April 3rd 2008

Professor Wesch started with the Buddhist story of THE MUSTARD SEED

The reputation of Buddha Shakyamuni had spread far and wide. Not only was he renowned as a great, compassionate and fully enlightened human being, but also as a skilled teacher and a miraculous healer who could even bring the dead back to life. One day, a woman approached him after a teaching begging that he do something to restore her dead child to her. The Buddha listened patiently to her plea and saw how great was her despair. He said to her, "Mother, if you bring me just one mustard seed from any household in which no person has died, then I shall revive your child." The woman was greatly encouraged by the Teacher's words. She traveled from door to door throughout her own village, but could not find even a single residence in which no one had died. She went out of town, wandering to this hamlet and that in search of the tiny seed that the Buddha had requested. Days later, muddy and footsore, she returned to the place where the Buddha and his followers were passing the rainy season.

She was ushered into the Teacher's presence worn out, but not discouraged. "Master, try as I might, I could not locate the token you requested as an offering. But I have come to understand that death visits every household and eventually, every single one of us. I would like now, to 'enter the stream' and work towards the liberation that the teachings provide.

Quick Review of ways religion expresses, explains, and legitimizes cultural practices, values, and the socio-political order.
A few more examples:
Mayan – cycles like the Hindu tradition - AGRICULTURAL (CORN) El Castillo Temple
91 steps x 4 sides + 1 = 365
52 years in a cycle / blocks at the base
Equinox - Snake - Kulkulkan (head at base)
Origin at "Snake Mountain"
Snake represents cyclical REBIRTH (sheds its skin)
Hunab Ku - Creator God
First humans were made of CORN (reflects corn agriculture)
13 compartments in 7 levels - different god in each -
Cycle: Agricultural (Corn)
Order and Organization - Reflected in levels and compartments (imitate bureaucracy) The current Katun will increment about ten years from now (13.0.0.0.0 will be on December 21st, 2012)
Interestingly, the Mayan religion is no longer practiced by Mayans, but has been adopted by some US Americans practicing New Age Spirituality:

New Age Spirituality

• Individual selects own beliefs from many world religions
• Main Idea: All is one, and all is spiritual
• Emerged in late 1960s, early 1970s

Pantheism
The belief that the universe and all within it is God (I used the example of "God" in Los Angeles, a man who is a pantheist who actually legally changed his name to God in recognition of his belief that everybody and everything is God.) To reiterate the main point of this lecture, worldwide we find that religion expresses, explains, and legitimizes cultural practices, values, and the socio-political order. In other words, it FITS into the barrel. And if the barrel changes - so does the religion.

Religion Discussion
What is the religious landscape in America? How is it changing?
New Age Spirituality
(See Above)
Fundamentalism
Rock-Star MegaChurches

• 85% Christian ...
• 75% say they pray to God on a daily basis
• Only 33% actually make it to church each week,
• Only 40% can name more than 4 of the 10 commandments
• And barely half can name even one of the 4 gospels.
• 60% believe the Bible is literally and completely true
• 75% agree that the Bible teaches that "God helps those who help themselves."

Emphasizes Individualism - Independence, etc. But yet there are many important differences:

• 224 Million Christians
• 42 Million Non-Religious
• 4 Million Judaism
• 2 Million Muslim (Islam)
• 1.6 Million Buddhist
• 1 Million Hindu

Over 60 Million Non-Judeo-Christian. (about 22% of US Population) See comparison of survey statistics at http://www.adherents.com/rel_USA.html#religions

Bottom line: We live in a Pluralistic Society. (many cultures - many religions)

THE QUESTION: What role should religion play in a pluralistic society?
PARTIAL ANSWER: See Part I Here Errr, but view our currency at right. Politician's opinions (see YouTube Video). President's Oath of Office.







We then looked at how Joseph Campbell's studies of World Religions have inspired movies like Star Wars, the Matrix, and many others. We analyzed the Matrix in depth, demonstrating how it is weaving together themes from Christianity, Hinduism, and Buddhism.