PRACTICING CH'AN AND ANOTHER RELIGION SIMULTANEOUSLY | Zen Wisdom

QUESTION:
Would Shih-fu discuss the practice of Buddhism in relation to other religions? Is it possible to practice Buddhism and still maintain faith in another religion?

SHIH-FU:
Buddhism can be practiced at five levels. The first level corresponds to the human realm, the second to the heavenly realms. In both of these levels, there are appropriate ways to practice according to Buddhadharma Most religions do not venture past the human and heavenly realms. Some, perhaps, are not even concerned with the heavens, but only with human life. In the sutras, the appropriate actions and practices necessary for sentient beings in the first two levels, or for those beings in the human realm who wish to enter the heavenly realms, are explicitly taught in accordance with Buddhadharma. In this sense. Buddhism is not opposed to people seeking to be reborn in the heavens, and therefore, is not opposed to other religions which teach the same.

Buddhism wants to help everyone, and welcomes people of any faith to use the Buddhist methods of practice. People of other religions who are newcomers to Buddhism need not give up their previous faiths. If you wish to hold on to your original faith, it is not a problem.

In most societies, families usually pass on their faiths from generation to generation. If you had to give up your faith for Buddhism, you would separate yourself in many ways from family and society because a large part of any religion includes social and cultural interaction. There’s no need to force people to abandon all of this. When I came to the United States, I believed that people who espoused Buddhadharma should be very flexible and accepting of all people, no matter what their beliefs.

How does Buddhism respond to Western religions? Throughout their history, Christianity and Judaism have done much good and have helped many people. Had these religions not existed, some of the civilizations of Europe might have been deprived of moral and ethical teachings.

Some Buddhists may like to think of Jesus as the incarnation of a great bodhisattva. From this perspective, many Buddhists would view Christianity as a branch of Buddhism. However, I have a problem accepting this viewpoint. Viewing Christianity as a branch of Buddhism may create undesirable consequences. People would have the misunderstanding that accepting the teachings of Jesus and Christianity would be the same as accepting the teachings of Buddhadharma. The fact is, there are certain parts of Jesus’s teachings which do not accord with Buddhadharma and vice versa. As Buddhists, we should only consider those aspects of Jesus’s teachings which are identical with those of the Dharma, and we can only consider the teachings of Christianity at the level of the human and heavenly realms.

I doubt that in the future the numerous religions will fuse into one. The world is not so simple. It is important for the major religions to recognize and support those parts of their faiths that are the same, as well as understand and accept those parts that are different. It would be wrong for Buddhists to make claims that their religion is superior to other religions. It would cause unnecessary dispute and tension. We can only explain our teachings so others might understand. It is not our right to judge whether another religion is good or bad, correct or incorrect.

STUDENT:
Can we think of Buddhism, and in particular the Ch’an sect, as a religion?

SHIH-FU:
This is a very important question. On the one hand, the teachings of the Dharma, and especially the teachings of Ch’an, are methods of practice. Sakyamuni Buddha taught methods. He did not tell people to believe in anything or to accept anything on faith. From the point of view of strict practice, there seems to be no need for religious ritual, for performance of rites of adoration toward the Buddhas. In this sense, Buddhism need not be classified as a religion.

On the other hand, if the teachings of the Dharma encourage one to follow the methods taught by the Buddha and the patriarchs, one must have the highest faith in the Buddhas and bodhisattvas, in order to benefit from the practice. Without faith, one would not practice for very long. With half-hearted faith, the benefits of practice would not be great. In this sense, then, faith in the Buddhas and bodhisattvas is necessary, and if we are to speak of a religion as a tradition involving faith, then Buddhism can be classified as a religion. But if a religion is limited to ritual alone, then Buddhism does not have to be considered a religion.

STUDENT:
No religion would admit that it is purely ritual. All religions claim more.

SHIH-FU:
This is true. In that case. Buddhism is definitely a religion. We must ask ourselves if these rituals are necessary or useful to the religion. In the spreading of the Dharma through the Orient, people start with such rituals. When I came to this country, I incorporated a minimal amount of ritual in my teachings. However, after practicing for a while, people here naturally developed a great respect, faith and gratitude towards Buddhas, bodhisattvas and patriarchs, and the normal way to express such feelings is through rituals.

What, then, do we mean by religion? Faith in an entity, a god, deities; faith in their existence, their power and authority; faith in the founders of such religions, such as the Buddha, Jesus, Abraham or Mohammed; faith in the teachings of such deities, people, Buddhas. It is the teachings that are of greatest importance to us, for that is what we have to work with, to learn from, to practice. In a broad sense, even Marxism may be considered a religion, although it denies the existence of a deity, because adherents have absolute faith in the teachings of its leaders: Marx, Lenin and Mao Tse-tung.

STUDENT:
This concerns people of other faiths who practice Buddhism. Is it possible to intellectually understand the concepts of the Dharma and benefit from the practice without incorporating the teachings into your religious belief system?

SHIH-FU:
Is it possible to ignore the teachings, the concepts and theories, and just practice? It may be possible, but only in the beginning stages. When I teach a newcomer, I can ignore such teachings, but after a while I have to introduce ideas like karma, rebirth, causes and conditions.

Can one understand these teachings and yet not accept them? If you are content with gaining only a small amount of benefit from the practice, perhaps. But if you want to enter deeper and deeper into the practice of the Dharma, then you must accept the teachings.

STUDENT:
Then the earlier question returns. If a person from another faith wants to practice Buddhism on a deep level, eventually that person must give up the beliefs and teachings of the original religion?
However, we are talking about deep levels of practice. One can gain much from meditation and Buddhist principles without abandoning faith in other religions.

SHIH-FU:
Yes, that is correct. On a shallow level, you can hold onto your previous religion’s doctrine. If you wish to seriously practice Buddhism, then inevitably you must relinquish other beliefs. It would be impossible to have absolute faith in two sets of teachings. To say that one does not have to give up the original religion pertains to the social and cultural aspects of that religion. But, even if one gives up the beliefs of the other religion, it does not mean that one is then opposed to that faith.

STUDENT:
Isn’t it possible to go one step beyond this, and say it is all in the mind? They are just beliefs and concepts and therefore I can believe anything I want to? I can even hold contradictory beliefs in my mind at the same time?

SHIH-FU:
Holding contradictory beliefs is difficult to do. It is hard to get rid of one’s ideas of one’s religion. Many people of other religions would like to benefit from Buddhadharma. They are intrigued by the philosophy, but they interpret it in terms of their own beliefs. They try Buddhist meditation in order to reach higher levels of their own religions, to experience their God. Buddhist methods can be used for these purposes. It can be said, also, that people who have reached higher levels of their religions have had enlightenment experiences, but they are not true Buddhist enlightenment experiences. They have not left all conceptualization behind. They have not left behind their beliefs. They have not let go of their selves. People who hear this may interpret it as though Buddhists feel their beliefs are superior to other beliefs, that their levels of enlightenment are above all other types of enlightenment. This is also not true. It is the manner in which Buddhists describe their experiences. Other religions have their points of view.

To speak of higher and lower or better and worse is irrelevant, non-productive, even dangerous.

STUDENT:
Earlier you spoke concerning whether other religious figures, such as Jesus Christ, are bodhisattvas. Can you elaborate?

SHIH-FU:
Religions generally have three basic elements: someone who started the religion, the teachings of the religion, and ritual. In the case of Christianity, I do not want to say that its originator, Jesus, was a bodhisattva, nor do I want to oppose that view. By his teachings alone you or I cannot determine whether Jesus was a bodhisattva. Only bodhisattvas would be able to tell if Jesus was a bodhisattva, since they would be able to see his Dharma body. Since I cannot do this, I do not want to take a definite position for or against this view. Really, the issue is irrelevant, unimportant. What is important are the teachings, and the example of the founder’s life. That is what people should be concerned with.

STUDENT:
Personal question. We were raised as Catholics. When our child is born, our parents expect that we will have the baby baptized. We, however, do not follow that religion, so we’d rather not have this ritual performed. To do it would be hypocritical, we feel. We’d rather not make a mockery of the Catholic Church, which we still respect. What are your thoughts concerning this?

SHIH-FU:
If your parents are not strongly opposed to your wishes, then it is not necessary to go through with the ritual. If it really upsets them, then it’s alright to go through with the baptism as a favor to your parents. There’s another point. Buddhism recognizes the power of the mind. If someone gives a sincere blessing, such as through baptism, then the receiver of the blessing will benefit. The blessing comes from the power of the mind of the person giving the blessing as well as from the power of the deity that the person believes in. Buddhism does not deny the existence of deities. Buddhism accepts that deities of other faiths do exist, and that they do have certain power. In the case of your child, if a Catholic priest baptizes your child, that is good for the child. If you want me also to bless your child, I would be happy to do so. Your child will be doubly blessed.

PREVIOUS: RIKKI ASHER | Zen Wisdom
NEXT: THE FIVE PRECEPTS | Zen Wisdom