Sunday Sermon: Hinduism

You may or may not know much about Hinduism. People who know little about it tend to think of a somewhat strange religion with a lot of gods. I can’t hope to explain it entirely, and I don’t claim that all Hindus would agree with my description. It is a complicated and diverse belief system.

The main idea in Hinduism is that of Brahman, the universal spirit or principle of existence. All of the world that we perceive, including the various deities: Vishnu, Shiva, etc, are manifestations of Brahman.

This leads to two profound guiding aspects of life. The first is one’s concept of self. You are, in your own way, identical to the ultimate spirit of the universe. This concept greatly affirms your personal value, as well as personal responsibility.

The ultimate goal of a Hindu, moksha, is achieved when you fully realize, accept, and become the truth that your soul is identical with Brahman. This manifests as a great personal strength and sense of identity. No longer must you be defined by others’ perceptions, but by your relationship with your own piece of the ultimate reality.

The other part of this is relationships to others. Since everyone else is also part of the same ultimate spirit as you, they deserve respect and acceptance. This does not mean that you must agree with everything everyone else says, but accept them as a fellow human being, a fellow part of divinity.

During this religion series, I am not particularly trying to convert anyone to anything. The point here is to recognize the good teachings that other faiths have to offer. I don’t expect you to suddenly believe that you are part of the great collective soul of Brahman.

But the ideals hold true. You are a human being, a part of the only race known to have achieved consciousness. And because of that, you are important, and you do have the opportunity to define yourself.

Other humans are also more similar to yourself than you might realize. They deal with similar struggles, both internal and external. When they disagree with you, it is usually not because they are evil or fundamentally different than you. Their human experience has led them, through a thought process perfectly reasonable to them, to different opinions.

I think we can all gain a lot by recognizing the strength and individuality of ourselves and others, as well as the collectiveness that defines us. After all, we are one species living on one planet. Anything that one person does ultimately affects everyone, even if only in a small way.

Sunday Sermon: Buddhism

I find Buddhism to be rather interesting, and I’ve done a fair amount of study of it. I think there is a lot we can learn from its teachings.

The Buddha sat under a tree and meditated, and finally determined four noble truths: That life is suffering, that suffering is caused by craving and attachment, that that cause can be broken, and the eight-fold path to cessation of suffering.

This is not a pessimistic philosophy, but a realistic one. You may say, “but some things are enjoyable.” That’s completely true. But when such things inevitably end, they often leave behind a sense of longing for them or regret (think hangovers).

You may also say that natural events (storms, disease, etc) cause suffering. That’s fairly true too. An argument could be made, however, that the actual unpleasantness experienced by a human stems from their attachment to anything lost in such an event. The actual Buddhist explanation involves cosmology and reincarnation, and I don’t really want to go there.

The essence of the Buddhist path to nirvana, or cessation of suffering, is freeing oneself from all attachments. This is not to detach yourself from the world, the people around you, or your relationships, but rather to accept them as they are. You can still have a loving and happy relationship, but do not fear any potential end to that relationship. Accept it as it is and enjoy it. And if it does end, say, in a breakup, then accept that as it is and move on.

There is also a strong element of understanding and ethics. Indeed, the eight-fold path consists primarily of understanding your own mind and the world around you, and being a good person based on that accurate understanding. In this way, you free yourself from pretense and guilt.

I do not claim that this is necessarily easy, or that I am by any means perfect at it. But I think all of us could use some lessons on accepting reality as it is, without the veil of our own preconceptions. Buddhist teachings have really helped me in some hard times before.

I encourage everyone to look more into it; I can’t go too much in depth here.  Here are a couple links for more information:
http://buddhanet.net
Buddhism on Wikipedia

Sunday Sermon: Jedi

Another idea I had was to do a weekly religious article.  Published, naturally, on Sundays.  I wanted to start with something a bit light, but still (in my opinion) meaningful.  So naturally, I chose the Jedi religion.

            If you’ve met me, you probably recall my standard introduction: “Hi, I’m Andrew Reeves, nice to meet you.  I really love Star Wars.  Like, it’s ridiculous.”  Or words to that effect.  Sometimes I say it in the other order because really, the second one is more important.  And where many stereotypes have a Jesus or Buddha bobble-head on their dashboard, I chose a different spiritual leader.  That’s right, there is actually a Yoda bobble-head on my dashboard.  The lightsaber doesn’t glow in the dark, but that would be TOTALLY AWESOME!

            So what sort of spiritual guidance can be gleaned from the Jedi?  Either due to this being a different galaxy or a long time in the future, we seem unable to tap the Force.  But we can still learn from the guardians of the Republic.  I will start with a recitation of the Jedi Code:

There is no emotion; there is peace.

There is no ignorance; there is knowledge.

There is no passion; there is serenity.

There is no chaos; there is harmony.*

There is no death; there is the Force.

*line four not found in all Jedi texts.

            There is a lot contained there, and we would do well to read carefully.  These are not to say that the first parts of the pairs do not exist, but rather that they are overcome by the second part.

A Jedi does not allow emotion or passion to rule him, but rather serenely and peacefully assesses a situation and bases decisions on logic and reason.  Acting unthinkingly out of passion clouds judgment and leads to the dark side.  By carefully examining available options, a Jedi can make a decision that brings about the greatest resolution, not merely the quickest.

            Ignorance is overcome by knowledge.  That seems obvious.  A Jedi learns all he can to become stronger, to make better decisions.  But also in that tenet is a reminder that knowledge can come from any source, even one that seems ignorant.  And from mistakes borne of ignorance can come greater knowledge.

            That leads directly into the fourth tenet.  The galaxy is a chaotic place.  Wars, (lots and lots of wars in Star Wars, let me tell you) religious schisms, heartbreaks, family disagreements, etc.  But from these unpredictable and often tragic events, a greater harmony can arise.  A Jedi recognizes the interconnectedness of life and events and uses even tragedies to bring about good.

            Once again, we do not seem to be able to touch the Force in our time and galaxy.  But there is still truth to the last tenet.  Look at the Force not as an energy field created by all living things, but as all living things themselves.  When an individual dies, they do not disappear as though they never were.  Their body persists and becomes a new generation of life.  Their spirit lives on in the lives they have touched.  Death is a natural part of life.

            It feels like there is more I want to say, but I’m not exactly sure how to.  If you want any clarification or elaboration, feel free to comment below or email me at lovedeathtrees@gmail.com.  The same applies to any thoughts on future discussions.  Any particular religion or religious topic you’d like to see my take on?