The Essence of Faiths
Whispers from everywhere
Do as you please?
The world can be thought of as a mountain. In the lowlands to the north, south, east and west there are people from different times and places. Holy men from whatever culture climb the world mountain. Those who reach the very top find the holy men from other cultures in the same place. This means that, in essence, all religions are the same in that their founders all share the same ‘ultimate truth’
However, all the holy men say that the ultimate truth is unspeakable. Words cannot do it justice. “The reality which can be described is not the real reality”. Therefore they must speak using parables and metaphors if the ordinary people are to be inspired to begin climbing the mountain. This is what the Buddhists call using ‘skilful means’ (upaya).
So, at the level of cultural parables, the religions can seem different. The main western religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) speak as if you (the created) are a product of God (the creator). The main eastern religions (Hinduism, Taoism, and Buddhism) speak as if ‘you’ are an inseparable part of the Oneness which is everything.
The two groups of religions thus seem different but, in essence, they say the same thing. The western religions say that the selfish self must surrender to the will of the external God (Let Thy will be done). The eastern religions say that the delusions of the selfish self must be put aside so that the promptings of the deeper mind might be the guide to spontaneous and pure action.
Sitting quietly doing nothing
Spring comes
and the grass grows by itself
St Augustine was a founding father of the Christian Church. He had sat on the mountain top. He spoke for all religions when he said, “If only you love God enough, you may do as you please.”
IF ONLY ...