Religion? Faith? or Reason?

Religion-- or more to the point Faith -- is it the “purposeful suspension of critical thinking” as Bill Maher calls it? The alleged comedian and his atheist guest, magician Penn Jillette, had a lively discussion on this weeks’ edition of HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher” about the Cult of Mormonism (their term, not mine), evangelicals, and of course, their favorite topic: atheism. Lest I sound as cynical as them, let me quickly say I am all for reason and critical thinking. In fact, I too abandoned Christianity, particularly Pentecostalism, as soon as I was capable of critical thinking. "Oh no," you sigh, thinking I am just as cynical as those two. NOT SO. Their ranting tonight provides a perfect opportunity for me to share something I've found incredibly profound from His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

I’ve been listening to several hours of audio from HHDL on this very subject-- no not making fun of Christianity -- critical thinking. The Dalai Lama engages in a thought-provoking dialogue, bringing together scientists and spirituality, because as he says, “science is not neutral; it can be used for good or ill.” He takes a hard look at various ethical considerations related to technological advancements.

But, what brought me here to blog, was the following insight that I transcribed from his audio. The quote below is HHDL's comparison of scientific methods and Buddhism (this is very close to a direct transcription, telescoping just a bit of dialogue in one spot):

Although Buddhism has evolved to include a body of teachings and related rituals, scriptural authority cannot outweigh an understanding based on reason and experience. In fact, the Buddha himself, undermined the scriptural authority of his own words when he told his followers not to accept the validity of his teachings based on a reverence to him. "Just as a goldsmith tests and analyzes his gold through a meticulous process of examination," the Buddha told his followers, "you too must test the truth of what I've told you through reasoned examination and personal experiment." Therefore when it comes to validating the truth of a claim or mind training technique, Buddhism accords the greatest authority to experience, then reason and scripture last.

The great masters from the Nalanda University of India, from which Tibetan Buddhism sprang, continued to apply the Buddha’s advice in their rigorous testing and critical examination of the Buddha’s own teachings (HHDL continued on telling the gathering of monks and scientists, then summed up with this amazing statement.)

So, it makes no difference if the Truth is found through scientific research or if we investigate something and find there is reason and proof for it, we must acknowledge that as reality- even if it is in contradiction with a literal, scriptural explanation that has held ‘sway’ for many centuries or from a deeply held opinion or view. So, (and here comes his most astounding remark) a fundamental attitude shared by science and Buddhism is the commitment to keep searching for the Truth by empirical means and to be willing to discard religious precepts if our search finds the facts to be different.

This kind of critical thinking and flexibility is why I am a Buddhist.

Honestly, I can’t think of what I could add to that. If I were in Court, I would rest my case!

Non-Violent Response?

So, #OccupyWallStreet (on Twitter) REALLY got me going. I loved the #OccupyBurque crowd -- cheered them on, honking and waving on Central Avenue Saturday. But then Saturday night I was getting really hot under the collar reading right-wing Tweets. As usual I began to lambaste the worst offenders for their “ignorant views” such as claiming that liberals are just jealous of the rich. I am NOT envious of extreme greed and outrageous resistance to paying their fair share of taxes. I donate as much as I can to help those less fortunate and I make a pittance of the 1% Wall Street wealthy. Yes, I’ve invested in stocks over the years, but with companies of my choice, companies I want to support, not the "greedy bastards" (as Dylan Ratigan calls them in his book) that invented or use leveraged derivatives to make obscene amounts of money at the expense of innocent home owners. I stand with the 99% who have lost their jobs and homes over such excessive greed and corruption that has come from the alleged “self-regulation” of corporate America.

That said, the real point of this post is that my Buddhist Teacher, Pema Chodron, reminds us that whenever we feel really challenged (or angry) it’s definitely an opportunity to expand our Practice. In particular the teachings of today's audio were so timely as she described Peace Activists often being the most angry and aggressive protestors. I’ve used her example of this before when she describes turning down the sound on the television and seeing two “red faced men” arguing. You cannot distinguish one side from the other. All you see is anger.

Her point: in pitting opinion against opinion, no progress takes place. You cannot hear the other side when each person is shouting over the other. In the non-violent view (on this International Day of Non-Violence today, honoring Ghandi's birthday 10.2.1869), is it POSSIBLE to stop and actually HEAR another point of view? Ghandi, the Dalai Lama and Pema all claim it is. They teach that we don't have to give up our beliefs, but that we can be open enough to listen and at least agree to disagree. I find it very hard -- nearly impossible -- to listen to those who quickly resort to name-calling. Some right-wing tweeter insisted on calling the peaceful protestors "loons." Of course, I wanted to call him an ignorant asshole. So, where does that get us?? As Pema says, just two red-faced angry people.

We have to find a way back to civil discourse in this country. Congress is at an impasse: Republicans vs. Democrats, liberals vs. conservatives, rich vs. poor, and we find disagreements and differing views escalating on every front. There is no respect or willingness to listen. How do we get out of this stalemate?