The "Why" 2

As I was updating my Chinese friends on my thoughts about the "Why," our discussion went a step further as we applied our own unique perspective - the Chinese circumstance. We do that all the time; every single issue can be slightly or vastly different under the unique realities of being Chinese. 

"Think about Buddhism. Although it was first fiercely promoted by Wu Zetian - China’s one and only female emperor, who used it because Hinduism and Buddhism view Goddesses as equally powerful, thereby increasing the masses' acceptance of a female ruler - the ruling class later never actively promoted it again. Instead, it was the ordinary people of China who embraced and spread Buddhism themselves. Why? Because if a 'religion' or way of living aims to liberate people from their physical bodies and help them achieve enlightenment, that school of thought will only bring trouble to a ruling class by creating too many freed souls. Instead, Confucianism has been the sole officially accepted and promoted ideology of China’s ruling class for the past 2,000 years, simply because it assists rulers in containing their subjects and keeping them meek and obedient."

"With our current one-party authoritarian regime - which we can rightfully call The Cult - they naturally control and crack down on any other school of thought. Any established religion or ideology is automatically their enemy. This is especially true for ideologies like Buddhism that aim to free individual minds, instill a sense of equality, and foster a natural sense of calling - a calling to help free their fellow prisoners. The thing the ruling party fears most is a shift in the people's mindset. Can you imagine a populace that wakes up and stops fearing death? They wouldn't only self-immolate like our Tibetan brothers; they would throw the freaking murderers out and free us all! Even Christianity, or any one of the three Abrahamic religions - whose depiction of the spiritual realm is, in my view, far too anthropocentric and rooted in the physical realm, and whose one-man-god indoctrination is highly power-oriented - carries a sense of equality, life purpose, and innate calling that can help overthrow an autocracy or dictatorship. That is exactly why they fear any form of ideology except their own cult indoctrinations."

​"Exactly! We don't know to what degree the concept of enlightenment was tolerated by various emperors throughout China's imperial history, but after 1949, Buddhism was either actively cracked down upon - temples burned down, books destroyed, monks killed or exiled - or allowed to exist only in twisted forms. Current Buddhism in China is far removed from spirituality, enlightenment, and nirvana; it has become superficially ritualistic, materially pragmatic, and artificially symbolic. The officially approved ideological doctrines, on the other hand, aim to keep the masses trapped within their physical senses, eliminating any element that could potentially foster the people's conception of spirituality and enlightenment."

​"Yup! Under such brutal circumstances, how can any individual's mind be free enough to achieve enlightenment?"

​"Nope. 0% chance!"