WOMBS OF SUFFERING

Pleasures from external objects

Are wombs of suffering.

They have their beginnings and their ends;

No wise person seeks joy among them.

                                               Bhagavad Gita.

More and more people are giving up organized religion. As I often say in this blog, that is a very good thing in so many ways, for then those people are free to explore more enlightened, rational and less exploitative forms of spirituality. That is happening to some extent, but not as respects the majority of people---and that's a real pity.

I can speak only for the West, although I will say that I've witnessed this same phenomenon in Japan where I have spent some time. Interest and participation in organized religion wanes, only to be replaced by a new religion---consumerism. When I was growing up in Sydney, Australia, almost every kid in my street went to Sunday School on a Sunday morning. Then there was youth fellowship, CEBS, and other like activities. Not all my friends' parents went to church regularly, but many did. Few go down that route today. Instead, the family is much more likely to spent Sunday shopping---buying things. Well, at least they are more likely to be together---at least some of the time. Maybe.

Consumerism is, of course, good for the economy, even if it’s not so good for the planet. (Stupid neoclassical economics, with its malignant obsession with increasing economic growth each year!) However, whichever way you splice it, consumerism is bad for the ‘soul,’ for, as the Bhagavad Gita rightly points out, external objects are ‘wombs of suffering.’ They can never fill the void within. They are little, finite, transient things that do not last---especially these days, when most of the things we buy are, well, crap. It was the late American philosopher Eric Hoffer who said, 'You can never get enough of what you don't need to make you happy.' That's brilliant, and it gets to the heart of the problem, for we do indeed get caught up in a vicious circle of spending and borrowing, only to be followed by more spending and borrowing, and so on.

Wise people look within to meet their psycho-spiritual needs. Yes, Jesus was right when he said, 'For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also' (Mt 6:21). Of course, all truly wise people over the years have said that. (Note. 'Heart' means mind, and that to which, and by means of which, we direct our attention to some thing or another.) 

True religion binds people together---even people of different religious or spiritual traditions---and binds them all back to their ‘source.’ True religion empowers people---regardless of class, caste, race, gender, or station in life---to be the very best people they can be. True religion stands in objective contradistinction to consumerism, attachment, and materialism of all kinds. True religion brings joy and peace of mind---that is, spiritual 'goods.' That is the only sort of consumerism worth pursuing. 

Having said all that, I dare say few really care about what I have to say about the matter.

Now, where’s my shopping list? 'Coming, dear!'

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THERE IS NO PATH---EXCEPT THAT THERE STILL IS ONE

There is no ‘path.’ There is nowhere to ‘go.’ There is nothing to ‘believe.’ There is no one to ‘follow.’ And there is nothing to 'transcend'---except, perhaps, your own limited thinking, and the misbelief that you need some teacher, mediator, messiah, savior or guru in order to 'find' truth, salvation or enlightenment.

‘Truth’---that is, reality or life---‘is a pathless land,’ said J. Krishnamurti [pictured left], ‘and you cannot approach it by any path whatsoever, by any religion, by any sect.’ Why is that? Well, each one of us is always in direct and immediate contact with reality, both internal and external. A ‘path’ presupposes a separation or distance between point A and point B. 

For example, if you are in New York and you want to go to Chicago, whether by automobile, train or airplane, you must follow a certain path or route, the reason being that there is a separation between the two cities, and thus a distance to be travelled. However, when it comes to life itself, there is no separation or distance to be made the subject of a path or otherwise 'bridged' by some supposed mediator or savior.

The problem with most if not all organized religions is that they assume that there is such a separation or distance; hence, the need for some supposed mediator or savior. Each religion espouses a different path. For example, there is the ‘golden path’ of the Buddha. Then there’s Jesus who, so it is claimed, uttered those much misunderstood words, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life’ (Jn 14:6). I could go on. Are these paths one and the same? Yes and no.

In a very profound sense, the paths taught by so-called experts---the priests, teachers, saviors and gurus---are not the true path. Did you hear that? They are not the true path. They represent other persons’ versions or ‘understanding’ of reality (that is, beliefs), and they are of little or no use to us. We don't need paths---at least not those sorts of path---and despite what some would have you believe, the various ‘paths’ of the world’s religions are not one and the same. There are great differences between them, and reason should tell us that they can’t all be right. Of course, it is quite possible that none of them, at least as conventionally understood, are right. Indeed, more and more people are coming to that understanding, which is one of the reasons why they are leaving the multifarious---or should I say nefarious---churches and temples in droves. A good thing, too, in my view. Once they're gone---the churches and temples, that is---a more enlightened and non-exploitative era of world spirituality will ensue---an era in which every person will be their own teacher and their own 'disciple' or pupil. After all, that's the way it ought to be, given the existence of that lack of separation and distance of which I've already spoken. Bring it on!

There is, however, a truth to be known---and lived---and it is this: you are forever one with all that is, all that happens, and all that presents itself as your consciousness and experience. You are life itself---well, at least a unique individualization or expression of life. Yes, you are part of life’s Self-expression, and life cannot other than be.

There is no path, yet there still is one. What path, you may ask? Listen to what Joy Mills, an eminent Theosophist and friend of mine, has to say about the matter: 'There is no way until our feet have trod it.' The path or way is whatever presents itself as your reality, that is, as your consciousness and experience. Your path or way to truth (reality, life) will always be different from mine, but in a very profound sense our paths are one and the same, for each of them is ... life unfolding itself from one moment to the next. 

Let me quote Jiddu Krishnamurti once more: ‘Meditation is not a means to an end. It is both the means and the end.’ Now, by ‘meditation’ Krishnamurti means, not concentration, but choiceless awareness of life as it unfolds from one moment to the next. That, my friends, is both the means and the end, for the means and the end are one. It is the so-called ‘path,’ and it is also a non-path---for, at the risk of repeating myself, there is nowhere to go. Got that? There is nowhere to go. You are already 'there.' You are already on the 'other side.' It's a pathless way to a pathless land. Life, truth, reality, call it what you wish---it's all around us, under us, above us, beyond us (in more ways than one!), and in us as us.

Yes, there is only one way of being, and one order or level of reality. That is the plain and simple truth. Know that---and you will be free.

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DON’T LET YOUR LIGHT GO OUT

Tendai is a Japanese philosophical school of Mahayana Buddhism, a descendant of the Chinese Tiantai or Lotus Sutra school.

A student of Tendai came to the Zen abode of Gasan Jōseki (1275-1365) [pictured left], a Japanese Sōtō Zen  master, as a pupil. When the pupil was departing a few years later, Gasan warned him: ‘Studying the truth speculatively is useful as a way of collecting preaching material. But remember that unless you meditate constantly your light of truth may go out.’

‘“What is truth?” [Pontius] Pilate asked’ (Jn 18:38). Well, as I see it, truth is reality---that is, what is. We can read and study all we like, but we will never find truth in a book, not even in a so-called holy book. Truth is all around us, and inside us. It is nothing less than the reality of life unfolding from one moment to the next. Strange, isn’t it? Organized religion of all sorts will try to get you to believe that truth can only be found in one place, and not another, or in one person, and not others, or only on some supposed ‘higher’ plane of being---as if there were such a thing---but that is not the case. Even The Bible makes it clear that the life of God is 'the light of all people' (Jn 1:4). That includes you and me---as well as all others. The 'life of God'---that is a metaphor---is your life, and my life ... right now!

Imagine a sponge in a bathtub filled with water. The sponge is in the water, and the water is in, and all throughout, the sponge as well. Now hear this---you are that sponge. (I mean that in the nicest possible way.) We are immersed in truth at all times---and don't let anyone tell you that is not the case, or that it is more complicated than what I've described.

Yes, every one of us has direct and immediate access to truth at all times, for we are part and parcel of truth. Call it truth, reality, Light, or God, if you will. The word we use to describe it is not that important. What is important is that we maintain our conscious awareness of life as it progressively unfolds.

Gasan referred to meditation, saying that unless we meditate constantly our light of truth may go out. The best sort of meditation is mindfulness, for it is a direct engagement with life itself as it unfolds from moment to moment. Other forms of meditation, usually involving intense concentration of some sort, are more of an escape or retreat from life. No, living mindfully is the way to go.

In a very real and profound sense, the light of truth can never go out. Life, which consists of living things living out their livingness from one moment to the next, waxes and wanes, and constantly changes form. Individuations---call them emanations or manifestations, if you like---of life come and go, even vanish from view, but life itself goes on.

How terribly sad it is that so many people---including a great number of so-called religious people---are not consciously aware of truth (life/reality/light) as it unfolds from moment to moment. Organized religion, in so many ways, is a barrier and an impediment to our conscious recognition and awareness of life/truth/reality, for it puts all sorts of obstacles in the way---especially beliefs.

Don’t let the light of truth ‘die’ on you. Don’t let your light go out---for you are the light of truth, so let that light shine in and as you!

THE PROBLEM WITH ORGANIZED RELIGION

'Religion is a monumental chapter in the history of human egotism.'
- Professor William James.

The following comes from the great spiritual philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti (pictured left):

‘You may remember the story of how the devil and a friend of his were walking down the street, when they saw ahead of them a man stoop down and pick up something from the ground, look at it, and put it away in his pocket. The friend said to the devil, "What did that man pick up?" "He picked up a piece of Truth," said the devil. "That is a very bad business for you, then," said his friend. "Oh, not at all," the devil replied, "I am going to let him organize it."’

There are many problems with organized religion---indeed, with anything that is ‘organized.’ As Krishnamurti often pointed out, Truth cannot be organized. Krishnamurti famously said:

‘I maintain that Truth is a pathless land, and you cannot approach it by any path whatsoever, by any religion, by any sect. That is my point of view, and I adhere to that absolutely and unconditionally. Truth, being limitless, unconditioned, unapproachable by any path whatsoever, cannot be organized; nor should any organization be formed to lead or to coerce people along any particular path. If you first understand that, then you will see how impossible it is to organize a belief. A belief is purely an individual matter, and you cannot and must not organize it. If you do, it becomes dead, crystallized; it becomes a creed, a sect, a religion, to be imposed on others. This is what everyone throughout the world is attempting to do.’

So, the main problem with religion---all religions---is just that. They all try to organize Truth in one way or another. Some even go so far as to assert that their particular 'version' of Truth---they never actually say 'version', but that's what it is---is the one and only 'true' one. That is why most religions insist upon uniformity, conformity, fidelity---and obedience. Fortunately, more and more people are coming to realize that no one can have  a monopoly on Truth---for Truth just is.

The adherents of organized religion think that they are free, but they are not. They are in bondage. They are in prison. And most of them are oblivious to the fact of their bondage and imprisonment.

First, the adherents of organized religion are in bondage to beliefs. The Pāli word ditthi is wide enough to embrace beliefs, views, thoughts, ideas, theories, opinions, and doctrines. All of these things are thought coverings or veils (āvarnas). That is how Shakyamuni Buddha referred to them. These thought coverings or veils do not reveal reality, indeed they block and distort reality. How? Well, they prevent us from knowing and experiencing things as they really are in all their directness and immediacy. Everything gets 'filtered' down to us through our beliefs and opinions---and through the distorting prism of dogma. As I've said so many times, beliefs and dogmas are a menace to society---and a total, impenetrable barrier to true knowledge and wisdom. Beliefs and dogmas are always someone else's 'version' of reality---the result of someone else's conditioned mind, mental habits and fragmentary thinking, that is, the past. There is nothing of any value to believe, and there is nothing to be gained by believing anything or anyone. Just observe. Then you will know---and understand.  that regard, Buddha got it right. He said, 'Do not believe, for if you believe, you will never know. If you really want to know, don't believe.' (To me, the Buddhist approach to Truth or reality is so much better than Christianity's 'believe and be baptized' [Mk 16:16].)

Secondly, the adherents of organized religion are in bondage to superstition. The amount of superstition in religion varies greatly from one religion to another. Despite what I have just written about Buddhism, I have found, at least in some Buddhist sects or denominations, a lot more superstition than in most traditional forms of Christianity. That is quite disconcerting.

Why is superstition a problem? The answer is obvious. Superstition is a distorted, falsified view of reality. Superstition asserts the existence of a mechanical luck-ridden world which is said to be responsive to our own individual or collective thoughts, ideas and prayers. This is not the case in reality. For the most part, the world is indifferent---and sometimes downright hostile---to our very being. Superstition is nothing more than ‘magical thinking.’ According to anthropologist Dr Phillips Stevens, Jr (pictured right), magical thinking involves several elements, including a belief in the interconnectedness of all things through 'forces' and 'powers' that supposedly transcend both physical and spiritual connections. Magical thinking invests special powers and forces in many things that are seen as symbols. According to Stevens, ‘the vast majority of the world's peoples ... believe that there are real connections between the symbol and its referent, and that some real and potentially measurable power flows between them.’

Thirdly, the adherents of organized religion are in bondage to ‘holy books’ and ‘sacred scripture.’ Now, don’t get me wrong. I have enormous respect for the sacred texts of the world’s religions, provided those texts and their teachings are read, interpreted and applied rationally and humanely, and the underlying ‘myths’ are properly and sensibly understood. For example, much of the books comprising the Bible are written in figurative, metaphorical, allegorical, symbolical and spiritual language, and must be interpreted and applied in that manner in the light of reason and contemporary knowledge.  However, I make no claims of infallibility or inerrancy for any of those sacred texts, nor will I slavishly follow them where reason or common sense---or simply the results of my life experience---suggest they are wrong. A statement is not true merely because it is in the Bible---or in the Qur'an, or whatever. How silly to think or believe otherwise!

Fourthly, the adherents of organized religion are in bondage to ‘teachers,’ ‘saviours,’ and ‘gurus’ of various kinds. Some are guided by their Pope, their parish priest, or their pastor expounding the Word of God. Others are guided by the ‘Holy Spirit.’ Still others are guided by teachers and leaders of other kinds. To the extent that these persons accept, at face value, the views or teachings of others in authority---whether temporal or spiritual---they do not think for themselves, but simply accept another person’s version or understanding of reality. The latter can never be reality itself but only a false substitute for it---a counterfeit reality, if you like.

Fifthly, the adherents of organized religion are in bondage to rites and ceremonies of various kinds. Truth cannot be concretized in any way. If you try to do that, Truth ‘dies’ on you. Yes, rituals of various kinds can be hugely transformative---I have seen the power of that in my own life and in the lives of many others. The important thing is not to lose sight of the bigger picture. Rites and ceremonies are simply a means to an end. Ritualists and ceremonialists tend to lose the plot. (When I was in holy orders in the Liberal Catholic Church---a highly ritualistic church which is very much open to the ideas of mysticism and extra-sensory experience---we had some old members say, ‘Every word of our Liturgy has been clairvoyantly inspired, so we must not change a word or syllable of it.’ That’s one of the reasons why I am no longer a part of that church, although there is much that is wonderful in and about it.)

As a Unitarian as well as a practising Buddhist, I cherish religious naturalism and the use of reason and free thought. For me, the sacred or holy is ordinarily to be found in the ‘ordinary’ as opposed to the ‘extraordinary,’ in the ‘natural’ as opposed to the supposedly ‘supernatural.’ Truth is all around us, and is us. We can never be out of contact with Truth or reality. We are always in direct and immediate contact with Truth as it unfolds as our life’s experience from one moment to the next. Do not seek Truth afar. It is right here---now!

Note. Here is a wonderful address from Buddhadasa Bikkhu (pictured left) entitled The Prison of Life. I have derived great benefit from reading and studying it. I hope you do, too.

Acknowledgment is made, and gratitude is expressed,
to the Krishnamurti Foundation of America, Ojai, California, USA.

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