Buddhist moral constraints have nothing to do with pleasing some higher power and have everything to do with discovering a sense of harmony with all things and respect for the "passingness," beauty, and uniqueness of all things.
Zen Master Who? A guide to the people and stories of Zan by James Ishmael Ford, page 11
I am having a thoughtful morning and came upon this passage. "Pleasing some higher power" is the part of Christianity that really doesn't mean anything to me. I am not sure how to say it because it isn't that I don't believe in God; I don't believe in a personal God that listens and responds to me. I find myself getting a little impatient in church as we constantly praise God and ask for forgiveness. There seems to be a natural desire for God or some type of higher being among humans. As I understand it Buddhism doesn't really decide either way, it just says it doesn't matter. That is another aspect of Buddhism that I like; don't worry about the questions that do not have an answer.
"Part of the Zen teaching here is that each of us must find meaning and completeness in our own lives and actions, our own practice. Good Deeds are, of course, good to do. But there is no cosmic ledger keeping track of those good deeds or our many harm-causing ones. Nonetheless the account is kept in our heart, in our own very life itself. And it is in our life itself that we must find the fruits, the rewards, of Buddhist practice." Page 12
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