Exploring Beyond the Horizon

I recently purchased a translation of the Bhagavad Gita specifically written for Westerners ( this one ).  I have not previously spent much time reading any scripture outside of the Christian tradition I was raised in, and so was a bit wary of my ability to understand and apply teachings from outside my culture and tradition.  This translation, however, made the language easy to follow. I found that I agreed with many parts and disagreed with some, but overall I found the work to be immensely thought-provoking and surprisingly relatable. I also noticed a great deal of parallels to Christianity (more below). Background The Bhagavad Gita or "Song of God" (sometimes simply referred to as the Gita) is one of the best-known of the Hindu scriptural texts.  It is one portion of a much larger scriptural text known as the Mahabharata, which thought to the the longest epic poem ever written. It is thought to have been written between 400 and 200 BCE. The setting of the Bhagav...

Last Thursday, I had the opportunity to attend and interfaith event sponsored by the Salt Lake Interfaith Roundtable  at a local Zendo (meditation hall) near downtown Salt Lake City called Two Arrows Zen . Background on Zen Buddhism Zen is a school of thought within the Mahayana Buddhist tradition which emphasizes the value of meditation and intuition.  Buddhism itself arose from the teachings of Siddartha Gautama ("the Buddha"), the son of an elected statesman in India thought to have lived around the 6th century to 4th century BCE. While there are many different forms of Buddhism with varying beliefs regarding deities, Buddhism in its Western form is largely more of a philosophy or practice-based rather than established religious dogma. Thus, the practices of Buddhism can be followed while maintaining beliefs in other religions. Buddhism, at least in its Western form, is deeply rooted in psychology.  What makes Buddhism "true" is not based on the accuracy of...