Theos-Talk Archives (July 1996 Message tl00389)

Bee:
>I don't see the problem as core versus others. When I first got on to the
>list I too was guilty of crying BORING when Eldon and some others 
>discussed hard things but after a bit I realised that there should be a 
place >for everyone here without getting hassled for 'wrong thinking'. That 
is why I >got into strife with Alexis because I think we should at least 
respect each >other and each others views. Over time many views change and 
what we >think today may not be what we think next year.

Dear Bee,

you may appreciate to know that this very concept of common "core 
teachings" is something of a blow in the face to some of us. "The problem 
of core versus others" is inherent in the idea itself - the idea is 
positively dangerous. Its expounders seems to add various favorite writers 
according to personal whim to this grouping but still fails to see the 
self-contradictiory in this barrier-building work.
  Every day the idea seems to be catching on, probably because it is not  
 refuted - except by the heroic last stand of Richard. Even KPJ seems to 
have caught on to this idea of a core framework where authors can be inside 
or outside according to the spiritual insight of the listmaker.
   As a thought experiment along this line let us pronounce the SD the only 
acceptable "core teaching" for true Theosophists. Then we will have as our 
biblical main-source a work which try to synthesize the maximum amount of 
other works. Can you see the irony in it? Or perhaps these thousands of 
works would be "core works" as well? Then I would have to state my opinion 
that the real essential works - the works containing the ideas translated 
and adressed in the SD - remain largely unquoted. Before attempting to 
demonstrate such an proposition I would probably have removed myself from 
the very small core theosophistical enclosure, and there would be no need 
for me to continue.
 PS. Just to clarify, Bee, the core idea itself is far older in theosophy 
than our discussions here - and in fact is common to all religions. Even 
the original arhats themselves sat down themselves after the death of the 
Buddha to renumerate essential ideas. Very interestingly they started with 
something they called "the immutable"...
   BTW, I do not think there is an "easy-to-read" short-cut to spiritual 
knowledge.

In friendship,

Kim