The Search For Religion or Transcendence?

Following along the theme of discussing religion and what it can mean or should mean to us, here is another view point that I find vry open and interesting. It is from Barbara O'Brian who practices Zen Buddhism. Barbara makes some wise points in this excerpt below...

Religion is not primarily about beliefs. Rather, "Religion is a search for transcendence".

It is  a journey for all of us.  We have this feeling inside that there is 'something more' going on here.  So I propose you go find it.  Study and learn, become a student of this magnificant life you live and loose the judgement that keeps you bound to the past beliefs that were not working.   By freeing yourself and doing something different... you are sure to discover you are closer to that 'something more' then you thought.

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True Religion

People who are eager to convert others to their religion usually believe their religion is the "right" one -- the One True Religion. They think their doctrines are the true doctrines and their God the real God, and all others are wrong. Such a view makes two assumptions that I reject.

The first assumption is that an omnipotent and omnipresent entity such as God -- or Brahma, or the Tao, or the Trikaya -- can be completely understood by human intellect, and that this perfect understanding can be expressed in words to form doctrines that transmit this perfect understanding to others with unfailing accuracy.

And I say that's nonsense. I say no doctrines of any religion, including mine, are the complete truth. All fall short of perfect understanding. All are frequently misunderstood. The truest doctrines are just pointers, shadows on a wall, or a hand pointing to the moon.

At the same time, it may be that most of the doctrines of most of the world's religions reflect some small part of a great and absolute truth, so they aren't necessarily false, either. As Joseph Campbell may have said, all religions are true. You just have to understand what they are true of.

The Search for Transcendence

The other false assumption is that thinking the correct thoughts and believing the correct beliefs are what define religion. I'm with historian Karen Armstrong when she says that religion is not primarily about beliefs. Rather, "Religion is a search for transcendence."

Of course, transcendence can be conceptualized many different ways, also. We might think of transcendence as union with God or as entry into Nirvana. But I don't think the conceptualizations are all that important, since all are imperfect. Maybe God is a metaphor for Nirvana. Maybe Nirvana is a metaphor for God.

The Buddha taught his monks that Nirvana cannot be conceptualized. In Exodus, God refused to be limited by a name or represented by a graven image. It may be hard for humans to accept, but there are places our almighty imaginations and intellects cannot go.

Lights in the Darkness

I'm not saying beliefs and doctrines have no value, because they do. Doctrines can be like a flickering candle that keeps you from walking in total darkness. They can be like markers on a path, showing you a way others have walked before.

Buddhists judge the value of a doctrine not by its factual accuracy but by its skillfulness. A skillful doctrine opens the heart to compassion and the mind to wisdom.

Rigidly fixed beliefs are not skillful, however. Rigidly fixed beliefs seal us off from objective reality and from other people who don't share our beliefs. They render the mind hard and closed to whatever revelations or realizations Grace might send our way.

The One True Religion

I believe the world's great religions have all accumulated their share of both skillful and unskillful doctrines and practices. I also have observed that a religion that's good for one person can be all wrong for someone else. Ultimately, the One True Religion for you is the one that most completely engages your own heart and mind. It is that engagement that enables transcendence.

I left Christianity because it no longer engaged my heart and mind. Well, the heart maybe, but the mind said "Nope." But just because I walked away from Christianity doesn't mean I think Christianity or any other religion is wrong for everyone else.

Just yesterday I had a lovely conversation with the cantor of a nearby synagogue. As he spoke of being a cantor is was clear that Judaism illuminates his life and is his One True Religion. I'd have been the world's most boorish ass to even think of "converting" him.

Engaged Buddhism

It's been twenty years since I found Thich Nhat Hanh's Fourteen Precepts of Engaged Buddhism . The first one is:

"Do not be idolatrous about or bound to any doctrine, theory, or ideology, even Buddhist ones. Buddhist systems of thought are guiding means; they are not absolute truth."

I knew then that Buddhism was a religion I could enter into with my entire heart and mind without leaving my critical thinking skills at the door. And it's also why I feel no deep compulsion to convert anyone.

If you are looking for a spiritual home, I'm happy to help you learn about Buddhism. But I can't give you reasons to convert. You'll have to find those within yourself.

Harmony of Religions

I get asked so many questinos abut our world's religions and "Who is right/wrong?",  "Why?", "Is there a God?",  "Will religion help me?"....  The list goes on...   I found some thought provoking insight from a Vedantan perspective that  wanted to share...  See what you feel.

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"Truth is one; sages call it by various names," the Rig Veda, one of Vedanta's most ancient texts, declared thousands of years ago.

We are all seeking the truth, Vedanta asserts, and that truth comes in numerous names and forms. Truth—spiritual reality—remains the truth though it appears in different guises and approaches us from various directions. "Whatever path people travel is My path," says the Bhagavad Gita. "No matter where they walk, it leads to Me."

If all religions are true, then what is all the fighting about?

Politics, mostly, and the distortions that cultures and limited human minds superimpose upon spiritual reality. What is generally considered "religion" is a mixture of essentials and nonessentials; as Ramakrishna said, all scriptures contain a mixture of sand and sugar. We need to take out the sugar and leave the sand behind: we should extract the essence of religion—whether we call it union with God or Self-realization—and leave the rest behind. Whatever helps us to manifest our divinity we embrace; whatever pulls us away from that ideal, we avoid.

The carnage inflicted upon the world in the name of religion has precious little to do with genuine religion. People fight over doctrine and dogma: we don't see people being murdered over attaining divine union! A "religious war" is really large-scale egotism gone berserk. As Swami Prabhavananda, the founder of the Vedanta Society of Southern California, would smilingly say, "If you put Jesus, Buddha, and Muhammad in the same room together, they will embrace each other. If you put their followers together, they may kill each other!"

Truth is one, but it comes filtered through the limited human mind. That mind lives in a particular culture, has its own experience of the world and lives at a particular point in history. The infinite Reality is thus processed through the limitations of space, time, causation, and is further processed through the confines of human understanding and language. Manifestations of truth—scriptures, sages, and prophets—will necessarily vary from age to age and from culture to culture. Light, when put through a prism, appears in various colors when observed from different angles. But the light always remains the same pure light. The same is true with spiritual truth.

This is not to say that all religions are "really pretty much the same." That is an affront to the distinct beauty and individual greatness of each of the world's spiritual traditions. Saying that every religion is equally true and authentic doesn't mean that one can be substituted for the other like generic brands of aspirin.

Every Religion Has a Gift
Every religion has a specific gift to offer humankind; every religion brings with it a unique viewpoint which enriches the world. Christianity stresses love and sacrifice; Judaism, the value of spiritual wisdom and tradition. Islam emphasizes universal brotherhood and equality while Buddhism advocates compassion and mindfulness. The Native American tradition teaches reverence for the earth and the natural world surrounding us. Vedanta or the Hindu tradition stresses the oneness of existence and the need for direct mystical experience.

The world's spiritual traditions are like different pieces in a giant jigsaw puzzle: each piece is different and each piece is essential to complete the whole picture. Each piece is to be honored and respected while holding firm to our own particular piece of the puzzle. We can deepen our own spirituality and learn about our own tradition by studying other faiths. Just as importantly, by studying our own tradition well, we are better able to appreciate the truth in other traditions.

Deepening in Our Path
Just as we honor the various world religions and respect their adherents, we must grow and deepen in our own particular spiritual path--whatever it may be. We shouldn't dabble in a little bit of Buddhism and a little bit of Islam and a little bit of Christianity and then try a new combo plate the following week. Spiritual practice is not a smorgasbord. If we throw five varieties of desserts into a food processor, we'll just get one unpalatable mess.

While Vedanta emphasizes the harmony of religions, it also stresses the necessity of diving deep into the spiritual tradition of our choice, sticking with it, and working hard. To paraphrase Ramakrishna, If you want to dig a well, you have to choose your location and keep digging until you reach water. It doesn't do any good to dig a bunch of shallow holes.

While a shallow spiritual life is probably better than no spiritual life at all, it nevertheless doesn't take us where we want to go: to freedom, to God-realization. Once we choose which spiritual path we wish to follow, we should doggedly pursue it until we reach the goal. The point is, we can do this while not only valuing other traditions, but also learning from them.

Different Paths to the Same Goal
Vedanta says that all religions contain within themselves the same essential truths, although the packaging is different. And that is good. Every human being on the planet is unique. Not one of us really practices the same religion. Every person's mind is different and every person needs his or her own unique path to reach the top of the mountain. Some paths are narrow, some are broad. Some are winding and difficult and some are safe and dull. Eventually we'll all get to the top of the mountain; we don't have to worry about our neighbors getting lost along the way. They'll do just fine. We all need different approaches to fit our different natures.

Despite external variations in the world religions, the internals are more alike than not. Every religion teaches similar moral and ethical virtues; all religions teach the importance of spiritual striving and the necessity of honoring our fellow human beings as part of that striving.

"As different streams having their sources in different places all mingle their water in the sea," says an ancient Sanskrit prayer, "so, O Lord, the different paths which people take through different tendencies, various though they appear, crooked or straight, all lead to Thee."