The Religious Life: A Psychological Perspective

By Sylvia Swain

Continued from part 1 and part 2

Ethical Decisions

Ethical decision begins, as does the living of the religious life, with watchfulness turned inwardly, or mindfulness if we prefer. This inward turning is the first ethical decision we need to make to orientate ourselves to religious living. Western religion has traditionally looked outwards and upwards for its salvation to a deity, and the secular community to science or to politics to provide regulation or reform for the evils of society, but things continue to get worse. The greater the power given to the sick mind the greater the mischief it can wreak. A recent shocking example of this has been a set of statistics showing increases in the numbers of fatal shootings in America by irritated motorists on the highways, and, and even more distressing, murders of children by other children in the playgrounds. When there is a combination of heedless anger and the right to carry arms as a treasured form of “freedom”, the worst can happen. The worst thing about it is that such things happen to the “ordinary” man or child, those who consider themselves “normal” — average, reasonable citizens. The evil deed was spontaneous, without warning, as when a spark ignites a flammable household substance. It was so “ordinary” that it was not guarded against.

It is now an established fact of psychology that the evils of the world spring from the shadow of the world to which we all have contributed our share.

The highest value a human being can contribute to the good of the world is to withdraw their own contribution to its shadow. It is also the highest good they can do for themselves. It heals that person and helps others at the same time. Like charity, healing and virtue begin at home. Being the best, it is also the most difficult, at least to begin with. The most difficult thing about this most difficult thing is knowing where to begin. This is where all who have the privilege of Phiroz’s teaching are so fortunate. Whatever we listen to or read contains the essence of religion, its way and its heart. When he presented to us a religious ideal, he also gave the practical, psychological foundation.

He was wont to say: “One must begin with virtue, the moralities”, and then: “Mindfulness is the lynch pin of it all.”

No-one can be virtuous if they are not in control, and no-one can be in control if they do not know half of what is going on in the mind. It is a long road to the virtuous state, the pure mind, but that need not worry us if we remember that, once we begin, the religious life is itself the way and the goal, a life of gradual growth and increasing self-knowledge.

Because of his associations with the Buddhist Society, Phiroz gave out much teaching of the Buddhist scriptures, and this inspired me to read some of the discourses of the Buddha, which otherwise I would have considered too difficult for me, or, dare I say it, too boring. But Phiroz had the magic touch with all religious scriptures, however antiquated or abstruse they might seem at first glance. What a treasure-house he opened up for all of us.

Let us share some of that treasure together. In his “Discourse on the Sure” (from the Middle Length Sayings, volume II, p. 81), the Buddha spoke thus:

There are these four kinds of persons existing in the world. What four? Here some person is a tormentor of self, intent on the practice of self-torment. Here some person is a tormentor of others intent on the practice of tormenting others. Here some person is both a self-tormentor and a tormentor of others. And here some person is neither a self-tormentor nor a tormentor of others, is here-now allayed, quenched, become cool, an experiencer of bliss that lives with self Brahma-become. In this case, householders, a Tathagata arises in the world… Destroyed is birth, brought to a close the Brahma-faring, done is what has to be done, there is no more of being such or so.

When this has been said, the Brahman householders of Sala spoke thus to the Lord: ‘Excellent good Gotama. It is as if, good Gotama, one might set upright that which had been upset … even so in many a figure has dhamma been made clear by the good Gotama. We are going to the revered Gotama for refuge … May the good Gotama accept us as lay-disciples going for refuge from this day forth for as long as life lasts.’

That exposition is a clear description of scapegoat psychology at work in the ancient world of the East, and, recognising it for what it was, the Buddha denounced it for two very good reasons. Firstly, it was tainting the religious ethos of the time, asceticism. There was a group known as the Jains who, in the name of non-violence, were carrying self-mortification to a dangerous degree and scorning others who were less extreme. The Buddha himself had come close to death testing their method and realised that without commonsense and mindfulness religion can easily become obsessive. From this he taught his Middle Way.

Secondly, the Buddha saw “tormentor” psychology as a very subtle and universal problem, and that it was in fact the underlying cause of ill for which he had been seeking in order to bring an end to suffering. From this he was able to expound his Four Noble Truths:

1. Dukkha, suffering as a universal psychological condition
2. The causes of dukkha as being:
   1. grasping or craving
   2. hatred or aversion
   3. delusion
3. Dukkha can be brought to an end
4. The way to its ending is the Noble Eight-fold Path. The way of religious living

For the rest of his life the Buddha taught this way and devised many “skilful means”, methods and practices in order to enable people to bring about this healing transformation in their lives.

In part 4 we will look into some of them.

Continued in part 4 and part 5

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