1. “The Nature of the Sacred”
The Sacred Quest, chapter 2

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

3. Marks of the Sacred Set apart Beyond full human control
Important for human existence

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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?