“The Nature of the Sacred”

The Sacred Quest, chapter 2

What is “the sacred”?

“Irreducible reality beyond ordinary experience” (p. 21) It is real; perhaps the most real

Eliade: absolute, objective Not reducible to non-religious functions (wish fulfillment,

psychological needs, political or economic interests) The main focus of religion

SQ p. 22: Religion involves “those ways of viewing the world that refer to a notion of sacred reality”

In other words, in religion the belief in sacred reality shapes how people view everything in the world

This also shapes human behavior: how people think, feel, and act

Finally, this notion of the sacred orders human life and how people understand their existence

Marks of the Sacred

1. Set apart

2. Beyond full human control

3. Important for human existence

1. Set apart (specially distinctive)

Examples• Catholic: enter church, make sign of cross,

genuflect: sets apart space• Jewish: Sabbath observance; Havdolah

ritual: sets apart time• Buddhist: bow three times (Triple Gem): sets

apart space, one’s own focus in meditation

Can be immanent or transcendent

2. Beyond full human control

People can related to the sacred through prayer or ritual, but they cannot control the sacred

This means that the sacred is not just a figment of human imagination

3. Important to human existence

For human welfare In a theistic religion, God’s actions affect human

well-being (or not-well Example: reward for the righteous, punishment

for the wicked Orders human behavior

People act in ways that conform to the ideals and benefits of the sacred

Example: Buddhists meditate, live morally to advance along the path to Nirvana

Questions

How does Buddhism present its own distinctive notion of the sacred? How is it set apart from ordinary experience? Is it transcendent or immanent? How is it beyond full human control? How does it shape human behavior? How does it enhance human welfare?