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OUTNICE

                                      September 5, 1992


Wells remarks on the tolerance
of Gautama's Buddhism, compared          Sections 5 and 6 of Chapter XXV
to the "jealous God" of Judaism.         of H.G. Wells _Outline of 
                                         History_, (around page 376 of
"The intolerance of the Jewish           the third edition).
mind did keep its essential faith
clear and clean.  The theological
disregard of the great Eastern
teachers, neither assenting nor
denying, did on the other hand
permit elaborations of
explanation and accumulations of
ritual from the very beginning.
Except for Gautama's insistance
upon Right Views, which was
easily disregarded, there was no
_self-cleansing_ element in
either Buddhism, Taoism, or
Confucianism.  There was no
effective prohibition of
superstitious practices [...]
At an early stage a process of
encrustation began and
continued.  The new faiths
caught almost every disease of
the corrupt religions they sought
to replace [...]"

    This contradicts my thought
    that "intolerance" is a long-
    term liability for an
    ideology.

        Probably: The resolution is that
        tolerance vs. intolerance is too
        broad an issue.  By itself,
        tolerance is not a virtue (do you
        tolerate murder, slavery, rape?).

        When we praise "tolerance",
        what is it we have in mind that
        should be tolerated?



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