A religion that worships aircraft was started by a group of people who saw their first plane fly over Vanuatu, a remote island in the South Pacific of Australia, during the Second World War.
After the planes delivered food and supplies to the islanders, the group of people in Vanuatu began to believe that cargo would be brought to them by a god. Consequently, whenever they saw a plane fly overhead, they would build a replica of a plane in the hope of more foods. The islanders did not know where the objects were coming from; which led them to believe that the objects derived from heaven. It is a religion now in Vanuatu. This Cargo Religion was first discovered in 1946 by Australian government patrols, and there are still a few but a diverse number of cargo religions left.
Notably, one of the cargo sects is referred to as the John Frum movement because they believe John Frum, a seemingly fictional First World War serviceman, is the Messenger sent from heaven.
Dr Richard Feynman, an astrophysicist, described this cult in a 1974 paper, he said: “During the war, the cargo religious people in this island saw aeroplanes land with lots of good materials, foods etc, and they want the same thing to happen even now. So they've arranged to imitate things like runways, to put fires along the sides of the runways, to make a wooden hut for a man to sit in, with two wooden pieces on his head like headphones and bars of bamboo sticking out like antennas — he's the controller — and even now they wait for the airplanes to land.
They're doing everything right. The form is perfect. It looks exactly the way it looked before. But it doesn't work. No aeroplanes land. So we can call these things as Cargo Cult science because they follow all the apparent Precepts of scientific investigation, but they're missing something essential because the planes don't land.
Maybe our rituals practising now in the name of Buddhism can be a similar cult because we also try to follow the Precepts investigated scientifically by the Buddha using a theory called Patichcha Samuppada. This Theory in its original format is also available in written form in a book called Tripitaka. We also build temples, listen to Damma Instructions, and follow rituals. However, something essential is missing namely the appearance of Virtuous Society and enlightened people.
As I heard, more than 20% of the population in the area where Buddha was born was reaping its real benefits, at that time. What may be the reason for it is not so now? Is it not a practical religion? Or else do our Masters interpret the Buddhist Theory in Tripitaka, not in its right spirit?
May somebody explain this dilemma, please?
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