Faithfully Religionless

 Faithfully Religionless. Thank you Timber for the book!

I've just finished reading this great book by Timber Hawkeye about two weeks ago. It is such a fantastic book - both for people who do and don't believe in religion/God. To me this book strikes a chord within me. Whatever I feel about things, religions and God is summarised in the book. And I even learned more things from the book. I truly recommend it to everyone. 

So I'm just going to share with you the thoughts that I have after reading this book.

Personally I believe there are two kinds of "religious" people. The first kind is the one that is ritually religious. They go to the place of worship, chant, pray, and so on and forth, thinking that doing this is enough to make them "religious". The second one is practically religious. They study about the essence of their religion, the teachings and so on, and put them into practice in their lives.

Just to give an example, there are a lot of Buddhists here who diligently go to the temple to pray and chant, but they don't know who the Buddha is. Or why Guan Yin is called Guan Yin. They don't know basic Buddhist teachings (Foue Noble Truths, Eightfold Noble Path etc). Or they don't even know what the Sutras are about. Or the easiest example: They believe that the Buddha will grant their wishes and make them rich and successful. I don't look down on them, because I was one of them.

I've never regarded myself a "good" Buddhist. I've only gotten to know Buddhism better in 2011-2012 ish, when I started reading more about Buddhism. I've only started to dissect Sutras in 2014 or so, reading different interpretations of Sutras. Right now I'm into the Prajnaparamita Sutra.

I could still remember how when I was young (and even till Secondary School, oops), I would go to the temple before major exams to pray for good luck and good results HAHAHA. I'll be like "Dear Buddha please grant me good grades for this upcoming exams". Of course as I get to know this religion better, I know that's not how Buddhism works. Or how a Buddha works.

Which brings me to my next point - as I study Buddhism more and more, I'm kind of convinced that it is not a religion. I can still remember in Sec One history class, our teacher told us how some people are still debating about calling Buddhism a religion or a philosophy. Now that I've learned a bit more about Buddhism, yes, I'm pretty convinced that it's not exactly a religion.

I'm not gonna go into details about this debate. To me I feel that Buddhism is a contemplative religion. It is a religion where our teacher, the Buddha, tells us about the ways of life. We then contemplate on his teachings and put them into practice in our lives. This is why the Buddha himself said that you should never believe in something until you have experienced it for yourself. And this includes his teachings. He didn't say that his teachings is THE way of life. He's just showing us the way.

In Buddhism there is no God. There is no creator and so on. The law of karma is running but karma isn't our God either. I feel karma is the law of the universe. That what you give, you will get in return. And this law doesn't need a power, or someone to be implemented in this life. Get what I mean?

I've always avoided talking about God because it is quite a sensitive issue. My view and perception about God changes in different parts of my life. I used to believe that God is this man up in the sky and he created the earth and animals and so on, and he punishes us for bad behaviour and rewards us for doing good things. Then my view changes after reading about the Big Bang Theory and I don't really quite agree with God as a creator. I still believe in God, but not as a creator.

And as I grow older, my perception of God changes from a man to a formless energy. God is there, but God doesn't have a form. Like some sort of power? Just an unknown power.

My perception changes again after I meet people who misuse God. I'd like to call it - when people play the God card. Just to give an example: You can't do so/be so because God says so. This shouldn't happen because God says so. This and that. And I even meet people who told me that I will go to hell for not believing in God. But I don't even believe in hell! So where do I go?

I remember I once had this conversation with a friend. So back then we just had a difficult test paper and we actually did quite well. So my friend told me something like: 

Friend: "Oh I thank God for giving me this good grades and getting me through this tough test". 

I just chuckled and said to her: "Shouldn't you be thanking our teacher for teaching us well, and even spending more time to teach us after classes?" 

And to that she replied: "Well I thank God for giving her as our teacher."

After that I just kept quiet because I know where this is going.

I know that some people believe that both good and bad things happen because God made it happen. So it's like when good things happen we should thank God, and when bad things happen, it's a test from God. Now... What if we remove God from this equation. If good things happen, lets be grateful for it and when bad things happen, lets be patient and go through it. Nothing is permanent.

To summarise the top scenario, while some people believe that God = life, I'd like to believe that life = God. Lets switch some words over. When bad things happen, it's just life giving us a test. Nowadays however I'd like to take it that the Universe is my god. Because the universe is created out of nothingness, and they are formed for the sake of forming. It's like they exist on its own. Just like life!

Although yes all in all, the concept and idea of God differs from people to people and religion to religion. To me there's no "ultimate truth" in life. So whether you believe in God or not, it's not right or wrong. As I grow older and meet more people, who have their own definitions of God, my mind is opened. And I don't tell them whether they're right or wrong, but I accept the fact that God comes in many forms.

Wait, I just realised that I'm not back to my previous perception - formless God haha.

So yeah. Right now, I don't deny the existence and/or absence of God. I'm learning to see everything in life as it is. And to me this is the essence of the Prajnaparamita sutra. This is why some people regard emptiness as the God of Buddhism. Currently reading the commentaries of the Sutra by the Dalai Lama and I am understanding the concept of emptiness as God better now. 

Before I end of this post, I'd like to share with you some of my favourite quotes from the book:

"Faith is a spiritual practice of continually letting go of certainty, of ego and of the underlying need to know. I'm simply comfortable admitting that I don't know why certain things happen or why they don't. The freedom derived from letting go of that compulsive need to know is pure bliss."

"being faithfully religionless: open heartedly accepting everything under the sun and joyously celebrating all of life's moments without any judgement."

Thank you once again, Timber Hawkeye, for this amazing book!

Thus Have I Seen (THIS) Buddhist Film Festival

  

Thus Have I Seen

Today was another awesome Saturday! And as awesome as it is, also, a thought-provoking one. Which is really nice though haha, I love being caught in deep thoughts cause of an action, cause of something. But yes, awesome Saturday is awesome. I went to watch 3 more screenings of the THIS Buddhist Film Festival 2012 with Saeyeoh today! They are Angin, Your Mind Is Bigger Than All The Supermarkets In The World and One Mile Above! All great movies/documentaries.

I will write my thoughts of the films I watched today later on hehe.

 

 The autographed CD of Angin! Thanks Dharma in Action hehe

So I met her at 11 today and we went to watch our first two screening (Angin and Your Mind). It was lovely of the director of Angin, Mr Winaldo Artaraya Swastia to come down and have a Q&A session with us after the screening of his movie. And yes he's Indonesian! I'm really proud of him, to have someone who's able to create such a beautiful and sweet short-movie that is really meaningful. And it was even more meaningful when he explained the meaning behind the title Angin (wind).

As a fellow Indonesian I'm curious of course, so I asked him what inspired him to make a movie about Buddhism in Indonesia? And I'm glad to know that well not only there isn't any Buddhist Fictional movie before Angin, but he also wants to share his passion and happiness in showing the teachings of Buddhism. After the movie screening I met him outside and have a chat with him. And wow his father is from my hometown Sukabumi! Haha. And of course I took a photo with him ^^ and I got myself an autographer CD of Angin for the Q&A session (Thanks Dharma in action!)

 Me and the director of Angin, Mr Winaldo!

After watching his movie, it really inspired me to make a short movie as well about Buddhism. Though I'm not a movie maker heh. Or well maybe perhaps a short photography project? So I convey my thoughts through pictures hehe.

Then Saeyeoh and I went for lunch at Seoul Garden. Oh gosh it's been such a long time since I ate there and we had a yummy lunch (and filling one too). Had a good chat and good catch-up as well! :) And so then we make our way back to Lido for the last movie screening of the day, and of this year's festival, One Mile Above by Du Jiayi!

It was such a great movie. Throughout the movie I was just awed in silence for it's awesomeness. It's one of the most beautiful and one of the best movies I've ever watched! So touching, sad but at the same time it's just wonderful... I'm so glad that I got two tickets from the super-fast-selling seats back in August whew. I watched the trailer back at Mangala Vihara when Dharma in Action people came there to give a short talk of the festival. I know I have to watch this one!

After the movie I got myself mooncakes! Thanks to being an M1 user I got 15% off hehe from Marriott! And then we decided to go to a place near Raffles Place, beside the Singapore river to just chill with the evening breeze. Thanks for intro-ing me to that place! It was really lovely and nice. Should go there more often to chill hehe. And yup, that's all for the day!

Right moving on to my thoughts about THIS Buddhist Film Festival.

So basically I watched three movie screenings today, and the three of them are really great movies/documentary to begin with. Angin, as Mr Winaldo explained, is used as a theme of Anicca (impermanence). I think it's a great movie to show how things come and go, that all things are impermanent yes?

Your Mind Is Bigger Than All The Supermarkets In The World (I'll cut it short with Your Mind) is another great experiential documentary too. Though the documentary is just video stills of the director, having a conversation with her meditation teacher in Sri Lanka, I feel that watching it makes me feel like I'm -there- too with them, talking, enjoying the view. Some of the words that I picked up from the docu were really great too.

I particularly like the part where Upul Nishanta said something about living the moment. How true that whenever I do work (say my report), I can't just think of the THING I'm doing now. I'll think of the other parts of my report. I'll think whether it's good enough. I'll think whether Dr Simon would like it or not. I can't just think of the present! The thing I'm doing NOW. And hence yes, it's important to just focus on what you're doing now, rather than just... Keep on thinking of the future and worrying yourself unnecessarily. Live the moment!

And another one is about happiness, and unhappiness. So happiness is when you're able to do what you mind wants you to do. If you're not able to do what your mind wants you to do, you get a punishment which is known as, unhappiness! So yeah, basically it all comes back to the fact that happiness is from within. We create our own sadness and happiness. Less of the outer things that we get or we face. Interesting ya?

Last but not least, about life. The words that ring in my head the most is this. You can use the life to understand about the life. What is it? And also, how life is one huge laboratory where we carry out our experiments. I think it's true how much life is one great journey. And to understand this journey, I think only we can do so. We can't tell people hi this is life. We tell ourselves what life is. Cause though we all live to die eventually, it is our definitions of life that make life so beautiful.
 
Following THIS theme for this year, "Open Your Mind", going to four screenings of the movies showcased really made me open my mind more about my religion, but actually more to life. Especially today's movie screenings. I've learnt a lot and it was just great to learn more. So far all of the movies are thought-provoking. It made you think, and most importantly it made you feel. And I think that is a very important feature of a film.

Thought I wouldn't call myself as a strong Buddhist, I truly enjoy learning its teachings (Dhamma) and also trying to apply it in my life. Though so far, I find it really challenging and yes it's possible of course. I was talking to Saeyeoh today about religion, and well perhaps, some people convert away from Buddhism cause maybe one of the reasons is that they couldn't follow the teaching and find it difficult. Well I heard it from somewhere... Buddhism is not about learning about being a good Buddhist. It's learning about life, learning about yourself.

And to think how complex life can be, you should understand my point, yes? :)

Alright what a long post. To all the organisers and everyone else who made THIS Buddhist Film Festival 2012 possible, thank you very much for your hardwork and dedication! Truly enjoyed the movie screenings I went to. I hope to see you again in 2014 hehe. Thanks for opening my mind, and well here I go saying....  

Thus Have I Seen.