RELIGION or POLITICS - Can we talk? Why Buddhism...

Hi friends, you are all looking great today !!!!!

My last couple of blogs have been on why I turned to Nichiren Buddhism, as well as the basics of the religion. Now I am NOT trying to sell you on any of this, so if you are a Protestant, Catholic, Islam, whatever you chose, that is fine. The proof of your or any religion is, when it comes down to the, push and shove, of daily living does your faith you have developed prove strong enought to survive the strongest shoves. And people, life is going to shove you, make no mistake, it is part of life itself.

You are best judge of the level of your faith, and if you are happy, I'm happy. If you have troubles and doubts, you might find some wisdom in what I present here that will answer your problems. If the latter, then I know Nichiren Buddhism is for YOU.

Now, I am going to present what follows in a series of blogs, so please stay with me, and learn.

I want to impress on you that what I present here was written 15 YEARS ago in my first Buddhist book, "The Buddha in Daily Life", by Richard Causton, as an introduction to the Buddhism of Nichiren Daishonin.

Despite all the advances made by science and technology during the past 100 years, we live in a world where human suffering has never been greater. It is estimated that, every day, some 40,000 children die of hunger or hunger-related diseases; that more than 750 million people in the world lack the nourishment to sustain a health life; that over 72 million people have been killed in armed conflicts this century, more than in all previous centuries put ogether; and that, since the end of the Second World War, there have been more than 200 armed conflicts, internal and international, many of which are still being fought.

Even in the wealthiest, most advanced countries, millions are unemployed, poverty and crime are increasing, and though more people are materially better off than ever before, the symptoms of inner suffering - divorce, drug and alcohol abuse, despression and suicide - are all escalating at an alarming rate.

Not only is there no clear solution in sight to this suffering but, in most areas, it seems destined to get worse. To take just one example, it has been calculated that, at the present rate of destruction, the world's tropical rain forests will have all but disappeared in, at most, 50 year's time, with all that that means for the delicate balance of the global climate and ecosystem.

One result of the increase in the scale of human suffering has been the increasing feeling of helplessness experienced by those who are at all concerned about the problems facing mankind. "It's terrible, but what can I do?" is the reaction of many as news of yet another disaster reaches them. And, in truth, other than giving money to a variety of causes and appeals there does not seem much that ordinary people can do in the face of such enormous and complex problems as world starvation, invironmental pollution or the threat of nuclear war.

As a consequence they pin their hopes on politicians or special-interests troups to work for a change in their behalf for, no matter how strongly people may feel about these issues, realistically only a very small minority can afford to devote themselves wholly to working for their solution. The vast majority have families to look after, jobs to do and bills to pay. Not only are these the immediate necessities, but they also take up most of the attention of most people, most of the time. The time, energy or money available for larger issues is, therefore, usually minimal. Add to this the fact that many of the world's problems seem to be somewhat remote,either in terms of distance or time, and no one has a recipe for for a down-ward spiral of decay. All in all, it is hard to disagree with Aurelio Peccei, late president of the Club of Rome, when he says:

In spite of being miserable and afraid because of the non-peace we experience within ourselves and in our connections with almost everything around us, we seem unable to cease acting in ways that constantly aggravate our situation. Indeed, at no time in history has our globe been so gravely riven with endemic warfare, military and civil violence, widespread torture and terrorism, overt or incipient destruction and scientific preparation for still further havoc.

Hey y'all, hope you are not tired of reading, but anyway, will stop for this time, and I think all or most of you would agree this could have been written in today's time. So for now, cheerio,  (next time we get into some possible solutions).      CJ