Foundations for Muslim-Buddhist Interfaith Dialogue
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/aamir-hussain/foundations-for-muslim-buddhist-interfaith-dialogue_b_3084696.htmlAamir Hussain
Muslim Interfaith Activist
Posted: 04/15/2013 11:22 am
Given the shifting geopolitical landscape and the rising economic power of South and East Asia, it is becoming increasingly necessary to open new channels of interfaith dialogue and cross-cultural understanding between Buddhism and Islam. Massacres of the Muslim Rohingya people in Buddhist-majority Burma and tensions between the religiously divided regions of Indian-occupied Kashmir illustrate the lack of understanding between adherents of these two religions.
The major obstacle to dialogue between Buddhism and Islam is theological. Monotheism is central to Islamic doctrine, while most denominations of Buddhism consider belief in the divine to be irrelevant to one's own quest for nirvana. However, there are other commonalities between Buddhism and Islam that can serve as foundations for constructive interfaith dialogue. Specifically, both religions have similar perspectives on both proper action and the value of inter-religious dialogue that can contribute to greater inter-religious understanding and respect.
One example is the concept of consequences for one's right or wrong actions. For Muslims, all humans will be judged for their right or wrong actions after their deaths on the The Day of Judgment, and the Quran states that, "Whoever does an atom's weight of good will see it; and whoever does an atom's weight of evil will see it" (Quran 99
-8). Indeed, those who have a higher weight of good deeds will enter eternal Paradise, while those with a higher weight of evil deeds will reside in Hellfire (Quran 101:6-11). The desire to achieve residence in Paradise after death therefore motivates Muslims to act virtuously while living on Earth, a temporary existence inferior to that of Paradise.
This belief is very similar to the Noble Truths of Buddhism, which state that all life is transitory and inevitably contains suffering. For Buddhists, the only way to escape suffering is to achieve nirvana through eliminating one's personal attachments and following the Eightfold Path. One of the main components of this path is correct action, which is governed by karma. Similar to the beliefs in Islam, karma indicates that every good action will eventually be rewarded, while every bad action will be punished. Some schools of Buddhism also state that after death, souls with good karma will enter one of several hierarchical Heavens corresponding to the person's degree of goodness, while those with bad karma will enter one of many Hells corresponding to the person's degree of evil. Buddhism diverges from Islam by stating that these afterlives are transitory; Buddhists believe in reincarnation, and souls must continue the inevitable cycle of samsara (birth, death, and rebirth) until they can be fully released from the cycle by attaining nirvana. Since nirvana is a step beyond the highest Heaven, good works are therefore important for Buddhists because they condition the soul for achieving the ultimate goal of release from samsara. Clearly, both Muslims and Buddhists believe that every action has a consequence, and it behooves followers of each faith to pursue good works.
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She was serving a roasted chicken and it slipped off the tray on the way to the table. She just picked it up off the floor, put it back on the tray and served it without a word.
"You need some fat in your diet, or you can't process your vitamins"
Bon appétit!
by a former Zen Buddhist, Edward Espe Brown (his book was, and is, The Tassajara Bread Book.) And he'd likely agree with you about meeting in the kitchen (or bakery.) 
but I recommend the "Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes A Day" book and recipes. It requires the keeping of the dough in the refrigerator, for up to two weeks, and using about a pound of the dough daily, or as often as you want bread in that two weeks.
The "5 Minutes" refers to the amount of effort required, and does not including resting and baking times, which total about an hour. Still, that's not bad. Fresh-baked bread in an hour. You can do that when you get home from work and have it with your evening meal 
The only "problem" I've had with it is that as I am trained in doing bread the 'old' way, it's difficult for me to "hold myself back" when it comes to shaping the loaf. I want to knead it! But that would over-work this kind of dough, and make it worse.
I do want to experiment soon and make rolls and maybe some braided loaves. The Artisan book even has plenty of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean recipes, such as flatbreads and some other olive-loaves I've been told are Arabic in origin
I've also figured out how to turn off the screen-saver, so I can use cookbooks on it (otherwise, the screen-saver turns off the screen after ten minutes.)
I'm sure it's a nice print book, too, and would guess the photos are in color as well
It is easy and pretty fail safe. The only drawback is that it does not lend itself easily to adding things (like cheese or olives, etc.)
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/08/dining/081mrex.html
