Discussing the significance of “story” to all religions.
Introduction
Stories or Myths have been a unique and universal way or medium to express this connection and co-relation. Human beings live within these stories and see/understand the world though them. In that sense, we are not ‘story tellers’, but we are ‘story dwellers’. These stories are like a map which has to be checked again and again to reach the religious experience their ancestors experienced since time immemorial[1].
I will discuss how these stories or myths are important for understanding ‘religion and religious experience to human beings’ and how they are ‘dwelled’ upon by their adherents, thousands of years apart after their creation and define ‘the reality’ of its existence, which concerned some simple questions like, ‘who am I? Why I am here? What is this world around me? What are these diverse things and objects in it? Who created it? Why was it created? Etc. By definition, a myth is a sacred narrative explaining how the world and humankind came to be in their present form. Each of these Myths or Stories defines we as an ‘actor’ and whatever we are ‘in’ as ‘the grand theater’. Even though the worldviews expressed by different groups of people through such myths are different and diverse, we can somehow summarize them into four main types:
• 1) Myth of Nature
• 2) Myth of Harmony
• 3) Myth of Liberation
Myth of Nature
These Myths or stories represent the symbolic story of the origins and destiny of human beings, and the challenges they face in striving to realize their sacred destiny. The first thing these creatures encountered was the ‘nature’ and themselves in the middle of this ‘wild nature’. So the earliest Myths or stories were about this nature, its mysteriousness, cruelty, awe and blessings: Nature was fearsome and hence, worshiped in order to pacify, and nature was something mysterious and hence, sanctified, through personification (as god, spirits, sacred ancestors) or impersonal powers. Three of the important components of this world view is a soul, after life and spirits, which could be malignant and has to be pacified or kept under control. Polytheism is another important worldview of this myth, where everything about nature is sacred or god, personal or impersonal. Such religions groups do neither have scriptures nor complex institutions, nor found within limited territory and isolation. Ceremonial burials even about 30,000 years ago, which shows belief of soul and after life. A world of spirit played a central part in this religion, where such spirits had to be ‘communicated’ through trance and altered state of consciousness. Shaman, a spiritual specialist who could mediate between human beings and supernatural powers, could communicate with such spirits, healed body and soul and dealt with issues around death and after death. [3]
Nature was everything. They engaged with the nature in a very physical way. Entire ecosystem as deeply alive, as not only humans and animals but virtually everything in the nature had ‘soul’.
Cosmogony - an account of the world’s origins and the manifestation of its essential powers - and Axes Mundi – centers of the world where divine manifestation happened, are some important features of the Worldview of this religion.
The Myths of Harmony
The people of China have a rich and complicated mythology that dates back nearly 4,000 years. Throughout Chinese history, myth and reality have been intertwined. In addition, the three great religious traditions—Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism—have played a role in shaping the mythology. And I force on the first two terms here. In China the great cosmic story that emerged was that of the Dao. The universal Dao, which all being share, is the source of harmony the universe at work but hidden in all the forces of nature. And Dao is a natural order or a “way of heaven” that one can come to know by living in harmony with nature. Through an understanding of nature laws, an individual can gain eternal life. One’s true self is knowable only in relation to the Dao[4].
All of creation works via the opposites of yin and yang, of dark and light, of earth and heaven, of female and male. Yin and yang are never polar opposites; rather, each flows into the other within no absolute division, the way day flows into night and night into day. There is a little day in every night, a little male in every female (and vice versa). The ideal for human life, then, is balance and harmony. The great problem of existence is the disharmony that occurs when the elements of society and or the universe are out of balance. To restore balance, two different religions emerged in China: Both Daoism and Confucianism sought to bring harmony between heaven and earth, self and society. These two traditions offered very different means to overcome the problem and realize the ideal. Daoist sages urged human seek harmony with the rhythms of nature through cultivating wu-wei, the art of “not doing,” or not interfering with the natural flow of life. Out of that harmony, the harmony of society would flow spontaneously. The Confucian sages urged humans to establish harmony in society through the practice of li, the ritual observance of obligations attached to one’s station in society. They taught that people can be in harmony with rhythms of the universe only when individuals know their place (as child, parent, citizen), cultivate their character, and sacrifice themselves for the good of the whole society.
Core Confucianism: The Five Relationships and Principles According to Mencius
Relationship Principles of the Relationship
Son and father filial piety–paternal example
Minister and ruler obedience-righteousness
Wife and husband obedience-faithfulness dominance
Young and old respect-precedence and example
Friend and friend mutuality and trust (hsin)
Core Confucianism: “The Three Bonds” (San-kang)
Ruler over the minister
Father over the son
As we now noticed, all the societies around the globe has their own stories/myths in order to express religiousness.
The powers of nature govern human destiny, which portray them as either personal beings (gods, spirits, and scared ancestors) or impersonal powers. Both Daoism and Confucianism sought to bring harmony between heaven and earth, self and society. Hinduism and Buddhism, as two embodiments of the myth of liberation, developed a variety of means for achieving enlightenment i.e. liberation. Although the story of the cosmos has many ups and downs, many trials and tragedies, it is seen as the story of a journey that is headed for a happy ending, though only for faithful believers. Understanding all these myths- the underlying necessity and psychology for its creation- helps us to have better comprehension of the world and the people around us. It will certainly foster mutual understanding, respect and harmony among human beings. As religion plays a central role in human history, each of the story has contributed to the development human civilization in its own unique way.
The myths of Liberation
In India, life was also seen in relationship to cycle and rhythms of nature, to enact careful, powerful rituals to the gods behind all cosmic activity Human. But in India these worldly rhythms and concerns were ultimately to be escaped, not affirmed. The problem of life is human entrapment in an endless cycle suffering and birth; the highest goal was to overcome these bonds. The ultimate goal was Indian religions is to destroy the illusion fostered by our self desire, for only when these are mastered can humans be free from the wheel of death and birth.[6]
For most Hindus, the true self (atman) is merged with the eternal Brahma in either the personal and impersonal form. Buddhism offers the possibility of removing selfish attachment and realization complete enlightenment within the suffering and impermanence of life, achieving transpersonal reality called Nibbana. As the concept of liberation, moksha was first developed in India by Aryan people whose spiritual ideas greatly influenced later Indian religious thought. In India, as two embodiments of the myth of liberation, Hinduism and Buddhism which developed a variety of means for achieving enlightenment i.e. liberation.[7]
The myth of story
The myths of nature, of harmony, and of liberation use the human experience of rhythms and cycles of nature as the basis for religious metaphors and symbolic language expressed in sacred stories. In the myths of history, by contrast, it is not nature but history that comprises the realm of human experience. While all religions communicate their tractions by telling stories, only the religions of the Middle East, beginning with Judaism. Make stories itself the central metaphor of religious expressing. Ancient Judaism conceived of the cosmos as a great unfolding story told by a great diving storyteller(God): In the beginning God spoke, the world was created, and story began. Story begins with an initial harmony between God and humans, proceeds through a long period in with hope toward an end of time when all injustice, suffering, and death will be overcome and the wronged will be compensated--- a time the dead shall be raised and the whole of creation transformed.
Three versions of this story arose in the Middle East: The Judaic, Christian and Islam. They believe all humans are the children of the one God who created all things. All three traditions trance themselves back to the patriarch Abraham and to Adam and Eve as the first human beings. In all three, the problem of life is viewed as “sin”–– failing to follow God’s will and human selfishness that leads to injustice. The ideal goal of life is the restoration of humans wills to be in harmony with the will of God.
Conclusion
If one back far enough into the history of any society, the earliest religious stories, found everywhere, are versions of the myths of nature. Such religions tend to see time as cyclical, always returning to the moment just before creation. Myth and ritual are the same means to erase the distance between “now” and the time origins, “in the beginning”. When the problems of life arose, people want to return to the newness of life at the beginning of creation. The means for bringing about this return is the recitation of myth and performance of ritual reenactments of the stories of creation. In many of the society, a shaman is the spiritual leader. The shaman’s trace journeys restore harmony between the human community, spirits, and the forces of nature. Next in china the great cosmic story that emerged was that of the Dao. The universal Dao, which all beings share, is the sources of harmony of the universe at work but hidden in the forces of nature. All of creation works via the opposites of yin and yang, of dark and light, of death and heven, of female and male. Addition the myth of liberation is Indian religions, Hinduism and Buddhism that mentioned the problems of life is human entrapment in endless cycle of suffering and rebirth. Their highest goal is to overcome these bonds. Finally the myth of history is not nature but history that comprises the realm of human experience from which the metaphors for religious experience are primarily down. The means for brings for bringing this about include but are not limited to obedience to the will of God, dialog and debate with God( Judaism), acceptance divine grace or aid through the incarnation of (Christian), and submission to the will of God.[8]
When we research the roots of all religion, we are going to find the good purposes of all religion. If they are not good, these all religions cannot last long until today. Nobody likes the bad ones. Why do people make wars due to their religions? It is why religious followers misunderstand and misinterpret their founder's original teachings. For example in Buddhism, a school of Buddhists said" mind only is ultimate reality" and again another school of Buddhists said " there is nothing in the world or evrrything is emptiness." The truth cannot be two different and opposite situations. In Therava Abhidhmma, 1)Consciousness (Citta), 2)Mental facors(Cetasika), 3)Matter(Rupa) and 4)The state of final deliverance from the suffering inherent in conditioned existence(Nibbana) are ultimate realities. Today all world religious scholars recognized Buddhism as the best religion.(9)
Bibliography
Bibek group.(2011). Slide Discuss the Significance of “STORY” to All Religions, Presentation.
Esposito, John L., J.Fasching, Darrell and Lewis todd. (2009). World religion today. New York: Oxford University Press. Third Edition.
Dhammageha.com.Retrieved, 25/11/2011
http://Dhammageha.com
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