Religion.
Yes, even I think of things like that.
So, I’ve had a gripe about religion lately:
I
REALLY like the idea of belonging to a church or a temple or some place
of worship because I think it’d be really nice to have a place to go
weekly that not only does stuff for the community [a requirement of
mine if I did join], but also gives one a gentle reminder of the morals
and values we tend to forget in our day to day — add in the feeling of
belonging to a close-knit group… and it seems like a really ideal
situation.
With maybe the exception of the consistent ‘reminder
of morals and values’, my group in college [Circle K] really fulfilled
that for me. However, now that I’ve grown out of the group and the
people that I joined with are now gone off to their own post-college
things, I find myself searching for something to fill that space… and
with something that will last more than four years.
Sure I
could join the Kiwanis, Red Cross or some other non-profit
organization, but lately I think I’ve been feeling the need for some
spiritual fulfillment as well.
The only problem is: I can’t bring myself believe in God
Not
God, not a god, not any god. I’m not denying that the existence of God
or any of the gods in this world are possible. It might be. I just
can’t bring myself to believe in any religion in a way that one would
call it my ‘Faith’.
So I guess it’s better to say that instead of not believing in God, that I have no Faith.
Why I don’t pray to Buddha [even though I’m Buddhist]
Born
and raised Buddhist, I like to think that I try my best to follow the
rules of my raised religion. However, ever since I was a child, I
always had problems with the ‘praying’ part. Who am I praying to?
Taught
that Buddha was a normal man that reached Nirvana [the mental/spiritual
place where there is nothing and everything and there are no wants and
no needs], I always had trouble grasping the reason for which we prayed
to him every week.
Afterall, if he’s in Nirvana, why would he hear us and heed us at all? Same with all of the other Buddhist dieties
In the end, I believe in Buddha’s teachings… But not Buddhist religion as it’s developed into right now.
Why I can’t have Faith in a God
As
for an all-knowing, all-seeing God, I have a lot of issues with the
idea that an all-seeing all-knowing sentient being that I can’t see can
have an effect on my life.
It’s wholly possible that one exists, but I just can’t really envision it.
So that leaves me with this question…
Where in the world can one go to find a nice group of people that are willing to:
- Do things for the community
- Have
weekly sessions and discussions on morality, the virtues of such
morality, and assessment of values [also why these are important in
daily life]… - Without involving any praying, chanting,
kowtowing, singing, Jesus, any Dieties [including Buddha], the word
‘amen’, and the need for everyone to have [at least some] Faith?
Any suggestions?
Munny
To
those of you who skipped the whole entry and went down to the bottom of
the post hoping to find something interesting… I recently completed
painting a Munny [and made her some friends too!] Let me know what you
think and whether or not I should post pictures of how this Munny came
about.
