Your belief in God is merely an escape from your monotonous, stupid and cruel life.

Jiddu Krishnamurti
CHAPTER 3
16
Belief Systems
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SECTION 1
The Beginning
A belief system acts as a restraint to the people, keeping
them in check. A religion gives people a chance to self-motivate; it
helps people create a moral code for themselves, and most impor-
tantly, it helps people get rid of problems. All of these pillars cre-
ate a line that isnt supposed to be crossed. For instance, in a Chris-
tian religion, people can pray if they need a way to get over a sin
that they committed. Also, in Hinduism, people are motivated to
do the right thing because if they do, they will be reincarnated as a
greater being. This is the line that religion creates that keeps peo-
ple on the right path. Just imagine a world without something to
restrain people. It would be chaos. The Decline of the Western Ro-
man Empire states, Even during the time of the Pax Romana,
there were 32,000 prostitutes in Rome (1). This shows that
Figure 3.1 Ancient Mayan Pyramid
Impact of Beleif Systems
17
The Myans used Pyramids to study celestial objects and Pray to the Gods.
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Romes people were losing their moral value, and when the peo-
ples morals fall, so does the civilization. Without the pillar of
moral value in Rome, the line was stretched further apart till it -
nally snapped and that is when The Western Roman Empire began
to fall. Without a belief system, a civilization would nd it almost
impossible to manage the citizens.
In order to better understand the importance of belief sys-
tems within a civilization and how they can inuence the actions
and decisions of a people, please consider the following moral di-
lemma:
A callous Passerby
Roger Smith, a skillful swimmer, is out for a leisurely stroll.
During the course of his walk he passes by a deserted pier from
which a teenage boy who apparently cannot swim has fallen into
the water. The boy is screaming desperately for help. Smith recog-
nizes that there is absolutely no danger to himself if he jumps in to
save the boy; he could easily succeed if he tried. Nevertheless, he
chooses to ignore the boy's cries. "Why should I inconvenience my-
self for this kid," Smith says to himself, and passes on.
If Mr. Smith was practicing the ways of Buddhism, the teach-
ings of the Buddha would tell him to save the drowning teenager.
The Eightfold Path gives a very direct guideline for Mr. Smith to
follow in order for him to take the right action in this situation. As
Frey puts it, the Eightfold Path sates that, people should promote
good actions, live a life of selessness, love, and nonviolence
(159). This shows that if Mr. Smith acted according to the Eightfold
Path, he would have been doing the right deed. He would have fol-
lowed the right purpose and the right effort, which is the point of
the Buddhist religion. If Mr. Smith followed the Eightfold Path, he
would also be living by the Four Noble Truths and ultimately nd-
ing enlightenment. The four noble truths are the 4 laws to becom-
ing enlightened. If Mr. Smith was Buddhist, he would have saved
the child.
While a Buddhist would save the boy because of the Eight-
fold Path, a Confucian would save the boy because of the golden
rule. Confucians believed strongly in the golden rule, which states
do to others, that you want done to you. Mr. Smith would have
saved the teenager because if he were drowning in the water, he
would have wanted somebody to save him. According to Frey,
The goal of Confucianism was a just and peaceful society (209).
The golden rule is just one way to help create a peaceful society. If
Mr. Smith followed the golden rule in this situation, the society
would have been in harmony, and he would have followed his
duty. If Mr. Smith followed the teaching of Confucius, he would
have saved the boy. Al-
though a Confucian
would have saved the
boy because of the values
of the golden rule, a
Hindu would have saved
the boy because of their
Karma and the fact that
all things are holy.
If Mr. Smith was
practicing Hinduism, he would have saved the boy. Hindus be-
lieve that all life is sacred, and it is terrible to let anything die. If
Mr. Smith let the child drown, he would have been breaking that
18
Figure 3.2
Brahma the creator ruled over all life.
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cardinal rule. Also, it would have been hurting his Karma. Karma
is all of the good and the wrong added up in your life. It relates to
Dharma because if you follow your Dharma or your duty, you will
have a better Karma. As Frey states, Souls were rewarded or pun-
ished for the good and evil they had done (149). This shows that
letting the child die would have been breaking two rules at once,
and it even would have made him reincarnate as something lesser
because he did the wrong thing. Hinduism creates a good guide-
line for this certain situation to tell people to
save the teenager.
As you can see, beliefs systems are es-
sential for a civilization because they help
people get through times of need and give
them moral values. The civilization of Jama-
nia will be known mostly for their Power.
They put fear into the hearts of other neigh-
boring tribes. Power connects to all the relig-
ions because religions are built to create
power. The people of Jamania inherited bits
from every religion and in turn, created the
most complex religion ever that gave the people power to do great
things.
We are the Ones
In an effort to create a successful civilization, the people of Ja-
mania have established their own belief system. This belief system
shares similar moral values and teachings with other world relig-
ions and helps the people of Jamania to run a civilization with pow-
erful leaders, wise citizens, and a powerful army.
The rst moral value that the people of Jamania want to be
known for is Potencia. It is important because it creates powerful
leaders that will be able to run the civilization with authority. The
people will practice the ways of Potencia by reading the Libro
Sagrado and following the daily rituals of the Vaca. They will
strengthen their social skills by going to the forum and meeting
new people. They will follow the intense imagination process
where a person must imagine them being a leader. These ideas are
related to the Confucian peoples teachings. According to Frey,
Confucius taught the society that society worked well when all peo-
ple acted properly based upon their roles and their relationship
with others (208). This relates to Potencia because the people of
Jamania have to build the social skills and their relationships. If the
people of Jamania just follow those two basic rules, the civilization
will thrive because they will all be working together, and in turn
comes power. The people of Jamania practice the ways of Potencia
because they believe that power is the key to a safe and healthy
civilization.
Another important value that the people of Jamania believe
in is Beca. Beca is the practice of scholarship. Starting on a childs
13th birthday, he or she must go to the Griot and study every day
for one month. At the end of the month, the children will take a
test, and if one passes, he or she will be able to work anywhere in
the civilization that pleases him or her, but if a child fails, he or she
do not have enough knowledge, and can only become a mere
farmer. These ideas are similar to the teaching of Confucius. Ac-
cording to Frey, To prove they had this knowledge, they had to
take exams that the emperor himself might grade (209). This re-
lates to Beca because the children in Jamania have to undergo the
same exams, as Confucius required. The children of Jamania have
19
Figure 3.3
Buddhists believe all
life is holy.
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to be knowledgeable, so later in their lives they can have experi-
ence to do great things. The people of Jamania value Beca because
it tests the potential of the youth in the civilization, and young peo-
ple are often the most innovative and creative.
The last important value that the people of Jamania want to
be known for is Derecho Mente. The people will practice Derecho
Mente by going into a highly meditative state on the sacred pyra-
mid where the people run through corresponding simulations to
their lives in their head and how they would properly act in them.
This is similar to the laws of Dharma in Hinduism. As Frey states,
To follow ones dharma means to perform ones duties and so to
live as one should (148). This relates to Derecho Mente because
Dharma is like doing the right thing at the right time, and that is
exactly what Derecho Mente is. Since the people of Jamania follow
Derecho Mente, the people will always be making the proper deci-
sions, and there is less chaos in the civilization because of it. The
people of Jamania value Derecho Mente because it teaches the peo-
ple to be disciplined and always on guard.
The Ancient Power
In the civilization of Jamania, the people resurrected a pyra-
mid called Lugar de la Reunin, representing the ancient Mayan
Temples that were built to study celestial objects. Lugar de la Re-
unin is the place where the people go to practice the values of
Derecho Mente. It is holy place where the people can meditate in
peace and silence. The people of Mesoamerica created many pyra-
mids that represent these values. Historian Rob Wagner states,
The Teotihuacan civilization created the most magnicent pyra-
mids of Mesoamerica from about 300 B.C. to 500 A.D (1). In con-
trast to the Jamanians, the Mayans used these pyramids as places
for celestial studies, but the people of Jamania use it as a place of
meditation. Lugar de la reunin is considered as a sacred place to
the people of Jamania because it is a place where the people know
that there is power, and harmony.
Coat of Arm

20
Figure 3.4 Jamania Coat of Arms
Civilizations had a coat of arms to represent their val-
ues.
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Blazon of Jamania
The castle represents the art of architecture and construction.
The sword symbolizes wisdom in war and the axe symbolizes mili-
tary prowess.
The river shows that all things are changing and forgiveness gives
hope.
Gray represents a battle in the elds, and green shows courage,
honor and valor.
Blue shows knowledge of the land, and yellow shows trustworthi-
ness to all people.
Keep on Rolling Church
In Medieval Times, the church used the Christian religion to
make the people
act on the part
of the church.
The Church had
even more
power than the
king himself in
the feudal sys-
tem. For exam-
ple, King Henry
thought that the
pope had too
much power,
and so he said that he were to be banished from the church. Then
the pope showed that the church had more power and excommuni-
cated him. Frey states, The popes inuence was so great that
Henry begged forgiveness and was readmitted to the church (33).
This shows that using the basic values of the Christian religion, the
church could gain leverage on the people and control them. The
church also used Christianity to strip people on the manors of their
money by collecting a tithe, or 10% of everybodys earnings. The
Pope even had the people create a crusade by offering the people
salvation if believers joined the army. According to Frey, Some
went in the belief that doing so would guarantee their salvation
(35). This shows that the church even used almost a bribe to con-
vince the people to go ght for the Holy Land. These people fol-
lowed the church because they needed something to believe in,
they needed somewhere to go, and they wanted salvation. The
Churchs power in the Medieval Times was grandiose, and they
had the power to change peoples minds using Christianity.
21
Figure 3.5
This image shows the basic heirarchy of
the fuedal system.
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