Ahh.
First, God, Andrew, that passage from the Tao te Ching is beautiful. It's so settled. Geez. Wonderful. I'll get a copy of that translation.
Let there be small countries with few people.
Let the people have no use for complicated machinery.
Let them be mindful of death,
so that they don't move too far from their birthplaces.
If there are boats and carriages,
let there be nowhere to take them to.
If there are weapons,
let there be no occasion to display them.
Let the people's responsibilities be few enough
that they may remember them by knotting a string.
Let them enjoy their food,
be content with their clothes,
be satisfied with their homes,
and take pleasure in their customs.
Though the next country may be close enough
to hear the barking of its dogs
and the crowing of its roosters,
let the people grow old and die
without feeling compelled to visit it.
Second, I don't know why people just can't leave each other alone. I mean, I know as well as Andrew does, but getting the "why" doesn't let it make sense, nor does it make the reality any less painful.
Maybe I sound like a heretic, maybe like a pacifist, maybe like a liberal, maybe like I just don't care, or worse yet, a moral relativist. For crying out loud, can't we just leave each other alone? Why must people be so hell-bent on convincing people they're broken and need to be fixed?
Why not just allow wholeness and love brokenness back together? Is that so hard? Can we let it be that simple?
Is anything worth dying for?
7 comments:
For one thing, it creates in me a desire to hold on to ALL my concepts very loosely...
...lest I ever decide I know what's right for the world (or in MY world) and decide to act upon it.
I'm beginning to see "certainty" as an enormous obstacle.
I love the way you ask questions, Julie.
Is anything worth dying for?
Have to think about that.
There are a few people I would die for. I don't think there are any ideas I would die for. Of course, this is in the "cessation of vital functions" sense of death, not death of the ego or anything like that.
I'm kind of surprised that the question even need be asked since there have been many examples within Julie's own lifetime of selfless sacrifice.
Is there anything worth dying for?
Family, friends and one's ideals spring to mind. I would give my life to save the life of a child, a pregnant woman, or fight a government that is spreading terror and oppression. I like the line in "V for Vendetta", "People shouldn't fear their government, the government should fear the People". The passengers of Flight 93 showed everyone how to fight fanatical terrorists. Astronauts have died for their aspirations and those of humanity (Apollo 6, Challenger, Columbia, countless cosmonauts).
Life is to be cherished, all Life, even a stranger's. Sacrificing One's Life for the Greater Good at the right point in time may be more significant than anyone can imagine. If the Buddhists are right, one really isn't sacrificing anything, but that soul is making a very significant statement indeed.
A great question Julie- I know what I would die for, but is this the easiest way? Wouldn't living, working, fighting (non- violently) be hardest?
Too many know why they are dying, willing to die. How many know why they are living? Perhaps they are both the same?
'Why must people be so hell-bent on convincing people they're broken and need to be fixed?'
This is a very good question. I agree with you entirely.
Trev, I really like your response.
Andrew, I don't know that I'd want anybody to die for me.
John, I still have to ask - was it worth it? A quotation comes to mind.
I gave my life to become the person I am today. Was it worth the price I paid?
Isaiah, yes, I think living through it is probably tougher. In any event, the committment is greater, and requires constant renewal.
Rob, thank you.
Whoa, great post, Julie, and I especially like the quotation in your last comment; I think we are hooked on purposes, hooked on meanings, hooked on things to cover over the glorious and simple No-thing.
Sure we are all "dying," or more accurately, experiencing the body's mortality. But it takes a human being's restless mind to wonder if he's living or dying "for" something.
The ego is hooked on drama. We create it incessantly. Being free from the need for drama--if that's not enlightenment, it's a step closer to it!
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