So often it’s suggested that fundamentalists are at the root of the majority of the problems facing both this country and the world. I couldn’t agree more. Except that those making this suggestion can obviously be guilty of the same unconsciousness they see in others.

An author I know makes this case in his new book:

Fundamentalism arises when any religious organization, or any person, attaches so intensely to some version of truth that it must be defended. In this space, the ego continually seeks security by playing out its drama of “attack and defend.” This drama offers all sorts of teachers and practitioners an opportunity to commit to various forms of separation where an attitude of “we’re right and they’re wrong” not only rules, but begets more attachment. This space can sow seeds of terrible violence all in the name of the collective egoic version of what it deems sacred.

So who is it that’s getting fundamental, really? Surely anyone in the midst of defending a position runs into this trap. It’s like the moment any experienced meditator begins to attach to non-attachment, he finds himself immediately thrown into the contraction of an ego that sees itself as Awake. Defending that which doesn’t need any kind of defense lures us into the same trap.

Here’s an excerpt from an interesting article that Digital Dharma got from Utne Online:

To some people, the word “Christians” brings to mind conservative, anti-everything culture warriors. Others think of peace-and-justice activism or the Civil Rights movement. In fact, the U.S. church has long been divided along theological, cultural, and political lines—and the different groups have tended to keep their distance.

In this Holons article, Brother David and Ken Wilber discuss how Integral panentheism brings new life to traditional Christian practices and doctrine, such as gratefulness, prayer, and the Holy Trinity, while also offering a stable foundation for truly inter-religious conversations in the modern and post-modern worlds.

I am a little concerned that so many people who have discovered the One simply eradicate their sense of the Many, or consider it unimportant….

- Br. David Steindl Rast

I think Deepak Chopra offers some interesting observations in this article:

Until the official picture changes, astrology is bogus, astronomy is legitimate. Ghosts are bogus, apparitions of the Virgin Mary are — well, that’s the rub. Religious people are allowed to cling to a different model of reality, tolerated by the official gatekeepers but not believed in.

So how is it that a contemporary enlightenment can unfold within the hearts and minds of those of us who adhere to a mythic God with all of the trappings associated with this worldview?

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In tonight’s talk, Michael discusses what he calls the “Four A’s” of awareness, acceptance, availability, and authenticity. Living from the Four A’s we free ourselves from the contracted activity and limited thinking of the small self.

In this clip, Stephen Colbert asks Lama Surya Das if it would be hard for Barack Obama to convert from a secret Muslim to a Buddhist.

Tassajara Zen Mountain Center’s director, David Zimmerman writes his account of the fire that nearly consumed his temple.

Click here to read the full update.

The Tibetan spiritual leader, appearing at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania, offered a defense of Islam in response to a question about the rise of violent religious fundamentalism. He added that he has made a point of reaching out to Muslims since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.