Читать книгу The World. Myths of the Divine, Realities, and Awareness. Freedom. Love. Life - - Страница 6

Your experience

– Have you ever experienced an event that you saw as a good one while other people considered it bad? Or vice versa?

– So how would you describe this event? Is it good or bad?

– Have you ever experienced an event that you saw differently at the time and later? Perhaps, you even totally changed your mind about it?

– So how would you describe this event? Is it good or bad?

– Is snake venom good or bad? What or who makes it good or bad? What about an axe, a knife, a bow with arrows, porridge, or milk? Are these things good or bad? What or who makes them good or bad? Perhaps, the one who controls them? What will it be? Destruction or creation? Can a knife decide that? Can porridge determine that? Or is it done by the one who holds the knife or cooks the porridge?

About the myth

What is good and what is evil? We have some very specific tenets. This is right and that is wrong. From whose perspective? To whom? In what context?

What is good and what is evil from the point of view of time? From the point of view of the past, present, and future?

What is good and what is evil from the point of view of emptiness of things themselves, phenomena, or events?

What is good and what is bad? Is it our judgment? Are they the same as good and evil? Or are they independent concepts? Or are they all interrelated?

What is the difference between good and evil? Between good and bad? Is there any difference at all?

In this context, the Buddhist idea of emptiness is pretty much interesting and seems more reasonable (or maybe not?). But let’s discuss something else. Why do the talks of good and evil, of good and bad sidetrack us? What do they prevent us from seeing? What are we missing as a result? What if the good and the evil are just a blindfold? What does it prevent you from seeing?

That there are no such things as the good and the evil? That something that is good for one person can be evil for another? That these concepts rather add to confusion instead of explaining things? And if we add the concept of time here, the notion gets even more complicated. How can we get to the bottom of things? What can help us do it?

But let’s now talk about the most important thing. About life! It is the greatest gift! Was it the mercy of God, Allah, nature, the Universe, or some spirits? It doesn’t matter… What matters is that life exists on our planet! Perhaps it exists somewhere else. But we don’t know for sure. At least it seems we don’t have neighbors. Or is it that we choose to believe so? Perhaps we are also wrong about nature, perhaps we are prejudiced against all forms of life. We are just looking for something similar to us, aren’t we? But life is life, it can be so different… It can have so many forms. But then, what is life?

Alright, we are surrounded by outer space. We have to take into consideration so many factors – space-like in their scale! And yet we live. If we assume that Earth is the only planet in the Universe where life exists… Aren’t we fooling it away? Killing each other for a reason or with no reason at all? Due to some farfetched myths? Even if life does exist somewhere else, it isn’t the same, it is unique! And again I’d like to ask you the question: Aren’t we fooling life away, killing each other over trifles? Life! In so many forms! That is what’s most important! That is what we need to protect! That is what we need to cherish! What we need to take care of! And what we need to respect! And if someone is willing to destroy life for the sake of some rules (life that was created by entirely someone else) … They shouldn’t do it. Our life is of the greatest value. And this is a way to put your gurus to test! If they choose religion, if they choose rules, or if they choose the good, and then go and destroy life (meaning other people and living beings), all their pleas are worth nothing! Because they failed to see the main thing! Our life is what counts most! If we choose to believe the stories of God/Allah or other deities/spirits, then we should accept that they created not just a planet. They created Life in all the diversity of its forms! What an incredible and wonderful phenomenon! It is a sin, an evil to destroy life! And it is easily done. But it is good to create, to produce life. And this is a much more difficult task. It takes efforts!

But so many other things take our efforts too. Our entire life is about making efforts. The entire path of our soul is about making efforts. In order to go up, you should make efforts. To go down, you should make efforts too though it is much easier. It takes more efforts to rise. It takes efforts to stay human. It takes enormous efforts to deal with fears, attachments, and sins. It takes efforts to develop spiritual qualities and values. It takes efforts to cultivate awareness and love. Sometimes it takes efforts to make an effort.

But no one tells you about it. Because in this case, you won’t kill. Because in this case, you won’t plunder. Because in this case, you won’t rape. Because in this case, you won’t find excuses for doing it! Because in this case, you won’t be manipulated! Because in this case, you will see what is valuable and start making efforts in that direction.

Start noticing life! Start noticing how it flows, rolls, and streams. Realize that you are alive! The energy of life is constantly flowing through you! Realize that there are millions, billions of living creatures around you – in all kinds and forms! You don’t even see most of them. You don’t know most of them and will never learn about them! Even the Universe is alive, planets are alive. It’s just that their lives are different. The scale is completely different! Just like when we talk about germs and bacteria living in the human body. For them, even a human body is a whole different scale. Try to comprehend how many factors had to coincide to give birth to Life. The Life that we have. We, among other people and living beings, were born. And all of them want one and the same thing. To live!

Cherish life! Your life and the lives of others! Turn it into Heaven here and now. For the sake of yourself and lots of other people (and, perhaps, other species), not for the sake of a tiny group!

But how can we do that? What do we need for that? What can help us do it?

Love and compassion. To yourself and to your surroundings. What is love? What is compassion? These questions are so simple and yet so complicated. It is not enough to say that you love and show compassion. These are the states that give birth to an action or actions. These are the states that provide us with power and inspiration. With determination and clarity. But what else do we need them for? They are the basis of harmony between individualities and diversity of forms. They are the key. To have unity among all individualities and diversity of forms, we need harmony between ourselves and the life around us. And for that, we need love and compassion. For ourselves and all other forms of life. For life itself.

In this context, we should pose the following question: How much love does our God have? And what about Allah? The Almighty? Krishna? Buddha? Zarathustra? How much love do deities or spirits have? How much love do they have for this world? How much love and compassion do they have while seeing everything that is going on here? Try to comprehend the volume of their love and compassion. Can you imagine it? Can you guess it? How much love and compassion one would need to provide us with the right of choice, with a free will while seeing everything that is going on in this world? I’m going to say a horrible thing. Evil, pain, and suffering are mostly created by us, people… by our choice, by our refusal to make yet another effort, by our desire to choose a simpler way even if it leads us down.

Let us peek into the dark side of the force. Does it need a soul? No, it doesn’t. A soul is always free. But there is always energy, there are always choices that can be directed to the side of evil and destruction. We will get back to it later. And right now… We should admit that in most cases, everything that exists in our life and in our world is the consequence of our choices and minimal efforts, just as it is the consequence of the choices and minimal efforts of other people. The Universe or God Almighty (or whatever we name him) has a lot of love and compassion.

And love and compassion for ourselves and for other beings are those things that help us find a balance between ourselves and those who surround us. A balance, equilibrium, conformity, cooperation! In other words, find harmony. An amazing phenomenon.

So let us find a metaphor for our planet, for our world.

What if it’s just a lifelong school? Where we all are lifelong learners? In this case, how should we treat it? Being diligent students? How should we treat our teachers and other students? How should we treat other school workers?

What will happen to the school if students don’t respect each other, their teachers, and other people? What will happen if students constantly destroy the building itself and pick up fights? Each time finding new excuses?

And what will happen to the school if students do respect each other, their teachers, and other people? What if they take care of the school building and each other? Each time doing it out of love and compassion? What will happen to the school and its students if they choose harmony and understand their role in serving life?

Choose any type of conflict and then refer to the picture in the section: «The myth in a nutshell». Try to analyze which of the elements slackened or was missed to a greater or lesser degree. In order to prevent conflicts, you should balance all the elements. This is the balance, the harmony. It is no coincidence that it is located right in front of the unity. The positioning of the elements is not coincidental.

Tips

– Think of the value of life, of how many individualities and various forms it embraces.

– How do you understand the good and the evil?

– How do you understand what is good and what is bad?

– How can you extend care and caution to your life? To the lives of your friends and relatives? To the lives of other people and beings? To life in general?

– What do love and compassion mean to you? In what actions can they be manifested, in your opinion?

– If our world is just a lifelong school, what should you do about it?

– What is harmony to you? How and in what actions can you manifest it?

Key points

Why do the talks of good and evil, of good and bad sidetrack us? What do they prevent us from seeing? What are we missing as a result? What if the good and the evil are just a blindfold? What does it prevent you from seeing?

Alright, we are surrounded by outer space. We have to take into consideration so many factors – space-like in their scale! And yet we live!

It is a sin, an evil to destroy life! And it is easily done. But it is good to create, to produce life. And this is a much more difficult task. It takes efforts!

Start noticing life! Start noticing how it flows, rolls, and streams. Realize that you are alive! The energy of life is constantly flowing through you! Realize that there are millions, billions of living creatures around you – in all kinds and forms!

To have unity among all individualities and diversity of forms, we need harmony between ourselves and the life around us. And for that, we need love and compassion. For ourselves and all other forms of life. For life itself. Love and compassion help us find a balance between ourselves and those who surround us. A balance, equilibrium, conformity, cooperation! In other words, find harmony.

And what will happen to the school (our planet, our world) if students do respect each other, their teachers, and other people? What if they take care of the school building and each other? Each time doing it out of love and compassion?

The myth in a nutshell

The good is life. It is the preservation and development of your own life and of the lives of others in their unity and diversity of forms and individualities that is based on harmony, love, and compassion for yourself and for others.