“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 Set apart Beyond full human control 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?