[Buddha-l] angels

[Gad Horowitz]

Levinas' "God" is nothing other than the primordial obligation that arises
for a human being to do his/her utmost, and more, for the other.  The
command comes from what Levinas calls "the face of the Other".  I am
suggesting that Sakyamuni's enlightenment experience per se was not enough
to lead him to teach.He would  also have had to be confronted with the
command coming from the face of the other--all suffering beings. I would
like to read the story of his being "begged" by Brahma or Whoever as an
indication or premonition of this .
Levinas can help Buddhists finally deal with the question of Ethics . in a
manner that might satisfy Judaeo-Christian-Islamic objections to Buddhism as
demoting the ethical from the level of absolute truth to the level of
conventional truth.  Thus I read Masao Abe arguing that

"Auscwitz" though very reprehensible conventionally, is absolutely speaking
nothing at all.  Christians have been fascinated with Levinas--andso has
Derrida-- for decades.  Time for you Buddhists to discover something new in
the "West"

all.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "jkirk" <jkirk at spro.net>
To: "Buddhist discussion forum" <buddha-l at mailman.swcp.com>
Sent: Thursday, May 26, 2005 10:38 AM
Subject: Re: [Buddha-l] angels


> That sounds good to me except for the insistence on using the "God"
concept.
> If one insists on that, one is not writing about Buddhism, IMO.
> Otherwise, many religions proclaim duties to humankind similar to those
> found in Buddhism. Somewhere in one of the suttas there is also found the
> "golden rule."  But the Buddha did not claim that what he was teaching was
> God or gods, or came from him/her or them.
>
>  Joanna
> =========================================
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Gad Horowitz" <horowitz at chass.utoronto.ca>
>
>
> > thats all very well, but for Levinas"s Judaism "God" refers to our
> > obligation to do our utmost and more for the other.  Does the Buddha not
> > relate to such an obligation?  Why then does he teach?
>
>
>
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