Tying Rocks to Clouds
by way of recommending this book, here are my answers to some of the author's questions...
if you want to read answers from the Dalai Lama, Mother Theresa, Steven Levine and others... get the book!
On what main beliefs do you base your life?
The unity of truth, a progressivist understanding of life, and the value of compassion, humor, and joy.
Do you believe in a God or Ultimate Reality? What is it like?
I have had many diverse relationships with the word and concept of God. I am at a point now where I am quite comfortable with much God language, however, I am still quite skeptical of any God language that seems to be a projection of human qualities onto God. I think our biggest mistake in thinking about God is that we forget the unknowability and begin to imagine God as one of us, as a person, or a being, or finite, or conceptualizable. Our second most powerful error when dealing with divinity is our confusion between metaphorical and literal truth. Before science, human language was rarely concerned with literal truth, but now it has become the most common kind and we have forgotten how to use metaphorical truth to grapple with issues beyond the binary nature of human cognition and language.
In my current approach, I would say that God IS, but the concept of God is nearly irrelevant, since it is within ourselves where the struggle must take place.
What is the purpose of life?
The purpose of life appears to be propagation and growth, not growth in a confining sense of only increasing in size, it can also mean increasing in complexity or health or strength, it should be understood as the opposite of decay. When we observe living systems, from the small virus or single cell up to large ecosystems, this seems to be the underlying and unifying purpose behind their action. This is why I subscribe to the belief in a progressivist arc of the story of life in our universe.
However, what is usually meant by this question is more personal. For me, I want to contribute to this arc that I perceive. I would like to work to make sure that humanity can continue to participate in this evolution, although at times it seems like we are acting in ways that are certain to result in an early exit from the process.
What is the highest ideal that a human can reach?
In short, I would say that the highest ideal is complete integration. To have a personality, a personhood, which is untroubled by cognitive, emotional, or spiritual dissonance. To attain this I believe that one must cultivate compassion, joy, honesty, transparency, and understanding (I suspect, in that order). One’s actions in this state become a clear expression of one’s values operationalized in the world.
I believe that ‘in the world, but not of the world’ is a higher ideal than the monastic ideal, despite the fact that many of the sages whom I revere live(d) monastically.
I believe that the Bodhisattva ideal is very high. I like the idea that one will not rest until every living thing realizes its Buddha nature.
Why is there suffering? Evil?
Suffering is one reaction to pain, it is not, however, the only possible reaction. Pain can be an excellent teacher. This is not to embrace the cult of ‘no pain, no gain’ or to subscribe to a strong version of the adversity hypothesis (the theory that human excellence can only arise from great pain/suffering/adversity), it is to say that when we encounter any kind of pain in life, it is a communication. If we receive this communication and are able to learn from it and also able to avoid serious deleterious effects, then we can actually be grateful for both the pain and the growth that has resulted, this is the opposite of suffering. As some amazing amputees and paraplegics demonstrate, it is possible to be grateful even if there are serious deleterious effects.
This gets down to one of the key insights of Buddhism, in my opinion, the idea that suffering is very much in the mind of the person. The person chooses, usually not consciously, but chooses nonetheless, how to respond to any given situation. If this response is not in harmony with situation, then suffering will arise. For example, if a painful scenario results in growth because of the response, then suffering has been avoided, if however, as in the case of PTSD, the painful scenario retards the health of the person, whether physically, mentally, emotionally, or spiritually, then that person will suffer. For me, this is the definition of suffering.
Evil is another question altogether. Life forms propagate. In the case of human beings, we not only propagate new people, we propagate objects and language and culture etc. If we are in harmony, then we are all the time getting stronger and healthier and happier (not that we don’t have setbacks, but as a general trend), if we are on this path then we will propagate health in our social and material relationships, we can call this propagation of healthiness and happiness good. Evil is the converse. It is when we are stuck in suffering, when we are out of harmony, when we are all the time getting more and more insecure, weaker, and more unstable. When we are in this condition we propagate disease: physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. I think one good example of this was the cultural reaction after September 11. Those who had the best access to the media were, by and large, swept up in a negative fear reaction that created tremendous suffering. As a result, this fear propagated and infected almost the whole country. Even now, years later, we are so damaged by our own reaction to this event that we continue to spill fear-based bile into our public discourse and policy. This is very sad because it prevents people from healing and growing, it keeps them stuck in fear and disease. And if we take a step back for one moment we can see that it is not the magnitude of the killing or any other aspect of the attack that is at fault, it is our collective reaction that has created our suffering.
What is important to you?
My son, my wife. Being a good father and a good husband. Being a good boss and a good coworker. Being a good citizen and a good person. Living in such a way that my life is an expression of my values. Making things, not just stuff, but using my mind and my hands to solve my own problems instead of shopping for someone else’s answers. Getting happier and healthier and more wise as I get older. Being ready for a graceful and grateful exit when my time comes.
What is the most important thing you've learned in life?
So far? That you can’t do it all with your head. There are limits, serious limits, to cognition and language and knowledge, limits that our species will likely never overcome (certainly not in the foreseeable future). To me, this is the role of humility and the reason for religion, to get us to recognize that we can’t think our way to answers to the big questions. The closer we get the more language begins to fail us, the more we impoverish our aspirations by chaining them to concepts not befitting of their nature.
This is still a huge struggle for me, I have come to where I am mostly through intellectual pursuit, so it is easy for me to say ‘you can’t do it with your head’, but it is very hard for me to live it.
if you want to read answers from the Dalai Lama, Mother Theresa, Steven Levine and others... get the book!
On what main beliefs do you base your life?
The unity of truth, a progressivist understanding of life, and the value of compassion, humor, and joy.
Do you believe in a God or Ultimate Reality? What is it like?
I have had many diverse relationships with the word and concept of God. I am at a point now where I am quite comfortable with much God language, however, I am still quite skeptical of any God language that seems to be a projection of human qualities onto God. I think our biggest mistake in thinking about God is that we forget the unknowability and begin to imagine God as one of us, as a person, or a being, or finite, or conceptualizable. Our second most powerful error when dealing with divinity is our confusion between metaphorical and literal truth. Before science, human language was rarely concerned with literal truth, but now it has become the most common kind and we have forgotten how to use metaphorical truth to grapple with issues beyond the binary nature of human cognition and language.
In my current approach, I would say that God IS, but the concept of God is nearly irrelevant, since it is within ourselves where the struggle must take place.
What is the purpose of life?
The purpose of life appears to be propagation and growth, not growth in a confining sense of only increasing in size, it can also mean increasing in complexity or health or strength, it should be understood as the opposite of decay. When we observe living systems, from the small virus or single cell up to large ecosystems, this seems to be the underlying and unifying purpose behind their action. This is why I subscribe to the belief in a progressivist arc of the story of life in our universe.
However, what is usually meant by this question is more personal. For me, I want to contribute to this arc that I perceive. I would like to work to make sure that humanity can continue to participate in this evolution, although at times it seems like we are acting in ways that are certain to result in an early exit from the process.
What is the highest ideal that a human can reach?
In short, I would say that the highest ideal is complete integration. To have a personality, a personhood, which is untroubled by cognitive, emotional, or spiritual dissonance. To attain this I believe that one must cultivate compassion, joy, honesty, transparency, and understanding (I suspect, in that order). One’s actions in this state become a clear expression of one’s values operationalized in the world.
I believe that ‘in the world, but not of the world’ is a higher ideal than the monastic ideal, despite the fact that many of the sages whom I revere live(d) monastically.
I believe that the Bodhisattva ideal is very high. I like the idea that one will not rest until every living thing realizes its Buddha nature.
Why is there suffering? Evil?
Suffering is one reaction to pain, it is not, however, the only possible reaction. Pain can be an excellent teacher. This is not to embrace the cult of ‘no pain, no gain’ or to subscribe to a strong version of the adversity hypothesis (the theory that human excellence can only arise from great pain/suffering/adversity), it is to say that when we encounter any kind of pain in life, it is a communication. If we receive this communication and are able to learn from it and also able to avoid serious deleterious effects, then we can actually be grateful for both the pain and the growth that has resulted, this is the opposite of suffering. As some amazing amputees and paraplegics demonstrate, it is possible to be grateful even if there are serious deleterious effects.
This gets down to one of the key insights of Buddhism, in my opinion, the idea that suffering is very much in the mind of the person. The person chooses, usually not consciously, but chooses nonetheless, how to respond to any given situation. If this response is not in harmony with situation, then suffering will arise. For example, if a painful scenario results in growth because of the response, then suffering has been avoided, if however, as in the case of PTSD, the painful scenario retards the health of the person, whether physically, mentally, emotionally, or spiritually, then that person will suffer. For me, this is the definition of suffering.
Evil is another question altogether. Life forms propagate. In the case of human beings, we not only propagate new people, we propagate objects and language and culture etc. If we are in harmony, then we are all the time getting stronger and healthier and happier (not that we don’t have setbacks, but as a general trend), if we are on this path then we will propagate health in our social and material relationships, we can call this propagation of healthiness and happiness good. Evil is the converse. It is when we are stuck in suffering, when we are out of harmony, when we are all the time getting more and more insecure, weaker, and more unstable. When we are in this condition we propagate disease: physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. I think one good example of this was the cultural reaction after September 11. Those who had the best access to the media were, by and large, swept up in a negative fear reaction that created tremendous suffering. As a result, this fear propagated and infected almost the whole country. Even now, years later, we are so damaged by our own reaction to this event that we continue to spill fear-based bile into our public discourse and policy. This is very sad because it prevents people from healing and growing, it keeps them stuck in fear and disease. And if we take a step back for one moment we can see that it is not the magnitude of the killing or any other aspect of the attack that is at fault, it is our collective reaction that has created our suffering.
What is important to you?
My son, my wife. Being a good father and a good husband. Being a good boss and a good coworker. Being a good citizen and a good person. Living in such a way that my life is an expression of my values. Making things, not just stuff, but using my mind and my hands to solve my own problems instead of shopping for someone else’s answers. Getting happier and healthier and more wise as I get older. Being ready for a graceful and grateful exit when my time comes.
What is the most important thing you've learned in life?
So far? That you can’t do it all with your head. There are limits, serious limits, to cognition and language and knowledge, limits that our species will likely never overcome (certainly not in the foreseeable future). To me, this is the role of humility and the reason for religion, to get us to recognize that we can’t think our way to answers to the big questions. The closer we get the more language begins to fail us, the more we impoverish our aspirations by chaining them to concepts not befitting of their nature.
This is still a huge struggle for me, I have come to where I am mostly through intellectual pursuit, so it is easy for me to say ‘you can’t do it with your head’, but it is very hard for me to live it.
Comments
Everything is impermanent. All things are interconnected. The future will be darker than the past (working on this one). The world is basically good, in a functional sense, in that even really horrible things have their place (this might just be wishful thinking). That much of the world (including the self) can be understood by man. Understanding (and accepting) the world allows one to live in harmony with it, rather than struggling against it. Living in greater harmony with the world increases happiness.
Do you believe in a God or Ultimate Reality? What is it like?
I don't believe in what most people mean by God, which is a personification of the cosmos, or an externalization of love that they are unable to give to themselves directly. I don't know what is meant by Ultimate Reality, but if it means an absolute reality independent of perception, no, I don't believe in that either. Do I believe in something fundamental beneath or behind all that I've experienced or known? I don't know. I haven't thought about such things in a long time, as I've found them to be irrelevant to living my life.
What is the purpose of life?
The purpose of life is to continue, at each level (individual, species, ecosystems). Competition occurs between and within levels, with an apparent hierarchy of priority for the larger and more complex systems. It is tempting to use artificial life simulations for models to understand actual life, but in such systems the programmer chooses the criteria of fitness that enables genes to persist. There does not seem to be an obvious criteria of fitness for life in general.
The purpose of life for man is to find his own purpose. My personal purpose is to enjoy life while trying to minimize the harm I do to the world, and to make the world a little better while I'm here.
What is the highest ideal that a human can reach?
To live so completely true to ones personal ideals, that one becomes an inspiration and example for others (Gandhi, Mother Theresa, Newton, and Nelson Mandela). How effective one is or famous one becomes is mostly a matter of luck (i.e. how much one’s ability or circumstances are conducive to exercising one’s ideals).
Why is there suffering? Evil?
Suffering comes from not accepting reality. In reading about the "problem of evil" in philosophy, it seems to basically be concerned with the question of why there is pain (or any kind of unpleasantness in the world). To me the question is ridiculous, and the only reason it was ever asked was because people assumed that a benevolent God created the world. A better question to ask might be why one should assume that. Pain is that which can be perceived as a threat to ones existence or well-being. The world is impermanent and interconnected, therefore pain is inevitable, and so evil. Why is the world impermanent and interconnected? I don't know, but I can't conceive of a universe with
life that could be otherwise.
What is important to you?
If I answer this by looking at where I spent my time, money and effort, I would say freedom, knowledge, opportunity, health, financial security, community (including family, friends, and pets), happiness, personal growth.
What is the most important thing you've learned in life?
How to accept and love myself, and to accept the love of others.