East/West, Dualities, and Living in Harmony
Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, the three major religions that came out of the Middle East, supposedly all claim Abraham as their father, and each looks to the others for some support in its traditions, beliefs, and customs, but each also insists that it has the only true vision of Allah/Jehovah/God. For us the legacy of this Western tradition is a dualistic view of the world as being either good or bad, or black or white, and a view that all things we do are tainted because we are part of a fallen, sinful creation.
Joseph Campbell touches on the fact that the Eastern religions, particularly Buddhism, don’t have this concept of creation as being fallen or evil. It’s perfect, it’s wonderful, just the way it is, and we are to enter fully into each experience without fear or guilt, because there is nothing wrong with us or with creation.
I think that as we outgrow our own heritage and begin to realize that we are OK, that creation is OK, that life is to be embraced, enjoyed, and relished, rather than struggled against, we begin to marvel that any of us have survived this tradition, that from the time we have entered this Western culture we have been brainwashed to think of ourselves as evil and dirty and that the world itself is something we must resist and struggle against and how that robs us of the joy of existence, of life, because we’re constantly running from it and constantly denying ourselves and who we are -- Creatures of God, for heaven’s sakes.
In Eastern cultures, man is in harmony with nature, and there’s nothing to be afraid of or to feel guilty about. You are in the river and you go with the river and it takes you where it wants you to go. And again, that is a message that older people in our culture need to hear, because some of them have gone their entire journey feeling guilty about who they are and feeling guilty about earthly and worldly pleasures, and it’s time that some of them were released from that.
This philosophy isn’t going to be for everybody, and I’m not trying to change the world or win everybody over to my side. I’m just trying to offer comfort to those who can find it in this particular view of the truth, because it’s all truth, it’s just that each of us has a little, tiny portion of it. However, I’m finding that my portion of the truth does bring comfort to a lot of people.
It’s also important to have lots of humor, lots of fun, and lots of irreverence, especially toward ourselves. I think that when we’re able to laugh at ourselves and find the absurdity in our positions that people are more likely to listen openly and even embrace some of what we’re saying.
I’m just talking about where I am at this point in my journey, and if there are any of you out there who also see things this way and have felt lonely and isolated and thought there was something wrong with you, no, there are lots of us, and there have been all the way through human history, people whom the creator has given this joyful view of what our journey is all about. It’s an adventure and it’s supposed to be fun, and it’s also supposed to be painful.
Joseph Campbell touches on the fact that the Eastern religions, particularly Buddhism, don’t have this concept of creation as being fallen or evil. It’s perfect, it’s wonderful, just the way it is, and we are to enter fully into each experience without fear or guilt, because there is nothing wrong with us or with creation.
I think that as we outgrow our own heritage and begin to realize that we are OK, that creation is OK, that life is to be embraced, enjoyed, and relished, rather than struggled against, we begin to marvel that any of us have survived this tradition, that from the time we have entered this Western culture we have been brainwashed to think of ourselves as evil and dirty and that the world itself is something we must resist and struggle against and how that robs us of the joy of existence, of life, because we’re constantly running from it and constantly denying ourselves and who we are -- Creatures of God, for heaven’s sakes.
In Eastern cultures, man is in harmony with nature, and there’s nothing to be afraid of or to feel guilty about. You are in the river and you go with the river and it takes you where it wants you to go. And again, that is a message that older people in our culture need to hear, because some of them have gone their entire journey feeling guilty about who they are and feeling guilty about earthly and worldly pleasures, and it’s time that some of them were released from that.
This philosophy isn’t going to be for everybody, and I’m not trying to change the world or win everybody over to my side. I’m just trying to offer comfort to those who can find it in this particular view of the truth, because it’s all truth, it’s just that each of us has a little, tiny portion of it. However, I’m finding that my portion of the truth does bring comfort to a lot of people.
It’s also important to have lots of humor, lots of fun, and lots of irreverence, especially toward ourselves. I think that when we’re able to laugh at ourselves and find the absurdity in our positions that people are more likely to listen openly and even embrace some of what we’re saying.
I’m just talking about where I am at this point in my journey, and if there are any of you out there who also see things this way and have felt lonely and isolated and thought there was something wrong with you, no, there are lots of us, and there have been all the way through human history, people whom the creator has given this joyful view of what our journey is all about. It’s an adventure and it’s supposed to be fun, and it’s also supposed to be painful.
posted by Old Timer at 2:26 PM
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