Is your tradition sometimes discriminated against?

[Marcion]

There are on RF quite a few threads that antagonize against what seem to be perceived as renegade traditions.

E.g. Some types of Christians strongly dislike Mormonism, Jehova's Witnesses, Sun Myung Moonyism or Gnostic ideas, some types of Muslims seem to dislike Sufism, Shia Islam or Bahai and in the past Muslims in India have persecuted the early Sikh tradition. Some types of Jewish people antagonize against Christianity for its alleged crooked relation to Judaism.

It seems almost like a given phenomenon that whenever a new tradition makes too radical a break with what is seen as the old "sanctioned" tradition, there is irritation, intolerance and discrimination.

I'm not sure what to think of this, perhaps it is only natural that this happens?
If you are in such a tradition how do you experience or view this?

 

[PoetPhilosopher]

I kind of identify as New Age these days even if some say it's more of a Philosophy than a religion, and it sometimes is... though going with the whole New Age thing, if I talk about that... it'd be pretty hard to break from it yet still be in it. I'm not sure exactly what that would look like.

 

[Viker]

Yep. Seems the LHP has a lot of enemies. Some would say we're asking for it.

 

[Marcion]

I kind of identify as New Age these days even if some say it's more of a Philosophy than a religion, and it sometimes is... though going with the whole New Age thing, if I talk about that... it'd be pretty hard to break from it yet still be in it. I'm not sure exactly what that would look like.

I kind of see myself as a type of New Age person in the sense that I dislike the old religious bastions with their dogmatic outlook and prefer universalism.
But whenever discussing with other New age type of people they seem to reject a fixed set of practices and a fixed personal Guru.
They prefer shopping their own mix of practices often paying for different types of courses and rejecting binding to anything particular.
Or did I get the wrong idea about New Age based on too little?

I don't identify with any religion but it seems some New Age people go further than that.

 

[PoetPhilosopher]

But whenever discussing with other New age type of people they seem to reject a fixed set of practices and a fixed personal Guru.
They prefer shopping their own mix of practices often paying for different types of courses and rejecting binding to anything particular.
Or did I get the wrong idea about New Age based on too little?

I was under the impression that New Age people are allowed to have Spirit Guides. These Spirit Guides can be enlightened humans, or contact with actual benevolent spirits.

 

[PoetPhilosopher]

One area I break from New Age is I'm a little fine with Left Hand path philosophies. To me it seems that usually people of the New Age movement just want to pursue the light and that's it, even if New Age followers who were previously into say Wicca may be a bit more solitary in their ideas.

 

[Marcion]

One area I break from New Age is I'm a little fine with Left Hand path philosophies. To me it seems that usually people of the New Age movement just want to pursue the light and that's it, even if New Age followers who were previously into say Wicca may be a bit more solitary in their ideas.

Are left hand path goers not afraid of accumulating negative karma or spiritual downfall or don't they think in that way?

 

[PoetPhilosopher]

Are left hand path goers not afraid of accumulating negative karma or spiritual downfall or don't they think in that way?

For me, yes I worry about negative karma. If I steal for example, it's wrong. If instead I break the mold and decide I'm going to worship in a dark, unconventional way that doesn't involve hurting any humans, animals or any sacrifices and maybe appeal to Lord Shiva's destructive side for example, I'll do it. And I also feel that one can lose themselves in the light much like they can the darkness, if they go too far too soon.

 

[Vinayaka]

I'll turn the question around to 'Do you ever feel that you discriminate?" Fair is fair. My hunch is that more people feel they are discriminated against, than those ready to admit they also discriminate.

I think all groups do get mistreated, discriminated, etc., at some point, by some other group. The degree to which it is hurtful might vary, and in some places it seems to be extreme. There is also the factor of always having two sides to every story.

 

[Marcion]

I'll turn the question around to 'Do you ever feel that you discriminate?" Fair is fair. My hunch is that more people feel they are discriminated against, than those ready to admit they also discriminate.

I think all groups do get mistreated, discriminated, etc., at some point, by some other group. The degree to which it is hurtful might vary, and in some places it seems to be extreme. There is also the factor of always having two sides to every story.

Yes, that would be an interesting sub-topic to start.
However, on this forum there are particular traditions that seem to be picked on quite often.

 

[Twilight Hue]

There are on RF quite a few threads that antagonize against what seem to be perceived as renegade traditions.

E.g. Some types of Christians strongly dislike Mormonism, Jehova's Witnesses, Sun Myung Moonyism or Gnostic ideas, some types of Muslims seem to dislike Sufism, Shia Islam or Bahai and in the past Muslims in India have persecuted the early Sikh tradition. Some types of Jewish people antagonize against Christianity for its alleged crooked relation to Judaism.

It seems almost like a given phenomenon that whenever a new tradition makes too radical a break with what is seen as the old "sanctioned" tradition, there is irritation, intolerance and discrimination.

I'm not sure what to think of this, perhaps it is only natural that this happens?
If you are in such a tradition how do you experience or view this?

I don't have a high opinion of SGI. I see them as the 'Jehovah Wittness' of Buddhism. So I can see how a religion gets convoluted and creates dissention.

I think its partly due to how a religion gets 'stretched out' to where a core tradition or view becomes obscure and makes it difficult to recognize the variations among peers in a givin religion.

As a result, it gets flak over things.

 

[Vinayaka]

Yes, that would be an interesting sub-topic to start.
However, on this forum there are particular traditions that seem to be picked on quite often.

I haven't noticed any faiths being picked on much. I think the mods put a stop to most of that, thank goodness. I do think some folks perceive themselves to be picked on, mostly because either they're very sensitive, or that they have been conditioned to have a persecution complex. Offering up a counter argument on a topic placed in the 'debates' forum can hardly be perceived as being picked on, but it is.

Which faiths did you have in mind?

 

[Marcion]

I haven't noticed any faiths being picked on much. I think the mods put a stop to most of that, thank goodness. I do think some folks perceive themselves to be picked on, mostly because either they're very sensitive, or that they have been conditioned to have a persecution complex. Offering up a counter argument on a topic placed in the 'debates' forum can hardly be perceived as being picked on, but it is.

Which faiths did you have in mind?

See the opening post. I don't see any over-sensitiveness, those traditions seem to be quite hardened by it all.
I'm not judging the ones that do the discrimination, just curious about how the traditions on the receiving end feel about it.
It's normal for certain differences to rub or itch here and there but these seem more like telling those traditions 'you have no right to exist' because you've gone astray.

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

I'm Jewish.

 

[Revoltingest]

In court, I've found that testifying requires the default
of swearing to God. I've had to request being allowed
a secular oath. This is so even in ultra-liberal Ann
Arbor, MI.
There's a big problem here....it announces to the court,
judge, & jury that one isn't a Christian. This is likely to
result in prejudice against us.
Ref, a Pew survey...
10 facts about atheists
"....42% say belief in God is necessary to have good values...."

 

[Revoltingest]

Another....
Back in the day, I recall being ineligible for CO (conscientious
objector) status because I had no religion to tell me all war is wrong.

 

[Jane.Doe]

There are on RF quite a few threads that antagonize against what seem to be perceived as renegade traditions.

E.g. Some types of Christians strongly dislike Mormonism, Jehova's Witnesses, Sun Myung Moonyism or Gnostic ideas, some types of Muslims seem to dislike Sufism, Shia Islam or Bahai and in the past Muslims in India have persecuted the early Sikh tradition. Some types of Jewish people antagonize against Christianity for its alleged crooked relation to Judaism.

It seems almost like a given phenomenon that whenever a new tradition makes too radical a break with what is seen as the old "sanctioned" tradition, there is irritation, intolerance and discrimination.

I'm not sure what to think of this, perhaps it is only natural that this happens?
If you are in such a tradition how do you experience or view this?

I've experience a lot of this discrimination against me, and seen it levied against many others. I find it ethically very wrong to treat others with antagonism/disrespect. However, us humans are sinners and people do it a lot.

 

[Sundance]

In Japanese history, followers of Buddhism in general, as well as specifically Pure Land Buddhists, were attacked and exiled, a few were killed, through various points, not only by established governments but also other Buddhist sects. This was mainly due to the insistence of Honen Shonin and one of his disciples (my Master, Shinran) that placing trust in the Vow of Amida, faith alone expressed in recitation of His Name, was sufficient for salvation; one did not need to engage in the multiplicity of difficult practices in order to attain liberation from the cycle of samsara.

 

[Aupmanyav]

Is your tradition sometimes discriminated against?
Yes, and of all the places (surprisingly), in the Hindu-majority India itself, during the rule of Nehru-Gandhi dynasty and other parties.
This was a political stance to get support of non-Hindu voters.
The Central and State governments interfered in the governance of Hindu temples only.