Posted by Bollinger
(here)
On the question of spirituality, while it is commendable that people have good intentions when exhaling their rhetoric upon us, we have to be weary of where it actually stands.
Time and time again we find that people would very much like this thing we call life to have some meaning. Our faith in this idea is constantly being tested by reality which we so often forget or ignore? Can we not see that all life, almost without exception, ends in miserable failure? What meaning should we attach to a the life of an 8 year old being snuffed out by a stray bullet or the baby that is so deformed at birth that it fails to live beyond the third month?
All religions, without exception and that includes Buddhism, are stooped in what is commonly referred to as spiritual teaching culminated over many years of history. To its devoted followers, it is intended to bring calm and resolution to life’s problems through anointed individuals and scripture accompanied by undertakings such as prayer or meditation. Why? Will this deep human desire to extol inordinate admiration upon gurus and gods never end? It seems not. So many times I hear the words “you have to let go”. Does anyone actually know what that means? If it means breaking out of the shell and being free, surely that must include the shackles placed upon us by religion. How can you break free if you hold firm that any religion is worth following? We are tangled in contradiction, are we not?
If I walk into a monastery or church or any holy place of worship, I too am immediately taken by the peace and the calm it bears upon me. Large echoing walls, strong arches, high ceilings, beautiful paintings, intricate décor, colourful solemn displays with statues and grim looking sculptures; who could fail to succumb to its obvious charm? Everyone bows with solemnity and for one brief moment, we might actually forget that while our souls are being entertained by the angels, in the same instant, others are being taken away in the most abject manner imaginable. If you can reconcile those two realities, your path to follow a religion is wide and open.
Those of us lucky enough to live in warm comfortable houses with gardens and lily ponds often forget the millions who are paying so dearly for coming to this world. Why? Because we are busy trying to achieve enlightenment.
Sorry Tony, I know you are a follower of Buddhism, but to me it is simply another religion and traces more or less the same contour one expects to find; namely the belief that thinking or acting in a certain way will magically heal or cure the individual or even the world of all its ills. No, I’m afraid this world is one that thrives on toil and graft. Here, not only is there no such thing as a free lunch but we are often forced to pay over the odds for even a modest meal.
If there is a guiding hand that is responsible for all this, I hope to be furnished with a damn good reason for it when the time comes.
Buddhism in a nutshell.
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