Mike,
I don't think we have trod this ground before, or if we have we have not both
been noticing the same thing. I disagree with what you are saying below and
will break down my disagreement phrase-by-phrase on what I consider to be the
important phrases:
[Mike] "The difference with us though is that we don't have to blindly follow
our instincts..."
The difference with us (humans) is that we allow our intellect to interfere
with our instincts (True Nature).
[Mike] "...and can act altruistically even *against* our own welfare."
...and make decisions from a dualistic perspective in which we believe "our"
welfare is somehow different from "others" welfare.
[Mike] "...we have reached an evolutionary peak..."
Evolution has no goal or direction, so there are no peaks. Humans are just
another blip on a non-directional evolutionary chain.
[Mike] "Still, on an individual level we can transcend our impulses and that
is what distinguishes us from our animal cousins."
I agree that this is what distinguishes us from our animal cousins, but what
you call "transcend our impulses" I call an obscuration of our True Nature by
our human intellect. And it is this obscuration that we see through when we
practice zen.
...Bill!
--- In Zen_Forum@yahoogroups.com, uerusuboyo@... wrote:
>
> Bill!,<br/><br/>I think we're covering ground once trodden before! The
> difference with us though is that we don't have to blindly follow our
> instincts and can act altruistically even *against* our own welfare. This is
> rarely seen in the animal kingdom. It's not judging that we are somehow
> better, just that we have reached an evolutionary peak that allows this to
> happen. But, we are no doubt at a point in our evolution that could see human
> folly destroy both us and life on this planet. Still, on an individual level
> we can transcend our impulses and that is what distinguishes us from our
> animal cousins.<br/><br/>Mike<br/><br/><br/>Sent from Yahoo! Mail for iPad
>
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