Comparative Religious Purport: Pope’s Insightful Message to the Inter-faith Leaders
By K.S.Chow
Introduction
On April 17, 2008, Pope Benedict addressed about 200 the inter-faith leaders of Islam, Jainism, Buddhism, Hinduism and Judaism at the Pope John Paul II culture Centre at Washington, United States. A multitude of his insightful, unveiling messages was delivered to the inter-religious leaders. In actuality, it is a lofty, very constructive admonitions delivered to the world at large. The truth spoken is meant for all. It is not confined to the Christians. Some of the Pope’s edifying, morally elevating admonitions are worth to be seriously contemplated or reflected upon by all of us of dissimilar religious denominations. His religious wisdom illuminates the darkness of ignorance manifested in the current clashes of civilizations between blocs, between different nations and even among same conflicting citizens of the same nation. His religious admonitions on communal values and most importantly on the discovery of divine or absolute Truth help promote and foster the alliances of civilizations to avert the clashes of current civilization between the east and the west, within the west or within the east itself due to political differences guided by dogmatic views rather than by truth. The Pope advised us thus:
- Religious leaders do not only work for peace but also for the discovery of Truth
- They should persevere in the collaboration to render service to the human society and enrich the public life
- Inter-faith understanding is encouraged.
- The relationship between the world and God is unveiled.
- Respect the beliefs and practices of others
Peace and Truth
It is not sufficient to work for peace by inter-religious leaders by identifying universal or communal ethical values to promote and foster peace. The promotion and fostering of peace in human society must be supplemented and invigorated by the discovery of common esoteric Truth in all religions. Human ethics can only endure permanently if and only if the absolute Truth is discovered through diligent religious practices and intuitive discernment. The ordinary human being is fallible as he or she does not live in the knowledge of Truth. Religious cultivation, development and discernment leads torevelation of self-knowledge. Self-knowledge eliminates human falliblities to redeem innate human infallibilities. In other words, the flaw in ordinary human heart must first be rectified or fine-tuned by obliterating the self-centric ego through proper comprehension of the religious scriptures and intrinsic self-awarenness (self-knowledge). In order to obliterate this superimposed, illusive self or ego, one must discover the common Truth of salvation or liberation through self-knowledge. Self-knowledge is the intrinsic self-awareness of the innate essence of God or Buddha in everyone of us.
The Truth of salvation of any monotheistic religion is two-fold. In Christianity, firstly, if one’s life is directed and empowered by the false self of egoism, a Christian believer is still sinful. Being sinful, one opposes the wills of God. In short, one does not dwell in the knowledge of Truth. In Buddhism, a Buddhist is still vulnerable to the commission of unwholesome and wholesome kammas if self or ego has not obliterated. When a Buddhist lives in the knowledge of Truth, his Buddha-nature or Buddha-mind is manifested. In short, the consciousness of a saved Christian or Buddhist is pure and infinite.
The sinful Christian transgresses the commandment of Jesus Christ or God. The Buddhist kamma maker breaches the five moral injunctions declared by Gotama Buddha. Secondly, a saved Christian realizes that the creatures must be discerned as illusive, unreal and mutable and only the God is real and eternal. Correspondingly, a liberated Buddhist must penetrate into the conventional truth that all phenomena are illusive and unreal and only the ultimate Truth or the Tathāgata is real, eternal and immutable.
Perseverence and Charity
The religious leaders are expected to persevere in times of adversities in the process of accomplishing the mission of charity works for the needy. The charity encompasses all forms of generous givings materialistically, psychologically or spiritually. Personal cultivation or private victory must precede public victory of benefiting others through humanitarian aids or charitable works. The supreme form of public victory is the transmission of religious Truth or Wisdom to save others from leading life contrary to religious beliefs or commandments. The public life is enriched when the Truth is diffused and absorbed by the public.
In Christianity, the public victory is the spiritual accomplishment in which religious knowledge or wisdom transforms the mind-set of a believed Christian to receive Jesus or God.In order to receive God,one must fully comprehend the Word of Jesus of God through the scriptures or sermons. Only when the holy spirit indwells and pervades the life of a Christian, he or she is said to be born of God. Jesus or God is said to sit on the throne of his or her life and direct and empower all his or her daily activities. His or her life is no more directed and empowered by the animal or lower self which is the illusive self-centric ego.
For a Buddhist practioner, private victory is self-purification and self-liberation through wisdom of insight into insubstantiality or non-self. Insubstantiality or non-self unveils that self or ego is superimposed by human ignorance. Self or ego is illusive and does not exist in the first place. Whoever discerns insubstantiality or non-self does not grasp upon the five aggregates as this is I; this is mine; this belongs to me. Non-grasping liberates a Buddhist form suffering. This is private victory. When a liberated Buddhist shares his or her wisdom of liberation to liberate other sentient beings, this is public victory.
The Christians’ masters and Buddhists’ masters may employ dissimilar expedient devices or skillful means to liberates their followers or adherents, they concur and are congruent with respect to an identical soteriological goal at the summit of spirituality. The identical climax of spirituality is the deliverance through obliteration of self-centred ego. All human fallibilities, imperfections or flaws arise from the ignorant and perverse direction and empowerment of self or ego. Religion helps us seek the original absolute Essence of God or Buddha in us. In terms of eternal Truth of dependently co-arisen Unity and Non-dulaity, God and Buddha are synonymous.
Inter-faith Understanding
Inter-faith understanding is fundamentally three–fold. Firstly, every religion recommends moral restraints and practice of virtue of universal love. The moral restraints are exercise to avoid evils so as not to injure oneself and others. Most significantly, the moral restraints protect one from the transgression of the fundamental human rights of others.
Secondly, the don’ts ought to complemented with the dos to consummate ethical development of any noble individual. Restraint from violence or destruction of lives ought to be complemented by benevolence and compassion. Restraint from thefts ought to be complemented by generous givings. Restraint from sexual misconduct ought to be complemented by blamelessness or righteousness. Restraint from untruthfulness ought to be complemented by truthfulness. Restraint from carelessness ought to be complemented by heedfulness. Restraint from jealousy ought to be complemented by appreciative joy. Restraint from aversion ought to be complemented by friendliness. Restraint from hatred ought to be complemented by love. The aforementioned moral norms or standards are universally applicable for all religious adherents. This is the communal or common truth cherished by all of us.
Thirdly, the truth of mental purification of the human consciousness is congruent for all esoteric religious adherents. In Christianity, the mind is purified when it is infilled with the holy spirit by being born of God after the annihilation of self-centred ego. In Buddhism, the mind is purified by the execution of the four-foundations of mindfulness or chan or zen wisdom so that the grasping upon the five aggregates ceases. This first principle of mental purification is identical for all esoteric religions. This identical principle is the annihilation of the self-centric ego by living the knowledge of Truth promulgated by the religious masters, messengers, prophets pr patriarchs.
Relationship between World and God
In monotheism like Christianity or Islam, the world of creatures is the shadow of the Creator God. Thus, the creatures are unreal and only God is real. The creatures are not separate from God. God is immanent and pervasive in all creatures. Whoever discerns this relationship between the world and God perceives the Truth of salvation.
In Buddhism, the multiplicity of the phenomenal world is illusive. The conventional truth of phenomena is ultimately unreal. Only the ultimate Truth of the Principle or the Tathāgata or the Buddha is real. The phenomena are impermanent, insubstantial and conditioned. The Principle is permanent, immutable and unconditioned. Whoever perceives the distinction between the phenomena and the Principle is emancipated.
Phenomena is synonymous with creatures or creations of God. The Principle is synonymous with God. The universal Truth is unveiled by the religious saints as: One in many; many in One. One is the Unity; many is the multiplicity. Many is the mage of the One. Many is unreal; only the One is real. The many is the world and the One is God. In Buddhism, the many is the conventional truth; the One is the ultimate Truth.
Metaphorically, the many are the countless waves and the One is borderless Ocean. Whoever penetrates relationship between the waves and the Ocean apprehends the relationship between the world and God.From the Buddhist perspective, whoever perceives the distinction between the conventional truth and the ultimate Truth understands the profound message of the Buddha.
Respect for Dissimilar Religions
All esoteric religions, such as Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Judaism are dissimilar only outwardly or exoterically but they are similar inwardly or esoterically. The apparent external dimensions of dissimilar religions are merely dissimilar expedient devices or skillful means to lead to the fulfillment of the identical esoteric dimension of religion - self-redemption or salvation. The distinction must be respected to avoid controversies and judgmental disputations. Though exoteric dimensions of all different religions are distinct, they are orientated towards the identical soteriological goal of extinction of self-centric ego which is ignorantly superimposed and is unreal in the first place. It is only exoterically or outwardly discriminative but esoterically or inwardly non-discriminative. A Chinese girl with her traditional Chinese attire and a Malay girl with traditional Malay attire are different outwardly. However, both are inwardly identical in terms of the human body. Both of them can produce equally perfect men who care to learn from the religious scriptures. |
