Why I Don't Believe in Heaven

So the random number generator landed on.... wait for it...

Buddhism!

Most people imagine the morbidly obese version. or the one that snorts cocaine on South Park, but I like the more traditional one with the depiction of enlightenment:



(Although, maybe he was morbidly obese if he still wasn't skin and bones after fasting for 49 days.)

Buddhism was one of the last major religions of China.  It was sort of like the free love movement in the US during the 1960's.  Conservatives thought it would be the end of society, while liberals were fighting "the system."

Theodore and Bloom in "Sources of Chinese Tradition" pointed out that when Buddhism entered China, China was the first foreign civilization that had a writing system, so initial Chinese texts on Buddhism record the transition from skepticism to eventual *acceptance.

When I was sitting on the grass of my campus quad, a Christian came up to me and asked if I believed in Jesus and internal salvation.

Don't get me wrong, Jesus is a pretty chill and awesome guy, but to me heaven doesn't make any sense.  Let's say you spend your life living "to the bible," but your ideal of heaven is murdering people and watching them writhe in pain, didn't that defeat the purpose of living a good life?  This version of heaven is someone else's hell!   I don't think God would spend His time actualizing "300" for one's pleasure.

Or what if a grumpy person who lived out in the woods hated all of humanity, but didn't act on his immorality.  Does he get a fast pass to heaven too?

I don't believe in heaven because salvation comes from understanding and acting good, not acting good for the sake of heaven.  It takes more than good behavior to reach this higher state of being, whether you call it heaven or I call it nirvana.  It takes having full faith and acting  on our goodness an compassion that makes us good people.

Or I could be dead wrong, and the Flying Spaghetti Monster rules all.  All hail His carbohydrate complexity!



(Source)

*The Chinese are still struggling with the Dalai Lama.  It's official, my blog will be banned from mainland China!