Below is an excerpt from my forthcoming book…
© Mahabodhi Burton
5 minute read
This excerpt is taken from the chapter on ‘The Evidence Bases in Religion, Science and Politics.’ It follows on from the section on ‘Poetic Logic.’
Dysfunctional Imagination
The second sequence—called ‘Dysfunctional Imagination’—illustrates how a person engages reactively with symbols in a way that deepens their delusion. By taking symbols literally; by engaging with ones of low intrinsic value; by being skeptical about them (when acting ‘as if’ they are true would be helpful); and by approaching reality with fear and superstition, the person will be negatively transformed by the experience, moving further away from reality and deeper into fantasy.
Take literally
I explored earlier how literalism comes about through focusing on the details of the symbol and questioning their veracity, rather than letting the symbol be a conduit through which a message from the Universe can come through; this is an example of unwise attention, and often of laziness.
Of low intrinsic value
The second way that we can fall prey to dysfunction when we are dealing with symbols and myths is when we do not engage with symbols of high enough value. Concerned to remain loyal to the group, we settle for folk art or ethnic religion, rather than approach more transcendent values. Or, if we engage with such values, we fail to refine our awareness so that we can truly appreciate them. In short, we veer towards philistinism: philistine: ‘a person who is hostile or indifferent to culture and the arts.’ The romantic intrigue and dramatic action of a Hollywood blockbuster may be emotionally stimulating, but may not say much about how we should live our lives; we need to really ask: ‘Does this story make me want to be a better person or deal with my life in a better way?’
Treat with skepticism
The third thing that we can fall prey to when we are dealing with symbols and myths is being skeptical about the value of imagination per se: we treat all imagination as fantasy, placing our faith instead in dry reason, as does British-American essayist and avowed atheist Christopher Hitchens:
‘Faith is the surrender of the mind; it’s the surrender of reason, it’s the surrender of the only thing that makes us different from other mammals. It’s our need to believe, and to surrender our skepticism and our reason, our yearning to discard that and put all our trust or faith in someone or something, that is the sinister thing to me.’[1]
But we do need to put our faith or trust in something: if we cannot do that our lives have no direction.
Hitchens points to a ‘need to believe’, implying that all faith is based in psychological neediness, but this is not true. In Buddhism faith is rational, intuitive and experience-based: Buddhism needs to make sense, feel right and work in experience: true faith then is not the surrender of reason. We cannot, however, be informed by and thus learn from a myth or story unless we treat it as ‘operationally true.’ Of course, we cannot but have a myth ourselves and maybe our myth is the myth of reason being paramount: which some would argue is a fantasy in itself. Mankind has always been moved by one myth or another: even if that myth is the hubris of not needing a myth at all.
Myths are often a distillation of values: if we don’t consistently bring our myth to mind our values won’t be able inform our lives and we won’t derive any benefit from them. Skepticism can easily become the unthinking habit that gets in the way of progress: thinking that being exclusively rational somehow makes us safe we abandon all myth: but this is not always the case.
Play is a necessary part of growing up, and symbolism is like play at the adult level: through allowing ourselves to interact with myths, we learn how to come into closer contact with the realities they represent. Richard Dawkins supposedly ceased to believe in Santa Claus before the age of two. But we might ask what the downside is in believing a helpful fiction such as this? We might claim, rightly, that if through believing in Santa Claus, our child becomes a better person, then such belief can only be a good thing: modelling generosity, Santa Claus offers the vision to take it up: the value of the Santa Claus myth is that it encapsulates a certain ethical truth, not whether or not it is literally true. When we engage in play as children—or in religious rituals as adults—we do so for reasons that are meaningful to us (and our companions), meaning, which, because it has often accrued over long periods of time, is an indelible part of our culture.
Engage in superstition
The fourth thing that we can fall prey to when we are dealing with symbols and myths is that we relate to them fanatically or superstitiously.
The dictionary definition for ‘devotion’ has many positive connotations: ‘to vow, to dedicate by solemn act, to give up wholly.’
‘Devotee’ also has connotations that might make a reasonable person want to run a mile: ‘zealous, strongly attached, a fanatic, one wholly or superstitiously devoted, especially to religion.’ From a Buddhist point of view, handing over complete responsibility for ourself to a God or a guru—in order to gain their protection–or unthinkingly assenting to everything that they say or do—whilst being blinkered to everything else—is not true devotion. In fact, there is a spectrum of devotion: at the ‘high’ end is the authentic devotion of a truly spiritual person; already kind, ethical, self-aware and rational, they are devoted to developing those qualities more fully.
At the ‘low’ end of ritual, the superstitious person goes along with ritual and devotion motivated by fear, greed, or another unskilful motive. They hope that in doing so they will get something in return: membership of a group; annulment of ‘past sins.’ Superstition can be considered to be irrational ritual, as opposed to rational ritual, and is practised out of fear rather than in fearlessness, as true devotion is. In hoping for a good outcome, I superstitiously cross my fingers behind my back: fearing that if I do not, the universe will somehow punish me.
The Brahmins were the priestly caste in India at the time of the Buddha. The topmost caste in the Vedic hierarchy, they would perform rituals on behalf of the lower castes that were supposed to bring spiritual benefits, and which often involved sacrificing animals; in fact, sacrificing animals was common across the globe in the ancient world: because it was involved in the superstitious appeasement of the Gods. The Buddha strongly condemned the practise: the animal’s life was the thing most precious to them; he was rational in the face of the superstitious and irrational practice of the Brahmins; Brahmins harmed animals because they feared God; in contrast the Buddha was fearlessly devoted to the welfare of all.
Because it is about being visible, fear can come along when we engage with ritual: ‘What have I got myself into; what do others think; am I getting it wrong?’ When we offer incense to the Buddha for the first time, we are quite likely to experience at least a little fear; in addition, our previous experience with religion will colour our expectations. It is therefore important—when we get involved in a ritual—that we don’t go along with it without careful consideration: we need to know exactly what viewpoint we are honouring when we perform a ritual: to not act out of fear, conformity or ignorance, at the ‘voodoo’ end of ritual, where we are dealing with superstition and group-focused religions.
Be led into fantasy
The final challenge we may encounter when dealing with symbols and myths is a combination of the aforementioned pitfalls: taking poetry literally, selecting symbols or myths of inferior quality, not embracing or embodying potentially beneficial myths, and succumbing to fear and superstition in our beliefs. This convergence can lead us into the realms of fantasy and delusion. Imagination and ritual, by virtue of their ability to engage our emotions, serve as potent catalysts for personal growth, offering an emotional momentum that reason alone cannot provide. However, to avoid veering towards delusion, this direction requires careful guidance.
The chaper goes on to explore secular religion.
[1] ‘Hitchens Remembered Through 15 of His Most Memorable Quotes.’ ABC News. 16 December 2011. Accessed 10 August 2022.
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