‘THE GOD DELUSION’ by Richard Dawkins.

I finished this book with difficulty, but am glad I did so because the end is much more interesting and readable than the beginning. I wish it had been written back to front – more people would stick at it. To begin by ranting against something it seems you have not experienced is depressing and makes enemies of too many readers - the shadows you box with.

I do not want to waste energy on too much argument but would like to answer one or two points. First - Aborigines’ beliefs do not “clutter their minds.”(p. 163) On the contrary they provide a successful social structure. Walking long distances side by side discourages inter- tribal conflict and encourage cross family breeding. “Time and wealth consuming activity” has produced some of the world’s greatest architecture, art and music. “Lonely silence” (p. 165) is frequently the most creative state of mind, because, from this empty condition, form arises, in the shape of inspiration, intuitive understanding and practical, imaginative and well reasoned solutions to all kinds of problems. It also de-stresses self-obsessed, neurotic states that lead to paranoia and conflict. “A freezing person finds no comfort in believing he is warm” (p. 168) – a medical expedition to the Everest region in the 1960s recorded the strange process by which some people were able to sit almost naked in the snow and produce enough mind induced body heat to dry half a dozen wet towels !

Religion is a way of being in the world not an explanation of it. It does not really matter if the moon you bow to is made of cheese or not. “God” is a word for something un-nameable .

The wonderful facts and theories of evolution do not preclude the all-pervasive sense of wonder religions have always served. Nobody can really define a god, or goddess, although many have tried – since it seems human beings have always needed to - but it is equally impossible to disprove, in scientific terms, something indefinable, is it not ? And what purpose can it serve ? May be you have listened to the wrong people, or asked the wrong questions. It seems to me you are only skating over the surface of the subject and tilting at windmills. All the ghastly things that human beings have done, and are still doing, in the name of religion, happen because people are frail, fearful and ignorant creatures, probably the cruellest of all living creatures fighting for survival on the planet, and often severely damaged by their individual circumstances.

Religion gets mixed up with politics and power but, at the heart of all of them the teachings are about loving kindness. Buddhist psychology can help us to understand how ignorance and fear create suffering; its practise may help us to change the way we behave, just as unselfish love is the ideal for Christians and Sufis. It is a slow process which begins in each individual heart, not in theology. In an attempt to define what religion really is, I offer this, based on the meaning of the word – ‘ligio’ – to link.“ Religion is the ritual re-enforcement of existing connections”. The acknowledgement of our place in the scheme of things – and only as a small part of that – is obviously something we need, if we are to survive. Scientific materialism, however fascinating it is, does not lead us to fullness of life. Other kinds of paths take us in that direction. Many things can become sacred, depending on what is offered and how. Relationship works both ways. Connections may always remain mysterious – personally I hope they do. Nameless things, like “charm and strangeness, ( the qualities of “quarks”), have infinite potential. And it seems that “god” is only one word for what will, most probably, always remain nameless.

In ancient Buddhist philosophy nothing is solid, separate, static, permanent, continuous or defined, as I expect you know. But they knew it 2000 years ago!

May I remind you, please, of the following retreat I am offering, from June 24 (evening) to June 30 (mid morning). I'm especially keen to have a good take-up for this one because of my fondness for the Maenllwyd, from which I have just returned after a week's solitary .The old house, with its converted barns, lies in a fold of the midWales hills, reached by a farm track, and with splendid views. Heating and lighting are by wood and paraffin.

HSIN HSIN MING RETREAT AT THE MAENLLWYD "Follow your Nature and Accord with the Way"

Retreatants will be invited each to select passages from the classic Zen scripture the Hsin-Hsin-Ming -- On Trust in the Heart. The passages will be those which they feel have a strong relevance to the state of their personal practice and life situations. Talks, interviews and small group work. Outdoor meditation and compassion yoga will be woven into the retreat. Suitable for both beginners and old hands.

This is a Western Chan Fellowship retreat. For full details please go to the excellent WCF website at http://westernchanfellowshio.org Burseries are avaioable for the hard-up. If there are any money difficulties please phone me -- 01970 880603. Also, pick-ups can be arranged from Caersws station (trains every two hours, on the Birmingham-Aberystwyth line). Warm good wishes - Ken Jones