On May 1, 10:18=A0am, Tang Huyen <tanghuyen{dele...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
wrote:
> "ltl...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
" wrote:
> > Before get into the goal of buddhism, a more general question is
> > religion. What is the commonality among all relgions? What is
> > underlying all suffering?
>
> > In the wewt, power is the root of all evil. Money is economic power.
> > The common phrase in the west is Lord Aton's "Power tends to corrupt;
> > absolute power corrupt absolutely." =A0And of course, the westtern
> > conception is wrong. The Chinese or eastern approach is
> > "relation****p." Combing east and west, the underlying cause of all
> > surffering is "power relation****p."
>
> > First, "power relation****p" is ubiquitous. It is everywhere. Every
> > relation****p we have is a power relation****p in which we coerce or we
> > are coerced. Interpersonally, intrapersonally and with nature.
>
> > Sceond, "power relation****p" is what we learnt from the beginning. It
> > does not take long for a baby to discover that everytime she cries,
> > her mom will pick her up or feed her or otherwise attending to her
> > needs.
>
> > Thrid, "power relation****p" brings suffering because we are often
> > coerced to do something that we don't want to do. Of course, we learn
> > to turn the table around. For example, fire is to be feared until we
> > learnt to control fire. The ability to use fire then because a
> > hallmark of humanness. However, there are always more things/desires
> > that can coerce us.
>
> > Buddhism is an attempt to escape from this ubiquitous "power
> > relatio****p," =A0especially the intra-personal relation****p because
the
> > self and his desires. Detachment means not to be coerced by one's
> > desires or one's vision of a certain tuture and its associated
> > suffering. Awakening in this sense means one is with eternity without
> > suffering.
>
> It is often said that traditional society consists of "we"
> whereas modern, especially modern Western society,
> consists of individuals. In the USA individualism runs
> rampant, so much so that people are trapped in their
> own bubbles, so that people so to speak carry their
> own prison around. Chinese society is composed of
> liaisons, connexions or relation****ps (guan-xi, lian-xi),
> regardless of political system. In that sense Chinese
> society is still pre-modern. (By the way, Communism
> has destroyed religions in China almost entirely, but
> the family system inherited from Con****ianism is
> still intact).
>
> That said, in Buddhism, there is a funny contradiction.
> On one hand, Buddhist theory emphasises relations,
> mutual relations that go on indefinitely, especially in
> causality, and yet in practice the sage is independent
> and self-sufficient. Relations are to loosen up one's
> sense of individuality, and awakening is to free oneself
> of all identifications, especially to one's self, as one no
> longer creates a self for one to carry around. Freedom
> is freedom from norms and standards, especially the
> biggest and baddest of them, the norms and standards
> of one's self, the norms and standards that constitute
> one's self. In freedom one has dropped norms and
> standards, and is free to roam untrammelled, though of
> course one is still bound by physical and social laws.
I will distinguish between the atem****al or timeless self and the self
at time t1,t2,t3... and etc. Similarly, one cannot drop the atem****al
norms and standards. But should drop the tem****al norms and standards
or the self's relation****pt with these standards and norms. To be more
specific, I would say standars and norms are only standards and norms
because they have power relation****ps with the self. What can be
dropped are by default limited by time. We cannot drop anytime which
is timeless. Limited by time also mean non-optimal.
One of Zeno's paradox goes like this: If we take snapshots of an arrow
in flight at any time t, the arrow will have an exact position. So it
is not moving at time t. If the arrow in flight is not moving at t, it
cannot be moving at time t-1 or t+1. Hence an arrow in flgiht is an
illlusion.
The self is like an arrow in flight. If we look at it at any time, it
is an illusion and can be dropped. But this is also an illusion.
>
> Tang Huyen- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -
|
