Alliance of Civilizations: The Perfect Match between the West and the east (VI)

K.S.Chow

Western Value System

In his July visit to Australia,  Pope Benedict admitted before the Australian audience that the church in the west is ‘in crisis’ but not in decline. Such utterance mirrors the current reality in the west. Fortunately, although the church institution is weakened  in the west, it is justly compensated by the culture of protection of western democracy, freedom and  human rights. These political cultural traits   are actually essentially divine. The western political culture is constructed upon the Universal Declaration Human Rights (UDRH).  Having carefully examined the UDRH, I rejoice at having ascertained that the articles enshrined in the UDHR are compatible with religious commandments of  Monotheism and precepts of  Buddhism respectively. They are moral restraints of  justice and life of righteousness to promote and foster unity. Unity is God . Like the Prophets and Tathāgatas, UDHR encourages us to love the neighbour non-discriminatively or unselfishly but generously.

Democracy, freedom and human rights implemented on the basis of communal truth of wisdom or righteousness  are divine and worthy to be worshipped . Western superpowers’ interference with the poor human right records of other nations are motivated by their sacred and divine belief in UDRH. They should not be perceived as interferences of internal affairs of others. They should be perceived as family members of the United Nations (U.N)  reminding  the UN brotherly member nations not to derail from the commitment  made by member nations of U.N. in 1948.

 UDHR was the commitment made to adhere to the code of ethics of righteous governance when it was declared by the General Assembly about 60 years ago. The tyrant or autocratic governments or their bureaucracies may dislike it. The original citizens especially the members of opposition political parties and independent  dissidents  like it. The establishments of Human Commissions by the non-profit organizations in U.N member countries support it to protect the human rights of the ordinary people. UDHR serves as a force of  deterrent against the influencial secularists or atheists  who abuse their powers to protect their self-interests. UDHR should be respected and implemented as they concur with the law, commandments and precepts of world’s major religions. Those who reject UDHR are those whose political or economic  interests are menaced  by their implementation.

Modern Dilemma

In the current modern world, religion is merely practised exoterically or exteriorly  through ritualism of dualistic prayers, recitations  or meditation. Esoterically, they have not exerted themselves enough to seek for the knowledge  of God or Buddha . Knowledge of God or Buddha is the Truth of interdependent and harmonious co-existence. They listen to the sermons but they do not digest the Truth of the Absolute Truth and can practise it without proper understanding. They do not study the religious scriptures to discover the Truth that relates the world to the absolute Truth – the Truth of human family. They  are only interested in the exoteric dimension of religion. Some may be very skillful in remembering  or reciting the religious scriptures at ease. Some may be adept at long meditation or reciting the name of the Lord.  However, when they meet others of distinct faiths or colours, internally, they are still very discriminative and dualistic. Discrimination  or dualism negates the God or Buddha.

Love

The greatest deficiency in modern religious preaching is that the two primary commandments applicable in all religions are the’ Love of Truth (God) and the  Love of Neighbour’ (Matthew22:34-40) which are not seriously practised. The ‘Love of Truth or God and Neighbour’ is the sincere practice of unity in any teamwork or any human interactive relationship. The ‘Love of Neighbour’ is to be non-discriminatively friendly towards every one who is other than one’s family members. Buddhistly put, the ‘Love of God and Neighbour’ is the non-discriminative radiation of boundless lovingkindness, compassion, and appreciative joy supported by the power of equanimity towards others irrespective of distinction of  colour, creed and belief.

Alternatively compared, the ‘Love of God and Neighbour’ is the non-transgression of the Five Precepts or non-violation of UDHR. Politics and Religions share the same aspiration of global peace, harmony, goodwill and security. Modern politics  shuns religion. Paradoxically, religion actually complements the aspiration of polity.

God commands that  the ‘Love of Neighbour’ and the love for a family member  are  to be non-discriminatively equal because every one is living in the same  human family – the cosmic Self.  Whoever  does not perceive  this equality does not perceive  his or her Lord. The equality and the interconnectedness of all humans and non-humans in a cosmic family is expounded in the Avataṃsaka Sūtra of Hua-yen Buddhism in terms of  the doctrine of identity and Interdependence (dharmadhātu-pratītyasamutpāda). Love is arisen from the discernment of interconnectedness among members of a global human family.

Differentiation

We tend to differentiate between the westerners from the easterners through different colours and culture. From the perspective of esoteric Truth, colours and culture are exoteric or external. What are exoteric or external are divergent forms. Ultimately, forms are  empty of signs, marks or characteristics. Buddhistly put, Form (Rūpa) is Empty (‘Sūnya). The multiplicity of forms veils the absolute Truth of God, Brahman or Buddha. When God, Brahman or Buddha is seen , the illusory and unreal forms vanish in the Unity of Existence or cosmic Unity.

Interestingly, Buddhism depicts Unity of Existence as Insubstantiality (Anattā) or Emptiness (‘Sūnyatā). Process Theism or Monotheism depicts the Unity of Existence ( Tawḥīd; Wahdat al Wujūd) as God. Philosophically,  Anattā, ‘Sūnyatā or God (Ḥaqq) connotes the identical Truth of Unity or Non-duality. Unity or Non-duality is cosmic Self. Cosmic Self is universal Unity of Existence. The multiplicity of forms are metaphorically compared to waves of the borderless ocean. The Unity of cosmic Self is metaphorically compared to the borderless Ocean. The waves are never separate from the Ocean. The waves are contained in the Ocean and the Ocean contains the waves. The waves  or creatures are food for God . The God is also food for the waves. Therefore the waves and the Ocean are dependently co-arisen Unity or Non-duality. Likewise, Man or the Absolute Truth of God or  Buddha are dependently co-arisen Unity or Non-duality.

 If religion is properly taught and comprehended, the human society, nation and world can not be so divided or and chaotic. Another possible cause of human disunity and disharmony is that genuine religion diffusion is impeded and sabotaged by anthropocentric individuals or groups. These secularists  are modern materialists, extreme capitalists  or blind  hedonists whose DNA is strictly secular. If Man understands the reciprocal or non-dual relationship between Man and God or Buddha, Man will develop more interest about God or Buddha.

Knowledge God or Buddha is knowing about one’s True Self. One’s True Self is God essence or Buddha-nature.  Ordinary people erroneously conceive that they have nothing to do with God or Buddha. In Monotheism, alienation from God is sin. In Buddhism alienation from the Dharma  is perversion. The world and Dharma  or the world and God are intimately related.

To be continued