You Can Too

“Don’t believe anything secondhand. Don’t believe anything because it’s written in ancient books. Don’t believe anything because “everyone” knows it’s so. Don’t believe anything because the sages proclaim it. Don’t believe anything because of habit. Don’t believe anything arising in your own mind, mistaking imagination for Truth. Don’t believe anything on the authority of your guru or priest. What you yourself feel is true, what you experience and see for yourself, what is helpful to you and others, in this alone believe, and with this alone align your behavior.” ~ Siddhartha Gautama, the historical Buddha.

This might well be the manifesto of the spiritually independent. Be your own authority. Determine for yourself what is true. Take responsibility for your actions and the quality of your life. There is no one to turn to; there is no one to follow; there is no one to blame; there is just you in this moment.

Fair enough. But is it really enough? What do you know that isn’t shaped by the knowing of others? What do you believe that isn’t influenced by scriptures, habits, cultural norms, scientific models, personal bias, and the rest? Is it possible to strip yourself of all of this and see what is without a filter or distorting lens?

The story of the Buddha rests on the assumption that this is possible and that Siddhartha Gautama, the historical Buddha, did it. After years of training in the austerities of his native Hinduism, Siddhartha was no closer to Truth than before he began. Then something changed. He took responsibility for his own awakening. He ceased to walk the path his teachers followed and simply sat down. He sat beneath a large and already ancient fig tree in Bodh Gaya, India, and observed what he could of the world within and without. And then the lens shattered, and he knew what was so. He awoke.

The story of the Buddha carries a challenge that the stories of other founders of religion often don’t. There can be only one Abraham, only one Moses, only one Jesus, only one Muhammad, and only one Krishna. Each of these individuals was called by God or was God, so there is no expectation that you can become another Moses or Muhammad or Jesus or Krishna. But you can be a Buddha...

It was this expectation that drew me to take the four Bodhisattva Vows:

Sentient beings are innumerable; I vow to save them all. Desires are inexhaustible; I vow to extinguish them all. The Dharmas [teachings] are endless; I vow to learn them all. The Buddha Way is unsurpassed; I vow to attain it.”

~ Rami Shapiro,  Perennial Wisdom for the Spiritually Independent
Rabbi Rami teamed up with Rev. Claire Goodman and Frank Levy to create the One River Foundation. One River promotes the study of Perennial Wisdom, the mystic heart found at the core of all religions. The foundation sponsors three projects: The One River Wisdom School, a retreat-based program for the study of sacred texts eastern and western, Holy Rascals, a training program for subverting the darker side of religion with humor, and The World Wisdom Bible, an anthology of Perennial Wisdom texts and teachings from the many of the world's religions that is distributed free of charge as a counterpoint to Gideon Bibles found around the world.