Different Religions For Different Times

[pseudosherlock]

I've thought a lot lately about how detractors of things like the Law of Attraction and other Positive Thinking paradigms say that they can't be objective because it only works for Americans who can sit around and have all they want, not for Third World citizens who can barely get food to eat.

One response I think of is that you can be happy with whatever you have, even if it's a rock you found on the ground. It's just relative, and imagining that a Third World kid can't be happy because he doesn't have an ipod is pretty stupid.

That aside, I think that one of the biggest points against this is that spirituality and religion are byproducts of the culture they come from. Americans see reality as things, so unsuprisingly they have a lot of beliefs that involve finding a way to get more things. Other countries deal with a lot of turmoil and suffering on a daily basis, so they have beliefs that help them in dealing with the suffering.

This came to me as I was watching a documentary on Buddhism. In traditional Buddhism the perspective tends to start from a concept that life is suffering and it teaches you how to rise above that. Not much of American life is outright suffering. So we have belief systems that support gaining as much as we want and avoiding the hectic oppression of information and stress. Even Buddhism, when it traveled to Japan became focused more on Zen Buddhism because it offered people like the Samurai a practical way to escape from the fear of constant, sudden death from enemies and nature.

We all adapt spiritual teachings and religions to where we grew up. Yes, there is a core truth to it all, but if you talk long enough about the core you end up flavoring it with your own cultural viewpoints. I think it's the American habit of trying to apply one belief to every single corner of existence that leads people to put down things like the Law of Attraction because it doesn't fit another person's culture. Obviously, if it did, they'd already have thought of it.

Is there anyone here who thinks there should be a religion or spiritual practice to apply to every one Earth?

[sin]

That aside, I think that one of the biggest points against this is that spirituality and religion are byproducts of the culture they come from.

I would agree, look at the evolution of the original term Dukkha in Buddhism. Dukkha doesn't always translate well into other languages. The closest correct translation is 'attachment', not suffering. However the use of the explanation, that Dukkha is uneasiness, translated to suffering and here we area today with the ideals of Buddhism muddied by poor transliteration.

I think every philosophical modality has experienced this from culture to culture. The very idea that 'spirituality' and 'religion' must be separate terms, separate ideas - is also cultural. What is 'spirituality' but the emotional side of man? Why does man 'practice' religion?

I'll use the archetypal structure of Vulcan logic from Star Trek. Ask yourself, why would a Vulcan practice religion? At one time, the emotional side of the Vulcan race was so overwhelming that it could have been the very source of self annihilation. That cold calculating logic summarized that the emotional nature of the species must be managed meticulously; however what occurred was that nearly all emotion was suppressed. The Vulcan may practice 'religion' simply as a self-discipline to further manage his uneasiness, his Dukkha. Cross- breeding, such as a Vulcan with a Human (as in the case of Spock's parents) perplexed Spock as a man. His father explained to him many times over the course of the story, that he loved his mother very much which is the reason for the coupling. Spock recognized that his father was purely Vulcan, and yet - he was able to experience emotion without allowing it to destroy him. Spock had to work twice as hard as any Vulcan male to manage his emotions because he was 1/2 human. If you pay attention to the behaviors of Spock over the course of the Star Trek series, you can catch glimpses of what seems like 'religion', a self-discipline used to manage.

Philosophy, and religion are not so different if you closely examine it. Philosophy aids a person in seeking answers, it does not provide them. Religion operates in the same manner, often leading to more and more questions rather than providing answers. Both act as a comfort, as a way to settle the attachment man can not seem to do on his own without such tools. Both can be changed, shaped and evolve with cultural values.