If you are one of those folks (as I am) who want simple elegant answers to seemly complex and difficult questions, I have a possibility for you. It is to avoid certainty.
The very idea that anyone can possibly know enough about something to be absolutely certain that they have the “Truth” is the root of our difficulty. Even my certainty in stating this could be dangerous and misguiding. After all, perhaps someone, somewhere really does know for certain that the sun will rise tomorrow or that God is in his heaven and all is right with the world.
However, I would caution that person was certain of those things to remember that the earth is a planet revolving around the sun according to physical laws and its seemly fixed 24 hour day could easily be radically altered by a collision with an asteroid and that if God is all powerful and he decided at any given moment to leave his heaven or make things all wrong with the world, he could.
This is not to suggest that nothing can be planned or that no one can possibly make assumptions about the likely nature of anything. I can plan my day tomorrow based on the assumption that the sun will rise, in fact, I had better do that if I wish to get something specific accomplished. And I can say a prayer for an ailing friend or ask God to watch over someone who has just died, if I believe it will alleviate suffering, or even simply to give myself comfort in my grief. Nothing wrong with all that.
The difficult comes when I begin to behave with certainty of the sun. When I do that, I might quickly begin to take it for granted, to assume I am entitled to sunshine tomorrow. And I might get very angry and confused if the sun doesn’t rise. It is even worse when I assume to know God’s will and intention for us all. Now I might not only feel superior to my fellows, I might begin tell them where they are “wrong” and “sinful” and how they should behave. I could tell them what God’s plan is for them and expect them to follow me in it. I might tell them what God wants them to do and when. All because of my certainty that I know God, that I have the “right” God, the “right” message, the “right” way of living and worshipping.
When you think about it, it seems as if most of the problems in this world arise from someone being certain about something. Consider the following:
• Recently, most Americans seemed certain that Iraq was building WMDs.
• Most Islamic terrorists seem certain that God is leading them to blow themselves and others up. In fact, most fundamentalist seem quite certain that they are “good” and the others are “evil.”
• Most Zionists seem certain that this piece of land is theirs by God given right and that Palestinians belong somewhere else. Most Palestinians seem to believe that piece is theirs for the same reasons.
• Most politicians seem certain that they are helping citizens by helping corporations get rich.
• Most corporations seem certain that their form of unchecked capitalism is raising standards of living around the world, even as the poor get poorer, starvation spreads and they get richer. What is even more astonishing is that they seem certain that unlimited growth is possible forever.
• Most medical companies seem certain that their drugs will eventually cure man’s physical ills even as those ills (or new ones) seem to increase with the use of many of their drugs.
• Most artists and writers seem certain that their creations advance man’s aesthetic and spiritual nature even as ugly, violent and demeaning images grow rampant.
• Most adults seem certain that they are being good parents even as their children smother and grow fat and lazy under the massive assault of material products and distractions. heaped upon them.
• Most educators seem certain they are encouraging curiosity and self-directed learning even as they hand out an “F” to this one and an “A” to that one – judging each child’s understanding and skill by the same imperfect test.
• Most bankers seem certain that the purpose of a bank is to give credit and make a profit.
• Most western workers seem certain that a “good life” is measured by how many material things they can have and that it doesn't matter if they have them by borrowing from others.
• Most eastern workers seem certain that western materialism makes people happy.
• Most starving people seem certain that they are powerless to do anything about it. Most wealthy people seem certain of the same thing.
I suspect you can find your own examples.
Well, that is my simple answer to all those complex and overwhelming problems. Perhaps if we could all give up certainty, we just might find many problems disappear. Or if not, we might be able to see some new, even simpler answers. I don’t know this for certain, of course.
Monday, October 27, 2008
HEY EVERYONE, I THINK I MAY HAVE FOUND A POSSIBLE ANSWER TO LIFE’S DIFFICULT AND COMPLEX QUESTIONS!
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6 comments:
i've thought about it for a while actually, u can't get concrete answers to everything i read the quote below a while ago,
The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts.--Bertrand Russel
there was another one i can't remember exactly what it was and it went a little like this
"true knowledge lies in the fact that one knows nothing".
its true, we can't know everything, we can't plan everything out and things dont always go the way we plan them. sort of sucks. sometimes i wish i could be as certain as some of the people you mentioned, like radical islamists. they seem to be so sure of what they're doing whereas i'm always questioning myself as to whether or not what i think is right or wrong. they seem to know everything about life, and what they need to do and not do. they seem to know exactly what's wrong or what's right. i was like that at one point in time, and i can never go back
Ted -
Let's not reinvent the wheel here. Buddhism has addressed this issue for the past 2500 years. Pema Chodron (When Things Fall Apart) elaborates:
"We hear alot about the pain of samsara, as we also hear about liberation. But we don't hear much about how painful it is to go from being completely stuck to becoming unstuck. The process of becoming unstuck requires tremendous bravery, because basically we are completely changing our way of perceiving reality, like changing our DNA. We are undoing a pattern that is not just our pattern. It's the human pattern: we project onto the world a zillion possibilities of attaining resolution. We can have whiter teeth, a weed-free lawn, a strife-free life, a world without embarrassment. We can live happily ever after. This pattern keeps us dissatisfied and causes us a lot of suffering.
As human beings, not only do we seek resolution, but we also feel that we deserve resolution. However, not only do we not deserve resolution, we suffer from resolution. We don't deserve resolution; we deserve something better than that. We deserve our birthright, which is the middle way, an open state of mind that can relax with paradox and ambiguity. To the degree that we've been avoiding uncertainty, we're naturally going to have withdrawal symptoms - withdrawal from always thinking that there's a problem and that someone, somewhere, needs to fix it.
The middle way is wide open, but it's tough going, because it goes against the grain of an ancient neurotic pattern that we all share. When we feel lonely, when we feel hopeless, what we want to do is move to the right or the left. We don't want to sit and feel what we feel. We don't want to go through the detox. Yet the middle way encourages us to do just that. It encourages us to awaken the bravery that exists in everyone without exception, including you and me."
To Anonymous...
The middle way. Yes. The path of uncertainty. The land of PO.
... and "the center for po in the body is the lungs." (Smile)
And you're certain about that?
(LOL) ... well, perhaps the Yellow Emperor could persuade more convincingly, yet ... yes, my own experience tends to agree that it is so.
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