Spirituality, Science and Religion

[Shuixiangweibian] Before promoting mindfulness, Harris was the first to be widely known as an atheist. His first few best-selling books were written more or less critical of religion, especially the rigid beliefs of various fundamentalists. Compared with religion, he advocated that people should guide the direction of life according to science and philosophy. He was also known as the "Four Horsemen" of atheism together with three other well-known atheists. The four became famous for criticizing their beliefs, which is closely related to the haze that shrouded the West after 9/11, so I will not repeat it here.

The book "Awakening" was published in 2014, which is his first spiritual work. From the subtitle "A Guide to Spirituality without Religion", it can be seen that he wanted to get rid of the religious baggage of the world and reveal pure spirituality to the public. Based on his stark atheist claims, he is confident that readers will not mistake him for advocating superstition. The positive and negative thesis on the subtopic is the characteristic of the book. Harris emphasizes that "spirituality must be strictly separated from religion," and that nothing in the book is necessarily based on belief. Every word he said can be confirmed in the "laboratory" of each person's life.

In other words, he encouraged the public to adopt a rational attitude towards understanding and accepting spirituality. Before science became popular, people often could only rely on religion to understand spirituality and cultivate their body and mind, so that religion and spirituality seemed inseparable. When religion has to face the challenge of science, spirituality is also caught, and it is suspected of spreading superstition, which must be relied on and punished. Harris' personal experience has taught him that spiritual cultivation is not a myth, and that the teachings of various spiritual masters in ancient and modern schools are not completely absurd. If you turn back from the wrong path of religion, spiritual cultivation can reveal the profound meaning of experience to people. When the door of faith is closed, the door of truth opens. (to be continued)