If you ever want to switch faiths, SK, you’ve got a pretty good handle on the Buddhist perspective regarding negative emotions. We wouldn’t deny the natural feeling of anger, but would try and use the increased motivation to develop love and compassion in ourselves and others.
My teacher escaped Tibet during China’s invasion (or liberation, depending on which side you’re on); he said he saw monks thanking Chinese soldiers that were beating the monks, because the Chinese were challenging the monks to maintain compassion towards the soldiers. Not sure if the story is true, but it was motivational.
I appreciate the discussion about Satanism; I didn’t know much about it. At the risk of oversimplifying, it seems like Satanism says the appropriate response to a situation is to act as a 4-year-old would – gut-level, self-motivated responses to how you’ve been treated.
In some way the concepts make me think of the Hindu “Ten Million Ways to God”. The concept that any religious doctrine, taken with sufficient focus and devotion, will lead you to enlightenment.
Think about the Crowley canard; “Do what thou wilt is the whole of the law.” Sounds like an easy way out, until you realize that believing that makes it incumbent on you to create your own internal morality that both aligns with your desires and allows you to live and work in the real world. If you follow that belief then you’re responsible for everything you do in every moment and you can’t rely on any God to shoulder the burden or give you hope.
