3 posts tagged “religion”

Saturday was the first in a series of day workshops at The Maitri Project, our pastoral care project in Leicester. It was a Buddhist Christian Exploration Engaging with Faith. Partly the day was valuable to me, because it gave me the impetus to interrogate my own faith journey, and to see that I'm now in a position to begin to understand the spirit of faith that underlines religions other than Buddhism: To see religion as a journey towards something ineffable, and that by following the Buddha - we are making the same journey that he made towards the infinite, and to the deathless.

I think that we might all be making this journey, or encountering the infinite in moments, and that it is only the way we clothe this that differs, it is in our descriptions of the unborn, in our mechanical, human, words and ideas that we begin to diverge and it is in clinging to these deadly structures that danger lies.

One day, all interfaith conversations will be like this...
Participant - Buddhist Christian Dialogue.

…In to the fire?

Ven. Susthama was invited to a debate on BBC Radio Leicester, on her blog Beyond the Clouds she talks about her experiences, and asks some valuable questions:

So how do we produce a harmony and is it possible with so many different beliefs, customs, and even laws? In Judaism, the Jewish community stick close together, they follow a common rule of life and in a way this creates a boundary between them and other communities. They are different, they are the chosen people and they (if they are very religious and strictly so) will follow a way of life that is prescribed. Islam, well, the Sharia law, which was briefly mentioned tonight is not without penalty to those who do not follow the muslim way of life. Muslims certainly have it much easier in Christian countries, than Christians have it in Muslim countries. One thing is for sure, the Sharia law is not very tolerant.
BBC debate with Radio Leicester.

In the UK, especially in the cities there is often a diverse mix of people and communities In Leicester there have been many waves of immigration, and these cultural groups tend to stick together, often creating a sense of home away from home. When you have travelled many miles, and are far away from home - staying close to someone from your own country sounds appealing.

I’m reminded of the English communities in Europe, a cultural home away for ex-pats.

The question of how these get along is often raised, and Leicester is often upheld as a shining example of where this happens - hence the debate.

My question is what type of harmony are you looking for, what might this look like?

Perhaps we can have a multitude of communities, each rubbing up against the other, celebrating each others festivals, and having conversations about our difference as well as our similarities…for so called moderate or liberal groups this might seem easy – but not for all.

I suspect the answer lies in compromise, in being open to try out different ideas and ideals, and in the work of many people. Of course there will be sticking points…

I’m often acutely aware of my own biases and attachments, if other people have half as many as me there are going to be problems. But maybe that’s okay.

Many years ago, I had a strong faith in God. In an omnipotent concious something outside the Universe that I knew, that I could pray to and that could speak to me (not verbally, I think) and have the power to influence the world that I knew.

I lost that - but the idea still fascinates me, and Christianity is still the largest religion here in the UK, and the Abrahamic religions form a big chunk of the different religions across the Globe. And I’m fascinated by these sorts of beliefs - and having just come off the back of an Interculteral training course my interest is particularly acute at the moment.

So I was very pleased to find Humprys in Search of God on the BBC radio 4 website. Conversations with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams; Professor Tariq Ramadan, Muslim academic and author; and Sir Jonathan Sacks, Chief Rabbi.

As I write this I’m listening to Dr. Williams try to answer the difficult questions of Humphrys - and wondering at how Pureland some of his answers sound, and how different they are to some of the answers I have heard Christian speakers give before.

There are many differences of course, but - to me - Pureland has much better answers to some of these questions. My faith is supported by reason.

Yesterday I wondered if I could really call myself a Buddhist, if I only take on board the teachings that appear true in my experience (and I wonder if this is what Dr. Willimas is doing?).

But this is what Buddhists have been doing for centuries; searching for truth, and liberation.

Namo Amida Bu