Hi Everybody,
So we ended the last episode with the thought that it can only be immensely confirming, immensely heartening to any practising Buddhist to learn that the kinds of answers that modern sociologists are coming up with, are so close to the kinds of values and principles and modes of behaviour that lie at the very heart of a Buddhist approach to life. So today we try to answer the question, What difference does it make?
So in many ways that remarkable conjunction of views between modern social scientists and Buddhist teachings reminds us of the thoughtful dictum offered to us by Einstein so many years a go.
' Science without religion, ' he observed, 'is lame, religion without science is blind.'
Even today that statement represents perhaps the most concise and the most powerful expression of the fact that we all need contributions from both. Science that is, can provide the objective discipline and the method to observe aspects of human behaviour and motivation,right across societies. Religion, Buddhism in this case, with its great body of understanding of human nature built up over many centuries, can gain not just encouragement and support, but wholly new perspectives from the insights that science can now provide. So it is potentially, a very rich and fruitful combination of views. And by no means is it just of theoretical or academic significance. far from it. It has, I would argue, huge implications for the future of society. Why do I say that?
We are all deeply concerned, fearful even, about the fact that we live in a time of great turbulence and turmoil, and much of that turmoil is down to violence across religious boundaries. Indeed the violence of inter-religious conflict is, without doubt, one of the greatest and most challenging issues of our age. And no one seems to be able to offer any meaningful way forward, let alone anything resembling a resolution. It might seem somewhat fanciful to suggest that Buddhism can offer a strategy for tackling these widespread and seemingly insuperable problems, but that is precisely the promisethat Buddhism holds out. It represents in a very real sense the ultimate goal of Buddhist practice. Since Buddhism is not attached to any definition of divinity, it doesn't have any boundaries. As we've seen, nothing and no one is excluded. It doesn't have that is the boundaries across which so much of modern conflict takes place. The only qualification is to be a meber of the human race.
The Charter of UNESCO contaisn a sentiment that echoes to the very heartbeat of the Buddhist vision of a world, firmly in the grip of peace. The Charter reads;
'...since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defences of peace must be constructed.'
Buddhism might well aff the words, individual by individual, because that it argues, is how it must begin, in the minds of countless individuals. Put simply, Buddhism teaches that at any particular time, the environment we find ourselves in is, in very large measure, a reflection of our subjective life state at that time. If we are in an angry, destructive, aggressive frame of mind, that will be reflected back at us from the reactions of those around us, and from the situations that follow. If on the other hand our life state is high and our approach is consistently optimistic and welcoming and value-creating, then, Buddhism argues, that will flow out into,our environment and have an influence on the people we encounter, and the way that situations around us evolve.
Try it! Not the angry bit but the positive one. I have many many times, in all sorts of situations, and it holds true.
So just to pull this particualr argument to a close, I would argue that the Buddhist claim, huge as it no doubt is, fits in with our common experience. Even without the recent research we discussed in earlier instalments of this blog, we are aware that both optimism and pessimism are highly infectious. We all prefer to live our lives surrounded by positive, optimistic people. We all find that our energies are sapped and our enthusiasms are extinguished by being amongst those who are persistently pessimistic. And similarly, we are commonly disturbed and can get worked up in all sorts of way, by being among those who are persistently aggressive or combative. S
So Buddhism argues...we can make a big differecne to our environment...if we choose to do so.
And that's where we go next time.
Hope to see you then.
Thank you for reading thus far.
I'd be imensely grateful if you felt able to bounce this blog onto someone else who might be interested, or perhaps point them in its direction.
Best wishes,
William
The Case for Buddhism is available at a knock- down- drag- out price on Amazon or on Kindle.
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