The religion of Zen

For people raised in the "Book" traditions (Christianity, Judaism, Islam), it's hard to imagine a religion without God. But God is not really central to phenomenon of religion. Religion is, at its core, a suspension of disbelief, a surrender of personal freedom of thought to authority.

Religion has (quiet justifiably) a very bad reputation among "Western" people, who value (but not necessarily practice) freedom of thought and opinion. In the "West", religions often don the robes of "Science", but still retain the telltale reliance of authority, revealing their toxic reliance on the religious instincts of human beings. *

Buddhists often claim that Buddhism is not a religion, but a philosophy. In a way, this is true if all you know is the (heavily interpreted) teachings of Gautama Buddha. But this is to ignore the present reality of Buddhism. For example, in Sri Lanka the Buddhist majority brutally suppresses minorities in a way that his hard to distinguish from the way Christianity spread through the sword for most of its history. It seems to me that the average "real" Buddhist relies on tradition and authority without much regard to the philosophy of Gautama Buddha.

The same could be said of Christianity. Many people claim to be all in favor of the teachings of Jesus (usually in a very selective way), but they reject the "religion" of Christianity. They reserve to themselves the definition of key ideas such as God, the after-life etc. The parallel between Christianity and Buddhism breaks down when people consider both to be "philosophies". Buddhism has a long and rich tradition of philosophical discourse and is, at the root, a philosophy. Authority is at the very foundation of Christianity -- the ersatz claim that its doctrines come from a supernatural source that can be challenged only at great risk.

It is hard to distinguish "Lite" Zen and Buddhism from Mindfulness. The difference is mainly in the mind of the believer. In theory, Zen strips Buddhism of its spooky supernatural elements (notably absent in the teachings of Gautama in the first place). However, there is a heavy emphasis on rigid and precise ritual, to be learned only the feet of a "master". To be a master, one needs to be approved by another master in a chain of authority that goes all the way back to Gautama himself. This is indistinguishable from the Christian priesthood, which, by laying on of hands, extends the authority of Jesus to flesh and blood priests.

Practitioners of Mindfulness require no such authority. In fact, Mindfulness has become a very strong influence in Western psychotherapy - standing or falling on the more or less "Scientific" criteria that we use for other forms of therapy, such as double blind, controlled studies. Buddhist philosophy is quoted frequently but not as final authority and very much in the same spirit as, say, a quote from Mark Twain or Einstein. To my way of thinking the, Mindfulness is a philosophy and a budding technology, not a religion.

However, people by nature live their lives in a web of error. One of the main sources of error is acceptance of authority. So it's possible (even likely) that the average person exploring Mindfulness with turn it into a religion by accepting one or more authorities in much the same spirit as he or she would accept a religious leader. There is another side to this transaction: it is natural for people to find a way to make a living out of the sheep-like aspect of human psychology. Authorities become "professional" experts in massive and unintelligible doctrine just like priests.

Bottom line? To escape "religion", think for yourself. In practical terms this means working hard to understand and practice the wisdom of "Skepticism". Skepticism is totally compatible with any philosophy, technology or practice that subjects itself to verification and relies on experience rather than authority.

* Religion appeals to a lot more than just a weak-minded acceptance of authority. See, or example, my notes on the role of Myth and Methaphor