Western culture altogether is based on the gross body only. It is founded on utopian idealism, an impulse to "out there" life things, towards bringing order to the material appearance in this life so that it is made fulfilling, made complete, made happy, made deathless even.
Westerners systematically eliminate death and suffering from their view. Western philosophy and "theology" is the always-wanting-to-forestall-the-day philosophy that does not embrace death and does not take it into account. In the background of our chronic anxiety we acknowledge that death exists but want to avoid it, even talking about it.
The impulse toward the religious life is about positive life-affirmation, and wanting life things, gross things, to work (out), but all the while rejecting death and suffering and, therefore, rejecting surrender to the Radiant Life-Principle. By contrast the real religious life is not based on the rejection of death. It is based on taking death fully into account and on making the fact of death the framework and the fundamental basis of ones understanding of life and its purpose.
A philosophy based on the rejection of death becomes materialism, utopianism, worldliness. Philosophy and religion based on the acceptance of death, the understanding of this life - associated as it is with death, with ending, with suffering, with limitation - is an entirely different affair It is the basis for the profundity of religion, the profundity of self-surrender and self-transcendence. It is the basis for renunciation but not ascetical self denial or flagellation
Western culture altogether is based on the gross body only. It is founded on utopian idealism, an impulse to "out there" life things, towards bringing order to the material appearance in this life so that it is made fulfilling, made complete, made happy, made deathless even.
Westerners systematically eliminate death and suffering from their view. Western philosophy and "theology" is the always-wanting-to-forestall-the-day philosophy that does not embrace death and does not take it into account. In the background of our chronic anxiety we acknowledge that death exists but want to avoid it, even talking about it.
The impulse toward the religious life is about positive life-affirmation, and wanting life things, gross things, to work (out), but all the while rejecting death and suffering and, therefore, rejecting surrender to the Radiant Life-Principle. By contrast the real religious life is not based on the rejection of death. It is based on taking death fully into account and on making the fact of death the framework and the fundamental basis of ones understanding of life and its purpose.
A philosophy based on the rejection of death becomes materialism, utopianism, worldliness. Philosophy and religion based on the acceptance of death, the understanding of this life - associated as it is with death, with ending, with suffering, with limitation - is an entirely different affair It is the basis for the profundity of religion, the profundity of self-surrender and self-transcendence. It is the basis for renunciation but not ascetical self denial or flagellation