All Morality is Relative

August 8, 2024 By Larry Jordan

In theory, moral relativism is the worst kind of morality. However, in practice, it is the only kind of morality. Some people who have not practiced other traditions wonder if they are legitimate. Were their gods made up? Were their scriptures human inventions? Are they moral without commandments? But, this assumes that OUR gods are not made up and that OUR scriptures are not human inventions. Also, this assumes that OUR commandments are absolute, clear, and unchanging. “Thou shalt not... Read more

How Are We to Treat Others?

August 1, 2024 By Larry Jordan

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Ramana Maharshi, a Hindu mystic, had the following exchange with a student: “Q: How are we to treat others? A: There are no others.” The Golden Rule is the principle of treating others as we would want to be treated. The Golden Rule is common to almost all traditions, including Bahai, Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Humanism, Islam, Jainism, Judaism, Scientology, Sikhism, Taoism, Wicca, Yoruba, and Zoroastrianism, among others. In its weak form, the Golden Rule suggests that we treat others... Read more

The Future of Christianity

July 25, 2024 By Larry Jordan

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What is the future of Christianity? Can Christianity be more experiential, more nuanced, and more respectful of science? What is Happening? In the West, we assume that Christianity has dominated world history, and we assume that the United States will always be the leader of the free world. However, if we take the long view, we know that demographers estimate that approximately 120 billion humans have lived on earth and that over half of them lived before the common... Read more

The Benefits of Exploring Other Traditions

July 18, 2024 By Larry Jordan

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The benefits of exploring other traditions are numerous. So, it is helpful to understand both the similarities and the differences in religious beliefs and practices. In The Way, I describe what Aldous Huxley and others called the perennial philosophy. Huxley believed that the perennial philosophy underlies all religions. It assumes that there is a godhead or ground behind the Universe, that this unity is immanent and transcendent, and that we can commune or merge with the godhead or ground of... Read more

Zen and Spiritual Practice

July 12, 2024 By Larry Jordan

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Zen is not concerned with prescription or speculation. I wrote about Zen here and here and here. In these posts, I outlined Buddhist thought in broad strokes. Buddhism aims to reduce suffering, and it is mostly concerned with practice, not belief. There is no Buddhist creed, like there is no Hindu or Jewish or Muslim creed. More important, Buddhist thought expresses the observations of Buddha and his followers. These observations can be verified with objective evidence and subjective experience. Fundamentally,... Read more

Zen and Interdependence

July 4, 2024 By Larry Jordan

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Dogen Zenji encourages us to remove the barrier between self and other. So, the beginning of The Way features a quote by Dogen, founder of the Soto school of Zen: To study the Way is to study the self. To study the self is to forget the self. To forget the self is to be enlightened by all things. To be enlightened by all things is to remove the barrier between self and other. The Spiritual Journey Thus,... Read more

Zen and the Self

June 27, 2024 By Larry Jordan

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Buddhism does not believe in a permanent, unchanging self. Of course, each of us has forms, feelings, perceptions, thoughts, and awareness. Also, these attributes interact with our influences— our chemistry, our conditioning, our culture, and our experience. They create what we think of as a “self.” But, Buddhists do NOT believe that this is a permanent, unchanging entity. In the Eastern worldview, Ultimate Reality is immanent, as well as transcendent. The true Self (or “no-self” in Buddhism) is one with... Read more

An Introduction to Zen

June 20, 2024 By Larry Jordan

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Buddhism embraces a different worldview than most Western religions. Buddhism developed in response to Hinduism, which could be rigid and ritualistic. Siddhartha Gautama (now called the Buddha) was a seeker who found enlightenment under a bodhi tree, where he attained liberation from samsara, the cycle of suffering. Buddhism is grounded in the Buddha, the dharma (teachings) and the sangha (community.) On his deathbed, the Buddha reportedly instructed his followers not to blindly follow any leader (even the Buddha) and to... Read more

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Natural Intelligence

June 14, 2024 By Larry Jordan

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Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing the way that we live and work. Increasingly, AI presents challenging questions about the nature of humanity and about the nature of the Universe itself. Existential Exhaustion? Before The Way was published, I asked ChatGPT, an AI app, to write a “New York Times” book review of my book. The book was not available anywhere online, in bookstores, or in libraries. So, the review was based solely on my author website and my social... Read more

Visions: Hallucinations or Transcendent Experiences?

June 7, 2024 By Larry Jordan

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Are visions hallucinations or transcendent experiences? Biologist J.B.S. Haldane said, “The Universe is not only queerer than we suppose, but queerer than we can suppose.” A few years ago, I participated in a Native American sweat lodge ceremony. Eight of us squeezed into a small hut that usually seated four. The medicine man poured water over hot stones, placing more stones and pouring more water every few minutes, to maintain a constant temperature above 100 degrees. I was expecting a... Read more