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When emotions arise within us, we naturally look for a cause. More often than not, we look for this cause externally. We assume that we feel sad because our friend is upset, or angry because a driver cut us off. We create some story that explains our emotion, linking a sequence of events to whatever we are feeling.

However, it is important to also consider the reverse possibility. What if the emotion arose of its own accord, and only then did we invent a story to explain it? For example, we naturally have times when we feel up and times when we feel down. During a down time, it would be easy to think of negative events that have happened, and to then convince ourselves that these events caused our depression. Thus, we build a story to explain the emotion, not realizing that it actually arose from within. This is a dangerous habit, because we obscure the true cause of the emotion, and thus can no longer deal with it effectively. It is especially harmful when we convince ourselves that it arose from something that someone else did, because this causes us to blame them unfairly.

Hence, when we feel sad, we should just feel sad. When we feel irritable, we should just feel irritable. We don’t have to make up some story around our emotions, nor do we need to invent some reason to explain why we feel a certain way. Most importantly, we should never blame someone else for making us feel that way. Accept emotions. Realize they come from within. Through this acceptance we find peace, and then the emotions will no longer seem so important anyway.

The British philosopher Bertrand Russell was once asked his response if, upon dying, God were to ask why he had not believed. Russell’s answer: “Not enough evidence, God! Not enough evidence!” He raises an interesting question: why are we obliged to believe if we do not think that the evidence supports it?

The emphasis on belief is peculiar to theistic religions. The common question in the West is “what are your religious beliefs?”. It would seem that a more pertinent question would relate to one’s spiritual practices or views. After all, there is more to religion than sitting quietly in a corner and believing something. We always focus on what a person believes, and yet we should be asking whether they love thy neigbour, whether they try to forgive, whether they speak the truth, or do good unto others. Surely this is more important than what they believe?

The Truth is beyond our comprehension. None of us can say whether there is a god, because we cannot even grasp the concept of God. We may have a sense of something miraculous, and we may describe this as God. But someone else may also have this sense of the miraculous, and describe it in some other way. A third person may not even try to describe it, not bothering with words such as God and soul. Instead, he just lives the best life he can, practising the Teachings in all the holy books, and without ever consciously believing in anything. Of the three, who is the best man?

Our beliefs in God, in a soul, or in life after death are not that important. We will not go to heaven based on our understanding of metaphysics. Instead, it is our practice of integrity, love, compassion, and forgiveness that count. Whatever heaven is, we will go there based on who we are, how we treat others, and how we live our lives.