The Dalai Lama posted this on his Facebook site:
All the world’s major religions, with their emphasis on love, compassion, patience, tolerance, and forgiveness can, and do, promote inner values. But the reality of the world today is that grounding ethics in religion is no longer adequate.
This is why I am increasingly convinced that the time has come to find a way of thinking about spirituality and ethics beyond religion altogether.
My confidence in venturing into science lies in my basic belief, that as in science as in Buddhism, understanding the nature of reality is perused by critical investigation: if scientific analysis were to conclusively demonstrate that certain claims in Buddhism to be false, then we must accept the findings of science and abandon those claims of Buddhism.
It takes a huge set of balls for a major religious figure like the Dalai Lama to publicly say this.
He’s not saying that his belief in Buddism is wrong. He’s just saying he’s got an open mind and is willing to look and listen to science.
As in scientific control.
A controlled way of thinking about spirituality, and ethics, and other forms of consciousness.
It’s unfortunate that so many of the world’s religions are closed to scientific discussion.
Over the years, I’ve critically investigated the science around religion.
That led me to a belief in Shamanism.
No, not to some witch doctor dancing around a fire with a bone and a chicken.
The science of Shamanism has been around 40,000 years, in all cultures, and on all continents. It’s appeared in identical forms to all peoples; despite language, customs, technology, and total remoteness from each other.
Shamanism is about scientific mind control.
It’s about a controlled mind, scientifically entering into altered states of consciousness. It’s mandate is to achieve wisdom, just like the Dalai Lama does in meditating in his Buddhist faith. Controlled, altered, scientific states of consciousness gives us wisdom to promote inner values of love, compassion, patience, tolerance, and forgiveness; which are the Dalai Lama’s values.
A Shaman goes about Shamaning; helping others – just as a minister goes about ministering. Or the Dalai goes about Lamaning.
Shamanism is a blend of science and spirituality. Shamans use outer knowledge to offer inner values.
Pretty much like the Dalai Lama has been doing.
Of course god exists. Call him by any name but could Chance have created anything it took man this long to destroy?
Cancer’s running rampant and increasing, we may even find a cure before it all falls apart, but it’s just a byproduct of our poisoning the air, water & ground.
The real threat is antibiotic-resistantant bugs – we’ve destroyed so much of the rainforest that’s been our source for the cures. We’re so high & mighty in discovering things that were put here for us and learning to use them, but meanwhile we’re destroying so many we haven’t discoved that we’ll need. Only god could give a cure for everything we could bring upon ourselves, only man could destroy it before we knew we needed it.
I believe in god but not the bible, god didn’t write the bible. We’re sure not created in god’s image, but we’ve always had that overblown impression of ourselves. And some guy wrote it down…Why would god do something so oldschool as write a book when he gave us computers (brains) from the beginning? We should stone people and cut off hands? god creates, men destroy.
and kind of off-topic but 2 things that have defined my distrust of religion are:
– Anyone who kills in the name of their religion does this in spite of their religion, not because of their religion (El Haaj Ghazi Khankan)
– Don’t blame protestants for Jesse James (?)
Wow! I’ve always been spiritual but never religious because of the strictures & parameters of every religion. I’ve investigated different religions but if I can’t buy into their totality I won’t profess to. I’ve had to live by Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet for 40 years. I know I’m not alone. But I definitely suffer inside from a lack of spiritual aloneness..
I expect this Dalai Lama will draw more people to Faith than any other religious leader will draw to their religion. I hope he won’t be killed for his stance.