But Rooson! The koans work within the tradition, just as the trinity works in ours. They are not supposed to make "sense:" rationality is a tool limited to the material and social sphere. God by definition is not limited - and so is well beyond such a constraint. On the other hand, the koan is of little use to you and me, on this I agree; except for the ones that are just plain good poetry. Like music, good poetry is words that create moods and more, not concrete ideas. It should transcend words, which is the point of the koan.
But onward, for we crave change.
I know this, because I have just come back from the UP snow belt. There was over four feet of snow there, and as I drove south I was waiting to be overtaken by spring and was largely disappointed. This year, spring is on strike.
How many of us can't wait until spring? And then summer? And then a cool off from the heat? And then Christmas and the cold beauty of snow?
There is nothing wrong to this, as it gives those from the temperate climes at least a continual interest in the future, but it points to something else. I believe it has been mentioned here before, and that is the OneWorld culture's need for constant change.
What I wish to do is contrast this with traditional cultures' cherished conservatism. As anthropologists, we discussed this as "diachronic vs synchronic" culture, and then got bogged down in all manner of minutiae and political correctness, until no one could agree on anything (which is why cultural anthropology has become irrelevant. It can no longer say anything outside a narrow spectrum with any certainty without being condemned for intellectual imperialism). The truth is, all cultures outside the latter Greek tradition have cherished the "synchronic" or traditional form. We shudder to think of such a thing - we refer to Historical Europe's era of tradition as "the dark ages" - but in this we are truly missing the point. Until now, people have cherished their traditions because within them could be found truths, both for social welfare and for individual salvation. Why, if these worked, would one want to change them?
But something happened a few centuries ago - we won't go into it here - and now, change is the keyword, as if culture is a season that we soon tire of. But of course we have tired of our culture, and will do so at an ever increasing rate, for it no longer contains valued truths. The anthropologist mentality mentioned above does not exist in a vacuum, but rather conforms to and codifies, for however short a term, the kernel of world culture; which is Relativism. It is this that makes the anthropologist superfluous, and this that makes WorldCulture so disposable. If nothing is revered as THE truth, then the culture itself can never be revered. It is now up to the whim of whoever can hold the public ear for the longest - for long enough at least to change the mores, which, of course, will be seen as obsolete or incomplete within a few years.
The point of traditional culture, then , was to enshrine the truth as expounded by the wisest among the general population. Some tinkering around the edges would always be done, but always with an eye towards the truth. As such, individual variation and creativity for creativity's sake was limited, simply because such things were not thought as valuable as the core truth(s). But with relativism - the golden rule now among our elite - the culture itself is disposable. If there is (are) no truth(s), then there is no more point to culture than to please certain groups - for the moment, that is, for no one can be pleased with something incomplete for long.
Se, be prepared for a long strange trip. We have never been here before, at least as far as we know. We therefore cannot know for certain where we are headed, except for this one final thing, and this may be taken as truth: there will be unbearable chaos before the popular will can find the reason to dig beyond the self once more to a greater thing, to the eternal self that is informed by Self, the part of us that directly relates to God, or Source. Then, we can start over. Not as a turning wheel as the Hindus see it, but as the sine wave, or description of movement of a turning wheel that is actually going someplace. So what we can expect will not be the same, but will be, at its core. Like the eternal changing of the seasons.
But onward, for we crave change.
I know this, because I have just come back from the UP snow belt. There was over four feet of snow there, and as I drove south I was waiting to be overtaken by spring and was largely disappointed. This year, spring is on strike.
How many of us can't wait until spring? And then summer? And then a cool off from the heat? And then Christmas and the cold beauty of snow?
There is nothing wrong to this, as it gives those from the temperate climes at least a continual interest in the future, but it points to something else. I believe it has been mentioned here before, and that is the OneWorld culture's need for constant change.
What I wish to do is contrast this with traditional cultures' cherished conservatism. As anthropologists, we discussed this as "diachronic vs synchronic" culture, and then got bogged down in all manner of minutiae and political correctness, until no one could agree on anything (which is why cultural anthropology has become irrelevant. It can no longer say anything outside a narrow spectrum with any certainty without being condemned for intellectual imperialism). The truth is, all cultures outside the latter Greek tradition have cherished the "synchronic" or traditional form. We shudder to think of such a thing - we refer to Historical Europe's era of tradition as "the dark ages" - but in this we are truly missing the point. Until now, people have cherished their traditions because within them could be found truths, both for social welfare and for individual salvation. Why, if these worked, would one want to change them?
But something happened a few centuries ago - we won't go into it here - and now, change is the keyword, as if culture is a season that we soon tire of. But of course we have tired of our culture, and will do so at an ever increasing rate, for it no longer contains valued truths. The anthropologist mentality mentioned above does not exist in a vacuum, but rather conforms to and codifies, for however short a term, the kernel of world culture; which is Relativism. It is this that makes the anthropologist superfluous, and this that makes WorldCulture so disposable. If nothing is revered as THE truth, then the culture itself can never be revered. It is now up to the whim of whoever can hold the public ear for the longest - for long enough at least to change the mores, which, of course, will be seen as obsolete or incomplete within a few years.
The point of traditional culture, then , was to enshrine the truth as expounded by the wisest among the general population. Some tinkering around the edges would always be done, but always with an eye towards the truth. As such, individual variation and creativity for creativity's sake was limited, simply because such things were not thought as valuable as the core truth(s). But with relativism - the golden rule now among our elite - the culture itself is disposable. If there is (are) no truth(s), then there is no more point to culture than to please certain groups - for the moment, that is, for no one can be pleased with something incomplete for long.
Se, be prepared for a long strange trip. We have never been here before, at least as far as we know. We therefore cannot know for certain where we are headed, except for this one final thing, and this may be taken as truth: there will be unbearable chaos before the popular will can find the reason to dig beyond the self once more to a greater thing, to the eternal self that is informed by Self, the part of us that directly relates to God, or Source. Then, we can start over. Not as a turning wheel as the Hindus see it, but as the sine wave, or description of movement of a turning wheel that is actually going someplace. So what we can expect will not be the same, but will be, at its core. Like the eternal changing of the seasons.
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