Hey All
On a lighter but maybe a more personal note, I would like to know more about
each of your own views on spirituality, I am asking this, because of late I
have been asked numerous times if I am spiritual, and am then asked in what
way am I spiritual.
it usually goes like this......
Firstly I try to explain that my views on spirituality may not seem to be
the same as theirs, and it may be hard for me to explain exactly what they
are, because I have never tried to condense them into soundbites.
This, whilst being true always seems to enrage my peers, they seem to think
I'm being arrogant , so I am then "forced" to try and explain.
So I start by saying I am an "everyday" Buddhist, a Taoist. So far so good
everybody has an idea of what Buddhism is, ( not necessarily the same as my
idea, but..), now comes the difficult bit, trying to explain my take on
Taoism.
condensed this is: understanding your place in the universe, accepting you
are of little importance within the universe, and " a good man will do no
wrong"... three simple truths personal to me!!
now comes the barrage of "what are you talking about?", " that's not
spirituality", that seems very cynical/negative etc. blah! blah!
few of my peers will accept they are "unimportant" as their whole lives have
been a struggle to be important. so I'm on a loser here, I try to explain
that the universe is huge, massive etc., and in no way can anything as small
and short lived as ourselves, can be of any real importance, by accepting
this, you don't have to worry about being important/useful, and you can just
enjoy living in the now ( wow! wayne's world .. garth is right), just being,
the essence and goal of Buddhism. (living at the cutting edge of DQ)
" What about your soul? " is usually the next question, I tell them I do not
believe in the eternal soul, and that i believe every individual is born
without a spirit or soul, and it is through what you do in life, that you
create your own spirit, and this spirit/pattern of values ( ooops!) , and it
is this which may exist after you die. There cannot be reincarnation in my
philososphy because every individual has the " right " to create his/her own
spirit, and not be invaded by someone elses. BIG MISTAKE... very few people
want to accept my views, which is OK, but I am often left frustrated having
not said /explained something right.
These are only my views after all!!
Now what I would like to ask is this, has anybody else had similar problems
when trying to convey how they feel and integrate the whole MoQ and/or
Taoism/Buddhism in their own lives, to people without going through the
whole Pirsig route.
I would be interested to hear of your experiences
Regards
Rod
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