Reply to: RE>Ritual Knowledge LO6704
Thank you, Ginger, for your commentary. I think you have unveiled some
relevant meaning in the way I understood and used the words "ritual
knowledge". I agree with Marion's understanding, too.
Where does the master's teaching become onerous in that it closes
possibilities (or worse) in the student?
How do most of us learn but from the handing down of experience, lore,
knowledge? Who shall stand as the arbiter of such instruction--what is
Good and what is Bad?
While some claim that humankind is doomed, there is a long history, too,
of essential knowledge passed down. That some aspects of this knowledge
remain naked, soulful Truth kindle hope in the hearts of next generations
who continue to seek in so many ways the meaning of various, immutable
signs.
Rabi'a al-Adawiyya lived in Basra about 1200 years ago. She is the source
of many stories and poems in the Sufi tradition, and I'd like to share one
of eight lines, if I may:
No-one can claim to be sincere in love
Who doesn't forget the sting of the Master's whip
In the presence of the Master--
Just like those Egyptian women
peeling fruit in the Pharoah's kitchen
Who cut theirs hands to shreds when they saw
Beautiful Joseph stepping in the room,
And didn't even know it.
Sincere regards,
-- Barry Mallis Total Quality Resource Manager MARKEM Corporation Keene, NH bmallis@markem.com
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>