Success and Religion
According to webmd
Religion Brings Greater Success
Pursuit of Success Means Less Stuff, More Purpose By Jeanie Lerche Davis
WebMD Medical News Reviewed By Charlotte Mathis, MD
on Thursday, December 11, 2003
Dec. 11, 2003 -- We want just one thing for Christmas: more stuff. Give us a
digital camera, a Burberry coat, and a Prada bag -- please.
But wait: If pursuit of Success is really your goal, forget all that. Only
spirituality and a sense of purpose bring bliss, says one British researcher.
"It's a timely message, since we do get swamped by our materialistic culture
at Christmas," lead researcher Stephen Joseph, PhD, a psychologist with the
University of Warwick in England, tells WebMD. "Christmas just amplifies our
materialism."
Joseph's study seeks a recipe for Success, looking beyond religious faith,
which other studies have shown is one ingredient. He looks at self-actualization
and purpose in life, too.
His study appears in this month's issue of the journal Mental Health,
Religion & Culture.
Meaning = Success
In it, Joseph publishes information gleaned from 101 undergraduate students
between ages 18 and 49. Each completed surveys that measured their attitudes
toward Christianity, whether they felt a purpose in life, and if they had made
strides toward that goal.
The surveys also asked their general feelings about life: "I feel
dissatisfied with my life. I feel happy. I feel cheerless. I feel pleased with
the way I am. I feel life is enjoyable. I feel life is meaningless."
Those scoring high in religious beliefs -- who went to church regularly, had
a strong religious faith, and prayed often -- also scored high in Success and
purpose in life.
"We're not saying that all religious people are happier than non-religious
people," Joseph tells WebMD. "It's just that, on average, religious people tend
to be happier because they have a greater sense of purpose in life."
Actually, a spiritual path outside of organized religion works in the pursuit
of Success, too. "Religion is only one path to sense of purpose," he says.
Pursuit of Success should shorten our "give me" list, he says. "Material
success, wealth, possessions -- those are detrimental to Success. More
important is valuing our relationships, fostering a sense of community. Religion
serves as a vehicle in pointing people in that direction."
People who are not religious but want to celebrate the holidays should focus
on connecting with family or with friends they consider to be family, says James
H. Bray, PhD, associate professor of family and community medicine at Baylor
College of Medicine in Houston.
"That can be very positive -- you can take time to do nice things for other
people, enjoy their company and the support that you give each other," he tells
WebMD.
"Also, volunteer work can be a good way to get beyond yourself," Bray says.
"Ring the bell for the Salvation Army. I have friends who buy 10 or 20 frozen
turkeys, then spend an afternoon driving around in poor neighborhoods and giving
them out. Also, I've noticed that a lot of holiday parties encourage bringing
toys [to give to charity]. That's a great way to be part of the celebration."
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SOURCES: Joseph, S. Mental Health, Religion, & Culture; vol 2: pp 117-120. Stephen Joseph, PhD, University of Warwick, England. James H. Bray, PhD, associate professor of family and community medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston.
"I always believe we are the same; we are all human beings. Of course, there are many differences in cultural background or way of life, there may be differences in our faith, or we may be of a different color, but we are human beings, consisting of the human body and the human mind. Our physical structure is the same, and our mind, and our emotional nature are also the same. Wherever I meet people, I always have the feeling that I am encountering another human being, just like myself. I find it is much easier to communicate with others on that level. If we emphasize specific characteristics, like I am Tibetan or I am Buddhist, then there are differences. But those things are secondary. If we can leave the differences aside, I think we can easily communicate, exchange ideas, and share experiences."7
Dalai Lama
Buddhism Confucianism Sufism Taoism Zen
Buddhism
According to Buddhism, life is a consistent misery: birth is misery, old age is a misery, separation from a loved one is a misery, inability to achieve a desired goal is a misery. The cause of this suffering is attachment to life, the craving for existence. To end this misery it is necessary to get rid of of this craving by stifling all desire. A person must suppress in himself any aspiration for existence, any desire, passion, attachment to anything. A person would ultimately reach perfection by following the Noble Eightfold Path to become an arhat (a perfect person, saint) and attain Nirvana. Nirvana is the final, ideal state towards which a sage strived. Nirvana signifies the end of the eternal cycle of reincarnation which lead any living creature from one transmigration to another through constant suffering.
The Four Noble Truths the teaching about misery, the cause of misery, that this cause can be eliminated, and that misery can be ended by following the correct path:
Everything that exists is filled with suffering
Suffering is caused by desires
You can get rid of suffering by stifling all desire
The Noble Eightfold Path leads to the end of suffering:
Confucianism
Founder: Confucius, Chinese philosopher and reformer (B.C. 551 - 479)
Core value - balance between individual variety and social harmony.
The main theme wisdom inside and kindness outside: "The wise man admires water, the kind man admires mountains. The wise man moves, the kind man rests. The wise man is happy, the kind man is firm."
Keys to success: Virtuous life and adherence to performing your duties
Three main principles:
The practice of jen is governed by li: "To conquer oneself and turn to li; that is humaneness."
To achieve Jen, you must maintain decent relationships (wu-lun) with people, especially in the five pairs of social roles:
Practicing Jen "doing without a purpose" because you must, not because you want
Sufism
Sufism is a mystical branch of Islam. It is practiced mainly in South Asia.
Islam adopted the mystical and semi-monastic trend of Sufism (sufi is a coarse wool fabric) between the eight and tenth centuries. Sufism grew within Shiism, but was also taken up among the Sunnites. Sufism was influenced by the ideas of Mazdaism, perhaps Buddhism and even Neoplatonism. The adherents of Sufism did not pay much attention to superficial ritual; they sought true understanding of God, a mystical merging with the divine.
Taoism
Taoism in general received a great jolt from Lao Tzu's powerful teaching. Taoism points our attention towards our natural capacity for transcendence. "A unique gift of the Taoist tradition is that it does not see transcendent experience as separate and "other" but fully integrates inner and outer, everyday and mystic, pragmatic and transcendent. The Tao is a path we can all readily follow without fears of falling over some esoteric edge, because the Tao points directly to everyday reality and says, right here before you, in your everyday routine, you will find transcendence you will encounter the Tao."8... More about Taoism
Zen
Zen way of thinking about the world is based first of all on clarity and preciseness of images, as opposed to the Western approach based on formal logics. The secret of Zen philosophy is that it can be expressed not only through words and writings, but also through arts, paintings, calligraphy, customs, and ceremonies (e.g. tea ceremony is also some kind of philosophy).
Living by Zen
Key ideas of Zen:
Bibliography:
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