Turning to the East for guidance

[shesnoemu]

What is the appropriate behavior for a man or a woman in the midst of this world, where each person is clinging to his piece of debris?  What's the proper salutation between people as they pass each other in this flood?

-Buddha

Comments

[mharrawo]

Well, Sue's answer would be something like this: Be Kind, Be Decent, Work real hard to see other people.

[shesnoemu]

People are complex. No one is perfect. No one is 100% decent or kind, even if they want to believe they are. We're all clinging to existence and all very insecure because of that, no?

I guess compassion is the most important thing. Even in situations of great misunderstanding.

[mharrawo]

You're right, of course. I think Sue's point would be that the choice to be decent is always simple and always clear. We watched The Secret Life of Bees, which was strange for me since I grew up in that very part of South Carolina during that time. The little girl was 14 in 1964, just like me. I've often wondered about the photos of lynchings with all these assholes grinning into the camera. What would it have taken in those times NOT to be a grinning asshole, when everybody you know is doing it. I've often reproached Berkeley political correctness for trying to impeach Shakespeare or Rabelais for failing to be Berkeley liberals. But I also very much believe with Sue that we can see the humanity of other people if we choose. Don't you think all artists think the same thing?

[shesnoemu]

No, I don't think all artists thing the same way. I also think that everyone approaches kindness/decency in different ways. Our realities are shaped by our own perspective. One person's kindness can be another person's idea of condescension, depending on the history of those people and their experiences throughout life.

[shesnoemu]

I don't think human behavior is ever very clear. It's often very muddled, though it's best to try to make things as clear as possible by staking out what you believe is wrong and right. That doesn't mean your neighbor or friend agrees with them and can feel that you are judging them with your boundaries/ethics/morals. Everyone has their own ideas about what is right and wrong, I suppose.