Master of Spirituality - Lesson #12
This was a sobering read yet true within the context of modern life. Western society is a built on consumerism and constantly creates new products for the consumer to strive after. And most of us do it yet we're seldom content and always want more – the latest: phone, tablet, car and so on. Yet when we get these things the "thrill" of the purchase is quickly lost as we strive after the next "thing." The pain, anxiety and stress of striving is an ever present reality in modern society. No wonder marriages disintegrate, and people resort to all kinds of therapies. For many people life really is an uphill struggle – and one reason I believe why many young men in Britain, today are taking their own lives. If life appears hopeless what hope is there? But what exactly did Schopenhauer believe?
Building on Kant's philosophy of the sensory (phenomena) and objective (noumena) worlds, Schopenhauer maintained that each person takes the limits of his/her own field of vision as the limits of the world. And this certainly the case as people experience the world in different ways according to background, culture, upbringing and so on. Schopenhauer, however rejected Kant's two worlds saying there was only one world which was experienced differently. For example just as we experience our bodies as "objects" (beyond us) so also we experience (within us) the "will." From this he deduced that the will of man and the will of the universe are one. But Schopenhauer was pessimistic of this universal will which man, he believed, was at its mercy. According to Schopenhauer life is a meaningless existence from which the only escape is non-existence. But he held out one ray of hope from this gloomy outlook i.e. music (and uncharacteristic appeal to the arts) which transcends the phenomena world. As human separateness from the universal will is an illusion Schopenhauer thought it possible to live a moral life by showing empathy and compassion to others.
I agree with the course writer that annihilation following death seems a daunting prospect but not everyone feels that way. Socrates considered various afterlife possibilities following his death. If there was an afterlife great! But if there wasn't well death would be like entering a long sleep. Either way he didn't think it mattered too much.
Although Buddha rejected the existence of God the enlightenment he eventually attained (nirvana) was a "deathless" state i.e. permanent and the highest joy compared with the sorrow and dissatisfaction of empirical existence. That sounds like heaven to me! Apparently Buddha had obtained the heavenly eye which enabled him to see clearly into condition of human life and went about preaching this as both an intellectual as well as a mystical state of consciousness. He was able to reach this conclusion having drawn on the wide teachings of his contemporaries e.g. karma, reincarnation, rebirth. This is what gave it such a wide appeal. Much of this is summed up in the Dhamma (teaching) of the Four Noble Truths: (a) life is permeated with suffering; (b) that the origins of suffering lie in craving (burning thirst for the things of this world); (c) that the answer to suffering is to remove craving and (d) that the way to cessation is the Noble Eightfold Path. The Buddha saw himself as a kind of spiritual doctor here to cure people of their spiritual and physical troubles. For what we see around us as permanent: trees, tables, cars etc. only have a limited state; only nirvana is real (nirvana means "cooling off"). And although Buddha rejected "self" as a concept; for rebirth to occur does suggest something of "self" surviving death. It is difficult to see how humankind as a whole could cease striving and spend the day in contemplation; society would stagnate and eventually come to an end. In the Old Testament of the Bible God tells human kind to subdue the earth and rule over it (not to ravage, pollute and destroy it) but to improve life through technology and human ingenuity. The problem is that human nature has a downside (an ugly side). And so Cain kills Able because he is jealous of him and wants rid of him – selfish striving had begun. And so Schopenhauer was correct in his assessment of human nature too. But we already know this.
However, science is unable to tell us anything about the "purpose" of life; yet purpose in life is what people need if life is to be worth living. Some find that purpose in striving after things which, once they've obtained them, fail to satisfy. And it is true that when failures come along they weigh more heavily on us than success does. Why is this? Maybe we fear being judged by others which hurts us more than we care to admit. I have conducted literally hundreds of funerals over the years and a recurring theme pops up i.e. the deceased: "wouldn't hurt a fly; would do anything for anyone and would give you his/her last penny." But we know that generally speaking people are not like that. Most complain, criticise, swear, mock, lie deceive and so on (to a greater or lesser degree) balanced of course by acts of compassion, friendliness and kindness. The Bible is full of such people – this is nothing new either. We are products of western culture; and western culture, by enlarge, is demanding, uncaring, hypocritical and cold. Laws are passed by an elite to control the weak and powerless. Spirituality is ignored and people are taught to stand on their own two feet. The philosophies of Schopenhauer, Kant, Hume and others merely verbalise (in an abstract way), what many people know only too well from daily experience. Many, I'm sure, do not stop to think about it just accepting things as they are. But sometimes, maybe through natural-revelation (e.g. sea, sky, a sunset or an act of kindness etc.) God is momentarily glimpsed and thoughts turn to deeper matters. Philosophy for the most part rejects the idea of "God" as a proposition which can't be proved. But not everything can be analysed in a test tube. Take music. Where in the organ is the music that we hear? We cannot see, touch or feel it so where is it? Is it in the keys, the pipes or the organist? Of course not - but it touches us in the soul just the same. And what is beauty? And what is happiness? We may be unable to define "happiness" yet we know what it feels like when we obtain it. So, feelings are important too.
We may "feel" the presence of God when in a certain place; or when listening to a particular piece of music. We are people with emotions and emotions have a language of their own – the language of love: and love never ends. And as God is "love" – God never ends. Disasters may befall us causing the meaning to drop out of our lives. Depression may be the result putting us in a dark place from which we have to rescue ourselves. We should not underestimate this. But depression has a positive value too for bringing one face to face with a way of life that does not work. For once in that dark place of depression gadgets, possessions and the opinions of others count for nothing. It's as if the darkness of depression brings to an end a way of life that doesn't work. Then "self" seems to annihilate the old "self" opening up the possibility of a more fulfilling and creative way of life to spring forth from it. Maybe this is what Jesus meant when he said that people preferred darkness rather than light. Change is painful; and putting oneself second to God and others can be very painful yet necessary if we're to overcome the constant struggle to "accumulate."
The error of philosophy is that it tends to restrict talk of reality to what can be seen, proved or reasoned; and even that is not the whole of it. But the human brain isn't big enough to absorb everything. Besides, human beings are part of the created order and not outside of it so we will never know everything even though we have an inbuilt desire to investigate and research. Let go and let God is a good starting point whatever faith or science we subscribe to.
Rog
12th March 2016
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