At 10:22 AM 9/22/2008, you wrote:
Krimel asked Marsha:
My secondary point with regards to Buddhism is really; are you running
"toward" the "betterness" of Buddhism or "away" from the "worseness" of
western thinking.
dmb says:
Since these are two ways of characterizing the same movement, what possible
difference does it make? To say that warm is better than cool is the same as
saying cool is worse than warm. I can see how it might be more fitting to
describe movement in terms of getting away from what's worse, like when ANY
alternative seems preferable even when it can't be known in advance.
(Getting off the stove, out of the burning house, away from the murderer,
etc..) And there might be times when the allure of betterness is relatively
pure, when there is nothing in particular from which we wish to escape. But,
it seems to me, that 99.99% of the time "better" and "worse" define each
other and don't mean very much in isolation from each other. My point? I
think your question is almost entirely meaningless.
[Krimel]
I definitely agree that this highlights the Taoism that undergirds the MoQ.
It is the metaphysical foundation on which the MoQ rests. We understand the
world in virtue of opposites.
However, as a practical matter how we elected to describe events can tend to
emphasize the differences between polarities. In the hot stove example I
would say we are escaping worseness. If the worseness is worse enough any
change looks better. We are not attracted to some new cooler state so much
as running from the nasty heat. Selecting for betterness generally involves
a more leisurely and thoughtful process. It is an effort to make
improvements as opposed to escaping from discomfort. But my question was
directed at Marsha and what attracts her to the values of nonwestern
religions. She talks a lot about Buddhism and Wicca while rejecting
Christianity. She sounds like she is trying to escape from the hot stove of
Christianity but she says she is only seeking to make improvements. In
either case I don't think the question is meaningless. We are after all
capable of adopting different points of view. Betterness and worseness
compliment each other but seeing the whole they form does not mean we must
ignore the differences.
Krimel,
Marsha does not participate in Buddhism, Wicca or
Christianity. Geez, talk about overlaying patterns...
m
.
.
Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars.........
.
.
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