation of God and man? If you have been choking on such unpalatable rubbish, then you are in for a treat! Before you lies a feast of emotional fulfillment, prepared by a skillful chef who has mastered the use of seasonings from every culture and tradition.  It is a magical feast, for the more you consume, the lighter you feel.  So, eat and drink deeply, my friend, until your heart’s content.