Saturday, May 25, 2002

Who Was Jesus/Buddha/Krishna? Part IV

One of the most important and transforming events of my life was a three week trip to Europe in my early 20's. One of the highlights of that trip was the opportunity to visit some of the world's greatest art museums. I came home enchanted by Vermeer and the Dutch Masters and the French Impressionists in particular. Two very different styles of painting from two very different perspectives.

Most people would agree that what constitutes art covers a great range of human activity and that there are many different styles as well as mediums that properly can be called "art". It's no different with religion and spirituality. Once we have made some very broad and highly generalized observations, there is a vast amount of human thought and experience that legitimately falls into these categories. Yet many people who would easily recognize that there are many varying styles and mediums of art that are valid expressions and deserve to be called "art" and that a person could legitimately be equally attracted to more than one type of expression, these same people are nevertheless quick to claim that there is only one valid religious experience and that is their own variety to the total exclusion of any other viewpoints.

It all has to do with what we call "truth" and the fact that most people believe there is only one "truth" that is valid for all people at all times in all situations. After all, if there is more than one "truth", how do we know which one really is true. No one would claim that Renoir's style of painting is more true than Vermeer's style. Why can we not also accept that a Muslim's understanding of what is true about the transcendent is as valid as a Hindu's or a Christian's, but from a different perspective arising out of a different history and different experience. In religion, we make pictures with words instead of paint or clay. The words are not "things in themselves", but symbols representing thought patterns arising from different cultural and historical perspectives. The ones that have endured over the millennia are those that have "rung true" for many people based on a similar cultural and historical experience and understanding.

Eastern thought has an easier time dealing with a fluid concept of reality than western thought. Western thought produced the scientific revolution. A logical sequence from point A to point B that results in point C. But the history of religion and spirituality even in western thought is not nearly so neat. Many points of view have been represented, in fact, from a philosophical standpoint, Greek Stoicism which strongly affected early Christian theology has a lot in common with eastern asceticism. But the purpose of this web site is not to compare different theologies, but to explore what we share in common. We are arguing for tolerance and understanding. In the process, we might all come away loving both Vermeer and the Impressionists. It is possible to learn from Jesus, Buddha and Krishna all three and not compromise any of our beliefs. In fact, I would like to claim that if we discover any contradictions in the teachings of these three persons, we have fundamentally misunderstood what they were teaching. Does that mean they all are alike? Not at all. Each has something different to offer, but they do not contradict. Does that mean that each of these three is the same as the others? Not at all. Each of them is to us something different.

It's a bit like reading an art review. Some years ago John Rosenfield, music critic for the Dallas Morning News said, "The best commentary about music is silence." Same goes for art. Have you ever read anything written by an art critic that actually made you feel differently about a piece of art you already had seen? Same goes for theology. It's a commentary based on a perspective that happens after the fact. If you want to know about Krishna, read the Gita. If you want to know something about Buddha, read the Sutras attributed to him. If you want to know about Jesus, read the Gospels. Forget the theology. No contradictions. You'll find yourself saying, "Ah!"