Before I begin, I just want to remind you that in this blog I just share my personal point of view and expertise.
I have been raised Catholic. Still, I would read all the religious science texts I could find from the age of 12. I started to question the Catholic church and its doctrine at the age of 16 and went on a spiritual quest. Since these were pre-Internet times and I lived behind the iron curtain, my information was very limited. Still, I’ve read all the religious and religious study texts I could find, and a few books on spirituality I could find.
And that’s how I discovered Buddhism. In comparison with the Polish, restrictive version of Catholicism, Buddhism looked like a completely open-minded and free-thinking mindset – it didn’t even look like a religion but more like a philosophy. And most importantly, it acknowledged my deep inner knowing of basic concepts such as: reincarnation, animals having souls, and karma.
That is why I was a devoted member of the Buddhist community from 21 to 35. After trying out different kinds of meditation, I settled for Soto Zazen, and have spent countless hours in Zazen meditation – at home, in various dojos, in retreats and in Zen monasteries (where I lived periodically). These years taught me a strict spiritual discipline and provided me with marvelous spiritual tools I could never do without – such as: meditation, mindfulness and breathwork.
Although I never grew as disappointed and disillusioned with Buddhism as I did with Catholicism, as the years passed, and I progressed on my spiritual path, I grew disenchanted not only with Buddhist doctrine but also with its practices.
That would be all as far as my religious adventures. And now let me share the biggest differences I happened to spot between religion and spirituality, and share why I chose the latter.
The most conspicuous difference is obviously the external guidance. In all the religions (and cults) there is a middle man or a middle book telling you what to do to get closer to the Divine. Whereas spirituality places an individual at the center of their universe, thus making them the only judge and the ultimate decision maker.
Another crucial difference between religion and spirituality is that the former tells people to do good, because they should be afraid of sin, bad karma, God’s punishment, hell, etc. I choose to believe that the vast majority of religious people do good out of the goodness of their hearts. That being said, spirituality leaves you much more freedom and choice. Leaving the spiritual people do good solely out of their hearts’ desire.
And finally, the easiest difference to detect. All religions (and cults) believe they are the only righteous path, while spirituality acknowledges and honors everyone’s paths.