As It Is ~ THE POTENCY OF WORDS
IT IS AMAZING how
little we know about the words that we use, and how
we often speak without really understanding what we
are saying. Is this because the words we use are not
of our own personal crafting, but were originated
by others long ago, and we just acquired most of them
in our childhood, before the age when we were able
to ask what they meant, etymologically? How casually
we use these means of communication, and often, how
unskillfully. Words are tools, the correct use of
which can help us to produce masterpieces, but if
used unskillfully or unwisely, can cause disaster.
Merely having the tools is not enough; we must know
how to use them properly. Much trouble is caused by
words, intentionally or unintentionally. Much wonder
is bypassed each day because we do not appreciate
the beauty and import of words, and what they are
capable of conveying.
With words, we can 'press each other's buttons'
? that is, touch each other ? in countless ways; we
can inspire, inform, influence, enlighten, soothe,
encourage, educate, persuade, elevate, cheer, stimulate,
enliven, relieve, excite, charm, and energize, provoke,
sadden, tempt, discourage, bore, deceive, deflate,
enrage; we can exhort, impress, entertain, pacify,
incite, and so on. Words are incredibly important
in our lives.
Ask people in Australia: "How are you?"
and you will probably receive the response: "Good,
thanks!" Now, that's quite a claim to make, isn't
it? Who dares to say he/she is good? Of course, we
understand that they mean 'fine', or 'well'. Then
there is the common misuse of 'can' in place of 'may',
as when people ask, for example: "Can I have
some more tea, please?" or "Can I go with
you?" the best answer to which, of course, would
be to say: I don't know: can you?"
It is not uncommon to hear people say: "I'll
do my best," or to exhort someone else to do
so. After trying, and failing, to do something, we
might say: "well, I did my best" and this
is often an excuse or a cover-up. But, you know, we
have never done our best, for the simple reason that
we do not know what our best is, and we can always
see how, upon looking back on something we've done,
how we could have done better; there is always room
for improvement and indeed, learning from our mistakes
is how progress has been made throughout the ages.
Therefore, to talk about 'doing our best' has no meaning.
Most people ? most religious people, at
least ? have ideals. The ideal that Hindus aim for
is 'Moksha' ('Liberation from Samsara'), or 'God realization'.
Christians hope for salvation from their sins, and
Heaven, while Buddhists aspire to Nirvana, or Enlightenment.
So, there is a dichotomy in our lives; we are caught
between the actuality of 'mundane' life, and the supra-mundane
ideal. This is bound to lead to frustration, but,
perhaps this is necessary and unavoidable and should
not always be regarded as something negative; it,
too, has its purpose and leads to many breakthroughs,
as artists, scientists, inventors, and creators in
any field would probably aver (and frustration is
deliberately cultivated by practitioners of Zen in
order to 'bring the pot to the boil', as it were).
Frustration is seldom a pleasant thing, being something
that will not permit our minds to be at ease; but
if, after many attempts and failures to achieve something,
we finally succeed, we might look back on the whole
process and recognize that frustration had a part
to play in it, and indeed, might have validated it
all; for if we were to succeed in whatever we did
at first try, without ever knowing failure, success
would have little value to us; as it is, success can
be seen as success only because of failure; so failure
is also important.
When aiming for some far off spiritual ideal
that is difficult to attain we must take care not
to disregard, or think lightly of, our lesser successes
on the way, in case, not realizing our grand aim,
we consider our lives to be failures. Holding onto
narrow, fixed goals, might make us unable or unwilling
to settle for anything less, or to switch to something
else; this can easily result in disillusionment, lethargy,
despair, or even madness.
It is important not to try to run before
we can walk, and to be happy with what we have so
far achieved, for even minor achievements are part
of the journey. And if you feel that you haven't achieved
anything, it is a sign that you need to apply this
advice. Haven't achieved anything? Is it nothing to
be what you are right now? You could say that you
have achieved nothing only if you have not thought
about, understood, or appreciated what it means to
be a human being. In this, however, you are not alone,
but are surrounded, on all sides, by vast numbers
of other people who have not understood, for we have
not been taught, shown, or inspired to think about
what it means to be alive ? or, if we have, it hasn’t
affected us very deeply. We have grown up with it,
have treated it superficially, and have taken it all
for granted, without question and without wonder.
If we could begin to break out of this habit (for
it is a habit), we might begin to understand something
more of ourselves than does the average person, who
is really quite ignorant and dull in this respect,
even though he/she might otherwise be sophisticated
and well educated.
If we were transported to another planet
where everything would probably be quite strange and
different than on our own, we might be very excited
and alert, noticing everything in detail, as we would
expect it to be strange and different. But we have
grown so used to living on our own planet that many
of us notice very little about it; it no longer excites
wonder in us (if it ever did!), and we behave as though
we've 'seen it all, know it all, have done it all.'
Have we been so overdosed that our brain cells have
become stupefied, and no longer capable of wonder
and appreciation? Is it the fault of our education
systems worldwide, which have over-stressed the role
of the teacher and the teaching, and neglected learning
and discovery?
Education has become, to many of us, merely
something that equips and enables us to function in
the world, and to earn a living therein, rather than
a means to overcome ignorance and help us become more
enlightened. But surely, we have reached the stage
? those of us who are fortunate enough not to live
in places like Somalia or Ethiopia ? where life is
more than just a matter of survival and the drudge
of earning a living. Many people in the past have
struggled, suffered, sacrificed, and died so that
we might now enjoy better living and working conditions
than they knew; but now that we've got them, many
of us don't know what to do with them, and show our
gratitude by complaining of being bored, and not knowing
what to do. I imagine that the people of Somalia do
not complain about being bored, when they are constantly
preoccupied with trying to survive! Boredom is a rich
man's disease. It is so funny how we overcome one
set of obstacles and, in so doing, create another
set for ourselves: Our wealth, luxury, and leisure
hang upon us like chains and are not the blessing
that they should be. Might this not be because we
played little or no part in their creation, but merely
inherited them from others? We therefore lack the
appreciation that creation brings.
I once knew someone whose husband's sickness
and death led her into Dharma, but she later complained
that, in spite of her 'practice,' she had never had
a 'spiritual experience.' I'm sure that she's not
the only one who thinks like this, and it's probably
just a case of 'not being able to see the forest because
of the trees.' She has concepts of what a 'spiritual
experience' is or should be, and has never glimpsed
that life ? in all its apparent 'mundanity' ? is one
big spiritual experience, simply because we are spiritual
beings, much more so than we are physical beings!
But since it is not easy for us to grasp this, it
necessitates a spiritual experience to see this spiritual
experience, sort of like needing to be educated to
be educated, or like fish in water: they would never
think about water (supposing fish can think and reason
about anything) while they are in it, and there is
plenty of it; but if they were pulled out of it or
their pond dried up, water would be the only thing
they would think about!
There is a little anecdote from India that
might be pertinent here: "Where shall we hide
the Truth from man?" the gods all cried when
man was made. "How can we guard our secret now?"
they asked each other fearfully. "If we hide
it in the earth, he will dig it up; if we hide it
in the mountains, he will climb them; even if we hide
it in the sea, he will find it. Where shall we hide
the Truth from man?"
Quite beside themselves, they cried: "This
little man will take our throne; we have made him
far too smart not to claim our heaven home! Hide it
in matter, he will analyze it; hide it in water, he
will crystallize it. Even in Hell he will surmise
it! Where shall we hide the Truth from man?"
They thought of stars in outer space, or
in the nature of a tree, but they knew that man would
solve each and every mystery. "Hide it in the
wind, he will pursue it; hide it in the act, he will
do it. Even in the atom he will view it. Where shall
we hide the Truth from man?"
They solved the mystery of how the gods
should win. The wisest said: ''Let's take the Truth
and hide it deep inside of him. Hide it in his heart,
he will doubt it. Hide it in his soul, he will live
without it. Even if we should reveal and shout it,
he won't believe the Truth is within him!"
Many times, I have heard expatriate Vietnamese
talk about going back to live in Vietnam once the
communist regime there has collapsed, and it has become
'free'. Even before this longed-for event, however,
some of them have been back for a visit, as Vietnam
slowly opens up. Upon returning to their countries
of domicile, they tell not only positive tales of
how nice it was to be with family and friends there
again, and how the situation there is improving, but
also complain about how inefficient are things like
sanitation, transportation, communication, and so
on things that they were at ease with and probably
didn't notice too much before their escape to the
West. But now, having lived in the West for some time,
and grown accustomed to conveniences like washing
machines, refrigerators, private cars, etc., they
find it hard to adjust to being without them. But
in any age, and with any people, it is much easier
to make the adjustment from not-having to having,
than to make the adjustment from having to not-having.
Life, however, pays little regard to our feelings
and wishes, and we sometimes have to take a step backwards.
Have you ever been to a country where no
one spoke your language, and you didn't speak theirs,
and where you felt terribly alone, unable to communicate,
but then someone came along who spoke your language
fluently, and with whom you could converse freely
about anything? If so, you will probably recall how
relieved you felt, to go from trying very hard to
communicate by means of sign language and the few
words of the local tongue you might have been able
to pick up, to 'normal' speech.
It is good for us to be in situations of
deprivation and simplicity at times, as it helps us
understand and appreciate the good things we have
in such abundance. But, apart from just having and
appreciating things that have been made by others,
it would be better for our souls and self-esteem if
we created something ? anything ? by ourselves, instead
of merely buying everything, because even if what
we make is inferior to what we might buy reasonably
cheaply, we would have the satisfaction (which is
a spiritual quality), of knowing that, "I made
that myself." We have overemphasized the academic
side of our education at the expense of the artistic,
creative side, and stand in need of a re-balancing.
Therefore, creativity is something that should be
nurtured and encouraged in us from childhood upwards,
and when children come home from school with things
that they have made or drawn there, they should be
praised for their efforts, and encouraged, so that
they might find joy in creativity. In no way should
they be ridiculed or discouraged.
Unless and until we begin to doubt and question
the standards on which society is based, we will not
be able to go very far along the Way; it is necessary
that we stand back, and view things from a distance,
in order to see them in perspective. Most great teachers
have said, in one way or another, that the road upwards
is hard and narrow, while the road downwards is easy
and wide. Modern society is constituted overwhelmingly
on a material basis, with very little consideration
for our spiritual well being, and this brings about
all kinds of ill effects. I would like to quote here
something pertinent from Aldous Huxley's "Brave
New World Revisited" to illustrate this:
'... modem technology has led to the concentration
of economic and political power, and to the development
of a society controlled (ruthlessly in the totalitarian
states, politely and inconspicuously in the democracies)
by Big Business and Big Government. But societies
are composed of individuals and are good only insofar
as they help individuals to realize their potentialities
and to lead a happy and creative life. How have individuals
been affected by the technological advances of recent
years? Here is the answer to this question given by
a philosopher psychiatrist, Dr. Erich Fromm:
"Our contemporary Western society,
in spite of its material, intellectual and political
progress, is increasingly less conducive to mental
health, and tends to undermine the inner security,
happiness, reason and the capacity for love in the
individual; it tends to turn him into an automaton
who pays for his human failure with increasing mental
sickness, and with despair hidden under a frantic
drive for work and so-called pleasure."
"Our 'increasing mental sickness' may
find expression in neurotic symptoms. These symptoms
are conspicuous and extremely distressing. But "let
us beware," says Dr. Fromm, "of defining
mental hygiene as the prevention of symptoms. Symptoms
as such are not our enemy, but our friend; where there
are symptoms there is conflict, and conflict always
indicates that the forces of life which strive for
integration and happiness are still fighting."
The really hopeless victims of mental illness are
to be found among those who appear to be most normal.
"Many of them are normal because they are so
well adjusted to our mode of existence, because their
human voice has been silenced so early in their lives,
that they do not even struggle or suffer or develop
symptoms as the neurotic does." They are normal
not in what may be called the absolute sense of the
word; they are normal only in relation to a profoundly
abnormal society. Their perfect adjustment to that
abnormal society is a measure of their mental sickness.
These millions of abnormally normal people, living
without fuss in a society to which, if they were fully
human beings, they ought not to be adjusted, still
cherish "the illusion of individuality,"
but in fact they have been to a great extend de-individualized.
Their conformity is developing into something like
'uniformity.' But "uniformity and freedom are
incompatible. Uniformity and mental health are incompatible
too. Man is not made to be an automaton, and if he
becomes one, the basis for mental health is destroyed.
"In the course of evolution, nature
has gone to endless trouble to see that every individual
is unlike every other individual. We reproduce our
kind by bringing the father's genes into contact with
the mother's. These hereditary factors may be combined
in an almost infinite number of ways. Physically and
mentally, each one of us is unique. Any culture which,
in the interests of efficiency or in the name of some
political or religious dogma, seeks to standardize
the human individual, commits an outrage against man's
biological nature."
Should we not then rejoice in being ourselves,
and try to discover what it means? How terrible it
would be if we were all like photocopies of some prototype!
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