(a)

In 1998, I met Mr. Wigg, a professor of comparative religion at Trinity College, at Mr. Fong's home. Pen Fun Pavilion www.biquge.info I have been guided and helped by Mr. Wigg in many of my explorations in religion. We crossed the age gap and gradually developed into good friends.

Wigg had a very beautiful beard, and his eyes were particularly deep and radiant above the beard.

He has lectured extensively in East Asian countries, including Chinese mainland. So, I've met him even more than I've met Kaohsiung.

Because the field of study that Wigg was interested in during that time, every time we met, we had a lot of time talking about religion.

During one of our meetings, Wiig said a few things that stood out to me.

First, he said that after more than 20 years of careful observation, he found something. When believers from different religions gather to discuss their beliefs, they are bound to talk about death within 5 minutes.

He believed that this phenomenon illustrated the importance of death in the spiritual life of human beings. And this mortality is the common source of all religions. Religious belief appears to be a positive need for humanity to resist death and maintain the meaning of existence.

According to Weig, devotion and inclination towards religion have always flowed in the genes and blood of human life.

That's almost a natural need, Wiig said.

Second, Wegg has commented on the phenomenon of some countries that suppress religious development and encourage people to trust the z/f of reality.

He believes that this is related to Karl Marx's sharp criticism of the disadvantages of capitalism z/f using a certain doctrine of religion to oppress the people at the bottom.

Although Marx was an atheist and Marx firmly believed that if people were to be given real happiness, they must abandon the illusory paralysis that religion had given them, Marx himself did not escape the fate of being deified. Unfortunately, his doctrine has undergone an increasingly religious process.

Examining this process, the steps of its gradual progression are hardly different from the process of Shakyamuni's deification.

Marx's writings, and later Lenin's writings, were to some extent seen on the same footing as the Bible. And their own portraits, like those of various gods and saints, are inviolably hung in the daily lives of many ordinary people.

Third, Wigg said that observing the development and appearance of different religions in various countries and regions over the years has made him feel more and more deeply that all religions are based on the same foundation.

More and more, he felt that it was nothing more than different peoples depicting and understanding the same thing in different languages at different times.

Fourth, Wieg also mentions that all religions have "mystical experiencers." This mystical experiencer is always trying to convey what they feel. It's almost always the most powerful and intense experience that humans can experience. It is completely incapable of being portrayed in a human context. Thus it is almost impossible to transmit.

There is little communication between the experiencer and the bystander.

But when "mystical experiencers" from different religions meet each other, they immediately understand what each other is saying.

Fifth, Wegg also explains religion etymically.

He said that the earliest origins of the word "religion" came from ancient Greek. It originally meant "to reconnect" or "to restore connection".

Sixth, Weig argues that the Eastern and Western religions speak of hell may not be accidental. You must know that at that time, human beings in the East and the West, far away from the mountains and oceans, could not communicate with each other and influence each other. Why do they all talk about hell?

He believes that the theory of hell originated in the Sumerian civilization in 3000 BC. In Sumerian culture, it was believed that after death, one would go to a "land of no return." That underworld is the prototype of all hell.

Seventh, Wigg advocated for a curriculum such as meditation in kindergarten.

He said that while we teach future generations to explore the world outward, we should also teach them how to go into their own hearts.

In fact, in many countries where religion and meditation is believed in the power of meditation, this is how children are taught in their families and religious lives, Wiig said. In some developed countries, kindergartens are already doing the same. He even introduced me to a children's meditation class. A female teacher and four young children learn how to close their eyes and feel at ease, block out the distractions of the world, and observe their inner body and mind on the mat of the kindergarten.

(b)

Wieg is also particularly fond of Chinese classical music.

He said that he didn't know who the author was, he didn't know when it was sung, and he couldn't tell what the name was, but he knew that the first line at the beginning was like this: "What a beautiful jasmine."

He said that later, a very famous Chinese director found some very famous Chinese actors and made a movie with beautiful pictures, costumes, and music (note: Wong Kar-wai's "In the Mood for Love"), the old Shanghai vertical collar women's cheongsam-style, the kind of old beauty, which used the artistic conception of the song, as well as the tune of the song, and the title of the lyrics of the song.

Wigg said to me, "There is a sentence in this song that once touched me very much, but it has nothing to do with jasmine. That's it: I looked out the window at the corner of the street, watched the bitterness coming, and the happiness walked away. ”

He touched my heartstrings. In fact, over the years, I've loved this one in this song -- that's all I like.

(c)

One of Wigg's important research interests is cults around the world.

When I met him, he was risking his life to observe a well-known cult up close and deep.

He has been observing and studying this group for some time.

The end result was a high-level violence between the police and the group, in which some people were rescued, some were taken into custody, some were shot dead and some died. Still others, missing, some people, were dispersed.

On Wig's computer, he saw a short video of the cult preaching that he seemed to have taken secretly.

A very young, well-looking man, facing the camera in a suit and leather shoes, tells his teachings.

His eyes rarely look directly at the camera, always floating in front of the camera, looking here and there,

He repeats what he said not long ago, he uses different sentences to say the same thing, he often uses rhetorical sentences to others, his hands are often clasped together, his fingers twisting.

From the photos that Wigg took with his phone, you can see the night sky of the town glowing red with firelight. Many miscellaneous black figures shuttle in front of the camera. Some arms reach out to the sky.

(iv)

Wigg concluded,

There are some common signs of such unfortunate cult incidents:

attachment to self-interest (practical interest, eternal interest);

Persistent attachment to the body or soul;

exclusion of dissenting people;

do not hesitate to hurt others or force others to gain self-improvement;

the urgent need for general recognition and praise from others;

the desire to expand; the desire to have; the desire of many;

the thirst for power (an extreme lack of power, which often turns into a fanatical embrace of authority and an active search for violence);

a strong fear of the unknown (such as the end of the world, or divine punishment);

Strong team dependence and strong team attack power;

There is a definite enemy, and a definite hatred of the enemy;

feelings of hopelessness and escape;

an increasingly narrow and difficult road;

very limited vision and scope of consideration (often accompanied by anthropocentrism or ethnocentrism or group-centrism);

the great sense of grievance of persecution, the fierce struggle against injustice;

In the midst of universal sacrifice, the Sect Master will not sacrifice everything for the sake of all believers, nor will he sacrifice everything for the happiness of all those who attack the religion, nor will he sacrifice everything for the well-being of all life.

Often, on the contrary, there is a hidden and burning desire to have all life sacrifice everything in order to prove "mine (or ours) right."

All these are the characteristics of cults.

(5)

Talk to Weg. When we talk about the history of religious wars, we have talked about faithfulness.

Wigg said that to know if a believer truly believes in his God, it's as simple as fixing his hands and feet and then setting his clothes on fire. By looking at his performance, you can immediately tell whether he truly believes in his God and what His God says.

Often, it is not the person who is most willing to play for God or the most staunch believer.

There will always be situations where we are not playing for God, but for "me" in God's name. Believing in God has become a process of "self-sanctification."

Mr. Wigg said that the cause of religious strife was probably here. Where you are defending God, you are defending yourself.

The nature of many "jihads" is actually like this: fighting for oneself in the name of the divine.

The very existence of "jihad" is a sorrow for God, indicating that his followers do not believe in his omniscience and omnipotence in their hearts.

Wiig said that it is often the most peaceful and quiet person who behaves in times of crisis who has the most true faith.

(5)

Wig's wife was a master baker. She is particularly good at making a kind of Finnish rye baked muffin, which is very crispy and fragrant, but the taste is very light, the color is not good-looking, there are no artificial additives added to it, there is no sugar, only a little salt, the rustic and unpretentious work, with milk, the taste of milk penetrates every layer of fluffy holes.

Once, when we were drinking milk and eating muffins together, Wegg said to me: True greatness is rarely respected in human life.

"Let's look at a problem," he said. Can something big fit into something small? ”

He said: "If I were an elementary school student, if I answered yes, then I would definitely give the teacher a cross in my workbook." Because it doesn't conform to common sense. ”

"But true common sense is not necessarily what the textbooks approve of," he said. Like our lungs. The area of cells in all the alveoli that can be used for breathing can spread up to 30 square kilometers, which is dozens of times the area of our body. In one day and night, our blood circulation system and respiratory system cooperate, and a total of more than 15,000 catties of blood can be purified, far exceeding our weight. It is possible to calculate how much his circulatory and respiratory systems will do for a person if he lives to be 70 years old. That's an astronomical number. But with such supernatural powers, we never call it supernatural powers. We don't respect it either. We didn't even know it was running like this. We don't love it either, and we never feel happy and satisfied because of it. That's the way it is. ”

"The masses are superficial," he said. They only believe what their eyes can see, but although their eyes are open, they are always blind to many facts. ”

(f)

I enjoyed meeting Wigg and talking to him.

Actually, I don't really like black tea with milk, but I like it when I'm with Weg.

Good conversation has that power. It can change the taste of life.