Me and Religions

It's been a while I post on this blog.

(I post regularly on my business Facebook page if you are interested in reading them.  My Self Care Journey )

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The festive season is upon us. My son (age 5) talks nothing but Christmas these days. 

However, he goes to a non religious school.

So, he's learnt about Diwali, Hanukkah and other religious celebrations in the world as well as Christmas since he started the school last September.

The way he embraces different religious celebrations made me think about my own religious background.

"What is your religion?"

I don't get asked the question that often but when it happens, it takes a moment for me to reply.

It is not because I'm an atheist.

On the contrary, I went through 4 different religions at the earlier stage of my life.

My parents respect all religions they've encountered in their lives.

But Buddhism and Shintoism (originate in Japan) are the two main religions they've been following. Since Japan has the long history of 'Shared practice in Shintoism and Buddhism (神仏習合)', I think it is a common enough style for many Japanese people.

When I was about 7, I was sent to a Protestant Sunday School by my parents. They didn't have any intention to convert me into a Christian. It was just because they thought it was a good idea for me and my sister to learn something different from the academic subjects.

I was given a bible which was a book with the smallest font I had ever seen in my life. So, I didn't read it. But I can still recite Lord's Prayer off my heart from the years I spent there. And I used to pray before I went to bed and asked for forgiveness from God. I think that was my earliest memory of the idea that someone invisible watching me and that I could not hide any bad behaviors. 

I found the church was dark and cold and had a strange smell. We didn't have a pastor but had two pastoresses. We had an old lady with a middle aged daughter first and a new pastoress after the old lady with a daughter retired. All of them spoke softly, looked pale and not so expressive.

We sang songs but none of the songs were like the ones we sang in school or at home. They had beautiful melodies but the lyrics were strange to my ear.  Again, I can still sing them to this day. I did the Christmas play, too (Me = shepherd, my sister = a sheep).

My visit to the church got less frequent, as I began to get too 'busy' on Sunday mornings by watching an American sitcom 'Different Strokes'.

Instead, I began getting interested in Buddhism sutra when I was about 11. One day, I found 'The Heart Sutra', the most well-known sutra in Japan, printed on the back of a flyer in between the morning news paper. All written with Chinese letters with Hiragana (Japanese) on the side so that I could read them all. What strange sounds they were when I read them out loud! Gya-tei-gya-tei-hara-gya-tei-hara-sou-gyatei!? I had been always fascinated by listening to Buddhist monks' chanting whenever I sat in temples. I couldn't detect where their voices were coming from.  It felt like the vibrations shook every bells and tapestries in the room.
I decided to memorise the Heart Sutra. I can still recite most of the Heart Sutra to this day. I like the philosophical approaches even if I feel Buddhism is a male orientated religion. (When Buddha was finally persuaded by Ananda, who was his cousin and had accompanied most of Buddha's journey, to allow women to be Buddhist monks, he said that Buddhism would extinct 500 years earlier by allowing female monks.) 

Apart from the sounds of sutras, I also appreciate many Buddhism practitioners' perspectives. I like how the religion encouraged us to search inwardly, rely inwardly rather than looking externally for inspirations. 

Then, I worked as a shrine maiden at a Shintoism shrine between 17 to 19. I was helping the priest at the ceremonies and the festivals. I liked the shrine maiden's outfit.  I liked the idea that every objects on earth have gods inside them and their sacredness lies in nature. So, the real sacred part of any shrines are actually not in the buildings, it's the forest behind them. I liked that the gods and goddesses are quite like humans - they get angry, grumpy and holly. It is a harmony in chaos just like nature itself. Unlike Buddhism, I feel Shintoism is a feminine religion. Amaterasuohmikami - the Sun God, the protector of the country, is a goddess (although there is a new study revealing that she could be male lately.) 

The priest at the shrine was short tempered, middle aged, overweight man whose father wished him a good wife to look after him. I don't know what happened to the shrine now. Almost 10 years ago, I went back to visit there. It looked abandoned. I spent a little while there alone to pray. I had a strange experience after that but that will be a story for some other times.

And then, I came to Ireland and stayed in a student accommodation in a suburb of Dublin for 2 years. It was run by Catholic nuns from South America and Spain. I don't know what you'd imagine when you hear an accommodation run by Catholic nuns in Ireland. But the sisters there were so much fun with groovy dance moves and life stories to change my image of stereotypical women who go into religious life. One of the new things I experienced there was a curfew. If you didn't make it to the curfew (around 12am), you have to wait until the door is unlocked at 6 am the next morning. If you call the sisters from the disco that you are coming back in the morning, it's no problem. But if you don't call them, you are in trouble. I remember waiting outside of the door with inmates for few hours after coming back from a party. So, the curfew wasn't there to protect the students. It was there for the students to take responsibilities of their actions. There was no sense of over protectiveness. And it was interesting to witness the sister's approaches to the balance between business and faith. It was done lovingly, a matter-of-fact-ly and boldly sometimes. I still have great photos from a long summer's day we all got on the sisters' wagon and went to a beach. Sisters all took off their shoes and run into the sea lifting their habits! 

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I agree with some parts and also disagree with other parts in all religions I've encountered.
One thing I can say is that I've appreciated who they are than what they preach when I met each religious practitioners.
I don't know enough about the teachings of all 4 religions I mentioned above. But I opened towards those who were kind, loved a bit of laugh, missed their families, made mistakes sometimes and forgave; their human qualities. And I saw their Gods when those very human qualities shone through them.

Would I wish I had had the one and only God to believe in my life?
No, I don't think so.
I feel I'm a lucky human whose life has been enriched by meeting all different religious practitioners.