The Chinese version is after the English one.
中文版本在英文版本下。
What is Spirituality?
You slipped on the street, but luckily your agility saved you. You flipped gracefully like a gymnast and landed on your feet. As your body lost balance, various parts of your body responded instantly to regain equilibrium.
You took a moment to check the briefcase in your arms, and it was still there. Inside was your severance pay from the company that had just fired you. You thought about the house you had purchased just last year – where would you find the money to keep it? How would you finance your immediate needs? Then, you felt a slight swelling in your head, a gentle warmth in your mind. It was a mental puzzle, and you needed to respond with your intellect.
Suddenly, a voice asked you, “Are you okay?” It was your high school classmate, Peter. After exchanging a few pleasantries, he handed you his business card, revealing that he was the Vice President of a major corporation. He asked, “What about you? You’ve definitely outshone me! If you have the time, let’s have a cup of coffee!” At that moment, you wished you could find a hole to hide in. So, you put on a nonchalant facade and said, “Not too bad. Just considering a thorough renovation in my house. The last time I renovated was 5 years ago.” Your emotions were hurt, so you used a psychological mechanism to create a temporary shield.
A few steps later, you encountered a pastor from the church. You shared your job loss with him, and he said, “Don’t worry! Jesus loves you!” How would you respond to him? In that moment, you wanted to fxxx him; you felt he was not on the same page. On the one hand, the pastor didn’t address your practical and emotional needs, and on the other hand, you didn’t understand how “Jesus loves you” related to your current situation.
Just as your body responds to physical needs, your brain responds to intellect, and your heart responds to emotions, you didn’t know that when it comes to spirituality, you should respond with your spirit, or soul. You were using existing knowledge and your current emotional state to respond, which was not the right approach. Yes, within you, there is an untapped part – your spirituality. Everyone has spirituality; it’s just a matter of whether it’s awakened or not.
What sets humans apart from animals? Humans have intelligence, but animals have varying levels of it too. Some studies suggest that the intelligence of an adult dog is roughly equivalent to that of a three-year-old child. Humans have emotions, and many animals do too; some even sacrifice themselves to save their owners. However, there’s one clear difference: animals lack religious consciousness. Even though a dog may adore its owner, that kind of reliance and trust resembles a close friendship rather than religious reverence. Elephants may conduct simple farewell rituals when a family member dies, but they don’t have a concept of an afterlife or a spiritual world like humans do. When have you ever seen a monkey burning bananas for the deceased? Have you seen horses dance around a totem pole in worship? Have squirrels bowed to a tree? Or any animal chasing the sun to worship it? Do dolphins catch urchins as crystal balls to divine their fortunes? Animals exhibit many behaviors similar to humans, such as territorial disputes, but apart from humans, we have not discovered any animals that go to great lengths to perpetuate their power beyond death. No animal thinks, “After I die, there’s nothing, so I must use every means to ensure my power lasts for eternity.” Even if someone claims that animals have a sixth sense and can see spirits that humans cannot, it doesn’t mean they have religious consciousness. They experience glory, happiness, pain, and fear in the present world and never display awareness or pursuit of the “afterlife” or the “eternal kingdom.” They lack eternal consciousness.
But humans have it. God “has set eternity in the human heart” (Ecclesiastes 3:11, NIV). When the Lord created you, He gave you the concept and longing for eternity – playtime? With life being so short, isn’t it painful to yearn for eternity? This is a premise left by Him when He created humanity, giving you spirituality, the drive, and ability to seek Him.
Because you have spirituality, you ponder: What happens after death? What is the purpose of life? What is the ultimate goal? In the vast universe, is there a distinction between existence and non-existence? What kind of existence am I?…
These thoughts don’t arise solely from emotional distress; instead, they are the realm of those with clear and rational minds. This is an inherent question driving you to seek answers, as if there’s a deep hole in your heart, unfilled, called the “ultimate concern” – your yearning for spirituality. That’s why religious faith is a fundamental human right because every person has this need – the need for spirituality.
The Beginning of Faith
Many times, when I pray for others, we pray for things we’ve already talked through. They don’t seem particularly moved while talking, but for some reason, when they bow their heads to pray, they feel a stirring in their hearts, an inexplicable emotion. This emotion is the stirring of that inner hole. It’s not because I’m exceptionally talented or speaking extraordinarily; this emotion isn’t something I’m adding to them. It’s something that was already inside them.
We try to fill this inner hole in various ways throughout our lives. We use achievements, others’ praise, brand names, sports rankings, social skills… As we grow older, it’s more and more money, higher job titles, others’ admiration, fulfilling love,lust, desire, fame, power… to fill it, to feel good about ourselves, to find meaning in our existence. But can it truly be filled? It is painful being unsuccessful, of course. Yet after fulfilling the wish, then what? So what? Losing it is even more painful, making us feel like we have nothing. This is because we’ve used material, emotional, and power-related things to fill our spiritual hole, and the more we fill it, the emptier it becomes. Some say that the hole created by God has the shape of God Himself, so only God can fill it. John 4:14 says, “but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
In the midst of the vast sea of humans, do you have a sense of existence? What makes you feel that you exist? Is it because you appear to be good? Do you perform better than others academically or professionally? Do you have substantial financial strength? Are you popular among people? Attract many admirers? Are you able to carry others? Or stand out from the crowd? Or are you fooling yourself, saying, “I don’t care about any of this!” If you set aside the things that matter most to you, who are you? Ultimately, what are you here for?
As you read this, what do you feel? Do you think it’s self-evident? Or do you feel pain, fear, unease? Do you feel uncomfortable and don’t want to discuss it? Does it feel so close yet so far away? Or do you simply draw a blank? It doesn’t matter because these answers are telling you that you need to pay attention to your spirituality.
Can you really say that faith has nothing to do with you?
Perhaps you say, “I am not sensitive to spiritual things, so faith is not my concern.” This is like saying, “I’m bad at sports, so physical fitness is not my concern,” and ending up with a weak body. Maybe you say, “I’m very rational, so I don’t need faith.” This is like saying, “I’m very rational, so I don’t need exercise.” This is genuinely not logical.
In summary, spirituality is an inherent part of you, and you cannot treat it as if it doesn’t exist and dismiss those who seek spirituality as foolish, crazy, or deceptive. Otherwise, your life will not be complete because there’s an essential part inside you that you haven’t taken care of.
If, by reading this, you feel even the slightest bit moved, you can silently say the following simple prayer:
Creator of mine, today, I heard that when You created me, You left a hole in my heart called eternity. Sometimes, I vaguely feel that there’s such a hole inside me. I don’t know exactly what it is, but I know that You do. If You planted this idea in my heart for the purpose of seeking You, please help me find You. If my spiritual self is hungry, then I am really hungry because it feels like I haven’t had a proper meal or I’m not quite sure what I’ve been consuming. Please provide my spiritual self with nourishment, addressing the hunger within my spirit’s hole. Teach me how to “eat” the food You provide, so my soul feels sweet, satisfied, nourished, and strengthened, allowing my spirituality to grow, gain strength, and become stronger each day. I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.”
靈性是什麼？
你在街上滑倒了，幸而你身手敏捷，以倒掛金鈎的姿勢，華麗地翻了個跟斗，雙腳著地。當你的身體失去平衡，你身體的各部分便即時回應，找回平衡。
定下神來，你摸摸攬在懷裡的公文袋，還在。裡面有公司裁掉你後的遣散費。你在想，去年才買下的房子，哪裡有錢去供？如何融資救急？然後，你感到頭部微脹，腦袋輕輕發熱。這是道智力題，你須用腦袋去回應。
這時，突然有把聲音問你：「沒事嗎？」哦，原來是中學同學陳小明。小明跟你寒暄兩句後，給你遞來卡片，一看，是大公司副總裁呢。他問你：「你呢？你實威過我啦！得閒記得關照下我！」這一刻你想找個洞鑽進去。於是，你擺出滿不在乎的樣子：「哈哈！而家忙緊準備屋企大裝修，5年無新裝過啦，太唔似樣啦，邊似得你。」你的情緒受到傷害，於是運用心理機制作暫時的盾牌。
走了兩步，你碰見教會一位牧師，你向他道出失業的狀況，他對你說：「唔緊要！耶穌愛你！」你會怎樣回應他？那一剎那，你想xyz他，你覺得他九唔搭八。一方面，是牧師沒有回應你現實和情緒的需要，而另一方面，你亦不明白一句「耶穌愛你」與此刻的你有什麼關係。
正如身體回應身體、腦回應智慧、心回應情緒，你不知道，關於靈性的事情，你應該用靈性去回應。你用已有的認知、用煩厭的情緒去回應，其實是用錯了部分。是的，在你裡面，可能還有一個部分還未開動——那就是你的靈性。靈性，人人都有，只差開動了沒有。
人和動物有什麼分別？人有智商，但動物也有，只是高低之分。有人研究過，說成年狗狗的智商大概和一個三歲的小朋友差不多。人有情感，很多動物也有，甚至可以為救主人捨命。但有一樣涇渭分明的差別，就是動物沒有宗教意識。狗狗就算愛慕主人，那種倚賴、信任，較像親密的朋友，但不是宗教式的崇敬。大象在家庭成員死後，會有簡單的告別儀式，但是，牠們沒有像人類那樣，會做些什麼與「死後的世界」、「靈性的世界」扯上關係。你何曾見過一隻猴子燒香蕉給死者吃？見過馬圍繞圖騰跳躍敬拜嗎？見過松鼠拜一棵樹？或者有什麼動物會追著太陽來朝拜？水瀨會用樹枝卜一卜吉凶嗎？動物有很多行為與人相似，例如野獸會霸地盤、霸資源，但目前除了人類之外，我們未發現有動物會千方百計延續死後的權力。沒有動物會像秦始皇那樣，想到自己死後就什麼都沒有了，所以用盡千方百計要把自己的權力延續到千秋萬代。就算有人說動物有陰陽眼，能看見人所看不見的鬼靈，那不代表牠們有宗教意識。牠們面對的不論是榮耀、快樂、痛苦還是恐懼，都是現世、當世的，而從未顯示對「死後的世界」、「永恆的國度」有過意識和追求。牠們沒有永恆的意識。
但人是有的。上帝「把永恆的意識放在人心裡」(傳道書3章11節，新譯本譯法)。上主造你的時候，給了你永恆的概念和想望 ——玩嘢呀？人生短短幾十年，祢叫人想望永恆，那豈不十分痛苦？—— 這是祂造人時所留下的伏筆，給你靈性，讓你有動力和能力去尋求祂自己。
因為你有靈性，你會想：死後會是何樣？生又為何？人生最終到底是為了什麽？宇宙浩瀚無邊，有我與無我，有分別嗎？我是一個怎樣的存在？……
非因你情緒受到打擊而會這樣想，相反，這是神智很清醒的人才會去到的層次。這是你內置了的一個疑問，驅動你去追尋答案，好像心裡有一個深沉的洞，填不滿的洞，那個洞叫「終極關懷」，也就是你對靈性的渴求。亦因如此，宗教信仰是基本人權，因為人本有此需要，就是靈性的需要。
信仰的開端
很多時為人祈禱，祈禱那些內容我們都已談論過，談的時候，他不覺得有什麼特別，但不知為何，到低頭祈禱時，他就會感到心靈被觸動，有種莫名的感動。這種感動，就是內心那個洞在攪動了。這不是因為我太有才華，說得天花龍鳳而令他感動，這感動不是我外加給他的，是他本身已經內置了的。
這心裡的洞，我們自少便會用各種的方式企圖去填滿。用成績、別人的讚賞、名牌、運動排名、交際的能力…. 長大後，就是更多更多的金錢、更高的職銜、別人的仰望、美滿的愛情、情慾、名譽、權力….去填補，令自己感覺良好，感到存在的意義。可是，真的能填滿嗎？得不到，固然痛苦。得到了，then？So？又如何？失去了，更是痛苦，覺得自己一無所有。這是因為我們把靈性的洞，用錯了物質的、情緒的、權力的等等去填，只能愈填愈空虛。有人說，上帝所造的這個洞，形狀是上帝自己的形狀，所以只有上帝自己才能填得滿。約翰福音4章14節這樣說：「人若喝了我所賜的水，就永遠不渴。我所賜的水要在他裡頭成為泉源，直湧到永生。」就是這個意思。
在茫茫人海之中，你有存在感嗎？有什麼令你覺得自己存在？是成績或業績比人好？有雄厚的經濟實力？太索、太靚仔？受歡迎？追求者眾？能夠carry 人？或者拋離其他人？還是，你在騙自己：我都不在乎這些！撇開了你最重視的東西，你是誰？你最終是什麼來的呢？
聽到這裡，你有什麼感覺？覺得理所當然？還是有痛感？害怕？不安？總之覺得不舒服，不想討論？這麼近那麼遠的感覺？還是什麼都想不到、一片空白？都不要緊，因為這些答案，都在告訴你，你需要關心一下自己的靈性了。
你真的敢說，信仰，真的不關你事？
可能你說：「我靈性遲鈍，信仰不關我事。」這就好比我運動很差，然後說體育不關我事，結果身子很弱。也許你說：「我很理性，不用信仰。」也就好比我說：「我很理性，不用運動。」這才是真正的九唔搭八。
總結，靈性是你體內已然內置了的一部分，你不能當它不存在，然後覺得追求靈性的人都是傻子、瘋子或騙子。否則，你的人生將未算完整，因為你體內有一個重要的部分，你沒有照顧到。
如果，你讀到這裡，有那麼一點點的感動，可以跟我默念以下一篇簡單的禱文：
創造我的神：
今天我聽說，祢造我的時候，留了一個洞在我心靈裡，叫做永恆。
有時候，我隱約的，感到自己裡面有那個洞。
我不知道那確實是什麼，但我知道祢知道。
如果祢留這個意念在我心裡，是為了要尋找祢，求祢讓我找得著祢。
如果我的心靈像身體一樣會飢餓，那我一定是十分飢餓了，因為我好像沒有怎樣進食過，或者不太知道自己吃過些什麼。
求祢賜給我心靈的糧食，對準我心靈裡的洞的飢餓感。求祢教我如何「吃」下祢的糧，使我的靈魂感到甘甜，有飽足感，有營養，受滋養，使我的靈性可以長大，有力量，且日漸強壯。
奉耶穌基督的名求，阿們。