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Which is the Proper Religion?

If any religion has the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path, then it can be regarded as a proper religion.

IT is very difficult for people to discover why there are so many different religions, and which religion is the true one. Followers of every religion are trying to show the superiority of their religion. Diversity has given rise to some forms of development, but in matters of religion, people look upon each other with jealousy, hatred and disdain. The most respected religious practices in one religion are deemed ridiculous to others. To introduce their divine and peaceful messages some people have resorted to weapons and wars. Have they not polluted the good name of religion? It seems that certain religions are responsible for dividing instead of uniting mankind. Today we have more than enough religions which encourage their followers to hate another religion, but not enough religions which encourage respect for another religion.

Every religion teaches about love but one religion cannot love another religion. To find a true and proper religion, we must weigh with an unbiased mind what exactly is a false religion. False religions or philosophies include:

• materialism which denies survival after death;
• amoralism which denies good and evil;
• any religion which asserts that man is miraculously saved or doomed;
• theistic evolution which holds that everything is preordained and everyone is destined to attain eventual salvation through mere faith.

Buddhism is free from unsatisfactory and uncertain foundations. Buddhism is realistic and verifiable. Its Truths have been verified by the Buddha, verified by His disciples, and always remain open to be verified by anyone who wishes to do so. And today, the Teachings of the Buddha are being verified by the most severe methods of scientific investigation.

The Buddha advises that any form of religion is proper if it contains the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path. This clearly shows that the Buddha did not want to form a particular religion. What He wanted was to reveal the Ultimate Truth of our life and the world. Although the Buddha expounded the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Noble Path, this method is not the property of Buddhists alone. This is a universal Truth and is open to anyone who wishes to understand the human condition and attain happiness.

Most people find it necessary to put forth arguments to ‘prove’ the validity of the religion that they are following. Some claim that their religion is the oldest and therefore contains the truth. Others claim that their religion is the latest or newest and therefore contains the truth. Some claim that their religion has the most followers and therefore contains the truth. Yet none of these arguments are valid to establish the truth of a religion. One can judge the value of a religion by using only common sense and understanding.

Some religious traditions require people to be subservient to a greater power than them, a power that determines and controls their creation, actions and their final deliverance. The Buddha did not accept such powers. Rather, He assigned that very power to themselves by asserting that each person is his or her own creator, responsible for their salvation. That is why it is said that ‘There is none so godless as the Buddha and yet none so godlike’. The religion of the Buddhists gives humanity a great sense of dignity; at the same time it also gives them great responsibility. Buddhists cannot put the blame on an external power when evil befalls them. But they can face misfortune with equanimity because they know that they have the power to extricate themselves from all misery.

One of the reasons why Buddhism appeals to intellectuals and those with a good education, is that the Buddha expressly discouraged His followers from accepting anything they heard without first testing its validity. The teachings of the Buddha have remained and survived precisely because many intellectuals have challenged every aspect of the teachings and have concluded that the Buddha had always spoken the undeniable Truth. While other religionists are trying to reassess their founders’ teachings in the light of modern knowledge about the Universe, the Buddha’s teachings are being verified by scientists.

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Редакция перевода от 01.07.2015 20:11