tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30116234.post6518209591357086082..comments2023-04-02T05:53:11.429-05:00Comments on Buddhist [from] Nebraska: Religion & Relationships (MDIV 555)Monicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17336284049302046478noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30116234.post-25181833573891307732010-11-25T16:27:32.014-06:002010-11-25T16:27:32.014-06:00I don't think religion is important in a relat...I don't think religion is important in a relationship. Respect is, and love is. Everything else can be worked out.Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04776267406256465990noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30116234.post-64479155687277077422010-11-22T11:37:51.408-06:002010-11-22T11:37:51.408-06:00I've had some of these questions around for ye...I've had some of these questions around for years. I have had one very short relationship with another Buddhist practitioner, and one long term girlfriend attended my sangha for a little while, but it never quite stuck for her. I think it's important and often helpful to have similar spiritual paths, but maybe not always a deal breaker. The head teacher of our sangha has been married to a man for over 30 years who is interested in philosophy and religion, but I don't think actually is committed to a specific path. They're doing fine. My step mother is Christian and my father a secular humanist. They're ok. <br /><br />But I think there has to be enough similarities to balance out the differences. And that the differences aren't, ultimately, sources of fear for the partners in the relationship - i.e. if you're afraid of the core values and views of your partner, or those views are threats or used as threats somehow, the relationship is doomed. <br /><br />I think beyond all of this, though, is getting at what kind of relationship would be life-giving for you. What qualities in a partner are most essential to you? <br />What is the deepest purpose for intimate relationship for you? Because if you sit with questions like that, and perhaps meet some people who don't seem to fit the answers you're getting from those questions, then you might have a better sense of who would be the right kind of partner. Maybe it ends up being another Buddhist, or maybe it's someone with a different path, but who lines up in the most important ways.Nathanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13920234350446745482noreply@blogger.com