Religions Do not Collide

K.S.Chow

Introduction

Rev. Robert E. Kennedy is a western professor of Theology and Japanese who has dual interest in the faith of Catholicism and also of Zen Buddhism imported from the mainland China to Japan in 6th century C.E. He is both a Catholic and Buddhist as far as his spiritual enthusiasm or interest is concerned. He has been practicing Zen Buddhism intensively as he was a diligent, resolute and ardent Buddhist meditation yogi. Having attained self-enlightenment, his Zen master, Yamada conferred on him the holy title of Zen master in 1997. In other words, he has become a perfect man who is qualified to instruct and to train the yogins and yogis on the esoteric dimension of Buddhism helping the practitioners redeem their Buddhahood through Zen practice and intuitive self-realization. The beauty is that he does so in the Christian church’s premise.

Common Goal

 He has contributed two works on spirituality, namely ‘Zen gifts to Christians’ and ‘Zen Spirit, Christian Spirit’. His works and thoughts mirror that Catholicism and Zen Buddhism are esoterically similar though they may differ exoterically. The identical esoteric dimension of Catholicism and Zen tradition is that both these two esoteric religions are orientated towards annihilation of the illusive self or ego which engenders human selfishness and egoism. Selfishness and egoism lead to human conflicts, disharmony, disputes, quarrels, fights, frictions, tensions, ill-will, greed, hatred and so forth. All religions advocate the primacy of good – Doing good, avoid evils and purify the mind. The Exoteric dimension of dissimilar religions may differ instrumentally in terms of expedient devices, but they are identical esoterically or ultimately to reach a common destination – self-redemption of the Origin of Man – the Centre of he human Heart.

Rev. Robert E. Kennedy asserted thus:

To study Zen is the study of self. To study the self is to forget the self. Once, we stop focusing on ourselves, the whole world opens to us in a new way.

This is a profound statement uttered by Robert E.Kennedy. It mirrors the profundity of his religious wisdom or insight. When the wise speaks, it is usually every edifying, unveiling and inspiring.

Democratization of Religions

The beauty of western society is democratization of religions. Buddhist sermons or religious activities can be permitted to be organized and held in   Christian church premises. For instance, Rev. Robert E. Kennedy has spoken on ‘Christian Contemplation and Zen’ in St.Joseph’s Catholic Church and conducted Zen retreat in the same church’s premise. Western Christian churchs generally welcome all humane activities to be carried out in their premises for the well-being and happiness of their church members without discriminations against other religious faiths. This mirrors the maturity and wisdom of the western Christians democratizing religious activities. They truly practise their religious wisdom of loving their neighbours without discrimination, prejudice or bias.

Mental Health

Rev. Robert E. Kennedy is categorically right when he affirms thus:

Religion is not just a spiritual endeavour,
it is also psychosomatic.

As religion is fundamentally psychological, psychology affects the order or equilibrium of the human physiology. Therefore, religion affects one’s health. For instance, a meditator is mentally more appeased than a non-practitioner of religion. Mental appeasement promotes mental health as it maintains an optimum level of Adrenaline hormone released from Adrenal gland. Excessive Adrenaline is released from the Adrenal Gland when one is agitated or mental perturbed. Meditation promotes mental health through tranquility and wisdom.

When Rev. Robert E. Kennedy was interviewed by a News correspondent of Morning news, Kendall Anderson on how he could strike a happy medium between Catholicism and Zen Buddhism, he responded wisely thus:

There is multiplicity of truths in all religions.

We all know that there are different brands or models of cars or vehicles for transport purposes. The cars or vehicles may be dissimilar in brands or models but they are ultimately similar in bringing the passengers to reach a common destination. A city can be reached through dissimilar means of vehicles or transportation. Likewise, there are many expedient devices to actualize the soteriological goal – self-redemption and a return to the Origin.

Rev. Robert E. Kennedy struck on the right note. Exoterically dissimilar religions manifest diversifying differentiations but eventually at the esoteric dimension of religions, there is only one identical Truth – the Truth of Ultimate Reality which is ineffable. The Truth of ultimate Reality is located in the Origin of Man – the Centre of heart to which all esoteric religious adherents  ought to return to inwardly in order to be redeemed and emancipated.

Buddhist Esoteric Wisdom

 The Truth of Ultimate Reality is expounded by Nāgārjuna thus:

Not dependent on another, calm, not differentiated by verbal differentiations, without diversifying constructions, without multiplicity – this is the characteristic (definition), Reality.
(MMK.9)

The unconditioned and absolutely appeased state is called Nirvāṇa. The pure mind produces the Ultimate Reality of Nirvāṇa. The impure mind due to the obsessions of mental fabrication of concepts produces the multiplicity of the empirical world. Whoever purifies the mind perceives the Buddha. Buddha is the ultimate truth of Reality (tattva). Whoever is defiled with cankers does not perceives the Buddha. Both the Absolute or Nirvāṇa and the multiplicity originate from the Origin of Man – Centre of the heart (Tathāgatagarbha).

Islamic Wisdom

The Islamic Sufi, Ibn Arabi (1165-1240 C.E) who lived almost the same time as Nāgārjuna expounded God as the Truth (Ḥaqq) or the Ocean of Unity ( Waḥdat al-Wujūd) He was a encyclopedic writer whose contributions in religious or Theosophical literature are on par with those of the celebrated and prolific Buddhist philosopher, Nāgārjuna (2nd/3rd century C.E) and also those of Thomas Aquinas for western Catholicism.

This great Islamic Sufi Ibn Arabi asserts thus:

Reality (al-Ḥaqq) has two meanings. First, Reality is its Essence (a-Ḥaqq fi Dhātih); this is an Absolute Reality (Ḥaqīgah Muṭlagah) which we do not know and with which we are not connected in any aspect.

Second, Reality as it appears to us in its Manifestations in Existence. It is, in this sense, synonymous with creature. Thus, the Reality of Existence has two aspects: God and creatures. So He is  the One and the Many. 

Theosophically, God is not a divine personality or figure. It is actually like the Buddha, the Reality or Truth. The greatest Islamic master (al-Shaykhal-Akbar), Ibn Arabi, expounded theosophy on the basis of Koran. God corresponds to the Absolute Truth and creatures correspond to multiplicity. The creatures are the shadows of God. As shadows, they are therefore illusive. In short, the multiplicity is cosmic illusion. Ibn Arabi not only sets the standard of any spiritual reading of the Quran but also it is also a standard pointer to apprehend scriptures of all other esoteric religions, such as Zoroastrianism, Upaniṣads or Hinduism, Taoism,  Buddhism, Confucianism, Judaism and  Christianity. The conventional truth is the multiplicity (Phenomena) which is manifest whilst the absolute ultimate truth is unmanifest. The manifest and the unmanifest are related as shadow and object are related.

Sufi Ibn Arabi points out that the world of creation is illusion or dream falsely imagined by the worldling and the Reality or Truth is God. God is not a substantial divine personality or figure. Esoterically speaking, God is the Truth (Ḥaqq).  The same Truth is applied to Buddha which is also the Truth but not a human personality. The Truth is the absolute Reality of Oneness or Unity of all beings. Esoteric religions reject the worship of the multiplicity which is cosmic illusion. Buddhist wisdom instructs the practitioners not to grasp or cling upon signs of multiplicity. Islam instructs their adherents not to worship idolatry. The two faiths actually convey a common, profound mind-purifying message of salvation to the their respective adherents. But unfortunately, the majority of us still miss the key message as our ignorance veils the Truth. The Truth can only be found in the Centre of the heart – the Origin of Man to which all human species ought to return to in order to gain eternal emancipation or salvation. All esoteric religions preach that whoever knows one’s true self perceives one’s Lord. Once that true self or microcosm is discerned, the macrocosm or the reality of cosmos is also apprehended. Such a discovery is spiritual discernment which perfects human character or morality. This constructs individual and societal harmony.

Mahāyāna Buddhism, Hinduism, Islamic Sufism, and early Christianity preach    esoteric truth of Oneness or Unity – One in Many; Many in One. In Buddhist perspective, the ‘One’ is the Principle and the ‘Many’ is all the contigent phenomena of the empirical world. The Principle is the natural Truth of Dependent Co-arising (Pratītyasamutpāda) which expounds that all phenomena are empty of inherent existence (Svabhāva), that is, signlessness, marklessness or characteristicless-ness. The Buddha-nature is the ultimate Truth of Totality Oneness.

The Islamic theosophy expounds that ‘The One’ is synonymous with Reality or God. The One is the concept of Ocean of Unity (waḥdat al-wujūd). ‘The many’ refers to separateness, otherness or multiplicity generally designated as creatures. The worldlings merely perceive the diversifying differentiations of the multiplicity. Owing to the veil of ignorance, they fail to discern the Truth or God behind the manifestations of the multiplicity. Whoever discerns intuitively the illusion of the multiplicity comprehends one’s relationship with God. With that self-awareness, one is motivated to make a return or inward journey back to God – the Origin of humankind. It is only by God-realization or Truth realization that one can journey esoterically or inwardly to God. Having returned to the Origin, the redeemed person leads a divine interior life which manifests exteriorly as the Man of Perfection or Excellence ethically.

The goal of all esoteric religions is identical – self redemption into the Origin. This is the fundamental Truth of soteriology or salvation advocated by all Esoteric religions. Religions unite and do not divide. The religious wars are waged by the exotericists but are never waged by the esotericists . At the dimension or level of exotericism, various religions a are dissimilar in thoughts and in practice. But at the esoteric level or dimension, all esoteric religions are not dissimilar and is convergent – all rivers eventually meet at the ocean.

The Oneness is, in Islam, known as Tawhid which is fundamental Oneness underlying all existence. Unfortunately, Tawhid has been limitedly interpreted to construct merely localized, limited unity. The actual definition of Tawhid is all encompassing. It connotes the unity of all the contigent beings of the whole cosmos, that is, all human beings and all other beings and non-beings, which are the creations of God, are to be involved. The community unity ought to be extended to include universal or global unity. God or Truth is not confined to any human species. It incorporates all beings, both believers and non-believers. Religions are meant for all human beings. Without human beings, religions do not exist. al-Ḥallāj’s exposition that I am the Truth (Anā al-Ḥaqq) is universally applied to all adherents and non-adherents of esoteric religions without exception. Tawhid of Islam or Dharmadhātu-pratī̄tyasamupāda of Hua-yen Buddhism is spiritual globalization – universal brotherhood of humanity.

Dharmadhātu pratītyasamutpāda (Infinite network of interdependent co-arising) in Hua Yen Buddhism is not only to be universally applied in one’s interior spiritual life but most importantly, this universal religious Truth of Oneness or Unity ought not to be applied merely to the interest of one’s own community but also ought to be altruistically and compassionately universally everywhere in our exterior mundane life. The modern globalization movement mirrors that the entire world is just a global village in which all inhabitants of the mother Earth are intimately interconnected and interrelated. The international trade, educational and cultural exchange programmes, the transfer of technology or knowledge, medical research co-operation, smart global partnership, Interpol’s intelligence service, democratization of higher institutions of learning, logistics, transports and so forth are areas which require international co-operation and unity to actualize common interests in economic, education, politics and other spheres of humanities.  No country is an island. The secular truth embodies the spiritual truth. Spirituality enhances or even consummates secularity. The wisdom of spirituality does not collide with secularity or materialism if and only if the Truth is truly discerned! They collide because of ignorance; they synergize because of wisdom.

Conclusion

 The Truth of Oneness or Totality is ineffable and eternal. The Earth and human species can be totally destroyed by nuclear wars but the divine Truth of either Buddha or God will prevail eternally. The eternal Truth is unconditioned and it requires no earthly footing or support as it is neither absolute existence nor absolute existence at the unmanifest level.

Zoroastrianism, Hinduism, Taoism, Confucianism, Buddhism, Judaism     Christianity, and Islam are similar esoterically or inwardly in the interior life (involution) .They only differ exoterically or outwardly (evolution).  There are many religious masters who actually preach one message of Truth veiled by the darkness of ignorance. All religious saints are equal – they are the Perfect Men who perceive, live in and preach the common Truth. There are the perfect masters of Truth (Brahman, Buddha or God).Whether they are Hindus, Buddhists, Christians or Muslims, the practitioners ought to struggle to annihilate the illusive selfish or egoistic self and cut through the cosmic illusion of the multiplicity. The common function of all esoteric religions is to awake the worldlings from the sleep of ignorance. Religions are learned and cultivated to improve, enhance or consummate character formation for the benefit of oneself and others. Most importantly, genuine religions construct universal harmony. All esoteric religions expound the same Truth by their respective Prophets through dissimilar expedient devices, means or pedagogy but they preached to attain the same soteriologcal goal of ethical perfection and eternal bliss. All men seek the same Truth through dissimilar exoteric dimensions of various religions. Nevertheless, the Truth does not belong to any one creed exclusive of all others. They may be dissimilarly designated as Brahman, Tao, Ming Te, Buddha, God and Allah. They actually represent one common ineffable Truth, the knowledge of which liberates the human species. Religions do not collide but ordinary men do!