Mindfulnessinaction’s Blog
An interactive Mindfulness Meditation blogRoom for us All… Learning about other Beliefs.
I think it’s common for human beings to feel that our way of believing is the “only and right way” of believing. Although this way of thinking is slowly changing it still has a pretty strong hold on many people. This idea of being the special guardians of the “absolute and only truth” is how followers of organized religions have viewed themselves since who knows when. For thousands of years beings have fought for religious supremacy and countless wars that were waged eons ago are still affecting us today and will affect our children in the future.
If it isn’t already clear to you it is clear to me that people, for the most part are going to hold on to their beliefs and are not going to be “forced” to change them. What they believe is tied into their worldview and culture and informs their sense of identity. Fighting has not worked on any level and while we fight and argue there are so many other pressing issues that need addressing that affect us all, no matter what we believe.
Instead of closing our minds to the faith traditions of others perhaps we can get something meaningful and lasting from them. I don’t mean in a condescending way but in a real deep and transformative way. I have learned valuable lessons which I apply in my daily life from Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Jains, Jews, Shamanism, Humanists and Atheists. I know there are many more traditions that I can gain precious insight from.
In Buddhism, the tradition I practice, the Buddha never said that what he taught was exclusively his. He likened his teaching to an ancient city that had been abandoned by its residents. After many years the city was over taken by the jungle. After an “expedition” he discovered this lost city and revealed it to the world. His teachings and methods can be can be tested and proven much like a science experiment because they are universal and not exclusive.
Just as gravity does not belong to Isaac Newton our beliefs are really more common than we think. People have always known about gravity but Newton explained the “why” of gravity and so opened our eyes. Later, Einstein came along and gave us greater insight into gravity and we still continue to discover wonderful new things and even conflicting ideas about gravity. Yet, the bottom line is that we experience gravity in a way that does not require definitions and terms. We experience gravity. It is a lot of fun, and very mentally stimulating when we start looking into the complexities and going deeper and deeper into what gravity is and why it is; yet, nothing can compare with the knowledge from the direct experience we get from it.
We all experience some sort of spirituality; something that moves upon us to be compassionate, caring, and moral people. Some need to apply a certain set of beliefs around this experience while others do not feel a need to do so. The thing is that we can all contribute in meaningful ways to enhance that spiritual experience and we have the freedom to accept and not accept what we want out of them.
The greatest gift I have allowed myself to have has been to experience the different views of people regarding their own personal spiritual experience that differs from my own. I am not saying I agree with them all. I will even admit that some of those beliefs can even make me angry. But when I can rise above those feelings and still gain understanding and a possible friendship, I become a much better person at the end of this exchange than who I was prior.
So, that being said, I think that there is room enough on the planet to support our different views. The question is, is there room enough in our hearts and minds so that we and our children can finally live in peace?
