Re: Wisdom - 3

On 21 May, 09:12, Dave Smith <d...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Seclusion for a period might help some people gain understanding, but
the ultimate goal is to help others as well as oneself

That might be your ultimate goal. But why should it be 'the' ultimate
goal? How can you justify any goal as ultimate? Actually it seems
dangerous to have ultimate goals. The crusaders had the ultimate goal
of bringing the ultimate truth of the ultimate being (Jesus Christ)
into being on the earth. Because it was 'ultimate' any means possible
could be excused -- from burning 'witches' to genocide.

For the moment I'm holding by the golden rule which states "treat
others as you would like to be treated." I'm quite happy if some
people decide to go into the forest and not have anything to do with
me. That doesn't hurt me. If everyone did it the milk wouldn't get
delivered, but not everyone is going to do it. Many solitaries have
written superb books. So Golden Rule hermits should not be doing
anything to harm anyone else (like the unabomber, say), so if they are
doing anything at all the they are helping others (or themselves).

If you hold they MUST help others in some positive way, and they would
prefer to meditate, then you can only get them to do that at the point
of a gun. Therefore Dave Smith's rule can break the Golden Rule.

Of course most Golden Rule hermits will have to work to get the means
of survival, and would have to perform 'right work'. So they will end
up doing something postive in the world. Unless they are
trustafarians.

so spending
one's whole life as a hermit would seem to be inappropriate.

Inappropriate for you, but why should you dictate to others what
appropriate behaviour is.

Buddhism
is intended for everyone, and the large majority are not going to
become isolates.

But why should the majority dictate to a minority? This logic seems to
be: not everyone can be a great painter therefore there should not be
any great painters.

The Buddhists who become monks and nuns live an
austere life, but I believe they interact with their own communities
as well as the wider society.

Some monks become hermits, and some hermits become monks. Some remain
for life in one or other activity. Either become laymen. Why not?


.

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