can't sleep
As I get more and more frustrated with the monotony of life, my dreams seem to compensate by getting more and more complex and exciting. Sleeping has become by far the most entertaining activity in my life, fueled by details from shows like Lost and Prison Break with their addictive plot lines and reorganized into bizarre experiences that can't fit themselves into memories. The bad part about this is that on the more interesting nights, I end up staying in bed until responsibilities make it absolutely necessary to get up. This in turn leaves me wide awake at 5:22am on an expired Monday night. I've always hated lying in bed for longer than an hour without successfully falling asleep because after that point no position is comfortable and my brain starts to protest. At one point I thought I was going to be able to drift off when out of nowhere some rogue conclusion occurred to me about how Buddhism is opposite to Christianity. My mind probably got on the theme of Buddhism as it occurred to me how much the desire to sleep was causing me to suffer. Anyways about an hour ago I decisively got out of bed and wrote down the thought. Here it is:
"Many people have proposed that religions are all similar in goal and message. They see Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and most other religions as a general attempt to promote the values of love and harmonious coexistence over interpersonal conflict and hate. On the other hand, most religions with any sense of orthodoxy would claim that its principles and essence in practice are mutually exclusive to the practice of other religions. This lays the framework for two sides of an argument: "Are religions united by the same goal or do they lead individuals in fundamentally different directions?"
While my mind was refusing to let me drift off to sleep, something occurred to me about Christianity. Being a Christian isn't about becoming happy, because it's about accepting that we are sinners. To accept oneself as a sinner is to decide not to excuse any action as acceptable, even when one does not or cannot stop from doing it. In other words, Christianity is more about staring your sin in the face and acknowledging it for what it is than about becoming sinless. As a natural result of this, we suffer as we desire to eliminate our sinful habits and actions. It is not comfortable to yearn for this purity that we will never accomplish.
This then led me to think about the main idea behind Buddhism: that all suffering is caused by our desires and that the path to fulfillment lies in the cessation of desire. Now, Buddhism in practice involves a great deal of focus, effort and daily devotion to the disciplines taught in the Eightfold Path. That said, however, it is an essential part of Buddhism that one does not yearn for the completion of this path but instead accepts the place that their soul is at in the long journey that stretches through many lifetimes. After all, to be filled with desire to one day rid oneself of desires would be counterproductive.
Here, then, is a major dichotomy between Buddist and Christian life. A Buddhist learns not to attach themselves to the desire for change; especially not change so impossible as to live in moral and spiritual purity. Christians must forever endure the cycle of focusing on this need for change without ever attaining it in the process of "spiritual growth." Desire is as central to Christian life as it is antipathetic to Buddhist life. The pain is a necessary element of growth as one comes to understand not timeless truths and abandonment of reality, but ways to help one another and learn to live with an honest and open spirit. Buddhism as a diverse tradition is engrained in many cultures and there is much wisdom to learn from them, as God created all men with gifts. This does not however change the fact that at the center of this religious pursuit is self-centered isolation rather than empathy towards all others, a dependence on fellowship and a relentless pursuit of God."
I started this train of thought over a year ago during my trip to Southeast Asia and the train hasn't by any means reached any conclusive destination, so feel free to argue or disagree in a comment. I'm gonna try to sleep again.
"Many people have proposed that religions are all similar in goal and message. They see Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and most other religions as a general attempt to promote the values of love and harmonious coexistence over interpersonal conflict and hate. On the other hand, most religions with any sense of orthodoxy would claim that its principles and essence in practice are mutually exclusive to the practice of other religions. This lays the framework for two sides of an argument: "Are religions united by the same goal or do they lead individuals in fundamentally different directions?"
While my mind was refusing to let me drift off to sleep, something occurred to me about Christianity. Being a Christian isn't about becoming happy, because it's about accepting that we are sinners. To accept oneself as a sinner is to decide not to excuse any action as acceptable, even when one does not or cannot stop from doing it. In other words, Christianity is more about staring your sin in the face and acknowledging it for what it is than about becoming sinless. As a natural result of this, we suffer as we desire to eliminate our sinful habits and actions. It is not comfortable to yearn for this purity that we will never accomplish.
This then led me to think about the main idea behind Buddhism: that all suffering is caused by our desires and that the path to fulfillment lies in the cessation of desire. Now, Buddhism in practice involves a great deal of focus, effort and daily devotion to the disciplines taught in the Eightfold Path. That said, however, it is an essential part of Buddhism that one does not yearn for the completion of this path but instead accepts the place that their soul is at in the long journey that stretches through many lifetimes. After all, to be filled with desire to one day rid oneself of desires would be counterproductive.
Here, then, is a major dichotomy between Buddist and Christian life. A Buddhist learns not to attach themselves to the desire for change; especially not change so impossible as to live in moral and spiritual purity. Christians must forever endure the cycle of focusing on this need for change without ever attaining it in the process of "spiritual growth." Desire is as central to Christian life as it is antipathetic to Buddhist life. The pain is a necessary element of growth as one comes to understand not timeless truths and abandonment of reality, but ways to help one another and learn to live with an honest and open spirit. Buddhism as a diverse tradition is engrained in many cultures and there is much wisdom to learn from them, as God created all men with gifts. This does not however change the fact that at the center of this religious pursuit is self-centered isolation rather than empathy towards all others, a dependence on fellowship and a relentless pursuit of God."
I started this train of thought over a year ago during my trip to Southeast Asia and the train hasn't by any means reached any conclusive destination, so feel free to argue or disagree in a comment. I'm gonna try to sleep again.
posted by Pope Lithium at 12:16 PM
3 Comments:
I have studied the Soka Gakkai (branch/sect off of Buddhism) a little bit, and I seem to remember them believing that you could reach your 'Buddha state' ... 1. I dont know if that belief is also held by the rest of Buddhism, and/or 2. If the 'buddha state' means reaching some ultimate perfection that youre talking about.
Interesting thoughts... I want to read it again and look back at some notes and thoughts ive written down...
Mol
Buddhists do believe that enlightenment is attainable, but the vast majority do not feel that they will reach it before they die. This is because of the philosophy of reincarnation and the reality that strict Buddhism means intense disengagement from the world, which makes having a job, maintaining a family, etc nigh-impossible. So, they learn and act as they can in this life comfortable that somewhere in future lives they will reach enlightenment.
I am really thinking because of what you have written.. Have been thinking about attachments lately.. and how we need to attach to the right things, and detach from the wrong ones- and rely on grace a lot in that process. What strikes me about your reflections is that Christianity involves desire, engagement, attachment-- relationship. This helps explain to me why I cannot find Peace when I run away... or pretend it does not matter. Engagement is what I hear. Thank you, Adam-- this has helped me and humbled me.
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