Radical Religion
I am drawn to Buddhism because it is different than all the rest. Of all the world's religions, and one of the oldest at 2500 years old, it stands alone- radically different. It puts the power in the people's hands. It is a wonder to me why it hasn't been squashed by the other prevalent religions who rely on an outside power to wield control over the masses.
It is the only belief system which does not put god/creator/universal maker/controller outside of the realm of the human existence- the only existence we know. We can never be Jesus, or Allah, or Krishna, or Mother Earth. But we can be Buddha. In Buddhism 'god' is within us all right here, right now. On Earth. We are already the Buddha, we just don't know it yet. This divine and beautiful energy (or however you charactarize the force of life, commonly referred to as 'god') is held above us as something out of reach. We are not inferior to it, because it is already part of us.
We are not petrified into obedience by tales of hell in the afterlife. We are not chastized to get down on our knees and worship someone that came before us- someone better, more holy, someone we could never be. We are not put below or inferior to the person we pay homage to. We are not dependent on some outside diety to pay for our sins, to save us from eternal damnation, to save our souls, to give us blessings, or send us punishment. We are told that this power resides only in ourselves. Instead of submission to an outside and unseen force, we are told to seek inward. We are told never to believe anything that we do not personally verify as truth. We are not told to blindly, and obediently obey in the name of 'faith'. We are told to rely on the one thing in this human life that we truly have: our minds. In this way, we must not think of ourselves as "only human". We are not lowly, subservient creatures that are not deserving of god's love and the blessings of the universe. We are god's love. We are the universe.
This does 2 radical things: 1) it puts responsibility and reliance on the individual and 2) emphasizes deep introspection into the mind and consequently, behaviors that are driven by the mind.
This is starkly opposite from the alterior modes provided by other religions: 1) putting responsibility and reliance in the hands of an unseen, unavailable supreme being 2) emphasizes reliance on others' (those of higher standing within the religious hierarchy) interpretation and beliefs, and not one's own mind.
Buddhism teaches us to trust only ourselves. Sadly, this is an extremist concept. Imagine your preist telling you: "Don't believe what the Bible or pope says, just because it is said- think for yourself!" Buddhism is simply empowering, in that it is the only belief system that tells us NOT to deny ourselves, and NOT to deny our focused interpretation of existence or reality. In Buddhism, we are encouraged to only rely on ourselves, and in doing so, we may see things as they really are, and be freed. Power to the people!
P.S. It should be noted that Buddhism, much like Christianity, has been diluted with its own share of dogma. The messages of the Buddha and of Jesus have been misdirected through the literal interpretation of parable, which for many have become the primary focus instead seen as the vehicle for the teaching. Perhaps more to come on that later.
It is the only belief system which does not put god/creator/universal maker/controller outside of the realm of the human existence- the only existence we know. We can never be Jesus, or Allah, or Krishna, or Mother Earth. But we can be Buddha. In Buddhism 'god' is within us all right here, right now. On Earth. We are already the Buddha, we just don't know it yet. This divine and beautiful energy (or however you charactarize the force of life, commonly referred to as 'god') is held above us as something out of reach. We are not inferior to it, because it is already part of us.
We are not petrified into obedience by tales of hell in the afterlife. We are not chastized to get down on our knees and worship someone that came before us- someone better, more holy, someone we could never be. We are not put below or inferior to the person we pay homage to. We are not dependent on some outside diety to pay for our sins, to save us from eternal damnation, to save our souls, to give us blessings, or send us punishment. We are told that this power resides only in ourselves. Instead of submission to an outside and unseen force, we are told to seek inward. We are told never to believe anything that we do not personally verify as truth. We are not told to blindly, and obediently obey in the name of 'faith'. We are told to rely on the one thing in this human life that we truly have: our minds. In this way, we must not think of ourselves as "only human". We are not lowly, subservient creatures that are not deserving of god's love and the blessings of the universe. We are god's love. We are the universe.
This does 2 radical things: 1) it puts responsibility and reliance on the individual and 2) emphasizes deep introspection into the mind and consequently, behaviors that are driven by the mind.
This is starkly opposite from the alterior modes provided by other religions: 1) putting responsibility and reliance in the hands of an unseen, unavailable supreme being 2) emphasizes reliance on others' (those of higher standing within the religious hierarchy) interpretation and beliefs, and not one's own mind.
Buddhism teaches us to trust only ourselves. Sadly, this is an extremist concept. Imagine your preist telling you: "Don't believe what the Bible or pope says, just because it is said- think for yourself!" Buddhism is simply empowering, in that it is the only belief system that tells us NOT to deny ourselves, and NOT to deny our focused interpretation of existence or reality. In Buddhism, we are encouraged to only rely on ourselves, and in doing so, we may see things as they really are, and be freed. Power to the people!
P.S. It should be noted that Buddhism, much like Christianity, has been diluted with its own share of dogma. The messages of the Buddha and of Jesus have been misdirected through the literal interpretation of parable, which for many have become the primary focus instead seen as the vehicle for the teaching. Perhaps more to come on that later.