‘Behaviour counts’
‘do good, reap good’
despite the jurisprudential rule, we have no choice. the truth is that faith is a special matter. if we ask the follower of any faith the reason for his adherence to his/her faith the answer will be it is what he/she believes in. each one also shows his/her readiness to make precious and noble the cause of his/her faith, even at the cost of his/her life.
an article written by an anonymous writer, said a roundtable debate was held on ‘religions and morals’ and that there were clerics from different faiths and creeds.
after the debate ended, a cleric asked the dalai lama, tibet’s spiritual leader, about the best religions from his point of view. the dalai lama was expected to say, the ‘tibetan buddhism is the best’ or at least ‘the eastern religions that preceded christianity by centuries are the best’.
but the dalai lama smiled and said quietly: ‘the best creed is the one that makes you a better person, and takes you closer to the image of god on earth’.
and here the questioner insisted on knowing the creed that makes man a better person? the dalai lama is the one who makes you more compassionate, more aware, more sensitive, less biased, less racist, more loving, cleaner, more humane, more responsible, and more moral.
‘i am not interested in your faith, religion or sect and for that matter whether you are religious or not. what really matters to me is your behavior before yourself, before your peers, before your family, before your community, then before the world because all of the above will be your entity and your image before god. ‘remember that the universe is the echo of our actions and the echo of our thoughts. and that the law of action and reaction is not only about physics but also a law governing our human relations.
‘if i do good, i will reap good, and if i comply with evil, i will only harvest evil. our forefathers have taught us the pure truth that you will always reap what you wish for others.
‘happiness is not a matter of destiny, division and share, but rather a choice and a decision’.
then the dalai lama concluded by saying, ‘pay close attention to your thoughts, because they will turn into words. pay attention to your words, because they will turn into actions. pay attention to your actions, because they will turn into habits.
and be aware of your habits, because it will be your personality, and pay close attention to your personality, because it will make your destiny, and your destiny will make your entire life’.
what the dalai lama wants to simply say is that religion is a means, not an end. the ultimate goal is ‘goodness’. religion is one way to reach goodness. if a person spent all his life in a mosque, church or temple; prayed and fasted and worshipped, and all this did not make the person good, merciful, civilized, respectful, then what is the benefi t of his prayer and fasting?
the writer concluded by saying that what we have to learn is that the doctrine is a special affair between man and his creator, but the public issue, is the good deal between people. a clean, just, civilized and impartial human being is the most beautiful ambassador of his faith. so stop interfering in our lives.
