Religion and Spirituality
It can be confusing.

Preconceptions fill our mind
so no spontaneity can take place.
Knowing spontaneous presence
is the magic!

Ideas, notions, presuppositions, assumptions, prejudgements, expectations…beliefs are mental bias. This is the reason why, in order to see clearly, empty awareness/spontaneous presence is so vitally important.

Clear seeing is pure awareness. It’s our essential nature, in which there are no preconceived ideas at all. Anything arising from that “emptiness” has the juice of compassionate kindness which is of one taste as it is unconditional; it has no preconceived judgements. However, there is discernment, and this is the ability to know the real from the unreal. Real is anything that does not change – ever!

Religion and Spirituality

Spirituality is absolute reality beyond our impermanent physical and mental realm.

Religion is an relative reality, an system to express beliefs about that which is beyond our impermanent physical and mental realm. Note that religion is based on beliefs and hearsay: it is in the practice that belief reveals absolute reality, our spiritual magic. This is not ‘deceptive magic’, but the universal mystery.

Once we realise reality beyond this impermanent physical and mental realm, we will know the spontaneous presence of pure inspiration. Organised religious expression becomes no longer satisfying as it dry hearsay. It is, however, important to have an organisation pointing the direction to reality beyond our impermanent physical and mental realm. Or that’s what it should do!

Spirituality occurs when we realise that which is beyond the physical and mental, and which now serves as our path to complete liberation.

Religion can be divided into two groups: theistic and non-theistic. Theistic entails ‘belief”, whereas non-theistic doesn’t. Non-theistic – which includes Buddhism – has no requirement for belief, but there is still an element of belief present until one realises the fruition of practice.

Those who ‘believe’ do not need to investigate as, by their nature, they just believe. For them, believing is an end in itself. They are prone to rapture; to ‘seizing and carrying off’.

Those who do not ‘believe’, investigate – or should do! We have to ‘do’ exactly what the Buddha did: look and see. “Not too tight and not too loose.”

Buddhism is not a believing tradition but, believe it or not, there are believers in Buddhism. If one just accepts everything one is told, then one is a believer. All over the world, there are millions of people doing millions of mantras. Does it help? They believe so.

We have to be believers first; something someone said inspired us…to seek the truth. But merely talking about suffering and the causes of suffering falls in the realm of speculation. When we know we are actually suffering, we really feel it. Then – and only then – will we want to do something about it, rather than merely believing we are suffering.

This will have a great effect on the decisions we make.
…to be continued.