A Muslim Convert Once Before

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   Brother Tim posted this, on The Sharing Group, on the 19 th August 2015: “In Buddhism, there is a kaon, ‘If you meet the Buddha, kill him.’   And in Taoism, ‘The Tao that can be named is not the eternal Tao.’   What is the equivalent in Islam that enables one to be muslim without being a Muslim?”   Brother James Harris: Do you mean how to be Muslim without having to deal with Muslims?   Brother Tim: Yes, I think that is included.   Being muslim towards God but not people.   I am developing an extreme allergy towards Muslims.   Brother James Harris: That is a sign of sincerity.   Brother Tim: Fr. Meister Eckhart expressed something similar: “Man’s last and highest parting is when, for God’s sake, he takes leave of God.” But I've not met many Muslims that can handle that kind of negative theology.   إدريس مطلب: I am not sure Islam has an equivalent of Pratyekabuddha or Lone Buddha...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The Zen master, Master Hakuin Ekaku, was praised by his neighbours as one living a pure life.  A beautiful Japanese girl, whose parents owned a food store, lived near him.  Suddenly, without any warning, her parents discovered she was with child.  This made her parents very angry.  She would not confess who the man was, but after much harassment, at last named Hakuin.   In great anger, the parents went to the master. “Is that so?” was all he would say.   After the child was born, he was brought to Master Hakuin.  By this time he had lost his reputation, which did not trouble him, but he took very good care of the child.  He obtained milk from his neighbours and everything else the little one needed.   A year later the child’s mother could stand it no longer.  She told her parents the truth: that the real father of the child was a young man who worked in the fish market.   The mother and father...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   The following is my answer to a Quora question: “ If to achieve Nirvana, all my desires must go away, should not all the goals in my life go away, and I live a life without meaning or purpose? ”   In Buddhist thought, Nirvana is not “Heaven”, but the absence of desire.   The absence of desire is essentially the absence of self.   It is a concept shared in all spiritual traditions from Hinduism to Christianity to Islam.   The reason behind this is because the self is a veil between the apparent reality of Creation to the Real.   And that “Real” is God. That is why in Buddhism, in the tenth precept, which is not well-known, Gautama Siddharta Buddha said, that once you have Nirvana, “Behold the Supreme One.”   As for your meaning in life, the entire idea is to reach a state of realisation that everything that you have chased in this world is temporary and eventually worthless.   The people of the world ar...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ There is this prevailing stereotype that Buddhist monks live a very spartan lifestyle, shunning earthly indulgences.   However, 500 years ago, there was a Tibetan monk named Drupkka Kunley.   He enjoyed the kind of sex life that would make any modern playboy seem like a virgin in comparison. He accomplished much during his lifetime.   Drupkka Kunley introduced Buddhism to Bhutan, and built the Chimi Lhakhang monastery.   But Kunley was best known for his campaign of romance.   Kunley preached enlightenment through sex, earning the title, “The Saint of 5,000 Women.”   The monk was perpetually drenched in alcohol, and claimed to be able to change demonesses into good deities by striking them with his penis, which became known as “The Thunderbolt of Flaming Wisdom”.

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   Brother Irshad Alam posted, on The Sharing Group, on the 05 th March 2015: “Why is it that the Message was given only to the Jews and the Arabs?   What about the Chinese?   The Indians?   The Russians?   Why are only the Jews and Arabs Chosen to receive the Message?”   Brother Irshad Alam : The Qur’an States God has Sent Messengers to every people.   In his Maktubat , Imam Ahmad al-Faruqi ibn ‘Abd al-Ahad as-Sirhindi ( q.s. ) confirmed that God has Sent many prophets to India for the Hindus.   Sister Sakinah Rasheed : In the Qur’an, Allah ( s.w.t. ) Confirms that He has Sent Messengers to all nations.   Only some, not all, are Mentioned in the Qur’an.   Brother Terence Helikaon Nunis : Abraham ( a.s. ) was Chaldean.   Jethro ( a.s. ) was Midian.   Jonah ( a.s. ) was Assyrian.   Aside from that, they were all from the same Greater Near East geographic region.   It does n...