NetNews Usenet Archive 1992 #31/NN_1992_31.iso/spool/rec/martial/16234

Text File | 1992-12-28 | 1.6 KB | 37 lines

Newsgroups: rec.martial-arts
Path: sparky!uunet!srg!birch.srg.af.mil!schan
From: [e-mail] (Stephen Chan x4485)
Subject: Re: Stupid Religious Views
Organization: SRG, Arinc Research Corp., Annapolis, MD
Date: Mon, 28 Dec 92 14:25:46 GMT
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
References: <[e-mail]>
Sender: [e-mail] (Usenet news user)
Lines: 25

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Stovall) writes:
>It seems to me that some of us are getting philosophy and religion
>mixed up: both offer behaviorial codes, one requires acknowledgement
>of a deity. I don't think belief in a deity is an intrinsic part
>of any martial art.

    Seems to me that, in practical terms, a philosophical system which
achieves some kind of spiritual status is not so different from religion. And
many martial arts have a powerful spiritual component (especially Japanese
arts it seems). At my current Kung-fu school, there is actually a set of moral
injunctions posted on the wall, which students are expected to follow.
    Some religions don't rely on the existence of a diety. Buddhism is
widely considered to be a religion, yet in it's oldest form (as well as some
of it's current forms) it did not assert the existence of a cosmic sugar-daddy
lurking beyond the clouds

    At the macro level, we have religions and philosophies. At the the
individual level, it becomes spirituality. Is it possible to discuss the
spiritual aspects of MA training without dragging in the religions and
philosophies which serve as their foundation?


--
    Stephen Chan
    uunet!srg!schan or uunet!srg![e-mail]