No 1004 of Living Life Series 1
What do we expect when we adopt a religion introduced by the West be it Buddhist-based religion or otherwise. We would wonder why people are behaving not the Asian way and have no Asian values. There seems to be no longer the respect for parents so typical of Asian society.
But when a religion even if an Asian one is introduced by the West, there comes lock stock and barrel, Western values. Children when they grow up must detach from the parents and may even consider the concerns of parents for them too intrusive and suffocating. Parents must stop thinking of still parenting their grown up children and keep an arms length or more from the adult children who treasure independence.
They want to be heard than just to hear what their elders or parents have to say. They want to dictate terms than be dictated. They want their own social space - a wide berth away from parents and elders.
This has nothing to do with the religion they adopt from the West. But so long as that religion has been introduced by the West even if it is originally an Asian one like Buddhism or Taoism, this culture will be pervasive not because of the religion but because of cultural conversion.
There is cultural encroachment through religion. The culture of those who introduce the religion takes precedence over the culture of the ancestors. Thus if Asians reintroduce to West their brand of an originally Western religion, they bring along the Asian culture of extended family in form of communes and cell groups.
This may be viewed as cult-like. In extreme form, whole community of believers may live as one big cult or family in isolation in the previously wild west of Western society. The Asian culture of the bringers of religion dominates and take over and seem to sideline the original culture of the motherland.
This is why religion will always be the creation of the people and this is also why the original teaching of the founding saint or sage may be distorted, buried and lost to the people.
Like what the good lord Lord Bo Tien 武天菩萨 says that religion becomes archaeological grounds for people to dig away the layers before they can reach the relics of the original teachings. Then they can piece together the relics to know the truth.
Culture, traditions and prevailing thinking of the bringers of religion are the layers men of religion must dig away to arrive at the relics of the original teachings of the founding sage. Then they will truly know the truth of that religion and realize that roughly the same truth exist in all religions.
The differences in religions are due to cultural perspectives, traditions and thinking of those who champion the forms of religions they prefer. All religions though different are one. It is men who make them seem totally different when there is obvious oneness in religions.
Cultural values change with introduction of any religion in any society. It depends on who introduce a religion and not on which religion. It has to do with social norms and values.
At stake is free-will and social independence of individual on one side. On the other side, there is the family and societal cohesion with hierarchical dominance and respect for elders and seniority. Has this to do with East West divide? This has more to do with globalization.
Alas, even in a Chinese traditional temple in Asia, the young who take over the old in running the temple pay lip service to respect for elders so characteristic of Asian society. In the very name of meritocracy (what is right to them), they go at lengths to get elders out of the way if they hinder their free play and free will in doing what they want to do.
Of course, numbers count and the young will outnumber the old. At times, they would not even care to put at back burner the respect for elders. Respect for elders who have done good in the past becomes archaic.
This trend will continue and is here to stay. But won't this color the outward effective message of the religious doctrine of the temple. No wonder the good lord Lord Bo Tien 武天菩萨 reminds us to dig away the layers and look for the relics to know the inner or core truth.
Incidentally, lest we forget, respect for elders is one of the universal precepts put forward by the good lord Lord Bo Tien 武天菩萨 for good reason. Should this be for lip service only? Well, it all depends. Some just would not care at all. They are not wrong if they know what they are doing...
The differences in religions are due to cultural perspectives, traditions and thinking of those who champion the forms of religions they prefer. All religions though different are one. It is men who make them seem totally different when there is obvious oneness in religions.
Cultural values change with introduction of any religion in any society. It depends on who introduce a religion and not on which religion. It has to do with social norms and values.
At stake is free-will and social independence of individual on one side. On the other side, there is the family and societal cohesion with hierarchical dominance and respect for elders and seniority. Has this to do with East West divide? This has more to do with globalization.
Of course, numbers count and the young will outnumber the old. At times, they would not even care to put at back burner the respect for elders. Respect for elders who have done good in the past becomes archaic.
This trend will continue and is here to stay. But won't this color the outward effective message of the religious doctrine of the temple. No wonder the good lord Lord Bo Tien 武天菩萨 reminds us to dig away the layers and look for the relics to know the inner or core truth.
Incidentally, lest we forget, respect for elders is one of the universal precepts put forward by the good lord Lord Bo Tien 武天菩萨 for good reason. Should this be for lip service only? Well, it all depends. Some just would not care at all. They are not wrong if they know what they are doing...
