Atheist in a Temple

In some awful, strange, paradoxical way, atheists tend to take religion more seriously than the practitioners. ~David Hume

An atheist in a temple - what could possibly make a better paradox? However, this atheist isn't there to pray; he's there as a voluntary helper - because he is unfortunately roped in by someone - and because as a moderate atheist, he is magnanimous enough to put aside the difference in belief.

Now, only two days into his job, he has seen enough to reignite his atheistic sentiments which he has been painfully supressing. When it comes to religion, an atheist must always watch his tongue; he just might end up being struck by lightning or being chopped by some machete-wielding zealot.

But, I digressed.

So, okay. I am helping out in a dharma assembly. This isn't any simple recitation session; it is led by His Eminence Drubwang Konchok Norbu Rinopoche. Ah, nevermind who he is. To me, he's just an 84-year-old elderly chap who came all the way from Tibet. But to the other 300-odd Buddhists who attended the recitation, he's not your ordinary "octogenarian-next-door". For goodness sake, he's "the reincarnated one with great vows or Tulku" - that's what Rinpoche means - and this name is endowed by the Dalai Lama, another old chap.

This dharma assembly is held for a total of nine days, during which they'll recite the Mani Mantra for 100 million times. "The merits acrrued will be transferred for world peace, well being of the people and the country as well as all sentient beings." This really had me scratch my head. How can you possibly help humanity attain peace just by chanting some mantra? Oh my god, all this while, I thought maintaining world peace is the sole responsibility of George W. Bush!

Okay, enough nonsense. But the truth is, I really think there is possibly nothing more unconstructive than this. Hey, 300 people sitting in the shrine chanting all day long isn't going to boost the country's productivity. Pardon me, but I must say this is totally impractical.

Then, there are those people who worship the old chap as if he's some kind of god. Well, "He's a living god," they say. Heck, no way am I going to worship another person who's obviously a human being like you and me. As a narcissist at heart, I only worship that godly guy in my mirror; not the hot Britney Spears nor the sexy Angelina Jolie!

One weakness that I have is I tend to look at the bad side of things. Call me pessimistic if you want to; I think religion doesn't necessarily make better persons. Back in the shrine, there was a person who adamantly insisted on sitting in the front row which was reserved for the monks. "No way am I going to move to the second row! I want to pay attention during the recitation!" he argued. I wondered if he was there for the chanting or just to have a look at the Rinpoche old chap.

People were jostling to get into the elevators; a monk was smoking in the carpark; full-time participants arrogantly asked for the front seats; feng-shui-conscious ladies reserving their seats with jackets... Sigh, some people just don't grow wiser...

By the way, the atmosphere in the shrine during the chanting is as somnolent as white noise. Almost perfect for deep-meditation (translation: dozing off).