The Death of GodThings are never as black and white as they appear to be, rather everything is a combination of these opposites. Both 'good' and 'evil' are, after all, only concepts and judgements which contain only relative truths, because both opposites are completely dependent on the other for its existence. No light without the dark, no life without death, no good without evil.
"Human beings have a lot of opposite thinking: like/dislike, good/bad, happiness/sadness, coming/going and so on. This opposite thinking creates opposite worlds within each one of us and our ignorance makes us hold on to these opposite worlds. These opposite worlds are ways in conflict with each other, so there is tension and suffering. This is the basic teaching of Hinayana Buddhism: all suffering comes from opposite thinking." ~Zen Master Seung Sahn
"God is dead," (Nietzsche) and there is no one but ourselves to judge, to decide how we must act or what we should do in any given situation. There is no god or higher moral authority to answer to, but in the end one only answers to the god within; one's self, and none other.
"Either God can exist or freedom, both cannot exist together.That is the basic implication of Friedrich Nietzsche's statement: God is dead, therefore man is free. No theologian, no founder of religions thought about this, that if you accept God as the creator, you are destroying the whole dignity of consciousness, of freedom, of love. You are taking all responsibility from man, and you are taking all his freedom away. You are reducing the whole of existence to just the whim of a strange fellow called God." ~Osho
Freedom
Now that I've established the death of God and have pointed out our ultimate freedom, I will continue my arguement.
Essentially, freedom is the ability to choose for one's self. It is the ability to act without external controls or restrictions, i.e. fear. Fate is the result or consequence of decisions or actions. Every action has an equal reaction. Fate is the unknown end result of certain decisions, but it is still through these decisions and actions that fate is in our own hands. There isn't any higher authority/higher power which dictates your actions and the results of your actions."Man's position, according to Buddhism is supreme. Human being is his own nature, and there is no higher being or power that sits in judgement over his destiny. "One is one's own refuge, who else could be the refuge?" said the Buddha. He admonished His disciples to be "a refuge to themselves" and never to seek refuge in or help from anybody else." ~Walpola Wimalagnana Thero
We live in a world where material reality is the common reality, the one that is experienced most similarly for all of us. Thus, there are certain facts and empirical logic that dictate the possibility of outcomes. We may not realize all possibilities, but in order to be truly free we must realize that we have a choice to set ourselves on these paths of possibilities, even when the destinations are unclear. When we make choices, we accept responsibility (whether consciously or unconsciously) for the unforseen consequences. Once we realize we truly have a choice, we can no longer blame others (i.e. our parents) for our lot in life. Only when we accept responsibility for our own actions and decisions and have seen through the illusion of an authority outside of ourselves are we truly free.
The Problem
The problems come when we experience the vast expanse of this freedom, the existential and profound aloneness and overwhelming sense of obligation to oneself.
"But Nietzsche's statement is bound to be only one side of the coin. He is perfectly right, but only about one side of the coin. He has made a very significant and meaningful statement, but he has forgotten one thing...man is free, but free for what? If there is no God and man is free, that will simply mean man is now capable of doing anything, good or bad; there is nobody to judge him, nobody to forgive him. This freedom will be simply licentiousness.
There comes the other side. You remove God and you leave man utterly empty. Of course, you declare his freedom, but to what purpose? How is he going to use his freedom creatively, responsibly? How is he going to avoid freedom being reduced to licentiousness?"
From Osho.com
And this is the problem, indeed. When we have accepted responsibility and are free, we experience the overwhelming depths of the unanswered existential question: Now what? What am I here for? What is my purpose? What can I do to maximize this life experience? Why? HOW???
I haven't quite figured this out yet, but will probably discuss it in a later post. I only wanted to point out our innate freedom, our responsibility for our choices and thus our fate, and to say, in the words of Ovid, "est deus in nobis" (there is a god within us).
We are indeed free.
11 comments:
Nice post, thumbs up!
Oh, come on...say more...i know you want to.....
lol
Thanks M :-)
Ah yes, freedom. But then it blows my mind some things people do with their freedom. So much potential, for both terrible things and kind things.
If there is no god then why do anything nice at all? Why treat your fellow man with anything but contempt and be utterly selfish? Then again, according to Hobbes there is the social contract to consider.
There is benefit to acting together and giving up some of your freedoms for comfort and safety. This is perhaps what god offers people. Surrender some of your freedoms and desires and I promise you eternal life and a purpose and direction while living on earth.
As far as your ultimate question in this post...I don't know either. I do intend to enjoy myself as much as possible with as few limits as possible as long as I don't harm other people along the way.
Very well put together post by the way. More, more, more!!!
If there is no god then why do anything nice at all?
First, because good exists and continutes to be significant even without God.
Second, once we realize that the contempt we feel for others is only the reflection of the same for ourselves, it makes it easier to attempt understanding instead.
Third, doing nice things isn't necessarily completely altruistic. Let's face it...it makes US feel good too. If we can understand how our mental perceptions effect our whole reality, then doing and being 'good' (even though this is a mere value judgement) will create 'good'.
Fourth, its actually one of the very few things I've found that actually gives life any meaning.
I'm glad you brought up Hobbes ("life is nasty, brutish and short"). But even for Hobbes, 'good' and 'bad' are refelections of our own individual appetites and aversions. They aren't entrenched in an absolute moral code.
I personally don't believe in any authority higher than myself that can offer salvation. While belief in God can give people meaning and purpose, when the illusions are shattered and we see that God is dead we are seemingly left in a world devoid of purpose.
But I refuse to believe in 'God' in order to find meaning. If I do find it, it will be due to my own efforts and conclusions.
Thank you for your comments!!!
Your reasons for doing good are very succinct and I agree completely. I was posing more of a hypothetical than my personal philosophy there. Although I believe have a conscience is both a product of nature and nurture, some people are simply not beholden to anything of the sort.
I have had the luxury of growing up in a supportive, kind and moral environment. I've been left to feel comfortable and safe so I can explore different ideals and concepts, without the need to resort to any base behaviors to survive or even just exist as my own person.
I am glad that for no matter the reason, many people choose to do good, despite the impulses and societal conveniences of doing bad. The world is what we make it and my life is what I choose it to be. I try to surround myself with people who make the world better and make me a better person as well.
M,
...beautiful post, in breadth and depth you've covered fantastically.
So glad to see OSHO..he says it all,
and yeah, what would you do once you've realised the truth that there is no God or rather you are "God".
well, before we go about applying our own reasoning, lets see what the ones who realised this before us have done.
Buddha, was a prince by birth and "had the luxury of growing up in a supportive, kind and moral environment.....", he left his kindom in search of truth, what was the need for that if he was contended with the group of people who would make this world a better place ??
and what did he do once he attained
"nirvana"(realization) ??
He preached
why did he preach the ignorant ??
did he want the world to be a better place too ?
what if there weren't any ignorant left to teach ?
then what would have Buddha done?
Joe,
If you think there is God
Is God the one who decides the probaility of occurence of a number
when you throw a dice ?
Is God just a smart gambler ?
sorry for asking more questions,
but i believe the quest is all that
is worthy. Not, the treasure and what you do with the treasure( truth ) is immaterial.
It's in the nature of all the living things,
why does a flower blossom ?
why does a catterpiller become a butterfly ?
and so is the question
why do we seek the truth ?
Hey Peeps...
You wrote "what if there weren't any ignorant left to teach ?" in reference to Buddha...I believe if everyone was enlightened then perhaps everything else would cease to exist. (going on the theory that in order to exist something requires a sort of 'tension' with its opposite.) Life cannot exist without death just as enlightenment cannot exist without ignorance. Without the Buddha's firsthand experience of ignorance he would never have been inspired to seek the end of suffering.
You also said that the quest itself is what makes it worthy. I feel like you're very close to something here. I agree that in all things it's not the destinaion per se, but the journey itself that makes the entire experience worthwhile. But in what ways? How do we measure it? The answer to that I think could be in the answers to the questions you asked at the end of your comment.
The only answers that came to my head for your questions at the end was simply this:
...because that's the way it is...
and that is just not satisfying enough for me. But so close. Do you have a better answer?
Joe...
I'm very glad that you've felt comfortable and safe and haven't felt the need 'to resort to base behaviors'. Others, (myself included) find that sometimes these 'base behaviors' are how we've discovered secret treasures within ourselves. After all, how could we ever touch enlightenment without its opposite: the pain, the anger and the suffering?
Nice discussions, I've told you that it was a nice post M. ;-).
Freedom is always a difficult subject, as well as "God" or "love" or any other thing that we don't truly know what it is?..
I do not believe neither freedom nor truth exist!.
I mean in "this" world..
These are the terms we learn and -try to- understand in this world, with our reason. And our reason is related to our knowledge in "this" world. So, your knowledge shapes your world and your thoughts. You develope a certain way of understanding of the universe and through this understanding you try to discover more of it: "you learn more and more to give a shape to your knowledge through what you learn, by your knowledge!".. This is kind of an endless cycle.
Why I wrote this crap?.. Well, subjects as freedom are the results of our reason which we gain in this "world" -which, according to many beliefs, is an illusion. (Is an illusion real?. Is freedom an illusion which is not exist?.. And what do I mean by beliefs? Aren't our beliefs the result of our knowledge?? and our knowl....Hmm, errh, nevermind).
What I wanted to say, basically is that, it's a concept which we "create" in this world, a myth that it doesn't exist, which we starve for... Again, i believe that it does not exist in this world!
How about the ultimate, universal knowledge than? Is freedom a result of the reflection of this ultimate truth upon us?..
Does this ultimate knowledge need the "concept" of freedom, as we understand in "this" world -which we try to give a meaning through our knowledge?? (oh, I used the term "need"!.. are you free when you "need" anything? Ahhh, what am I saying?? To need is an earthly concept, isn't it?)
Or.. Do I "need" freedom when I gain this ultimate knowledge? Or, does freedom have ANY meaning outside of this reality?.
Anyway... useless arguments.. "Freedom" is like a jail without walls... We are all slave to it!
I read some time ago in a poem:
"Freedom always will be shared, with an accomplice lover"
I think freedom is a myth, a sweet illusion in this "reality".. Or; it is being able to talk crap without knowing anything!!
PS: I liked Peeps' question; "why do we seek the truth?"
You always seek the things that you lost.
Sphinx,
What I meant by 'base behaviors' were things like robbery, rape, stealing...stuff that might not be looked upon with contempt if they were required to survive by everyone. The strongest survive sort of concept if you will.
I've certainly suffered. I could go down the list, but I'm haunted by many demons and there is no truer saying to me than - "The joy is not the same without the pain."
That is my journey: finding whatever it takes to overcome my problems and hangups and mental illness.
I do agree somewhat that the journey is very important, and perhaps is what ultimately lets us evolve and change. But reaching the goal helps put everything in perspective. It is the point of comparison...was it worth it? Did my goal change also? Was my goal as important as it first seemed, if not, then why?
If all I ever had was a journey I'd go even madder than I currently am. :)
Peeps~
I also left the relative comfort and security of my upbringing and pre-fab morality and purpose. It's something that I felt compelled to do, and it's put me on a much different course than I thought I'd be on fifteen years ago.
Nothing...
When I mentioned freedom I was referring to the freedom to determine one's own destiny, freedom from a God who would judge us or the end result. In this sense I believe in ultimate freedom. We truly are free to decide for ourselves but must accept the consequences of our actions.
Do you believe in God?
You said freedom is the result of reason. Maybe it is more of an intuitive thing. Maybe in order to 'see' the freedom we have, we have to forgo our 5 senses. Freedom is an abstract, after all.
I don't believe that beliefs are the result of knowledge. People who believe in God certainly don't have a 'knowledge' that he exists.
Tell a prisoner there is no such thing as freedom...perhaps he would disagree. And perhaps freedom is relative, after all. But it still exists. Today I am prisoner to no one. I am free.
Joe...
I am guilty in someway or another of every crime or base behavior that you mentioned. (well, except maybe rape...kind of difficult for a woman to commit, but possible all the same). When you buy something from the store and they give you too much change back and you don't say anything, is that not stealing? If not, when does this type of behavior cross the line into stealing? Regardless of initial intent, the important thing is which actions you decide to take (using of course the freedom you have to choose) IN THAT MOMENT. So many fine lines, so many grey areas. Any base behavior is committed due to ignorance. We are free to pursue the opposite, which I suppose is a relative and subjective level of truth.
I'm a bit leary to agree that goals are the most significant part of the journey, because I can see how this could create striving and further suffering if the goal is not reached. But on the other hand I see that life without certain goals would even make it that much more meaningless. Hmmmm. A conundrum.
I'm going to work now. I will ponder these things while I'm there.
I always thought that the symbols of Christianity were a bit misapprehended. I also think Jesus was misunderstood with the words "I'm a son of God". I think he meant to declare himself and all of his awakened disciples to be sons/daughters of God. Personally, to be completely critcal of present day Christianity and it's most important holiday, Xmas (yes Xmas), is nothing more than romanticised retail therapy and Santa and God are the same people. They both old men with white beards that sit on big chairs, somewhere remote and unreachable. For the enlightened Christian, these symbols mean so much more than the grubbery of commerce.
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