Is there one true religion?
QUESTION: Masters, I have been practicing Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism for the past 30 years. The teaching says chanting Namu-Myōhō-Renge-Kyō helps one to eradicate negative karma to attain enlightenment. The life of Truen Buddha, Nichiren Daishonin, who lived in Japan from 16.2.1222 to 13.13.1282, is said to be inscribed into the object of worship, Dai Gohonzon, at the foot of Mount Fuji, Japan. Is this the only religion that will help the world to be transformed into the coming Golden Age? ~Loo, Singapore
ANSWER: A religion is a set of beliefs on which one fashions one’s existence. It is a set of rituals, prayers, life activities, mores which regulate every aspect of being. These are dictated to all by an individual or a hierarchy within the belief system. Their guarantee to those who adhere to all the rules and regulations is various benefits for this physical life and beyond, regardless of the adherents’ reasons for coming to human form.
All incarnate souls (in physical bodies) come to the Earth to learn lessons through experiences. They learn each lesson through using their freedom of choice to find what resonates with their soul and what moves them from negative energies into positive ones. One of the ways this may occur is to choose to follow a particular religion because it resonates with your human form and you sense changes taking place in your understanding and awareness of your soul’s path. This is enlightenment.
Before we go any further let us ask this question: Is there a particular language upon your planet that if spoken by all would ensure peace? Are there not armed conflicts all over the world between peoples who call a single dialect their basic language? What of the factions within a society that resist being grouped together with ones holding opposing views to their own? Is not each and every human soul on an individual journey? Is one method any better than any other?
Just as no universal language will suffice for your diversified planet, one belief system cannot be the answer to all souls’ journeys. While all souls were identical as they came from Source, no two physical incarnations are the same. The knowledge of each soul is the knowledge of all while in spirit form because we are all interconnected, so each soul chooses its own direction and lessons. The process of learning is not to repeat what others have done unless you crave the same experience since you already know how it turns out.