Spiritual Hypocrisy: The Mask of the Soul

According to the news, reflecting the spiritual crisis of Thai society at this present time, both monastics and lay people with spiritual representation, pointed out the spiritual problems that are emerging in Thai society, which in the previous article we have already known about the issue of "False Gods." In this article, we will continue to talk about the issue of "Spiritual Hypocrisy," which is frankly translated as "Spiritual Hypocrisy."

* Read the previous article at the link: /

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Spiritual Hypocrisy is the use of spiritual factors, such as using the role of a priest or showing yourself as a believer in religion, etc., to exploit yourself unprincipally. The benefits range from small levels, such as attending a practical temple to create a good image, to those that trouble society by breaking morals and breaking the law by using spiritual factors, such as priests who sexually abuse children, misusing donations, or using power influences for personal gain, etc.

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Spiritual hypocrisy creates problems for our spiritual growth in a variety of ways, because there are many aspects to it: deliberately wearing masks, unwitting ones, those that create internal conflicts for ourselves, those that affect others, those that contradict their souls, to those that are immoral to the humanity of others.

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In the above example, "going to the temple" is a common issue that can happen in a way that we do not intend, that is, we think that we are on a valuable spiritual path, but deep down, we may be seeking acceptance from others, escaping problems, some cases to cleanse the guilt of our hearts, such as being a force to harm others, night out, substance abuse, etc., or in a way that is conscious and intentional, such as going to church to sell insurance in Western societies, finding monthly membership, or creating a political image.

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The biggest problem with Spiritual Hypocrisy is that it creates a "conflict with one's own inner spiritual processes." The original example was "temple attendance." According to Buddhist principles, we should practice praying to diminish the function of the "ego." But when we wear a mask and sit and pray, it unconsciously enhances our ego, which is a stark contradiction to Buddhist principles.

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In the example of Christianity with Sunday church culture, there are also angles that experience this kind of hypocrisy. "Harry Truman," the 33rd president, commented frankly:

"Who should be blamed for such social conditions? If it is not a church member who cries on Sunday, Monday goes to women, Tuesday drinks, Wednesday sells himself to the boss, Friday comes back to remorse, and Sunday cries again."

🔬 research 🔬

This conflict has led to a number of mental health problems. Research several years ago (Pargament, Steele, & Tyler, 1979) showed that people who often participate in religious activities but do not have motivation or faith

Have the lowest psychosocial functioning, have a high sense of self-control over others, while a low sense of self-competence, self-control, trust in others, and coping skills.

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Another study shows that joining religions on a whim or on a self-interest basis affects mental health, while those who superficially participate or participate because of guilt, anxiety, and other external pressures have poorer mental health.

❗ fix ❗

Managing, correcting and preventing the wearing of this spiritual mask is complicated because it is linked to other spiritual problems, such as the "False Gods" problem (fake sacred things), the "Small Gods" problem (a view on the soul that does not cover the complexity of life), and the Problems of breadth and depth (a problem of faith that is shallow, not profound, or so deep that it is cramped, lacking openness).

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We may, however, consider the protection from oneself of the spiritual path walker at the level of the problem, the kind that creates contradictions within oneself first; for at the level of the problem that reaches the level of immorality, it can be investigated, complained of, and acted upon by law; but problems at the individual level cannot be examined at all if we have no intention of being aware of the problem in ourselves. Moreover, problems at the level of immorality also tend to expand from problems at the individual level itself, as exemplified above.

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Let's revisit ourselves as to whether we are still on the right track, what we expect from our spiritual path, what conflicts we feel inside, what suffering we have caused ourselves or those around us, what benefits we have on our spiritual path, and what inappropriate behavior we have.

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Finally, let's encourage all of you who have been affected by this spiritual crisis. May all of you once again have your own spiritual healing found on the road of good spiritual growth, quality, benefit yourself, others, and society.

Reference 📝 📝

Kenneth I. Pargament. (2007). Spiritually Integrated Psychotherapy: Understanding and Addressing the Sacred. The Guilford Press.

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Photo credit: Moisés Romero

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# Psychology # Depression # Spiritual