The interesting thing about the great western myth is that it lies at the foundation of what we normally see as polar opposites; religion and science. The myth is that nature, the cosmos, all that is, is a process of engineering. Nature is seen as an artifact; an item created.
Religion (of the judeo-christian lineage) reflects this myth as God forming Adam out of clay and creating the cosmos out of the Word (mathematics, language, programming, etc). Here, there is a doer, a creator figure that understands His creation as a mechanic would a car. He knows how it all works and can fix anything that is broken.
This is much the same way that science operates. There is, in both newtonian and quantum physics, an understanding that the universe is a composite of interacting laws. There are higher and lower laws that play against each other to manifest all that exists. And the philosophy goes: the better we can map those laws the better we can influence our world. There is a great machine, eternally pumping, and all we have to do are map the components and start tinkering.
Whether you are a devout believer or an extreme atheist, if you were brought up in a western culture you were imprinted with the viewpoint that there is a mechanical nature to our reality. Be it a westerner's view of the body or of the government, the concept is seen as an amalgamation of parts. Every part serving a function. A body is a beating heart, and breathing lungs, grown by the GI tract, and managed by the brain. A functioning government requires a legislator, an executor, and a populace to preside over. And reality needs a 'creator' God with a Satan figure to keep the game from getting boring.
What follows from the idea that nature is a process of engineering, is the idea of progress at all costs. A machine has a purpose. Whether it be the manifestation of God's will or the random evolution into complexity and connectivity, there is an end product. The trick being to discover that end product. The "Thing", at the end of time, that is waiting for us all.
So we rush forward. Into progress. Scientists debating theories as fervently as theologians. Everyone wanting to be first to "get it." Mapping the Universe, testing, and remapping. Doing our best to draw a bona fide model of reality.
Progress! My sons, forward into progress!
(At this point I have summed up my point as best I can. I couldn't just leave without some moral commentary. Please forgive my righteous intrusion.)
Moral Commentary on the Western view:
Where we run the risk is in the mislabeling of the parts. Failing to understand God and the laws of the Universe has gotten many people killed over the years. Our track record of 'correct-understanding' of reality has been abysmal.
Yet we still continue. We go on living, loving, and learning along the way in the vast and magnificent existence. We get some things wrong and we get some things right; learning along the way. Bringing us to the main point, the one real question of western human thought.
Is it better to be loving or to be right?
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Saturday, October 24, 2009
The Problem of Free Will
The act of free will is represented beautifully by the metaphor of breathing. Where is free will when you are breathing? When you are not paying attention, it is happening to you. When you are paying attention, you're doing it.
So which is it? Are we free to control, and act upon, our world in any manner we see fit? Or are we bound, hopelessly, to our situation and circumstances, forever dominated by the many laws and forces of the infinite universe?
The answer lies in the breath.
If the conscious 'do-er' is held accountable to meticulously execute each breath, there is anxiety and exhaustion. On the other hand, if the breathing only occurs spontaneously (that is to say to never paid attention to), we would not be able to do such things as speak, swim (underwater), whistle, play an instrument, and even drink out of straws.
But, for the breath to function, for life to exist, both must be present. Free will and determinism, two sides of one reality, forever playing off of each other, dancing the universe into existence.
And, when exposed for what free will really is, we see that what we call OUR free will is really just what the Universe is doing.
So which is it? Are we free to control, and act upon, our world in any manner we see fit? Or are we bound, hopelessly, to our situation and circumstances, forever dominated by the many laws and forces of the infinite universe?
The answer lies in the breath.
If the conscious 'do-er' is held accountable to meticulously execute each breath, there is anxiety and exhaustion. On the other hand, if the breathing only occurs spontaneously (that is to say to never paid attention to), we would not be able to do such things as speak, swim (underwater), whistle, play an instrument, and even drink out of straws.
But, for the breath to function, for life to exist, both must be present. Free will and determinism, two sides of one reality, forever playing off of each other, dancing the universe into existence.
And, when exposed for what free will really is, we see that what we call OUR free will is really just what the Universe is doing.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
The proof is in the path
I have come to the opinion that there is a subtle, but profound, difference between the practice of Buddhism and the practice of Christianity.
When you follow the life of Christ you are becoming a good Christian.
When you are following the instruction of Buddha you are becoming Buddha.
The difference is in the end goal. In Christianity, you can never come close to being Christ (unless you, yourself, are the son of God). But in Buddhism your only goal is to be come Buddha; to wake up.
With Christianity, one must try their best to imitate and follow the life of Christ. And to the degree that you follow the mandates of your own church, you can be called either a good or bad Christian.
There are no good Buddhists, just varying degrees of awareness. 'Waking up' does not require submission to law. But, instead, the cultivation and practice of mindfulness, compassion, and equanimity.
The difference is expressed beautifully in their titles. Christ literally means "the anointed one." A title given by divine grace to one who encapsulates the Godhead. Where 'the Buddha' means "the one who woke up." A title given to someone who has fully integrated insight and action.
The question is which path to follow. To make oneself a facsimile of divinity and wait for God's blessing or go out and cultivate the Godhead for yourself?
When you follow the life of Christ you are becoming a good Christian.
When you are following the instruction of Buddha you are becoming Buddha.
The difference is in the end goal. In Christianity, you can never come close to being Christ (unless you, yourself, are the son of God). But in Buddhism your only goal is to be come Buddha; to wake up.
With Christianity, one must try their best to imitate and follow the life of Christ. And to the degree that you follow the mandates of your own church, you can be called either a good or bad Christian.
There are no good Buddhists, just varying degrees of awareness. 'Waking up' does not require submission to law. But, instead, the cultivation and practice of mindfulness, compassion, and equanimity.
The difference is expressed beautifully in their titles. Christ literally means "the anointed one." A title given by divine grace to one who encapsulates the Godhead. Where 'the Buddha' means "the one who woke up." A title given to someone who has fully integrated insight and action.
The question is which path to follow. To make oneself a facsimile of divinity and wait for God's blessing or go out and cultivate the Godhead for yourself?
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