PLURALISM

What is a mandala? That is the question that this article is asking, and hopefully answer. If you have heard of the term mandala, then I expect with Buddhism, Eastern religion or new age link. It is true the origins of the mandala "spiritual" and philosophical practices as they are closely connected. What is a mandala? It is very simply a complex image or art work, which usually is circular and has strong elements of symmetry and balance within it. In the religion Actually meditative processes are the creation of Mandalas in Buddhism, it is the creation of the work, is not the final image of the most importance. Its foundation can slow and detailed, with many hours of close concentration. It is this focus the mind on a balanced and harmonious image, which is the key to the use of Mandalas in religions. In the modern art Mandala worldly conditions are often colorful and beautiful works of art. Even the amazing Cathedral rose window in all of Europe can be seen a form of the ma...

Increased age is an important event in people's lives, so sometimes need to be observed with a particular celebration. With age a person, also increased responsibility that must be carried out by someone, either male or female. When someone enters a particular phase, there should be debriefing of knowledge and also a strong belief and deep.

It's Obama time, and there is something wonderful in the air - the celebration of multiculturalism. The fact that more and more couples of different faiths and cultures are intermarrying is undeniable. An estimated one third of today's marriages are mixed unions. Over my 12 plus years as an interfaith minister and counselor for intermarrying couples and their families, I have seen some dramatic changes. I see a greater acceptance of such unions simply for the reason that they are not so novel anymore.

Does religion really matters when it comes to marriage? Can it make two souls become one as well? Does it work for a Catholic and an Islam? Most of the time, religion is one of the reasons why some relationship don't work. Let's talk about Annie and John's love story. Annie's parents are devout catholic and John's are a devout Islam. Both have strong convictions on what they believe in and no one wanted to give up on their faith. Yet for two souls with different faith and beliefs to be married as one is something to really work hard for to make it work.

The 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, is the spiritual and political leader of the Tibetan people. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 and has travelled extensively around the world offering the message of Tibetan Buddhism. The Dalai Lama was born in the small Tibetan village of Takster in Northern Tibet. His original name being Tenzin Gyatso. At the age of 2 Tenzin was recognized as the reincarnation of his predecessor, the 13th Dalai Lama. Thus from an early age the Dalai Lama spent many years studying Tibetan scriptures and he completed a doctorate in Tibetan Buddhist philosophy by the age of 25. The Dalai Lama means Ocean of Wisdom. Lama also means "Guru" or teacher. The Dalai Lama's are believed to be reincarnations of the Bodhisattva of compassion. These are beings who choose to reincarnate to serve humanity. As the Dalai Lama says himself. "The more we care for the happiness of others, the greater our own sense of well-being becomes....

The holy scriptures of the Jews, the Christians, the Muslims and of other creeds portray God as good. I have a problem with that although I wish I could agree with that. My reasoning in this case starts with considering a new born baby - 5 seconds old. If the God of the universe were good, that baby would have been born with an innate understanding of this God. If this baby is truly the creation of this good God it would have, let's say, an instinct for the laws of God and all the other things God would want a creature to have; an instinct that for instance new-born sea-going turtles have to make it into the sea as soon as possible. All brand new turtle babies know to scratch and claw their way up to the surface of the sand and immediate, and in great haste begin to crawl toward the sea. They have an innate understanding of how to do all this and why. Such baby turtles know they are easy prey to birds and mammals, so they rush as fast as possible into the safety of the waters....

For purposes of exposition, views about religious pluralism may be loosely classified into views about 1) inter -religious pluralism and 2) intra -religious pluralism. By inter-religious pluralism, we mean the views held within one major faith tradition (e.g., Christianity) about the validity or truth of other major faith traditions (e.g., Judaism, Buddhism, Islam, etc.). In contrast, intra-religious pluralism refers to views held by specific schools or denominations within a major faith tradition (e.g., by Eastern Orthodox Christians) about the validity or truth of other schools or denominations within the same major faith tradition (e.g., about Protestant Christianity or Roman Catholic Christianity). The following subsections examine inter-religious pluralism within several major faith traditions. Bahá'í views Bahá'u'lláh , founder of Bahá'í Faith , urged the elimination of religious intolerance. He taught that God is one, and has manifested himself to humanity th...