Is Buddhism the meth of the masses or the cure for depression? Read to find out.
Last week, The Buddhist religion became the newest example of anti-religious media propaganda. Usually reserved for Christian and Islam followers, mainstream media is hellbent(see what I did there?) on creating future generations of nonreligious societies. The popularity of Marxism is at an all-time high and has full mainstream media support in how it frameworks certain narratives. “Religion is the opiate of the people” is a famous Karl Marx phrase many of his followers subscribe to. So does Buddhism have this “narcotic” effect on its practitioners, as Marx says it does? Marx claims that “religion’s superstitious” beliefs must be given up to understand the real world. Perhaps Marx may be right, as a Thailand temple was closed down due to its members testing positive for meth. So is Buddhism the meth of the masses or the cure for depression? Read on to find out.
First, is religion controlling the masses a bad thing? On first thought, you would want to say yes. Autonomy and free will are “God” given (I did it again) or human-given rights. People have the right to destroy their bodies as much as they want. However, even without religion, there has to be SOMETHING that controls and keeps society running. Those of us living in a first-class world are guilty of the same thing we critique about western religion. The very fact that we can complain about religion being controlling exposes how comfortable we are. Some countries are STILL trying to construct normal roads. Also, many focus on the racist history of America so much that they fail to see what separates America from other slave countries.
If America became the most powerful nation in the world, why didn’t other countries with more slaves and a warmer climate become as prosperous? These are not white conservative trump talking points. Thomas Jefferson and James Madison both believed in the separation of church and state. While George Washington and John Adams believed that religion was essential to building any successful republic. So how is correct? Both are. An echo chamber tells us the bible was used for slavery, or Thomas Jefferson owned slaves, etc. With that being said, the four men listed above still valued and saw the importance of separating church and state,
their legislature should `make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,’ thus building a wall of separation between church and state.”
The founding fathers saw the benefits hundreds of years before other countries of the separation between church and state. Atheists, Jews, Muslims, Christians, Hindus, and Buddhists can all live comfortably or attain wealth in America. Ironically the wealthiest groups in America tend to be the most religious, regardless of the religion practiced. So is Buddhism or religion the meth of the masses? Or does religion give us a better understanding of the world.?
Let’s go deeper… Religion within itself is a separation of church and state. Religion gives us a role, a framework in the world. Essentially religion tells us to master our senses to where we’re not being controlled and swayed by them. So we internalize the separation of church and state. We become the church, and the outside world becomes the state, the material world, Maya, etc. We can remain devout religious practitioners and still operate within the state, aka the external world.
So Buddhism and religion isn’t a drug; it’s more of a truth serum. The masses of Jews and Hindus are controlled by their religion and are successful. Controlling the masses’ “senses,” to be exact. It takes to order and discipline to have any level of success. It takes religion to maintain it, though.
As society becomes, more pop culture-driven and social media validated, the youth will control society. Youths lack discipline unless elders properly raise them. Let’s be honest; practicing religion will be viewed as “boring”, square, nonexciting, etc. Pop culture will tell us that we are wasting our time and only live once anyway. The average person has the attention span of a goldfish, can barely remember phone numbers, and can’t spell. How in the hell are these people going to become religious?
So instead, you have to create a narrative that downplays religion by calling it controlling because YOU can’t control yourself and want to experience the world obsessively. Furthermore, western media, which never covers Buddhist news, has to tell the world that monks tested positive for meth and the temple closed. However, what is left out is that it is for only four monks. In a country that is 95% Buddhist. But the headline wants to give you the impression of a temple, so you imagine many people. While the monks were on drugs, many of us, especially in America, don’t have the discipline to make it two weeks in a Buddhist temple. Think about that before we judge them.
Lastly, the five precepts of Buddhism have proven to lowers depression a new study says. Proving again that taming the senses is the only way to see the real world.
In conclusion, the overindulgence of the senses and over-identification of the mind and body is the opiate of the masses. Yet this is the very thing that ALL religions speak against.