This is my
first post and thus the first spotlight on religion. For any spotlight series I
will review three things, typically in separate posts, where possible. 1) A
central book, in this case Beyond
Religion by H.H. Dalai Lama 2) the content and experience of a particular
sermon, teaching, or event 3) any outside criticism and/or interviews with
believers/practitioners.
Each book
review will start with a 140 word (or less) summary. This is arbitrary, but I
find it helps me focus on the most salient material and also easier on the
reader. Then I will, admittedly, from my own point of view critique the book. Putting
out my criticism should be seen as the beginning of a conversation not the end.
If you think I am being too generous or unfair say something. We must engage in
difficult conversations to become more religiously literate, which is important
in this global society.
Summary of Beyond Religion:
Today we emphasize
materialism, not inner values. Compassion, the desire to alleviate suffering, is
the central inner value. We are born needing compassion, but not religion. The
basis of ethics can no longer be religious, because there are many different
religions, though religion can and does help cultivate inner values. Compassion, when practiced, expands to include all beings. Because
we are born needing compassion, ethics are principles for inner self-regulation
that promote well-being in ourselves and others, and are not primarily a method
for reining in destructive tendencies, though these exist. Changing yourself is
necessary to change the world. Destructive emotions can obstruct ethical life. Overcoming
destructive emotions means recognizing they can and should be overcome. Accepting
hardships and cultivating contentment help develop inner values. Meditation
with moderate effort over a long period leads to the cultivation of inner
values.
The Good:
In general I am a fan of the Dalai
Lama. His call for peace and mindfulness are important in a society that
neglects or dismisses spirituality. He also has a deep respect for science and
even incorporates scientific findings in Beyond
Religion. I think he is right that the contemporary world does not
emphasize inner values, that compassion is very important, and that the basis
of ethics can no longer be religious.
The
Questionable:
There are two things I found questionable in this book.
The first is H.H. Dalai Lama’s mostly implicit conception of religion and the
second is his conception of human nature.
When
the Dalai Lama discusses religion he seems to take the central task of
Buddhism, the alleviation of suffering, and apply it to all religion: “Even the
very concept of religion, I think, has arisen out of this quest [for happiness],”
pg. 27. Alleviating suffering is a concern for most, if not all, major
religions, but it is most central to Buddhism. In most theistic religions
suffering is a theological problem that is difficult to overcome. Take the
example of Christianity. Most major Christian theologians have written about
the seeming incompatibility of the existence of undue suffering with the
existence a loving God. Why is there suffering is a difficult question to answer
from a Christian perspective, whereas in Buddhism suffering is the result of
human desire and can be alleviated by the proper state of mind and meditative
practices. More central to Christianity is salvation, which in most Christian
theologies does entail the prevention of eternal suffering; however, the
Buddhist is much more concerned about the alleviation of suffering in the
present life. This is in part because in most Buddhisms the way to achieve good
karma and thus a good reincarnation is to aid in the alleviation of suffering. Faith
is stressed in most Christianities, while actions are stressed in most
Buddhisms, including Tibetan Buddhism. I place his conception of religion under
questionable, because I cannot deny that the vast majority of religions do have
something to say about ethical conduct. However, I do not think that ethics,
alleviation of suffering, and the development of inner values are quite as
central to all religions as H.H. Dalai Lama believes them to be.
H.H. Dalai Lama likely has an overly optimistic view of
human nature. He states that human nature is predominately oriented toward
kindness, pg. 18. He has good reasons, some of them scientific, to focus on
this orientation toward kindness. though he is cherry picking the evidence. It
is true that scientists studying emotion and well-being have found that people do
tend to be happier when they make others happy. However, he does not
acknowledge scientific studies suggesting that schadenfreude, taking pleasure
in others misfortune or suffering, is as biologically rooted in human nature as
our desire to make others happy. He could easily claim that schadenfreude tends
to be one of the destructive emotions or tendencies; however, the fact that
this emotion occurs at a very early age and is felt in adulthood undermines his
generally positive conception of human nature. The existence of psychopaths,
people who have no qualms taking advantage of a person’s compassion also poses
a problem for his project. If he is willing to admit psychopathy as an
exception then the universal ethic he is trying to construct becomes less
universal. Or if he believes that these people can change and are fundamentally
good, then he has to explain psychopathy, often considered to be innate.
Schadenfreude and psychopathy are serious problems for his conception of human
nature, but this is filed under questionable for two reasons. 1) He does admit
that we all have destructive tendencies 2) The problems of schadenfreude and
psychopathy were not addressed, instead of being addressed poorly.
The Bad:
Frankly, I find nothing
that can be categorized as bad in Beyond
Religion. Though at times the book can be repetitive and perhaps slightly
shallow, it is mostly a laudable attempt at constructing a general and secular
ethical system.
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