The Strait's Times 2/6/10 article

THINK-TANK
Pray, let's just live and let live

By Lee Wei Ling

LAST Friday was Vesak Day, when Buddhists celebrate the birth, enlightenment and death (or passing on to Nirvana) of Buddha.

When asked about my religion, I classify myself as an atheist who tries to live by the principles of Buddha. Whether the written record of his teachings conforms accurately with his words can never be known for sure. For example, whether Buddha specifically approved of the notion of reincarnation, or whether Buddhism tacitly accepted the then prevalent belief, I am not sure. I myself see no clear scientific evidence for reincarnation.

What seems certain is that Buddha denied he was God. But the now accepted practice of praying to Buddha - or his relics such as his hair, tooth, nails, etc - for things that he taught would bring suffering, began not too long after his demise.

Most people find the notion of a set of rules unattached to a central human-like figure inadequate for the purposes of consolation. The god of Abraham is a human-like supernatural being - all-powerful, all-knowing and all-benevolent. But while humans are made in his image, he specifically prohibits those who believe in him to visualise him concretely. The need to have a concrete figure to turn to is nevertheless present in Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches, with believers turning to the Virgin Mary as well as a host of saints to intercede on their behalf.

Islam prohibits the representation of the Prophet. In September 2005, Danish newspaper The Jyllands-Posten published cartoons depicting the Prophet. Muslims everywhere objected and some of the protests escalated into violence (resulting in a total of more than 100 deaths).

Judaism also disallows any representation of God. As Judaism is not a proselytising religion, there has been no recent episode of widespread violence when the stricture is contravened.

I have just returned from Tokyo where I visited Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples. I was amused by the practice of buying pieces of paper which purportedly foretell one's future. If the prophesy is considered unlucky, the piece of paper can be tied to a wooden frame erected just beside the shop selling these pieces of paper. By doing so, the bad luck can evidently be 'left behind'. Such shops can be found at both Shinto and Buddhist shrines. I got one piece from a Shinto shrine and another from a Buddhist. Both were 'lucky'.

I also saw little wooden pieces hanging on wooden frames carrying written wishes for various things, worldly or otherwise, such as success in exams, good health, wealth, etc. This practice is not very different from what happens in many of our Buddhist and Taoist temples.

It is also not dissimilar to the practice of many Singaporeans who copy the licence numbers of cars involved in accidents, or make up some 'lucky' number derived from a significant date, to be used in betting. And some Singaporeans give thanks to the source of such a 'lucky' number.

For example, apparently the date when Huang Na, an eight-year-old girl from China, was cruelly murdered, won many punters prize money. In gratitude, some of this prize money was 'donated' to Huang Na's mother. The total sum received by the mother was several hundreds of thousand of dollars, enough to build a three-storey house in Huang Na's home town.

Karl Marx is reported to have said that 'religion is the opiate of the masses'. His actual words were more sympathetic: 'Religious distress is at the same time the expression of real distress and the protest against real distress. Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, just as it is the spirit of a spiritless situation. It is the opium of the people. The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is required for their real happiness.'

What Marx is saying is that religion creates illusory, compensatory fantasies for the poor. Economic realities prevent them from finding happiness in this life, but religion tells them that this is OK since they will find true happiness in the next life.

People are in distress, he acknowledges, and religion provides them with solace - just as people who are physically injured receive relief from opiates. One might rephrase Marx thus: 'Religion is an analgesic (painkiller).' It must have some survival benefit since all human societies have religions of some kind. Whether or not one can look down on 'pagan' religions, I would venture to say 'no'.

The two major Japanese religions created works of great beauty as well as instigated horrendously cruel acts during World War II. Perhaps Shintoism was twisted to brainwash Japanese. Their willingness to die for the then emperor-god, Hirohito, is mimicked today by the jihadist suicide terrorists.

Whether a belief in the supernatural constitutes a superstition or a religion may be arbitrary. On the whole, superstitious beliefs that are more organised are considered religions. I hope I have not antagonised any of my readers who are believers. I will admit that it is as difficult to prove my atheist beliefs are true as it is to prove religious beliefs are true. With those caveats, I would emphasise that all religions encourage us to do good. Let us be tolerant of all religious practices that do not encourage us to maim or kill or otherwise harm each other; live and let live.

The writer is director of the National Neuroscience Institute. Think-Tank is a weekly column rotated among eight leading figures in Singapore's tertiary and research institutions.