The older I get, the more I seem to form opinions about my observations. Maybe this is true for most people, I'm not sure. But I felt like documenting this today.
Since moving about 30 miles north of where I used to live, I finally found a Buddhist 'Sangha' or what you could call a like-minded community of spiritual seekers who are interested in Buddhist teachings. One of the many things that drew me to Buddhism was the non-judgemental nature of the religion or, more accurately to me, the philosophy. It is the first 'religion' I have experienced where no claims are made to the rightness of Buddhism as opposed to other religions. Buddhism is Buddhism, take it or leave it. Or take some of it and leave the rest. Anyway, this week we spoke about how we found this particular path. Because of these testimonials, I have found myself thinking a lot about judgementalism. As I drove down the road today, a thought came to mind.
Let's say your neighbor was speaking with you about a coworker whose cousin worked for a man whose wife had an uncle who was amazing. This man helped people find cures for their illnesses, donated money to charities, volunteered at homeless shelters, and spent every minute of the day trying to do good deeds and help people be happy.
Now you may not know your neighbor's coworker. Or her cousin. Or her boss or his wife. And you may not even know this kind uncle. But, I imagine you would have good feelings about a person who was so dedicated to doing kind things. Even without knowing this person, you would have to have some level of respect for the type of person he seemed to be according to what you heard.
Why is it that when some people hear of another's beliefs, even if they are based in kindness, it is so often judged as 'wrong' or 'a mistaken path' or that the person is seeking answers in the wrong places? Why can't we just see the positive aspects of each religion and appreciate the goodness in each? Why, if someone isn't a practicing Christian, do so many people need to vocalize their opinions about the error of their ways? Aside from someone worshiping evil, there are so many beautiful concepts in so many different religions.
I like to think of this spiritual variety as a sort of "spiritual buffet" served on a bed of beautiful, leafy greens. On one bed of greens, you have Baptist teachings. On another, you have Catholic catechism. On another, Wiccan. So many to pick from on down the line through Buddhism, Judaiism, Hinduism, Taoism, etcetera, etcetera. Even at a dinner buffet, not everyone chooses the same things to eat. Each has different needs, concepts, limits of understanding, personal history. But everyone benefits from eating.
The interesting thing about this spiritual buffet is that the most important part of the buffet is the foundation of it. The beautiful, leafy greens. Full of nutrients and benefits, the greens are the 'love' of the buffet. The foundation of all the religions, you will find, is the same. Love each other. Be kind to each other. Treat others with respect. Think kind thoughts, say kind things, do kind deeds, help your fellow man.
So even though we all look different and sound different, we all know what we need to do. We need to be kind to each other, compassionate and true. It's as easy as that. It doesn't really matter what you call it.
Many great people in history told us just that. Abraham, Jesus, Buddha, Moses, and more. Maybe if we paid more attention to the similarities of our varying beliefs instead of the differences, we would find more peace and realize we have more in common than we think.
No comments:
Post a Comment