Bill Maher's political monologues delight him, and he laughed at his film Religulous "because there really are a lot of weird beliefs out there." The trouble with Maher, Tolle says, is "while he sees the absurdity of religious expressions, he misses the values they point toward."
In Tolle's view, "religion and ritual can be vehicles for entering stillness. It says in Psalm 46:10, 'Be still, and know that I am God.'
"But they are still just vehicles. The Buddha called his teaching a raft: You don't need to carry it around with you after you've crossed the river."
Tolle quotes often from the Bible, from Christianity and Buddhism, and half a dozen other world religions. But the words of Buddha and Jesus take a unique Tolle spin. For example, "Your thought identity, your words, are ultimately illusionary. Jesus knew this when he talked about 'deny thyself.' Most Christians do not fully understand what that means. It means 'no self.' Buddha, too, recognized the inherent unreality of our self-image" he says.
By submitting yourself to this thought-free state, you can finally recognize "The Truth" within yourself — that you already have all the joy, creativity, energy, love you seek. You possess all the higher power, you reach your own heaven, he says.
"Was Jesus the son of God?" he asks rhetorically. "Yes. But so are you. You just haven't realized it yet."
That inflames critics like the bloggers at Christian Skepticism, who call Tolle the Antichrist.
28.5.13
'Life's Purpose' author Eckhart Tolle is serene, critics less so - USATODAY.com
'Life's Purpose' author Eckhart Tolle is serene, critics less so - USATODAY.com
