Devotion in a Cynical World

 I recently saw a poster for a movie called "Jesus Revolution", and one of the actors in the movie stated that he is a devoted Christian, who has been saved by trust in Jesus. This took me by surprise, in the sense that it can be hard to find people, particularly the wealthy, to show a sense of devotion to a higher purpose in life. Although not a practicing Christian (at least not anymore, anyway), some part of the trailer for this movie took me back to the mid-90s, when I had joined a fundamentalist Christian church for a while. I could say with confidence at that time that Jesus was my rock as well! 

   It's become fashionable to be not just cynical but also skeptical as well. We don't want to commit ourselves to some line of thinking, let alone some belief, because we're afraid of being disillusioned or led down a wrong path. But, as the name suggests, a rock of devotion is something that is unconditional: it doesn't sway or waver, or flounder. Think about the statement, "Jesus loves you". or "Amitabha Buddha vows to save you" with the strong vow power, and you will realize the power of unconditional love and forgiveness. This means that something inside does not need to move or go anywhere. It is inherently pure, like a jewel that cannot be sullied or dirtied even when it is covered in dirt or dust.

    How can we imitate that sense of devotion? We often think of devotion in terms of weakness, or confessing we are less than something else. But this misses the point. When I am standing on a mountain, I view the mountain as my utter support and ground: I don't need to apologize for my being in that moment, knowing that the mountain allows me to see higher and supports me as I attempt to ascend to the summit.  I am both climbing the mountain and supported by the mountain, so I don't need to feel despair or a sense of rushing to try to get to the top level.

   This kind of devotion is so rare, but we have to start from somewhere--from some practice that we can repeatedly turn to so that we feel a sense of confidence within us, an inner wisdom that remains with us no matter how quickly our thoughts and emotions fluctuate. When we have this silence and stillness, we are much more free and flexible to investigate different perspectives, knowing that there is nothing in the phenomena that can shake our basic faith.