At 08:57 03.05.2005 +0000, you wrote:

>Dear Piya, Gunnar, etc.,
>
>and on an even lighter note, did you know that one of the most famous
>meditation mantras in the Christian tradition is the Aramaic
>phrase: 'maranatha'. I shouldn't have to tell those on the list what
>this means: 'Satan is Lord'.
>
>Bhante Sujato

On an equally light note, the god Sakka once told the Buddha how those
other religions arose. In Sakkapanhasutta (Walshe's translation, p. 331)
Sakka says:

Lord, I went to those I considered to be ascetics and Brahmins because of
their solitary life in the woods, and I put those questions to them. But
instead of giving me a proper answer, they asked me in return: "Who are
you, Venerable Sir?" I replied that I was Sakka, ruler of the gods, and
they asked me what had brought me there. Then I taught them the Dhamma as
far as I had heard it and practised it. But they were very pleased with
even that much, and they said: "We have seen Sakka, the ruler of the gods,
and he has answered the questions we put to him!" And they became my pupils
instead of my becoming theirs.

So now we know what really happened to those prophets who claim to have
received revelations from a god. What really happened, was that a poor,
bewildered god was out there, looking for answers and explanations. And the
"prophets" just misunderstood the whole situation!

Afterwards Sakka of course declares himself to be a disciple of the Buddha.

So the theists of the world are disciples of god, and god is a disciple of
the Buddha ..... :-)))))

I can't help feeling that the story in the Sakkapanhasutta was told as a
joke, although a joke with a deeper and more serious meaning.

Best regards,

Kåre A. Lie
http://www.lienet.no