Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id SAA16556 (8.6.9/5.3[ref pg@gmsl.co.uk] for cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk from fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk); Thu, 22 Mar 2001 18:31:25 GMT From: <joedees@bellsouth.net> To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk Date: Thu, 22 Mar 2001 12:34:09 -0600 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: Re: The Demise of a Meme Message-ID: <3AB9F141.13523.4DBEDF@localhost> In-reply-to: <20010322181658.AAA5445@camailp.harvard.edu@[128.103.125.215]> X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.12c) Sender: fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
On 22 Mar 2001, at 13:16, Wade T.Smith wrote:
> On 03/22/01 13:06, joedees@bellsouth.net said this-
>
> >Every religion uses props, physical or chemical, to aid in the
> >focusing of one's will upon one's purpose(s); for those who become
> >adept at such focusing, these props become superfluous, and tend to
> >fall away. Once one can fly, one may discard one's ladder.
>
> Well, yes.... (Ain't that all I was saying...?)
>
> Entry onto the ladder comes with, well, stuff. Catholicism comes with
> lots of stuff. Tibetan Buddhism comes with lots of stuff. Hinduism
> comes with lots of stuff. Judaism comes with lots of stuff. Sects and
> cults within each major philosophy reject or mutate this stuff. The
> spartan xian sect of the Quakers, for instance, or any of a ream of
> protestant offshoots.
>
> Zen requires _elegant_ stuff, but it requires stuff. That garden ain't
> not there....
>
> Cathedrals, temples, pilgrimages, shrines, statues, jewelry, idols,
> icons, paintings, scrolls, clothing, bowls, rugs, candles, body
> ornamentation... the list is practically endless, and no faith is
> exempt, and the more organized and institutionalized (and connected to
> political power) the faith is, the more stuff it has. The Vatican is
> another Llasa.
>
> All I was saying.
>
And, of course, there are the differing practices. Dervishes whirl,
shiites flagellate, a whole lotta people pray and another whole
bunch chant (some of each with burning incense and ringing bells),
quite a few sit and meditate (one-pointed concentration,
transcendental meditation, zazen), Holy Rollers speak in tongues,
and some kentuckians drink strichnine and shake snakes. But
everbody does something to hook in.
>
> - Wade
>
> ===============================================================
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>
>
===============================================================
This was distributed via the memetics list associated with the
Journal of Memetics - Evolutionary Models of Information Transmission
For information about the journal and the list (e.g. unsubscribing)
see: http://www.cpm.mmu.ac.uk/jom-emit
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