Thank you, Ravi!

I met Ravi Verma through Brian Baker, the Dean of Trinity Cathedral.  Ravi is much more into IT than I and agreed to help me set up this blog.  He also helped us do a major upgrade of our network.   (For both, thank you, Ravi!)

Ravi is a dedicated Buddhist.  He leads several classes at Trinity and has his own group of disciples.  After setting up this blog, he asked me about the catechumenate.  We have both grown in appreciation of each others religious traditions.  I have done considerable study in the history of religions and we have had numerous Buddhist related events at Trinity.  So I compared the catechumenate journey to that which an apprentice to Buddhism takes in growing towards Enlightenment.

Indeed, all of the major (and many of the “minor”) religious traditions  strive towards the same thing:  Enlightenment, Salvation, Nirvana.  Ah, what about Islam, you ask.  Keep asking while you read the Koran.  Realize that there have been and are fanatics (zealots) in each and all traditions.   And note that I am speaking about religous traditions as distinguished from religions.  The latter are human institutions that try to embody the former.  They/we often fail.  But religions are necessary because, until we attain Enlightenment, Nirvana, the Reign of the Divine, our limited, physical, communal selves need religions.

Anyway, THANK YOU, RAVI, for your friendship, insights and wonderful discussions!