Modern Religious Experience: Reflection #5: Bongwonsa Temple and Nature Walk

Modern Religious Experience: Reflection #5: Bongwonsa Temple and Nature Walk: "After visiting the Zen Buddhist Temple, Bongwonsa and attempting to see nature as a Taoist, answer this question: What is it about creation,..."

Karl Marx once said “religion is the opium of the people”. He was right; it soothes us, it dulls our senses to the outside. And in a world of much stress, much change, much conflict, it’s hardly surprising so many indulge in it.

It gives us a reason for why we are here. It gives us rules to follow. It tells us what to think, what to say, how to act. It lets us fit in with others. And in most cases, it gives us a higher being to guide us, to take comfort in, to confide in, to blame, to fear. When something goes wrong, no one likes to take all the responsibility for it. No one likes to think it was all their fault, that there is no atonement. For many, religion is an easy convenience. The peoples’ opium.

To look at it another way, religion is the expression of a society. Thus, no society is without religion. The more complex a society, the more complex the religious system is. This is apparent when we compare modern religions to that of pre-historic religions. Perhaps religion sprang from the desire for a respite from society’s toll it takes on its people. It was designed to soothe, and it could explain the deeply-embedded mindset of many people to explore our religions, to nurture and worship it.

Nature has inspired many, including the Taoists who worship it. One of the main parts of Taoism is that life is all about balance, and going with how things are. Nature too stresses balance, and everything is set in place. A plant does not choose its circumstances, nor does it try to change it. It merely makes the most of the situation, and once it starts doing something outside of that situation, the balance of nature is upset. Balance is integral to nature; entire ecosystems can die out due to one imbalance along the chain. Everything is tightly linked with one another. Taoism took these principles to heart, stressing the interplay between the mind, body and soul and how we should take life how it is given to us – the way life is.

Expanding on Marx’s famous quote, there is the final frontier that only religion has endeavoured to explain. Many people are concerned about an afterlife, and religion conveniently explores this, with a few exceptions. It comforts them to know what is in store, if anything, and it often gives us a goal to work towards. Just another example of religions’ grip on the world, how it controls us and directs us, so we don’t have to. Because in this day and age, no one likes to be responsible.