>Peter says, practising celebacy to attain enlightenment which IMO is
>>like drinking for sobriety or fucking for virginity. :-)

>Huh?  Are you saying that sex = enlightenment?

Just like that annoying stone in your shoe the longer you ignore it the
more it will preoccupy your mind.  Enlightement without sex is possible
but a lot more difficult to obtain. A spirituality based on the denial
of our physical/emotional needs can IMO not lead to enlightenment.
Having said that true spirituality probably has very little to do with
the presence or abscence of either.

>might come in handy as a way to eliminate distractions when on a
>spiritual quest.

Celebacy can become a distraction just as easily as sex, though in
moderation it will cause no harm & could be indicative for some
individuals.

>>Sports hunting and killing for the fun of it on the other hand I find
>>to be sick expressions of a very perverted human culture

>The sportsmen would beg to differ.  They say that their bullets are
>much quicker and more merciful than watching the poor animals starve
>to death from overpoulation.

There might be some truth to it, but I was thinking more of the likes
of trophy hunters who kill for the sheer fun of it to boost their frail
male egos.  Besides, not all animals are dying from overpopulation (to
say the least), and many hunters are lousy shots causing the animals
pain and to undergo slow deaths.

>>But I would tend to say that any spiritual path that
>>makes a certain dietary direction a prerequisite for enlightenment to
>>be false

>Weren't you just arguing the flip side of this coin, that true
>enlightenment requires meat-eating if meat-eating is required for
>optimum health?  Make up your mind.

You mean I have to choose? :-) I am not quite sure what you are
referring to as I have been posting so much on these issues lately, but
if I indicated that optimum health is a prerequsite for spiritual
growth, shame on me. :-(  What I probably was trying to say was that to
the extent there is a (perceived)connection between the two, the more a
diet is in conflict with our biological nature the less conducive it
will be for our spiritual growth & enlightenment.

>And lest you think I'm a totally hopeless Calvinist, "The Gift" really
>cracked me up!

Yeah, me too!

>Bob

Best, Peter
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