SO TO ZEN - Shasta Abbey

8 Sōtō ZenThe former causes him to reflect deeply on his sinfulness and toseek the Absolute outside himself to whom he can give himselfin order to attain salvation. The latter enables man to seek theAbsolute within himself and to try to live in harmony with hisTrue Self as reflected in the light of the Absolute within him.Religion may be classified broadly into these two types. Everyoneis free to search for either a transcendental God or toawaken the indwelling God. For this reason it is utterly impermissibleto force a religious faith on anyone. It is necessary tobe tolerant toward all religions. The prejudiced attitude whichbreeds such bigoted sentiments as ÒOnly my religion is trueÓdeserves sharp criticism. Toleration will appear when religionsapproach each other and seek to deepen mutual understanding.It is, after all, just a question of common sense and etiquette, asis readily observable among civilized people.We have already said that the religion of the future mustbe based upon respect for all beings, which means respect forand the education and emancipation of humanity. There arethree ways of expressing this in Japanese. Their nuances differ,yet these three words agree on the one point that they all showrespect for mankind. Religion must also respect, educate anddeliver humanity from affliction. If religion will adhere to theseideals, it can be firmly established and can be confident of realizingits objectives. The religious spirit which is capable ofembracing science will form the basis upon which a new worldculture will be built.