A corollary of my position is that you should be able to fix a fair bit of depression by providing non-pharmacological access to transcendent experience. The drug is then a (very potent and correspondingly sharp) tool among others.
Everywhere there is huge gatekeeping from these experiences, or from life in general. I definitely agree with people who say that our society is spiritually bankrupt. It isn't that they are missing some essential doctrine or belief or they will be damned, it is that they can't give themselves up to life fully if they have no recognition of the Absolute.
> Reverently contemplating Amida’s directing of virtue for our going forth, I find there is great shinjin [faith]. Great shinjin is the superlative means for attaining longevity and deathlessness. It is the wondrous way to awaken aspiration for the pure and rejection of the defiled. It is the straightforward mind directed to us through the selected Vow. It is shinjin* that actualizes Amida’s profound and vast benefiting of others. It is true mind that is diamondlike and indestructible. It is pure shinjin by which a person easily reaches the Pure Land where no one goes. It is the mind that is single, realized by the person who is grasped and protected by the compassionate light. It is great shinjin, rare and unsurpassed. It is the quick path difficult for people to accept. It is the true cause of attaining great nirvana. It is the white path by which all virtues are fulfilled instantly. It is the ocean of shinjin that is itself suchness or true reality.
Shinran Shonin
> Shin Buddhist practice is not based on belief in an uncertain better future but instead places emphasis on the present moment—a moment made possible by the causes and conditions of the past. Many take for granted the efforts that generations of humans have made, along with the interdependence of all life forms, that contribute to our being here now.
> Reciting Amida’s name is like an alarm clock that says “Wake up!” to the joy of being alive each and every day. Awakening to this rare gift of life, we can accept and endure the wide spectrum of human grief and bliss and become a source of happiness for others.
Buddhist Churches of America
That's very unfortunate, seeing as it's the entire point of religion...
Your experience tracks very closely with my involvement with Roman Catholicism in my childhood and adolescence. It's frustrating beyond words, and has largely put me off from participating in religious institutions.
Thankfully, there are some incredible thinkers who have written books!