Community Christian Church of Springfield, MO
Roger Ray, pastor
Buddhism's Four Noble Truths
1. Suffering exists
2. Suffering arises from attachment to desires
3. Suffering ceases when attachment to desire ceases
4. Freedom from suffering is possible by practicing the spiritual path
Reality TV shows have proven to be real money makers for networks. They capitalize on American's innate voyeuristic tendencies, by producing programs that appeal to that same swath of society that slows down to stare at automobile accidents. From Survivor type contests, to bachelor and bachelorette dating shows, to this current spate of offerings about the junk people put in storage units and the life threatening junk that people pile up in their houses.
In some ways, I think that this sort of programming is like taking the moral pulse of the nation. There is a form of philosophical argument called "Reductio ad absurdum" or "reduced to the point of absurdity." What we see in a lot of reality TV is a reflection of our society in a mirror, and, in most ways, it is a fun house mirror that exaggerates our features.
Over the past two generations, most manufactured goods have become more affordable. Houses built fifty years ago had fairly small closets but most people managed their lives just fine. But as things like shoes and clothes became more affordable, our demand for them grew. Walk in closets were a rare luxury 40 years ago and now even the smallest apartments have them because we have more stuff than we used to have.
Hoarding is an illness and not a form of TV entertainment. It is an illness that has several possible mental health issues involved. Most people tend to talk about it as an obsessive-compulsive behavior and while that is certainly a part of it, that is not the only thing going on in most cases.
As a pastor from those old days when a big part of our job was to go visit members in their homes, I can tell you that I have seen a lot of hoarding. Often times the people who live in these homes emerge from the crowded filth in which they live, properly attired and sweet smelling but the truth of their existence is that they are surrounded by cans of out of date food, stacks of old newspapers and magazines, bags of clothes, and often even used tires, empty bottles and plastic boxes
I suppose people may watch some of those shows so that they can assure themselves that they are at least not that bad but I would like to suggest that the presence of so many hoarders in the midst of our consumer society is nothing more than the reductio ad absurdum argument that reveals the sickness of our own society. Hoarders are the extreme version of almost all of us who collect, store, save, and attach ourselves to way too many things.
I used the Four Noble Truths of Buddhism as our wisdom text today because I believe that progressive Christianity and Buddhism have a great deal in common and as such, there is a lot that we can learn from this ancient faith.
The first of the four noble truths is translated in many different ways but essentially it says that life is full of suffering, or that life is suffering.
The second flatly states that the source of all suffering is our desire for, our attachment to things, people, power, or maybe even life. The third noble truth tells us that the way out of suffering is through detachment.
Clearly, detachment is the opposite of what our consumer society is built upon. Commercials, advertisements, are scientifically designed to make us want to buy, own, use, and ultimately store, more and more stuff.
Advertisements show us young, beautiful, sexy, and happy people, suggesting that the source of their youth, beauty, sex appeal and joy is the car they are driving, the beer they are drinking, the clothes they are wearing, or the vacation they are taking.
If you will allow me to take this through a reductio ad absurdum, I want to apply this to a couple of other issues. This part of the country is one of several that claims to be the meth capital of America. It is not a distinction we should compete for but if we are not the largest consumers of meth in America, we are certainly ahead of whoever is in second place.
What does meth do to users? It intensifies pleasures for a period of several hours.... A rush of energy, sexual potency, strength and euphoria... but at the same time it burns up the neuro receptors in the brain that make pleasure possible. The high is so intense that it makes not being on the drug intolerable, addicting first time users at a nearly unbelievable rate.
But a long time user of meth is never again able to take pleasure in normal living.... The part of their brain that allows them to experience joy and happiness has been so damaged that only an artificial drug experience can stimulate them. These people not only are no longer able to enjoy a song on the radio, a summer sunset, or the smell of baking bread.... They often stop caring about their own children or their own bodies. Using meth is like setting your own house on fire because you are cold.... It temporarily solves a small problem while creating a catastrophe.
Meth addiction is extreme, but it is the tail end of a society that constantly seeks some kind of artificial pleasure while ignoring the simple pleasures of family, nature, friendship, art, music, and the wonder of a star filled sky. When was the last time you went to the art museum to enjoy something beautiful that you could not buy? See, we go to the mall to buy what we like, but there is hardly a category left in our brains for loving something that is beautiful even if it can never be hung on the wall of your own living room. Our society consumes, we are not especially good at simply enjoying or appreciating life.
I am guilty of having my smart phone in my hands way too much but isn't it obvious that there is no cell phone app that is anywhere near as fascinating as the flowers at the Japanese stroll garden in our park, or the stars on a clear night.... But Americans are spending more than $16 million dollars a year for more time on the popular Candy Crush app. How crazy is that?
And if you will allow me one more illustration: I'm not a prude and I'm not a puritan but I am concerned about the pornography industry. It trains its viewers to have absolutely unrealistic appetites for people with exaggerated sexual features, bodies, and abilities.
It deadens a person's appreciation of the intrinsic value of the touch and appearance of an aging spouse who has supported you, raised children with you, and kept a home with you. You don't have to nurture feelings of attraction for your spouse, you can just take a pill, watch a video.... And evidently end up sitting in side-by-side bathtubs out in the woods somewhere.... I've been single for a long time so I have no idea that that last part is even supposed to be about.
And, I'll have to ask our internet audience to sit up straight and start listening again... I'm going to go out on a limb here and suggest that there is a close similarity between pornography and fundamentalist religion. Fundamentalists and traditionalists demand that mortal life is only a beginning, a drop in the bucket. They refuse to accept that their time is limited and so, like a hoarder, like an addict, they want to hold onto their existence for all of time.... Real life is not enough. The 364 sunsets they are given every year, the sunsets they almost always ignore, should, in their minds, be endless for them. Other religions find this greedy view offensive.... I think it is like a porn addiction in which reality is always inadequate. You have my permission to disagree with me, even though this thought is going to revisit your awareness every time you hear someone confidently speaking of life after death whether you want it to or not. Once a mind has been stretched to apprehend a new idea, it never goes back to its original shape.
But let me get back to the Buddhist path: The tradition about the life of the Buddha was that he was born to wealth but when he became aware of the suffering of the poor, he could not longer live in the isolation and comfort of the aristocracy. So he became an ascetic monk, living at the point of starvation and dehydration for years. Eventually he realized that both opulent wealth and extreme poverty are deceptions.
He taught that the body is a vessel that requires nourishment, rest, and care. He encouraged his followers to find a middle path, a life of moderation in all things but no extremes of either indulgence or self-abnegation. There is absurdity at both ends, both for us as individuals and for our civilization.
Buddhism, unlike Christianity, is not wedded to a set of creedal claims that followers are supposed to simply believe. Buddhism finds deep spirituality in a passionate devotion to the truth. Following the eight fold path, which is the fourth of the Noble Truths, should not sound foreign to the ears of progressive Christians.
The eight-fold path is about living a spiritual life, a life of disciplined moderation and devotion to leading a good and helpful life. The path guides you to a right perspective, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, sincere effort, mindfulness, and awareness. Perhaps I will have a chance to talk more about the eight-fold path later this summer.
I suppose that most religions have a kind of centering mantra that practitioners can return to in times of worry or trouble. Jews and some Christians would recite the 23rd Psalm, "The Lord is my shepherd," and Christians often simply recite the Lord's Prayer, "Our Father, which art in heaven."
And we know that Muslims of all stripes will say simply, "Allahu akbar," which means, "God is great," though I think it can be more accurately rendered, "God is greater,".... Greater than what frightens me, greater than the obstacles before me.
The mantra often repeated in Buddhism, I find to be the most attractive of all of the world's religious traditions. I won't try to say it all in the Burmese language but there are a couple of words I would like for you to know. I apologize for all of the numbers in this sermon.... The four noble truths and the eight fold path but there is a final number, the three jewels or three treasures of Buddhism.
The first is the Buddha, who is the teacher. The second is the Dharma, which is the teaching of the teacher or, more accurately, simply, the truth. The third is called the Sangha, or community. When someone is becoming a Buddhist or being ordained as a monk, they repeat the mantra:
I take refuge in the BuddhaI find my peace, my security, I find my faith in the teacher, and in a dedication to what is true. Finally, I find my refuge, my certainty, my confidence and my courage, in my faith community.
I take refuge in the Dharma
I take refuge in the Sangha
We live in a world that is seriously out of balance. The predominant religions of the world create terrorists, suicide bombers, misogynists, homophobes and the worst may be that they create indifference about real world suffering by obsessing about other worldly eternity.
We live among consumers, hoarders, out of control capitalists, corporations that can influence elections and even have a religion though still lacking a moral compass.
For your own sake and for the sake of the world and its future, I encourage you to find a middle path, a path of mindful, disciplined living and let us together take refuge in what is true and find refuge in one another.
