There’s an old expression in Japanese that I find quite intriguing: “Ataru mo hakke, ataranu mo hakke.” It literally means “fortune-telling misses as often as it hits.”
The phrase suggests several things: 1) fortune-telling is a serious practice 2) Sometimes its predictions actually come true 3) Sometimes they don’t.
Implied, as well, in the expression is: fortune-telling (and religion in general) can both hit and miss simultaneously. In other words, although you shouldn’t dismiss spirituality out of hand as a fake practice, nor should you necessarily reject it. The two opposing beliefs can be true at the same time. Maybe it’s real, maybe it’s not. Why choose?
I have this heady, almost quantum concept in mind as I approach Wat Phra Si Rattana Mahathat in Phitsanulok, Thailand. Referred colloquially as Wat Yai or Wat-Phra-Sri, the “Temple of the Great Jeweled Reliquary” is located on the east bank of the Nan River, about 200 miles from Bangkok.
It is quite simply one of the most-lovely temples I’ve ever seen.
Founded in 1357 by King Lithai of Sukkothai and remarkably elegant, Wat Yai is most famous for its amazing, golden Buddha image (“Phra Phuttah Chinnarat” – “King of Victory”), considered by many Thais as the most beautiful Buddha image in the country.
Approaching Phra Phuttah Chinnarat is a dazzling experience. The reflective floor-tiling of the temple picks up the rich, golden hue from the Buddha’s flanking columns and sends it bouncing all around the temple, up, up, up to the ornate ceiling, glowing in yellow and red. The Buddha, itself, is a tranquil dream, an oasis of ornate, shimmering gold designed both to be admired and worshipped.
And worshipped it is. At all times of day, local Thai people dressed in colorful saris kneel and pray before the Buddha… hands clasped and bowing…applying gold leaf… burning incense. The statue is at once a holy pilgrimage site and a tourist attraction.
How it can be both of these things at once is the epitome of “Ataru mo hakke, ataranu mo hakke.”
What’s fascinating about Buddhism in general is how it holds a space for ambiguity, encompassing both prayer and personal meditation as paths to enlightenment. At Wat Yai, thousands come every year to pray to a Buddha image for healing and good fortune, then go home to sit in their private meditation practices.
So, is Buddhism a practice or a religion? Is the historic Buddha a teacher to learn from or a god to worship? Can praying to a statue actually fulfill your hopes and wishes?
Like fortune telling, Buddhism seems to be a quantum state, simultaneously a practice and a religion. Practitioners can both pray to gods AND follow a meditative path to enlightenment. There’s no need to be absolutist about it.
And who knows? Perhaps praying to a statue will hit. Perhaps it will miss. It never hurts to hedge your bets.
(If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years, it’s that people don’t necessarily argue from a place of logic. And I’m not just talking about religion or politics. It seems like when it comes to just about everything, people argue from gut, instinct, and values. How frustrating! What has become of Socratic thinking? In a perfect world, we could persuade people to think “correctly” (ie. OUR way) through the strength of our superior, logical arguments! But that’s not how it works, is it? People debate from their fear…they argue from their hurt and trauma…they dispute from a need for community (and the terror of being kicked out of the tribe).
The next time you’re in a heated discussion that just isn’t moving towards a resolution, stop debating and start listening. Show your partner that you’re not the villain—you’re a friend who cares enough to hear their anger, hear their fear, hear their needs. By listening, you demonstrate that you’re interested in their viewpoint, even if you don’t necessarily share it. You’re not the enemy, because enemies don’t listen!
If only our religious and political leaders would shut up and listen—even occasionally—what a more peaceful world it would be.)