The journey toward liberation
EASTERN PHILOSOPHIES AND THE TRANSFORMATION OF CONSCIOUSNESS
“Thought of the Week” for April 30, 2001
Eastern mystical traditions are not…primarily concerned with theoretical concepts. They are, above all, ways of liberation, concerned with transformation of consciousness. During their long history they have developed subtle techniques to change their followers’ awareness of their own existence and of their relation to human society.
Fritjof Capra, The Turning Point, New York: Bantam, p. 165
Comment:
“Being” rather than “doing”
by Reg Harris
Copyright © 2001 by Reg Harris. Updated October 7, 2007. All rights reserved. Apart from properly cited quotes and short excerpts, no part of this article can be copied or used in any form without written permission from the author. For permission to use, please contact me.
Capra, I think, makes an important point about any philosophical or religious system: it must change a person fundamentally. This is the difference between doing something and being something. In other words, these philosophies are guides to a process you undergo, not faiths that you profess or actions that you do because they are “good” or because you expect reward or want to avoid punishment. When one undergoes change, he or she behaves in a way that congruent with his or her changes understanding.
Parable of the raft
This concept is illustrated clearly by Buddha’s parable of the raft. Suppose, the Buddha explained, a man is trapped on one side of fast-flowing river. On the far side lies safety. Unfortunately, there is no boat to ferry him across nor a bridge that he can cross easily. What does he do?
Being ingenious, the man builds a raft from logs and vines he finds by the river. Then, by laying on the raft and using his hand and feet, he is able to paddle across the river to the safety of the other side.
Then Buddha asked his monks a critical question: Which would be wiser, for this man to now carry the raft with him across the land because it carried him safely across the river or for this man to think that this raft has served him well but it is no longer of any use and should be left on the shore. Of course, the monks thought the man would be foolish to carry the raft around on his back after it had served its use to carry him across the river.
The Buddha was making the point that once his teachings had transported the monks to enlightenment, there was no need to continue carrying the teachings. They have done their work and should be left behind. To attach oneself to the words after they have done their job is as foolish carrying around the raft for the rest of your life. If the words have worked, you have undergone a transformation and will never be the same. The words are no longer necessary. This is why eastern philosophy focuses on helping the followers change rather than on keeping them attached to the philosophy.
The raft and the journey
For a philosophy to be of any real value, especially in terms of taking our journeys in life, it must affect us inside. It must change our way of understanding ourselves and our world at the most fundamental level. Then, from those changes, new behavior will grow, but the behavior will be genuine because we are that kind of person, the kind of person who understands his or her place in the community, world and universe and acts accordingly. It will be authentic action, not conditioned action by a philosophy that focuses on our actions rather than who we are.
This idea is true of the journey, as well. When people speak of the hero’s journey, they usually talk about going on a journey and returning as a changed person. In a general sense, this is correct, but in a deeper sense, the person who returns from the journey is not the same person who set out on the journey. That person is gone, dead in the purging, transformative flames of the abyss.
The person who emerges from those ashes, is truly a new person because the understandings and ways of being that made them who they were have been replaced by new, broader understandings and a more profound way of being that is coherent with who they are and who they are becoming.
This is why upon the return from the transformation, it is not only foolish, but also dangerous, to “pick up the raft.” Trying to hold on to the processes, experiences and people that carried us across the river of transformation shackles us to our past. This does not mean we give up all of the life we had; it means that we relate to it in a totally different way and give it new meaning.
The drug addict who battles through addiction to become clean must also be changed by his or her battle. To cure the addiction without transforming the person is to carry the raft.
The great philosophical traditions most in harmony with the Heroic Journey concept are the great mystical traditions of the world. They recognize our oneness with all things and encourage us to expand our awareness until we begin to act out of that oneness. The journey then becomes twofold. First it is a journey toward individuation, of self identity and individuality. This journey involves exploring our physical existence and powers. Once that journey has been completed or “burned out,” the second journey begins, taking us away from ego and individuality toward oneness with all life. That is the greatest journey in our lives.
Your comments are welcome: Contact me.
Hero’s Journey: Being and doing
The journey toward liberation
EASTERN PHILOSOPHIES AND THE TRANSFORMATION OF CONSCIOUSNESS
“Thought of the Week” for April 30, 2001
Eastern mystical traditions are not…primarily concerned with theoretical concepts. They are, above all, ways of liberation, concerned with transformation of consciousness. During their long history they have developed subtle techniques to change their followers’ awareness of their own existence and of their relation to human society.
Fritjof Capra, The Turning Point, New York: Bantam, p. 165
Comment:
“Being” rather than “doing”
by Reg Harris
Copyright © 2001 by Reg Harris. Updated October 7, 2007. All rights reserved. Apart from properly cited quotes and short excerpts, no part of this article can be copied or used in any form without written permission from the author. For permission to use, please contact me.
Capra, I think, makes an important point about any philosophical or religious system: it must change a person fundamentally. This is the difference between doing something and being something. In other words, these philosophies are guides to a process you undergo, not faiths that you profess or actions that you do because they are “good” or because you expect reward or want to avoid punishment. When one undergoes change, he or she behaves in a way that congruent with his or her changes understanding.
Parable of the raft
This concept is illustrated clearly by Buddha’s parable of the raft. Suppose, the Buddha explained, a man is trapped on one side of fast-flowing river. On the far side lies safety. Unfortunately, there is no boat to ferry him across nor a bridge that he can cross easily. What does he do?
Being ingenious, the man builds a raft from logs and vines he finds by the river. Then, by laying on the raft and using his hand and feet, he is able to paddle across the river to the safety of the other side.
Then Buddha asked his monks a critical question: Which would be wiser, for this man to now carry the raft with him across the land because it carried him safely across the river or for this man to think that this raft has served him well but it is no longer of any use and should be left on the shore. Of course, the monks thought the man would be foolish to carry the raft around on his back after it had served its use to carry him across the river.
The Buddha was making the point that once his teachings had transported the monks to enlightenment, there was no need to continue carrying the teachings. They have done their work and should be left behind. To attach oneself to the words after they have done their job is as foolish carrying around the raft for the rest of your life. If the words have worked, you have undergone a transformation and will never be the same. The words are no longer necessary. This is why eastern philosophy focuses on helping the followers change rather than on keeping them attached to the philosophy.
The raft and the journey
For a philosophy to be of any real value, especially in terms of taking our journeys in life, it must affect us inside. It must change our way of understanding ourselves and our world at the most fundamental level. Then, from those changes, new behavior will grow, but the behavior will be genuine because we are that kind of person, the kind of person who understands his or her place in the community, world and universe and acts accordingly. It will be authentic action, not conditioned action by a philosophy that focuses on our actions rather than who we are.
This idea is true of the journey, as well. When people speak of the hero’s journey, they usually talk about going on a journey and returning as a changed person. In a general sense, this is correct, but in a deeper sense, the person who returns from the journey is not the same person who set out on the journey. That person is gone, dead in the purging, transformative flames of the abyss.
The person who emerges from those ashes, is truly a new person because the understandings and ways of being that made them who they were have been replaced by new, broader understandings and a more profound way of being that is coherent with who they are and who they are becoming.
This is why upon the return from the transformation, it is not only foolish, but also dangerous, to “pick up the raft.” Trying to hold on to the processes, experiences and people that carried us across the river of transformation shackles us to our past. This does not mean we give up all of the life we had; it means that we relate to it in a totally different way and give it new meaning.
The drug addict who battles through addiction to become clean must also be changed by his or her battle. To cure the addiction without transforming the person is to carry the raft.
The great philosophical traditions most in harmony with the Heroic Journey concept are the great mystical traditions of the world. They recognize our oneness with all things and encourage us to expand our awareness until we begin to act out of that oneness. The journey then becomes twofold. First it is a journey toward individuation, of self identity and individuality. This journey involves exploring our physical existence and powers. Once that journey has been completed or “burned out,” the second journey begins, taking us away from ego and individuality toward oneness with all life. That is the greatest journey in our lives.
Your comments are welcome: Contact me.