Is Religion Addictive?

Is religion the opium of the people?

Was Marx right?
“Religion is the opium of the people.
It is the sigh of the oppressed creature,
the heart of a heartless world,
and the soul of our soulless conditions” …

… suffering.

We may join a spiritual group, a religion, a consciousness group in the hope of becoming free of mundane social interactions of hopes and fears, only to find the same hope and fear attitudes in these groups.

All rituals are to remind us of what that particular sect is about, but they quickly become the same old hopes and fears – just another facade without any essential oil of real compassionate empathy. We have just gone from one ‘normal’ to another’s ‘normal’.

All religions have ‘some’ essence of truth, but are taken over by institutional rituals, and oh how quickly we fall into line. When I was first introduced to Tibetan Buddhism, I wanted to wave a vajra and bell around! 😀 Never did get them. 🙂

I’m not against religion; it brings people together, but it has a job to do. Having done the job of helping us to establish a language to express how we personally feel, and offering a focusing viewpoint, we can happily live our lives, purifying our attitude. Understanding is not fixed: as we progress, our language and view change.

In Tibetan Buddhism, there are inferior, middling and superior understandings. In fact, it is said that there are nine levels, so when we hear something, we must realise at what level it’s being spoken about, together with the level at which we are listening. 😀

If religion is grandiose, it can divide our attention, therefore requiring a money-making operation to construct bigger buildings and more elaborate ornamentations – although religious buildings are some of the most awe-inspiring buildings in the world.

Speaking personally, an eight-foot tall golden Buddha with a thousand replicas doesn’t do anything for me, and neither does walking around a huge, colourful stupa. I entered a shrine room once, just like the one described, and found myself saying, “It’s a bit ostentatious!” True, it attracts tourists and gives artisans a living (and quite a few people do become Dharma tourists. 🙂 )

Then, there is the ‘merit’ of supporting thousands of monks and nuns who stay away from the temptations of the world. Really? These desires and aversions are our practice. Much better to be a town yogi with a simple life that others can relate to.

It’s understandable; Tibetans have lost their land, and have to maintain their traditions outside their country. They need our support, and that is important, but we don’t have to adopt another’s culture or language to realise the teaching.

All teachings have to be translated, but that translation is only about our essence. Once we understand, we can use our own language. The teaching is within all of us; all we have to do is re-cognise. Teachings and translations are only a generalisation. When we fall into the trap of merely repeating the words of others, we fall into the trap of belief; don’t take my word for it.

‘Cult’ means cultivated worship. The Buddha’s teaching is definitely not about worship; worship is a duality, the exoteric approach for the masses. The esoteric is direct experience beyond words, religion, and even the Buddha.

There is more to us than being a decent person
Decent: conforming to generally accepted
standards of respectable or moral behaviour,
not likely to shock or embarrass others.

Realisation is shocking!
🙂