***Religion***
by Venerina Conti Spa Manager, Writer, Life CoachI don’t consider myself to be a religious person. I was brought up a
Catholic and I was lead to believe that catholicism is the only right
way in this world. Then, through family ties, I encountered Islam, that
also claimed to be the only way of this world.
Years later, I
was introduced to Jehovah’s witnesses, when they knocked at our family
door once, and, unsurprisingly enough, they claimed their religion was
the only way to go.
When I worked in China, I found that people
still pray to an infinite number of Gods - just like our ancestors
throughout history in ancient Greece and Latin Rome. Heck, my name even
comes from a Greek and Roman Goddess. Read any kind of European
mythology and you will find numerous Gods in every country.
Over
the last few years, I have had the pleasure of conversing with great
Rabbis from the United States and Israel and, low and behold, they
believe their religion is the salvation of human beings.
I’ve
read the Torah, the Vedic Scriptures from India, the Holy Bible, the
Holy Qur’an, the Japanese Bushinko, the Egyptian and Tibetan books of
the Dead. I’ve read about the Bonn religion, Russian and Greek orthodox
religions and Hinduism. I’ve studied Shamanism and Buddhism and I could
mention many more.
Yet, in 2009, I converted to Buddhism, not
because I was seeking a religion. I’m openly, and honestly, not good at
following any set of religious rules and rituals. I’m not even capable
of having, or following, ritualistic patterns in my everyday life, let
alone my spiritual one. I never get out of bed at the same time daily. I
never eat at regular meal times and the list could go on. I guess I
just don’t have enough self-discipline in that area, or perhaps deep
down I feel it’s all a waste of time.
In all honesty, I probably
make a terrible Buddhist. I don’t follow any kind of formalised, or
institutionalised indoctrination and I don’t pray conventionally. I
don’t chant properly or frequently enough. My meditation practice is
falling a little by the wayside and I’ve probably broken a few of the
vows I took when I converted.
Yet, I don’t go out of my way to
harm people or other living beings. I don’t go out of my way to harm the
environment we live in. In fact, the three main Buddhist principles I
try and follow every single day of my life are: love, kindness and
compassion towards other living beings even though it’s not always easy.
I’ve always said that mosquitoes will be the reason I’ll stay in
Samsara for all eternity and my thoughts of wanting to slap around a few
high-maintenance, pretentiously demanding, and thoughtless tourists on
holiday is very very remote from being a good Buddhist.
None the
less, I don’t go around slapping people every time I feel like I want
to. On the contrary, every day of my life, I still try to make a tiny
little difference in someone else’s life and do something to avoid
harming the natural world we live in. Sadly, mosquitoes are excluded
from this conversation.
The atheists among you would argue that
you don’t need to be religious to be kind and you’d be absolutely
right. Religion doesn’t teach us to be kind. Your parents, your
education, the very foundations of your moral and ethical being teach
you to be kind. You don’t have to be religious to be a kind person.
We
can argue that you don’t need a God to tell you to be compassionate,
which is absolutely correct. You can learn to be compassionate from a
friend, a relative, from doing volunteer work, from empathising with
people in circumstances different, or less fortunate than your own. You
certainly don’t need a supreme being to show you how to be loving.
In
fact, my strong belief is that we’re already, naturally, creatures of
love. We were born from an act of love and anyone who has ever done
something nice for someone else will also know how good it feels to see
someone happy thanks to something we’ve done. It’s the most satisfying
feeling in the world.
However, I do understand that many people
in the world find these qualities difficult and need guidance to adhere
to them. If that guidance comes from their God, and makes them happy and
better people, then so be it. Who am I to say it’s wrong. I fully
understand that a lot of people need a supreme being to believe in for
their own peace of mind when things go wrong, when they need help and
when there is nothing in their lives but despair. I completely
comprehend the need many people have to believe in supernatural powers
that can save them. For many, faith is all there is and why should that
be wrong? As long as it harms no others in the process.
My personal reasons for converting to Buddhism were:
I’m
not capable of being an Atheist. I believe that, in whatever form and
with whatever name anyone wishes to call it, there is a very powerful
energetic source of all creation out there. Ever since studying physics
back in college and metaphysics during my university days, I’ve adhered
to the philosophy that the beginning of all things is energy and that
energy, by its very nature can be magnified, reduced and transformed but
it can never be destroyed. Since all energy is derived from atoms,
protons, electrons and neutrons, which are particles that form the basic
composition of everything, we are no more than a bundle of unified
energy on two legs. Of course, this is only the opinion of a ranting
woman. I don’t expect anyone else to agree with me.
For the
first time in my life, during any religious gathering, or retreat in
this case, I heard a Buddhist monk, who I now love dearly and who I
consider to be my heart teacher, say: “Buddhism respects all religions,
beliefs and cultures.” His words resonated so deeply within me, that I
knew I was in the right place and among my kind of people. In fact, in
all the time I’ve spent in India and Nepal, among Tibetan people and
those who have chosen the path of Buddhism, I’ve never heard a bad word
said against any religion.
The point of saying all this though,
is not to convert anyone to Buddhism nor convince anyone that Buddhism
is the way to go. Not at all.
My point is, if one major religion
of the world, like Buddhism, can accept and respect all other religions
and ideologies, why the hell can’t all the other religions? and yes,
surprisingly enough, Buddhism is one of the major religions since
studies estimate that close to1 billion people practice it on a global
scale.
Is a question of arrogance and pride? Is it because
each religion wants to be right about its ideology and beliefs? Or, can
it simply be a question of what it’s always been about; politics,
manipulation and control. Secular powers preying on the beliefs of human
being based on existential insecurities.
Sponsor Ads
Created on Dec 31st 1969 18:00. Viewed 0 times.