I believe in God, the father almighty, creator of heaven and
earth.
In the manual laid down for us, tutoring us in relationship
to this god, it says “I am the potter, you are the clay”.
A potter grabs a lump of clay and throws it onto the
wheel. The clay has no idea of what it
is meant to become. The potter has the
intention, the concept.
Whatever the Creator is, we its creation are incapable of fully
knowing it. Mercifully, it has spread
seeds around in its garden to germinate into philosophies and theologies that
create concepts simple enough for our minds to grasp. The Hindu creator is a flame, with three main
functions: creator, sustainer, destroyer.
Their theology recognizes a pantheon of gods who roamed the world in
flesh, and that wield specific powers. The
Christian creator is an old man with a white beard sitting on a throne in
clouds. He operates through a unique
creation, Jesus the Messiah. Those who successfully follow the ‘handbook’ go on
to be recognized as ‘saints’, having realized while in the flesh more of the
power of the spirit. This Christ concept
is composed of three functions: Father,
Son and Holy Spirit, or Creator, Destroyer, Sustainer. Jesus is the destroyer in that He conquered,
or destroyed, the power of death. His
teachings tell us to die to self and be reborn to the Spirit, the sustainer. Those who somehow know not to
anthropomorphize the creator call it, simply, the Source.
We live in a creation.
The Hindu word of samsara describes the illusionary nature of
it. It is a world of duality. Opposites exist, and are the tension that
moves us. Good, bad, success, failure,
up, down, angels, devils, alive or dead.
We are spirit in nature, whatever that means. It is an ethereal concept; spirit has no
physical manifestation. Our fleshly
shell obscures the perception of the spirit.
With work, we can thin the veil of obscuration to varying degrees. At greatest density, we as children are drawn
to tales of good, be they fairy tells or Bible stories. We want to believe in good, unless we are
born into a family where all good has died, and total obfuscation dominates. Our culture leads us to a structured form
meant to teach our spirit its true nature; religion. Some of us are born with a long way to go, at
the end leaving the shell behind having never leapt free of the structure. Others seem to be born with a thinner
veil. It is easier to see the value in
the spirit, and so we cultivate it more carefully; greater leaps of faith are
possible. And a rare few can throw the
trace of veil off quickly, and live a life of awareness. We mere mortals cannot conceive of life in
that awareness, though we try. In the
presence of holy men, like the Pope or the Dalai Lama, the force of their
consciousness can be felt. A weakening
in the knees, a light-headedness, or just a rare warm glow comes over us. There is something there, and that reaction
is probably as close to perceiving the spirit physically as we can come.
Negative stances over particular (or any) religions are a
product of samsara. Love/hate duality does not exist in the purely
spirit world. It is interesting to watch
Tyler Henry[1], a
rare gifted soul, communicate between the two worlds. Granted, what he is bringing us is a tiny picture
of the whole of reality. Nevertheless,
it is clear that we drop this dualistic stance when we leave the flesh
behind. On ‘the other side’, the
predominant perception is love. Negative
emotions fall away.
Knowing this, why do we cling so strongly to our love/hate
dualistic reactions to what arises in our lives? Why do we allow the dross of
this world, the mudslinging, the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune[2],
to cling to us and toss us into tempests of negative thoughts and deeds? In
Shakespeare’s words, it is nobility of mind that permits us to suffer negative
blows, rather than react to them. Is it
suffering? In Buddhism one learns a
basic concept. Suffering is at the root
of samsara. They are commonly known as ‘The Four Noble Truths.’
Suffering is a constant to all life on earth. It is our reaction to suffering that matters. The causes of suffering are numerous, but boil
down to clinging to the ego. How I am
perceived, how much I possess, what will bring me to success and its
pursuit. The third truth is the most
difficult to perceive, that there is an end of suffering. Once that is accepted, one must also accept
the path that will lead to the end of suffering, wherever you may find that
path.
We study meditation in its various forms to find the way
out. Meditation is not a Buddhist ‘thing’,
it permeates all forms of spirituality.
In the Medieval text, The Cloud of Unknowing, Christianity finds
deep roots in the monastic tradition of meditation. Thomas Merton[3]
has masterfully shown the East and the West that quieting the mind, dulling the
dualistic pull of our nature, is at the core of the quest to know our spiritual
nature. This practice is universal, not confined
to any one ‘religion’.
We would not jump out of an airplane without a parachute
strapped to our backs. We would tumble, be batted about by winds, and ultimately
smashed by the force of gravity. With
our relatively ignorant human minds we would be equally at danger if we sought
to know the creator by flying free. The
spirit world, while at its core is benevolent, nevertheless is fraught with negative
forces that, for their own reasons, do not want us to find release into this
Sea of Love, this freedom from suffering.
It is necessary to explore the many Paths out there, find the one you
are most comfortable with, and stick with it.
None less than the Dalai Lama has said that it is not wise to mix
Buddhism and Christianity. Choose one
and stick to it. You will not be slammed
by Buddha or Christ if you do, but rather the difficult path will be made
muddier, more difficult, by trying to mix and match.
I have heard that Billy Graham said no religion is perfect,
because all religions are manmade. That
is deep.
When I say that I am merely the steward of my life, my possessions,
it is an acknowledgment that creation is, at its core, benevolent. For your clarification, if I must further say
‘God’ gives me everything that I need, and all that I own comes from ‘him’, I
am not ceding to the concept of an anthropomorphized source of creation.
I rest in the ‘arms’ of this benevolence. Bad things happen, there is negative energy
roaming this planet. It is unreasonable
that I am privileged to not know helpless poverty and violence, while so many
good people know that suffering. I do
what I can to generate positive energy into the universe, express to the
creator daily my deep gratitude, and pray that should such suffering befall me
I will not be crushed, but will feel the eternal goodness under me like wings
bearing me aloft. I pray the same for
you.
[1]
Tyler Henry, born 1996, is a clairvoyant who allows his sessions with individuals
to be videotaped and viewed on E! Television Network, as the Hollywood Medium. Some interviews can also be seen on YouTube
[2]
Shakespeare, Hamlet Act 3 Scene 1
[3]
Thomas Merton, b. 1915, was an American Trappist monk and ordained Catholic
priest.
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