Most religions spend most
of their time telling their members 'WHAT TO THINK' instead
of teaching their memberships 'HOW TO THINK.' It is a lot easier
to tell people, "This is wrong and this is right,"
instead of the more demanding job of teaching each person how
to DETERMINE what is "wrong" and what is "right."
This is easy to criticize
in our world of personal freedoms, yet, how many people do you
know that can operate within society all day long on their common
sense, good judgment, and logical thinking? Most people operate
and make decisions based upon their "feelings." Since
feelings are reactions to stimulus, environment, and internal
needs: it is rare to find someone who is objective or understands
the UNIVERSAL TRUTH as opposed to the Truth they "feel."
Go back in time just one century and try to imagine educating
illiterate farmers on the necessity of compassion as they battle
Nature and wild beasts.
Ironically, the more dangerous
life is, the more people desire spirituality. The solace of
religion has been replaced by soap operas, violent movies, and
video games. Although people have more time and freedom to worship
than ever before in human history--they worship less, because
they are comfortable and safe in their homes. Organized religion
attained its foothold during the Middle Ages when lawlessness
and random violence existed in everyday life in ways we could
never comprehend in our modern world.
We've all seen the movies
where the wounded soldier prays to God for salvation (for the
first time in his life). And it is this Judeo-Christian ethic
that has led us away from spirituality. "God is in Heaven,
I'm down here, I'll worry about God when I need a way out of
here."
However, Buddhism is not
really about the afterlife. Buddhism is about THIS LIFE. Don't
live your life based upon threats of burning in a hibachi for
eternity. Live your life based upon the KNOWLEDGE that what
you are doing is the best you can do.
Yeah, yeah. A thief doing
his best... Words can be used to build something or tear it
down. As you read this, are you searching for a way to tear
apart these words or are you looking for a way to build upon
them. This is the essence of Buddhism. To realize the frailty
of any words. To realize there are no absolute rules that fit
every person equally. Buddhism is a LIFELONG SEARCH that will
provide as many questions as answers. Buddhism is about looking
for as many answers and QUESTIONS as possible.
So, do you want to have
someone TELL YOU how to think? Or would you prefer to have a
group of spiritual friends help you figure out how to think,
in a variety of ways?
Neither is wrong. A lot
depends upon what you are ready for. A child needs rules, yet,
a child needs freedom to be wrong.