When we are dealing with the very real problems of our temporal society, sometimes people have to "step outside" of themselves a bit. In project management and scientific circles this is called "thinking outside the box." In religious circles this is the first step towards enlightenment. As long as we think that our part of the "elephant" is the only approach to reality we find ourselves suffering needlessly. Not so much because of lifes vicitudes, but because of our failure to apprehend them well.
Thinking Outside the box is like stepping back from the elephant and trying to envision him. Of course since the elephant we are talking about is "God"/"Life"/"Universe" herself, it is literally impossible for us to step outside to do this. Time-Space contains us completely. But with our imagination we can imagine ourselves a flea able to do so and so imagine the elephant.
Of course the elephant I see today,
May be a Donkey I see tomorrow;
Or a Fox or a Monkey.
That is why the Great Western religions forbid idolatry. What good does it do to worship the "monkey god" Hannumin or the "elephant God" Ganesh, if one gets caught up in imagining that this is the "face" of God/ultimate reality? Is that not simply another illusion? When the Buddha criticized Brahma (the "Creator God") as being yet a limited being he was doing the same thing the Hebrew prophets were doing when they rebuked Israel for worshipping the "Host of Heaven" and for trying to "see" the face of God. The danger of seeking vision is that one may get some flash of insight which will lead one astray and not to enlightenment. Do I see an old man on a throne today? That too is false. God, the ultimate is beyond our imagination, beyond our words, literally.
Nevertheless, the exercise in stepping "outside" is worth it. Indeed it can smash all these idols. And once we see that the reality in our mind is great and imaginative; but still not the whole thing; we can comfortably dwell among the trees (hairs) of our elephant/earth/world-space in peace. Hey, I'll never understand it all! That's okay.
The hebrew prophets grew directly out of meditational insights coming out of the paganism millieu they lived in. The experience of Samadhi, is by most accounts, an experience of the oceanic unity of all things. Once one sees what is truly alive, it seems pointless to worship "dead gods." The truly ecstatic are alive with joy, like a person who has just won a million dollars, but alive with the effort of being alive. Those who think about it may not have as genuine a deal. We need to live, to work, to do our best, to be productive, and yes to have joy and appreciation in this great mysterious Lawflower Universe we live in.
Chris
Posted by cholte at August 26, 2005 06:00 PM