Changing Beliefs
There is no right and wrong religion for you to personally follow… whether it be Buddhims, Islam, Taoism, Shintoism, Jainism, Sikkh, Christianity, Hinduism etc. They all fundamentally teach you the same thing: to be kind to others… not to cause harm to others and to do good deeds. To live with your fellow beings filled with honesty, kindness and not to harm in any way.
In Buddhism, we encourage practitioners to question. Not to doubt, but to find their own understanding through logical thinking. It is through realization of the teachings that those studying Buddhism can advance in their spiritual practice.
In the monasteries, we have debate courtyards where the monks would go after class to debate on what they have learnt. The monks would question each other on a topic and it may go on for hours until a logical answer has been found. If the monk cannot come to a formulated answer, it either means that he didn’t study well enough… or that there simply isn’t a logical conclusion. Questioning is the basis of deeper understanding in any subject divine or secular.
When we question things this way, we will base our acceptance of the teachings, not on blind faith, but on logic and understanding.
It’s like when you want to buy a car. You have a car in mind and you know that you’ll be driving it for a while… so you test drive it, you ask questions of someone who knows a little more about it, you ask your friends what they think etc… Only when you’re convinced will you go all the way, purchase and use it. Similarly, acceptance for most must come from examinations? For something that is more precious than a car, would you just accept it without question?
In the video below, a man named Yusha Evans (formerly Joshua Evans) talks about his spiritual path. Born into a strict Methodist family, he gradually found himself to be a practicing Muslim. I found his views interesting. I do not endorse what Yusha believes nor am I against it, but I just found his expressions very interesting to share. Knowledge and understanding of other people and their belief systems are critical to harmony, acceptance and peace. I like to have harmony, acceptance and peace with everyone in existence. I wish everyone well no matter what religion you are. I accept you and your beautiful religion.
Like I said, there is no right and wrong with the religion that you have decided to practice. It’s individual. It’s between you and your divinity. Everyone will have their own different path… but take a look at how Yusha Evan shares.
Tsem Rinpoche
Or view the video on the server at:
https://video.tsemtulku.com/videos/Christianity_to_Islam.mp4
Please support us so that we can continue to bring you more Dharma:
If you are in the United States, please note that your offerings and contributions are tax deductible. ~ the tsemrinpoche.com blog team
Like what Rinpoche said …….(There is no right and wrong religion for you to personally follow…) Different religions and faith teachings are all the same having the same aim. To be kind ,helpful, compassion ,not to harm in any way and to do good . Whatever religion we practice as long we are comfortable and feels it can helps to transform our mind to be a better person. It is very important to have harmony and respect amongst the different religions and their practitioners. As long we have better understanding, enhance tolerance and build acceptance in each other different religious beliefs.
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing.
religious conversion is difficult – often turning away from the heritage/culture of one’s parents, family, extended family, ethnicity – humanity evolved and is still evolving, cultures change, as do languages, habits etc – votes for women, no more apartheid in South Africa, most children are taller than their parents, taller than their grandparents, technological scientific and medical advances are responsible for this and much much more – be nice, be kind, be respectful, don’t kill, steal or lie, no sexual misconduct, abstain from intoxicants (drugs, alcohol) all of this more important than the labels we put on ourselves
Some of us believe in the existence of one creator God, some of us don’t. Some of us believe in reincarnation, some of us don’t. Whatever our religious beliefs are, we are all born through the same biological process, we share the same living habitat called Earth and we all physically die some day. So fundamentally we have more in common than we are willing to admit.
I think religion is created by mankind in our need to find an answer to why we exist, to find some meaning and purpose to our lives, to find some acceptance and comfort in our inevitable death. This common need binds all mankind and that is what makes religion so powerful. With that power comes greed, insecurities, abuse, deceit, hatred and all evil known to mankind. Religion is the single most contradicting and unexplained phenomena known to mankind. It is the cause of wars, crimes and horrible atrocities. It is also the foundation of peace and harmony.
Despite all its flaws and faults, religions have survived for hundreds and thousands of years. Doctrine of beliefs set up decades, centuries, millennia ago persistent in resisting changes, persevering through the many revolutions. Around the 1300BC, Akhenaten, pharaoh of the 18th dynasty of Egypt abandoned traditional Egyptian polytheism and introducing worship centered on the Aten, which is sometimes described as monotheistic or henotheistic. In the history of China, almost every dynasty in the BC era embraced a different belief system. During the Cultural Revolution in the People’s Republic of China, religion was condemned as feudalistic, backwards and superstitious. Communist leaders like Lenin and Mao Zedong viewed religion as poison. Religion continues to maintain its stubborn streak and its stronghold in human civilization.
There will always be those who will question religious doctrines. There will always be those who will change their beliefs. Buddhism teaches impermanence. Nature has shown us impermanence. Today we are alive and tomorrow we can be dead. There is a possibility another millennium from now Buddhism, Islam, Christianity as we know today may too be extinct. But religion is likely to still prevail but under different names. That innate quest to find the answer to human existence will continue to exist.
Mao and Lenin considered religion as feudalistic and poisonous – then they established personality cults around themselves and became objects of religious veneration – the leaders of North Korea – the Kim family – stamped out religious freedom and have effectively made themselves into gods – many people appear to “worship” pop stars & film stars – I don’t know of people worshipping Einstein or Newton
It’s never easy to change, what’s more to walk alone! Those who have changed, their effort is immeasurable! The difficulty to understand the doctrines is a applaudable but the perseverance in practicing is unspeakable!
I can utter the same words of this young man, “I was a former Christian”. But that’s where the similarity ends. It’s not what appealed or didn’t appeal to me, like fashion of the particular era. Never in my life did I ever envision myself to be anything other than a “born again Christian”. But it did happen (an about turn) and I’m no longer surprised. I’m not putting any religion down. But as a Buddhist now, I’ve finally found many missing pieces of the jigsaw of existence coming together. I guess the seed finally ripened.
I ｆｏｕｎｄ ｉｔ＇ｓ ｑｕｉｔｅ ｃｏｍｍｏｎ ｔｈａｔ ｐｅｏｐｌｅ ｔｅｎｄ ｔｏ ｃｒｉｔｉｃｉｓｅ ｏｒ ｄｏｕｂｔ ａｎｏｔｈｅｒ ｒｅｌｉｇｉｏｎ／ｓ ｏｒ ｏｔｈｅｒ＇ｓ ｒｅｌｉｇｉｏｎ ｎｏｔ ｂａｓｅｄ ｏｎ ｓｏｌｉｄ ｒｅｓｅａｒｃｈ， ｕｎｄｅｒｓｔａｎｄｉｎｇ ｏｒ ｋｎｏｗｌｅｄｇｅ．Ｔｈｉｓ ｄｏｅｓ ｎｏｔ ｂｒｉｎｇ ｈａｒｍｏｎｙ ａｍｏｎｇ ｒｅｌｉｇｉｏｎｓ ａｎｄ ｔｈｅｉｒ ｆｏｌｌｏｗｅｒｓ．
Ｗｅ ｄｏ ｎｏｔ ｓｔｒｅｎｇｔｈｅｎ ｏｕｒ ｂｅｌｉｅｆ ｏｒ ａｔｔｒａｃｔ ｍｏｒｅ ｆｏｌｌｏｗｅｒｓ ｂｙ ｃｒｉｔｉｃｉｓｉｎｇ ａｎｏｔｈｅｒ； ｔｈｉｓ ｏｎｌｙ ｌｏｏｋｓ ｂａｄ ｏｎ ｕｓ ａｎｄ ｗｏｒｓｅ ｏｎ ｔｈｅ ｒｅｌｉｇｉｏｎ ｗｅ ａｒｅ ｆｏｌｌｏｗｉｎｇ．
If ｗｅ ｈａｖｅ ｔｈｅ ｃｏｎｆｉｄｅｎｃｅ ｏｎ ｏｕｒ ｒｅｌｉｇｉｏｎ ｔｈｅｎ ｔｈｅｒｅ＇ｓ ｎｏ ｎｅｅｄ ｔｏ ｐｕｔ ｄｏｗｎ ｏｎ ｏｔｈｅｒ ｐｅｏｐｌｅ＇ｓ ｔｏ ｍａｋｅ ｗｈａｔ ｗｅ ｂｅｌｉｅｖｅ ｌｏｏｋｓ ｇｏｏｄ．
Ｉ ｆｏｕｎｄ ｉｔ＇ｓ ｎｏｔ ｅａｓｙ ｔｏ ｆａｃｅ ｗｉｔｈ ｐａｒｔｙ ｗｈｏ ｃｒｉｔｉｓｅｓ ｗｉｔｈｏｕｔ ｓｕｂｓｔａｎｃｅ． Ｉｔ ｎｅｅｄｓ ｗｉｓｄｏｍ （ｂｙ ｓｔｕｄｙｉｎｇ ｍｏｒｅ ａｎｄ ｃａｎ ｅｘｐｌａｉｎ ｔｈｅ ｌｏｇｉｃ ｂｅｈｉｎｄ ｎｏｔ ｗｉｔｈ ｉｎｔｅｎｔｉｏｎ ｔｏ ｃｏｎｖｅｒｔ ｂｕｔ ｃｌｅａｒ ｔｈｅ ｄｏｕｂｔｓ） ａｎｄ ｐａｔｉｅｎｃｅ ａｓ ｗｅｌｌ．
Ｉ ｂｅｌｉｅｖｅ ｂｙ ｌｅａｒｎｉｎｇ ｕｐ ｍｏｒｅ， ｗｅ ｃｏｕｌｄ ｅｘｐｌａｉｎ ｂｅｔｔｅｒ ａｎｄ ｂｙ ａｃｔｕａｌｉｚｅ ｔｈｅ ｔｅａｃｈｉｎｇｓ ｏｆ ｏｕｒ ｒｅｌｉｇｉｏｎ ｔｏ ｂｅ ａ ｂｅｔｔｅｒ ｐｅｒｓｏｎ ｉｓ ｏｎｅ ｏｆ ｔｈｅ ｂｅｓｔ ｅｘｐｌａｎａｔｉｏｎｓ ｗｅ ｃｏｕｌｄ ｏｆｆｅｒ．
I liked the way he questioned the New Testament. Whether he’s right or wrong, I have no idea. Like Rinpoche wrote, it’s from questioning using logic that we understand matters better, both on a secular and spiritual basis.
What’s most important for our spirituality, I believe, is to follow which ever religion we choose. As a result of our spiritual practice, we should become more and more selfless.
I think in this new generation, juz needing to follow a religion based on your parents and forefathers is something will be ‘lost in translation’. Spiritual is so personal experience. However, changing ones religion and being ‘different’ from your parents belief is also a challenge but with time and respect for one another, it is possible to live under one roof harmoniously. I have my mother to thank for her open-mindedness and love.
Most of us are borned into a family with a certain existing religious belief from our parents. Maybe our parents are not strong spiritually, or it is not interesting to you when they talk about spiritual belief, or they just don’t talk about it, no matter the reasons, we owe it to ourselves to research and (re)discover it.
We don’t lose our character and become somebody else overnight if we immerse ourselves in learning about our religious belief. We should not be afraid. Instead we increase our understanding and capacity to improve ourselves spiritually, in compassion, love, and patience. As in any learning, spirituality needs effort and time.
Like our Rinpoche said, there is no right or wrong with the religion that you personally follow. It’s between you, as the individual and your divinity. The teachings are all fundamentally the same – i.e.”do good unto others, live with your fellow beings, filled with honesty, kindness, harmony and peace!” Dana Elena is also right in saying even the religion of your parents that you’ve lived with during your early years, can now be changed to the one of your choice to be treasured! It is essential that everyone will have his own different path through logical thinking and final realization. It is through such realization and understanding that help us to make our own choice of our religious path to follow to our final end!
You can be born within the religion of your parents but as you grow up, you can feel that it is not representing who you are, and you feel attracted by other religion, or your life experiences can be in harmony with concepts from other religions. Nothing wrong in changing religion. It is good to take the best percepts from any religion and apply it in your life.