The test for all religions

If we were to jump into a time machine and go back to the beginning of most religions we would not find a single one to be about believing in an external deity or God who from their throne, so to speak, created heaven and earth.  This very idea is dualistic in the sense of creating an unbridgeable difference between the absolute, or the One, and its expression. 

The world we live in is no more of a difference from the One than an ocean wave can be believed to be different from water or wind to be different from the air that we breathe.  But for the mind held in bondage by religious dualism, viz., God and his creations, there can be no salvation—only blindness.  It is somewhat the same with those who adhere to physicalism; who are in bondage to physical plurality and relativity; who cannot see that this is but an outward, illusory expression of the One that serves to reveal the intrinsic power and essence of the One to itself.

Judaism, Christianity and even Islam show an almost total corruption of the original revelation.  Buddhism, fortunately, because it rests upon the teaching of direct gnosis is far less corrupted although I dare say that it is not completely without corruption.  The test for all these religions is can they return to each their original revelation which was, essentially, mystical and non-dual?

I certainly would not bet on Judaism, Christianity or Islam.  On that same score, it was Zen Buddhism that saved Buddhism in China from being corrupted which was, subsequently, allowed to spread its wings and deliver the Buddha’s authentic revelation.  But even Zen became corrupted turning Zen on its head where it grew into a teaching of seated-Zen rather than spiritual gnosis or kensho.

Comments

[thezennist]

Smith: Buddhism's claim is not that all of mankind was originally enlightened then mysteriously lost it. Far from it. I am saying that religions at one time did not believe in an external deity or God who, from his throne, so to speak, created heaven and earth. The religious founders realized the One (non-dual) who taught this realization to others. Over time these religions became corrupted.

[smith]

again, given your claim -buddhisms claim- that originally there was the one, the perfect truth, the uncorrupted, why then or rather how then did the ocean of samasara ever come to be? did the corrupted enter into, did suffering and non-truth come to be? when, why, and how? clearly they came form somewhere, and the only preexisting something of which this samsaric can have come is then from the one, the perfect, the unblemished that always is was and will be, how can ignorance did ignorance come from perfect truth?