The Starting Point of Faith
Les textes suivants sont tirés de : Ryuho Okawa, The Starting Point of Happiness.
Ryuho Okawa is the head of the Institute for Research in Human Happiness, on of the most influential religious organisations in Japan.
Je déposerai un premier texte. Au début vous trouverez un bref résumé de l’article.
Les titres :
- 1. An Encounter with God.
- 2. Be Pure in Heart.
- 3. Fighting the Desire to Assert the Ego.
- Résumé : Dans ce chapitre l’auteur parle de la foi. Un thème important est celui de la rencontre avec Dieu. Cette rencontre est l’ultime moment, le moment le plus sacré de notre vie. C’est parfois dans les moments difficiles, des moments d’échecs que la rencontre se fait. C’est le moment du questionnement sur le pourquoi de la souffrance. Dans le Bouddhism, la souffrance est le chemin vers l’illumination. La vie nous offre plein d’opportunités de rencontrer Dieu, mais beaucoup ne sont pas assez à l’écoute pour percevoir ces moments.
1. An Encounter with God
In this chapter, I would like to talk about faith. An important theme in any discussion on faith is an encounter with God. This encounter is the most solemn moment, the holiest moment of your life.
From the time you were a small child, you probably came across religious objects such as statues of Jesus on the cross or statues of Buddha. Up to now, you may have thought that religion dealt with what exists outside you, outside your window, outside the curtains.
However, at some point in our lives, we are all given the chance to encounter God. It may be thought the experience of failure or a major setback; the clue may be a serious illness, disappointment in finding a job or in love, or perhaps a marriage that ends in divorce. All these experiences may seem setbacks on the journey of life, in the process of refining ourselves, but these are also the moments that allow us to reflect deeply, the moments when we turn to God.
Difficulties and problems, failures and setbacks are usually seen as negative. But it is not entirely right to see them in this way. In failure, you find also the seeds of success; in sorrow, the seeds of joy. I really think it is important to look at these apparent setbacks in a different way.
People who simplistically see the world from a perspective of duality-in other words, people who judge situations to be gook or bad-would probably say: "If God exists, why is the world so full of distress and sorrow?" They wonder why there is so much misery and hardship in people’s lives, why they have to experience the pain of facing death, of separation from loved ones, or of poverty.
Life is full of pain and sorrow, but these do not exist for their own sake. In fact, what appears to be pain or sorrow is often an expression of God’s love in disguise. In Buddhism, sufferings in life are sometimes described as the expedient measures to lead people to enlightenment. Trials are like a whetstone that polishes our souls, and through our trials an encounter with God awaits.
If everything went smoothly and you had no serious problems in your life-if, as a child, you grew up healthy, did well at school, graduated from a reasonably good university, found a respectable job, married happily and enjoyed a good family life, then grew old and eventually died peacefully – you would probably have little chance of experiencing the ultimate encounter. However, in reality, at some point in life, everybody experiences failure of some kind, and everybody experiences sleepless nights. You probably lost your appetite after a painful experience, or spent sleepless nights in pain or in a state of anxiety.
The question, then, is how you see life’s difficulties, how you assess them, and how you react to them. Faced with manifestation of evil? Do you curse the world, heaven, and other people, or car you perceive in difficulties the prompting to become a better person? Can you see them as an expression of the love of God? These are two different ways of seeing the same circumstances.
You may have experienced pain or sorrow, as well as unexpected success. At a time when you least expected it, you may have had the joy of meeting your future spouse, or perhaps after a long period of unfulfilled hope, you experienced the delight of the arrival of a baby. After you had almost given up hope of being promoted in your job, you may have had the pleasant surprise of being chosen for a top position. These unexpected and almost unbelievable successes also bring with them the chance to encounter God, for in such moments of joy, we want to express our gratitude to the power that has brought us success.
Life is full of opportunities to encounter God, but many people are not sensitive enough to notice these moments. It is my sincere wish that in times of both suffering and joy, you will have the good fortune to encounter Him. This is your first step to a higher perspective on life.