Why We Need the Wisdom of World Religions

As a self-identified Unitarian Universalist I am often found reading up on the spiritual practices of the world religions.  I find religious customs, stories, symbols, and rituals completely fascinating, and have often thought how unfortunate it is that religions have, in many cases, lost sight of what makes them fundamentally necessary for human existence, a sane existence anyway, and that is to be a route and sanctuary through suffering.

 

If you yourself are not of the Unitarian Universalist (or UU) faith, this might be a foreign spiritual development topic to consider. But in the UU faith there are 6 "Sources" for the religion that are listed as the following:

• Direct experience of that transcending mystery and wonder, affirmed in all cultures, which moves us to a renewal of the spirit and an openness to the forces which create and uphold life;
• Words and deeds of prophetic women and men which challenge us to confront powers and structures of evil with justice, compassion, and the transforming power of love;
• Wisdom from the world's religions which inspires us in our ethical and spiritual life;
• Jewish and Christian teachings which call us to respond to God's love by loving our neighbors as ourselves;
• Humanist teachings which counsel us to heed the guidance of reason and the results of science, and warn us against idolatries of the mind and spirit;
• Spiritual teachings of earth-centered traditions which celebrate the sacred circle of life and instruct us to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature.

Therefore, in the UU faith, it is not uncommon, for instance, to listen to the story behind Yom Kippur during the Jewish Holy Days like I did last month in church on Sunday.  (And as an aside, along with now having more guidance for how I may engage in atonement, I also know the history of the word "scapegoat" as well...)

 

Unfortunately, this UU tradition of drawing on the wisdom and best practices of  others has led some to think “Oh, you are a Unitarian Universalist. That means you don’t believe in anything.”  This is a huge pet peeve of mine.  As someone who takes her own spiritual and religious theology quite seriously, this bothers me deeply.

But ignorance aside, I’ll admit there can be a tricky line to walk when considering that two of the 7 Principles that guide the UU faith are:

Principle 4: A free and responsible search for truth and meaning and

Principle 7: Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.

In this respect, it is sensible to have concern for potential misuse or superficial use of ancient sacred practices.

 

I frequently hear about and think about spiritual materialism which I interpret as picking and choosing spiritual and religious practices as if at a buffet table.  As an object to be had or discarded based on preference, mood or will, thereby losing its very integrity.

 

This is dangerous, and worthy of active vigilance to mindfully beware of.  A watered down religious tradition is as worrisome to me as a dogmatic fundamentalism in any faith.

 

Yet, I have to admit, I feel so much richer when I hear the story of liberation that is the Jewish Holiday Passover.  Or, when I read Christian author Anne Lamott's take on the resurrection of Jesus. Or, when I stay up late on the night of the Winter Solstice in December to bow down to the coming of more light. Yet, I am neither Jewish, Christian, nor Pagan.

 

As someone who grew up in the secular world without the strong presence of religious customs, stories, symbols, and rituals, I can tell you, for me anyway, it made the passageways through suffering more difficult to navigate.  And I don't think I'm alone in the respect. 

 

I was recently re-reading one of my favorite books When the Heart Waits.  This is one of Sue Monk Kidd's earlier spiritual memoirs that had a profound impact on me.  In the book, among other topics, the author stresses the need and importance for customs, stories, symbols, and rituals for the care of the soul.  And wouldn't you know, world religions are jammed packed with all of the above.  World religions are actually over-flowing with best practices for the artful work that is necessary to "compose a life-" to borrow a book title from Mary Catherine Bateson- and navigate the trickiest part of "composing a life:" the management and integration of painful events and the inevitable suffering that ensues.

 

I've come to believe that without the wisdom of the ages, human beings are remarkably ill-equipped to sort through the emotionally painful events of our human existence.  Without coaching and training, we are just plain not good at it. 

 

Ask anyone who feels stuck in his or her life what was the cause of their pain, and I swear nine times out of ten you will hear some version of only 4 possible scenarios:

A. The individual transgressed his or her own values;

B. The individual witnessed someone else transgressing his or her own values;

C. The individual was the victim of someone transgressing his or her values; Or,

D. The individual was the perpetrator of transgressing someone else's values.

In other words, an individual's soul is unable to rest comfortably inside this human life because it is unable to make sense of some transgression.  And no amount of cognitive thinking will help them.  No amount working. No amount of tv watching.  No amount of weight loss or drinking.

 

This is where the wisdom of world religions can help us, can save us.  Thankfully, we actually don't need to reinvent the wheel here.

 

We do need spiritual direction though.  For two reasons. 

 

One, because the millennia of religious material is too vast, a guide just seems to be a must. 

 

And two, I do believe we must always remain cognizant of the possible vulnerability to covet and then take something that is not ours.  As long as human beings remain imperfect, which is to say human, we will always be susceptible to spiritual and religious envy and jealousy.

 

So we proceed mindfully. Cautiously. Aware of the risks, but willing to consider that we may not know everything about everything, and someone else out there might have had a pretty good idea somewhere along the way in the last few thousands years about how to more creatively move through pain and suffering.

 

What do you think though? What have you learned from the world religions about the art of being human? Is it ethical to borrow that wisdom from others?