Helping a Student with a Religious Assignment

One Student's Religion Paper

(a college student needed to interview someone regarding their religion, so I volunteered)

KAY: If you don't mind, I'll start with the questions, and if anything offends you please let me know, I do not want to upset anyone. I don't believe any of the questions will, but you never know.



Sitaram: You will not upset me... I have been studying and discussing religions for years.



KAY: well okay, my first question is, What does being Buddhist Mean to you?


Sitaram: ok... what does being Buddhist mean to me...



Well, Siddhartha Gautama was the historical Buddha, who taught various things.

The first of four noble truths is that everything is suffering, and suffering arises from desires.


We suffer because we do not have things which we desire, and we desire things which we do not have...


The other 3 noble truths have to do with escape from suffering



By the way, Buddhism is in a curious way the opposite of Christianity.... I will explain:



Jesus said "I come to give you life, and life more abundant"


Now Jesus was said to be a carpenter in life, and Jesus said "In my fathers house are many mansions, I go there to prepare a place for you"


But Buddha (Siddhartha) was very much the opposite...

On the eve of his enlightenment, Buddha is tempted by Mara (Satan)

Buddha says to Mara, "I have now discovered you as the builder of this house (my body), and this house shall not be built again"...

What Buddha meant is that he would never again be reborn into this world.

Back to your question...

To be Buddhist means to follow the path of Buddha, to become a Buddha if possible, in conquering desire and suffering, and escaping the cycle of birth and death and rebirth.

Similarly, the Christian tries to follow Christ and become Christ, as far as possible...

We see this in the Gospels, where the man asks Jesus what he must do to be saved...

Jesus at first says,... "You have the commandments, so follow them..."

The man answers "I have obeyed the commandments from my youth... what more is needful?"

Curiously, the passage (I think Luke) says "then JESUS LOVED HIM, and said, "If you would be perfect, then give away all, take up your cross and follow me."

So, we see a clear invitation to follow Jesus in imitation of the crucifixion.

Being Buddhist means following a way of life, a practice, which transforms and changes the self, the mind, to avoid suffering, and to escape constant rebirth into material world caused by desires.

There is a story about a missionary who said to a Zen Buddhist master "Don't you want to become a Christian and be saved from hell".... the Zen master answered "as a Buddhist, I believe in the vow of the Bodhisattva, to delay my own salvation, until all other beings are saved from suffering..... so therefore gladly would I enter into hell for the sake of all the beings who suffer in hell



KAY: so a part of being Buddhist is self-sacrifice so to speak.


Sitaram: hmmm... yes, in a sense, self-sacrifice.... but... in a sense, mastering the self... in the movie Seven years In Tibet...

The European is a mountain climber...

The Tibetan woman says, "you Europeans desire to conquer a mountain, but we Tibetans conquer the self, and consider that a triumph."

Now, there is a subtle difference between the Christian sacrifice of self, to give all to the poor, to be crucified...

and the Buddhist conquest of self....

They are similar sacrifices in many ways, but they differ much also...

The Christian is promised "treasures in heaven" for the sacrifice on earth...


KAY: okay, that I know and understand


Sitaram: and correspondingly, wealthy people who are selfish, are poor in heaven...

But, in the Christian example, there is still the DESIRE for wealth... for heavenly treasures , where moth and rust do not threaten

In the Greek of New Testament it is SEIS KAI BROSIS, the words for moth and rust

whereas, in Buddhist Hindu outlook,.... the desire EVEN FOR SALVATION/MOKSHA/DELIVERANCE is an impediment to salvation, since it is a desire.


In St. John Climacus, ladder of divine ascent, we see PRIDE, as the aspect of desire for salvation which impedes salvation



KAY: What do you mean Impediment to salvation?



Sitaram: The higher the monk climbs in the latter of renunciation, the more fiercely the monastic is attacked with a sense of pride at his own achievement...

An impediment is an obstacle, a stumbling block... a barrier

So, for the Buddhist, if DESIRE of any sort is a source of suffering,... then the desire for moksha, liberation, freedom, can be a cause of pride or suffering



KAY: oh, okay. and in Buddhism suffering is good



Sitaram: consider the parable of Jesus, where at the judgment, some approach and say "Lord, Lord, we worked miracles in your name...

and Jesus answers to them "I never knew you.... go away"

So, you can see how those people were quite proud at their religious accomplishments

Whereas the other group, Jesus welcomes saying "I was hungry and you fed me, naked and you clothed me"... and they were confused and said "Lord when did we do all these things for you

and Jesus answers "When you did these for the least among your brethern, you did it for me"

Again St. John Climacus said, "You shall recognize the righteous at the judgment, for they shall hang their heads low, and say "We have done nothing worthy"

Salvation, in many religions, is like a catch-22

The closer you get, the further you get, sometimes

because of pride and desire



KAY: oh okay, I understand, most do not feel worthy, because the actions they have done seem unworthy.

Sitaram: the original meaning of the word Nirvana (or Nibbana) in ancient Pali language of Buddhist scriptures, is "to extinguish" (like a candle flame

So, the Buddhist seeks to blow out or extinguish the flame of desires, and hence, to escape suffering...


Now, St. Paul, speaks of afflictions and discipline of the body, as a suffering which can promote a proper spirit...

So, the Buddhist seeks to practice to escape suffering...

The Christian seeks voluntary suffering in imitation of Christ, to achieve a certain end

The great teacher and mentor of Martin Luther King was the Rev. Howard Thurmond.... who preached a mystical theology...

Thurmond taught that the taking up of voluntary suffering for the sake of some good cause in the world could mystically effect progress towards that cause

Thurmond and his wife went to India and spent some weeks with Gandhi

Gandhi asked them about conditions for people of color in north America

and Gandhi taught them principles of non-violent protest

These principles, Thurmon taught to King, and then were practiced during the Civil Rights movement...

Just as Gandhi fasted almost to death to bring about India's independence

So, fasting in protest for something, is a form of voluntary suffering to achieve some end...

Both Buddhist and Christian practice of asceticism, self-denial, fasting, voluntary suffering, with a goal to master the self the desires

St. Paul said, "The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak"

Paul said "I master and discipline my body, to subjugate it, lest having pointed the way to others, I myself should lose my salvation"

I paraphrase from memory, but Paul definitely says something like this

The Vietnamese Zen Buddhist, Tich Naht Hahn, who is still alive, has written "Living Buddha, Living Christ" to explore the similarities and differences between Buddhism and Christianity

The first westerner to popularize Buddhism in writing was the British Alan Watts, who worked with Japanese Zen Master Daisetz Suzuki

That Japanese master said that westerners might be attracted to Pure Land Buddhism, which stresses a form of Buddha known as Amitabha (Buddha of pure light), since Pure Land practice most closely resembles Christianity





KAY: Well do you feel that Buddhism is the best religion?



Sitaram: Aha... interesting question.... regarding "best religion"

You see, eastern religions like Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, Sikh, are very pluralistic, and do not stress superiority in the same way as Abrahamic religions such as Judaism, Christianity, Islam

Every Buddhist temple, in India and Asia, traditionally, has a place set aside with the deities of other religions, such as Ganesh, Shiva, etc,... so that pilgrims might worship after their own manner

Many eastern religions see a positive purpose for the many different sectarian religions, to suite different personalities

Of course, there are fanatical branches in every religions...

There is a branch of Buddhism that arose in Japan in the 1400s, the Soka Gakkai, which denounces all other forms as evil

I will give you one good example... around 1900 there was a world counsel / parliament of religions in Chicago...

So Vivekanada, the Hindu disciple of Ramakrishna, came there... and then toured the USA

Vivekananda met a Mormon missionary who tried to convert him...

Vivekanada answered, "I cannot join your religion, for you believe in having several wives, and I practice celibacy... but you should go and preach in my India..."

The Mormon was confused, "If you reject my religion, why would you suggest that I preach to your countrymen?"

Vivekananda explains... "Everyone is different, and some people find no suitable religion, so if they adopt YOUR religion then they shall know the joys of spirituality"

Religions which are tolerant and pluralistic do not think in terms of "the one true faith" or "best religion"

The Sufis are a notable exception among Muslims, and Rumi was one of their leading poets....

Rumi said, "Somewhere beyond the notions of right-doing and wrong-doing, there is a field. You and I shall meet there"

So, of all Muslim sects, the Sufis are the most tolerant and pluralistic...

Aha,... I should illustrate for you with two bible stories....

God orders Jonah to go to Ninevah and preach

Jonah tries to run away, and boards a ship...

On that ship are people from many nations, with many different religions...

God is angry and causes a dangerous storm to arise

The sailors decide that each should pray to his own god in his own religion...

They go and fetch Jonah...

They draw lots/straws to see who might be at fault...

Jonah is chosen by the lottery,... and is caste into the sea... which then grows calm...

The sailors go away saying "Great is the God of Jonah"...

Now, those sailors are worshiping the god of Jonah, but NOT exclusively

for they are pluralistic...



In the Apocrypha, in the Books of Macabbee

there is a pagan king

his name is Antiochus Epiphanies...

He is persecuting the Jews...

There is a great battle, in which the Jews are victorious....

but some Jews are slain in the battle...

Antiochus Epiphanies becomes curious

"If the God of the Jews is stronger, then, why did some Jews get killed"

at night, in the dark, Antiochus Epiphanies sends spies to the battlefield to examine the dead Jews

They discover PAGAN AMULETS and charms upon those dead Jews...

So, Antiochus (in the biblical story) realizes that those Jews died because the did not worship their God alone... but trusted also in the magic of the pagans...

Antiochus Epiphanies is on his deathbed, and he exclaims that the God of the Jews alone is God...

Now, Antiochus Epiphanies differs from the sailors on Jonah's ship

The Greek Orthodox consider Antiochus to have made a deathbed conversion

but, consider Moses and the pharaoh and the magicians in Egypt...

the magicians were able to imitate the first 3 miracles of Moses...

but after the 4th plague, the magicians of Pharaoh could not imitate...

and the magicians several times said to pharaoh "Surely this is the finger of God"

but, pharaoh would not confess that...

These stories illustrate the difference between a pluralist acknowledgment of other religions, versus a demand for exclusive acknowledgment of one and only one religion or God

In a meeting, Pres. Bush was asked if Muslims worship the same God as Christians and Jews...

There was a great silence, and people feared some friction from the answer...

Bush pleased everyone by saying that Muslims and others worship the same god

BUT, the Quran does not say this...

In one of the last surahs of the Quran, entitled "Surah to the Unbeliever/Kafir"

it says "Say therefore unto the unbeliever ' The religion which you worship is not the religion which we worship' and the religion which we worship is not the religion that you worship

so unto you YOUR religion, and unto us OUR religion

It is important to understand that Buddhism does not deny the existence of a god or gods....

Buddhism sees the human problem as one which does not involve a relationship with a god or gods



KAY: How long have you been Buddhist?



Sitaram: In a way, Buddhism is a very early form of psychology called COGNITIVE THERAPY...

I was raised with no religion, in USA, and through reading, 15 years ago, gradually became Buddhist in my thinking

Is this sort of interview helpful for you...

Is this what you need for your assignment?

You see, someone who adopts a religion as an adult, through reading, is different from someone raised in a religion from childhood

KAY: oh yeah, you have given me a lot of information that I need, and some things that I find informative, so you are going in the right direction.

and you are able to cut and paste our dialogue and save it in a word processor

I can understand the differences, I am a Christian but I have adopted different thinking from different religions

KAY: So where do you worship?





Sitaram: well,... in the beginning, I went to a Korean Zen Buddhist center which was mostly American converts... and a majority of them had backgrounds in psychology, social work and counseling

Buddhism seems to attract psychologists and social workers

But, as years went by, I discovered that I did not need to participate in organized congregational activity

and that I could have a religious practice simply by writing and thinking each day... which is what I do on the Internet with blogs

Hindus define four different types of practice.... and what I am is the Jnani, i.e. one whose activity is intellectual

a different type is the Bhakti,... whose activity is devotional singing and celebration

I must think of the third.. but the third is like the social activist, who perhaps runs a soup kitchen. Perhaps that social activist is called Karma yoga


KAY: oh alright. how has being a Buddhist improved yo life?



Sitaram: ok... improving life..

Well... a great human problem is how to deal with the inescapable fact of our own mortality, that we face illness and death

One Buddhist practice is to meditate on mortality and death, to realize that the body is temporary

Christian ascetics do something similar

In the Bhagavad-Gita, it says "It is inevitable that joys and sufferings come to each person, but that person who can face both pleasure and pain with equanimity (an even keeled balance, like a ship in the waves), that soul is truly yogic (or saintly)

So, calm equanimity is a goal of many religions

Like the patience of Job in the face of misfortune



KAY: so is that how it has improved your life?



Sitaram: In the sense that Buddhism and Hinduism and other eastern religions are very tolerant, seeing truth in other religions and cultures....

Such, improves a person.... to be able to feel brotherhood with others, different religions, cultures, ethnicities, races

BUT, those religions which tend to teach their own supremacy, and superiority, and teach that other religions are evil... such teachings make us less tolerant and more bigoted



KAY: so you feel more connected to the world and others?



Sitaram: yes.... I do....

each religion speaks of the word peace, shalom, salaam, shanti, pax

but, religions can fuel wars

Jerusalem literally means "city of peace"

and the Bible mentions the "king of Salem" (Salem is shalom, peace)

and the Muslims say Salaam alekouem "peace to you

We must feel peace with our own body and appetites...

Abraham Lincoln said "when I make my enemy into my friend, have I not destroyed my enemy?"



KAY: very true, how do you feel Buddhism has shaped your life?



Sitaram: Buddhism encourage me to read and study many different things, and try to see some kind of unity among things very different

There is a joke : "what does the Zen master say to the man at the hotdog cart" ... Make me ONE WITH EVERYTHING

OF course, we ask for a hotdog with everything on it, mustard, ketchup, saurkraut

but... the joke is that the Zen master wants to be ONE with the universe...

Now, this joke arises from a modern, American understanding of what Buddhism is, and such a pop-culture understanding came about in the 1950s, with the writings of Alan Watts, to popularize Buddhism...and the manner in which Buddhism was absorbed into the Beatnik movement/era



and the Beatnik movement transformed into the Hippie movement...

and with the Hippies of the 1960s... there were forms of Hinduism which became popular like Hare Krishna

Around 400 years after the death of Buddha,... there was a great split or schism in Buddhism.... and from this split grew to great branches.... the Theravadins (Way of the Elders) centered in Sri Lanka (former Ceylon), and the Mahayana (Great Vehicle)

This split or schism exactly parallels a schism in Christianity between Faith and Works

The Mahayanists (or Great Vehicle), are named for a GREAT SHIP, like Noah's ark, which can save ALL SENTIENT BEINGS, all creatures

The Mahayanists look down on the Theravadas and call them "Hinayana" (or little vehicle)

The Mahayana believes that they can DONATE their merit or grace of their activities, to be used by other beings to achieve salvation...

The Theravadins believe that each person must work out his/her own salvation

that there can be no donation of merit or grace... that each must achieve deliverance by their own personal endeavor and practice

KAY: well does your faith in Buddhism ever stop or weaken? have you ever questioned your religion?

Sitaram:
Certainly, I personally experience vicissitudes, highs and lows, changes, times of inspiration, times of discouragement...

I think such change is the essence of the human nature... and I think that those people who deny that they change, are only fooling themselves...but there will always be people who fool themselves

It was Kierkegaard, a protestant preacher, who laid down the foundations of modern existentialism

and, in existentialist Christian thought, such as Kierkegaard, Hans Kung, Blaise Pascal,.... the human frailty of doubt and fear is considered as something which
can empower the religious person

I mean, it takes a weakness, and makes it a strength

I once rode on a bus, where there was difficult traffic, and I said to the bus driver, Oh, you must be frustrated with this traffic...

Well, the driver was a devout protestant, and he quoted Paul, from the epistles..... "I count it as gain profit, all manner of affliction..."

something like that

I am doing a google search on "I count it all joy"





KAY: Well my next Question is are you comfortable with your religion?



Sitaram: Yes, I am comfortable with who I am and what I have become, and how I perceive and deal with things

But, you must remember, I am a solitary, and my practice is my writing and thoughts.... so I do not need to struggle with political problems of a congregation, or things such as the Anglicans regarding ordinations, or Papal issues , etc

That is, much conflict in life arises from the attempt to belong to an organization:

Questions like, do I belong, am I accepted, is the organization making the right choices... do I accept every teaching, etc.

and such questions...

My beliefs are in the context of historical traditions, and various principles of systems,.... but I do not have the problems which come with corporate congregational membership

It is the flawed nature of all human organizations which in part moves me to distance myself from them



KAY: How do you feel your religion defines the way humanity is progressing?



Sitaram: I watched the Selma, Alabama service on CNN for several hours with Obama, and others...

Obama said something significant, that he chose African American protestant church because of its proven ability to effect social reform in civil rights arena

I think all religions act to shape the course of human events

Certainly, Islam is affecting world events in this era

and in past times, various religions shape various things

in the 18th century, all the world admired the success of Shaker communes, the agricultural success...

Marx and Engle's were inspired by the Shaker,... and their study of Shaker communities helped Marx and Engels to shape their notion of a communist revolution...

but, with the decline of agriculture, and the rise of industry and cities, the

SHAKER communities

yes, SHAKERS , who swore lifetime celibacy.... they were the ones that inspired Marx and Engles

Much of korea today, South Korea, is Christian, because, Korea was oppressed by Japanese Buddhists,... and as Koreans sought liberation, they associated the christian missionaries with their process of liberation from Japanese Buddhist oppressors

Hinduism inspired Gandhi with non-violent protest, and Gandhi taught this to Howard Thurmond, who taught it to Martin Luther King...

So, our American civil rights movement has an Indian Hindu influence...

The first time that the phrase "human rights" appears in print, is in Thoreau's essay 'On Civil Disobedience"

Now Thoreau was influenced by the Transcendentalists movement, and although he was solitary, reclusive, and rejected organized religion, his writings are filled with biblical references....

I would say that through the millennia, religion evolved from something organized, and authoritarian,... into a kind of individualistic subjective humanism displayed by Thoreau

And, for the first time in History, with America, we begin to see wars waged not for gain of land, or defense of ports, but in defense of the human rights of a distant people

I think this is a significant milestone



KAY: so what do you believe are the challenges, if any, to practicing Buddhism?

Sitaram: Well, what springs to mind, in the case of Tibetan Buddhism, is the form of genocide which China has practiced, since one definition of genocide is the intentional destruction of a culture and way of life...

i.e. the society which was necessary to produce the Dalai Lama no longer exists

he was chosen at age 4, from a village, and raised in ancient traditions and practices

the world which produced the Dalai Lama no longer exists

It is like the rain forests, once they disappear, you cannot get them back

So, the challenge facing all religions is how to survive in this changing world and changing technology

How can forces such as television and Internet be harnessed into something positive for religions, rather than be destructive forces?

Also, how can we make a place in life for religion, and yet preserve separation of church and state....?

Is it the place of government to safeguard the right to religious freedom,... or is it the place of the religious right to somehow safeguard government by shaping government to a religious rightist's view of right and wrong

Religion has the capacity to change the world, for good or for evil, and the world has the capacity to change religion, or drive it to extinction



KAY: that makes a lot of sense to me.

KAY: What are the important holidays and traditions of Buddhism



Sitaram: Jefferson, in a letter to a friend, wrote, "Just as no two faces are alike, so, no two faiths or beliefs are alike...

Well there is a Buddhist holiday of Vesak, which combines many things into one

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vesak



KAY: is that the only one you celebrate?



Sitaram: well, I personally stay to myself, so, I am only aware of such holidays from a distance...

for me,.... everything can be a NOW, all at once, in the mind...

so, each day, as I write, different topics,.... different principles and events come to the forefront, for discussion...

but, they are always present in the mind....



KAY: okay. Well those are all the questions I have. I really appreciate your help, information and opinions. Thank you so very much.



Sitaram: here are a list of Buddhist festivals

http://www.urbandharma.org/udharma3/holidays.html

only 3 religions have a festival of lights

Judaism has Chanukah, which celebrates the oil which lasted in the temple for many days... miraculously in Maccabeus

then, Hindus have a festival of lights, in which, symbolically, the city of Ayodiyah holds lamps to welcome Ram home from exile, who is an avatar incarnation of God

Loy Krathong (Festival of Floating Bowls)

At the end of the Kathin Festival season, when the rivers and canals are full of water, the Loy Krathong Festival takes place in all parts of Thailand on the full moon night of the Twelfth Lunar month. People bring bowls made of leaves (which contain flowers) candles and incense sticks, and float them in the water. As they go, all bad luck is suppose to disappear. The traditional practice of Loy Krathong was meant to pay homage to the holy footprint of the Buddha on the beach of the Namada River in India.





The Universalist Unitarians are an interesting church

They are a church with no doctrine or dogma, where each individual is free to hold their own beliefs. The Unitarians grew out of the early American thinkers such as Emerson, Thoreau, etc.