Transcendence in the Global Age PDF

Transcendence in the Global Age In the Information Age, there is an imbalance between human existence and different conditions. We are beset with problems without precedent in human experience. This imbalance makes us think of what our future should be and thus, we should look at ou...

Transcendence in the Global Age In the Information Age, there is an imbalance between human existence and different conditions. We are beset with problems without precedent in human experience. This imbalance makes us think of what our future should be and thus, we should look at our past. “There is no other way for us to find who are than by finding in ourselves the divine image.” (Thomas Merton, 1948, a Trappist monk. The divine image he was referring to was the design, purpose, and mission God made in our lives. The divine image was the original purpose God intended for man and woman. We have to struggle to regain spontaneous and vital awareness of our own spirituality. Merton talked about a continual movement away from inner and outer idols and toward union with the God of the desert of his Christian faith. In philosophy, the adjective “transcendental” and the noun “transcendence” convey the basic ground concept of the word’s literal meaning (from Latin) of “climbing or going beyond”, with varying connotations in its different historical and cultural stages. Three main philosophies: Hinduism, Buddhism and Christianity. These three major religions focus not only on the mental, emotional, and physical aspects of humans, but also on man’s spirit and soul. Spirit and soul represent the deepest essence of humanity. The Human Person as an Embodied Spirit A. Hinduism (world’s oldest organized religion) Brahman is Selfhood One of the oldest Eastern traditions, practiced by millions of people for about 5,000 years (Velasquez, 1999) At the heart of Hinduism lies the idea of human beings’ quest for absolute truth, so that one’s soul and the Brahman or Atman (Absolute Soul) might become one. Constitutes the Trimutri (three Hindu gods) [Brahma, the creator] [Vishnu, the preserver] [Shiva, the destroyer] Brahman or Atman is what Indians consider as the god from which all reality and all souls ultimately came from and will return. The Aum (Om) is the root of the universe and everything that exists, and it continues to hold everything together. For Indians, sound, not sight, is the basis of reality and existence. Human beings have a dual nature: spiritual and immortal essence (soul); the empirical life and its traits. The existence of the body, in fact, is considered as nothing more than an illusion and even an obstacle to and individual’s realization of one’s real self. Soul is eternal but is bound by the law of karma (action) to the world of matter, which it can escape only after a spiritual progress through an endless series of births. If a person commits good, he gets good karma and this karma will give him rewards; but if he commits wrong to himself and others, he gets bad karma and this will lead to punishment and bad results. Similar to a prisoner enclosed within the wall of his prison, a human being’s soul can be said to be temporarily encased in his body. For this reason, humanity’s basic goal in life is the liberation (moksha) of spirit (jiva). Samsara- humanity’s life is a continuous cycle. While the spirit is neither born nor dies, the body, on the other hand, goes through a transmigratory series of births and deaths. Transmigration or metempsychosis- a doctrine that adheres to the belief that a person’s soul passes into other creatures, human or animal, depending on the person’s good karma or bad karma. Different Hindu schools and sects have different views about the method of release (moksha) from this transmigration.  Ultimate liberation, freedom from rebirth, is achieved the moment the individual attains the stage of life emancipation, from which inevitably arises a total realization by the individual of spiritual nature as well as the transient character of the body. Moksha is an enlightened state wherein one attains one’s true selfhood and finds oneself one with the One, the Ultimate Reality, the All-Comprehensive Reality: Brahman. Ultimate moksha leads the spirit out of the monotonous cycle of life and death (samsara) to a state of “nothingness” True knowledge (vidya) consists of an understanding and realization of the individual’s real self (atman) as opposed to lower knowledge that is limited to an interpretation of reality based solely on the data offered by sense experience. One’s whole duty is to achieve self-knowledge to achieve self-annihilation and absorption in the Great Self. A concept common to all expressions of Hinduism is oneness of reality; this is found in Bhagavad Gita (Hindu scripture, Indian oldest sacred texts). Only Brahman is real; everything else is an illusory manifestation of it. The point of Hinduism is to help an individual give up his individuality and embrace the all- encompassing reality of the One. Four primary values a. Wealth and pleasure- worldly values, but when we kept in perspective, they are good and desirable. b. The spiritual value of duty or righteousness refers to patience, sincerity, fairness, love, honesty, and similar virtues. c. The spiritual value, though, is enlightenment, by which one is illuminated and liberated and most importantly, finds release from the wheel of existence. B. Buddhism From Tears to Enlightenment The tenets of Buddhism are definitely one of the most widespread dharsanas (schools of thoughts) It is universalist in character. Nothing exists without a cause. There is no independent, categorical, and permanent self. All beings have a Buddha nature, every individual is a potential Buddha and should be taught the equality and brotherhood of human beings. The Buddha regards this world as fleeting. Like stars fading and vanishing at dawn, Like bubbles on a fast-moving stream, Like morning dewdrops evaporating on blades of grass, Like a candle flickering in a stormy wind, echoes, mirages, and phantoms hallucinations and like a dream. -The Buddha The Eight Smiles of Illusion, Prajna Paramita Sutras Siddhartha Gautama or the Buddha-founder of the major Eastern tradition (Buddhism)  Out of the life experience and teaching of highborn Prince Gautama of the Sakya clan in the kingdom of Magadha, who lived from 560 to 477 BC, sprang the religious philosophy, Buddhism. Gautama’s life was devoted to sharing his dharma or way to salvation - a simple presentation of the inner cultivation of right spiritual attitudes, coupled with a self-imposed discipline whereby bodily desires would be channeled in the right directions. The teaching if Buddha has been set forth traditionally in the “Four Noble Truths” leading to the “Eightfold Path” to perfect character of Arhatship, which in turn gave assurance of entrance into nirvana at death. Buddha-enlightened one, a knower Nirvana (ultimate goal of Buddhism)- signifies the end of the cycle of death and rebirth. In the “Four Noble Truths,” Gautama taught; Life is full of suffering; Suffering is caused by passionate desires, lusts, and cravings caused by the bodies and emotions of people; Only as these emotions, desires, and wants are obliterated will suffering cease; and Such eradication of desire may be accomplished only by following the Eightfold Path of earnest endeavor. Briefly, these eight steps are: ✓ Right belief in and acceptance of the Fourfold Truth ✓ Right aspiration for one’s self and for others ✓ Right speech that harms no one ✓ Right conduct, motivated by goodwill toward all human beings ✓ Right means of livelihood or earning one’s living by honorable means ✓ Right endeavor or effort to direct one’s energies toward wise ends ✓ Right mindfulness in choosing topics for thought ✓ Right meditation or concentration to the point of complete absorption in mystic ecstasy Self-abnegation- where the way of salvation lies, which means the denial of self or fighting against one’s emotions and desires, rigid discipline of mind and body, a consuming love for all living creatures, and the final achievement of that state of consciousness which marks an individual’s full preparation for entering nirvana (enlightened wisdom) of complete selflessness- which means an obliteration and total removal of the self- the distinct and unique individuality that each person possesses disappears, becoming an embodied spirit. Precepts (represent the first steps that one can take after reading, hearing, and pondering Buddhist teaching and establishing some confidence in it): ▪ Refrain from destroying life; ▪ Refrain from taking what is not given; ▪ Refrain from a misuse of the senses; ▪ Refrain from wrong speech (do not lie or deceive); and ▪ Refrain from taking drugs or drinks that tend to cloud the mind (abstain from intoxicants; eat moderately and not after noon; do not look on dancing, singing, or dramatic spectacles; do not affect the use of garlands, scents, or ornaments; do not use high or broad beds; and not accept gold or silver) Four state of sublime condition: love, sorrow of others, joy in the joy of others, and equanimity as regards one’s own joy and sorrow In ca. 477 BC, about 500 disciples gathered in the First Council at Rajagaha and together, recited and chanted the percepts now found in Tripitaka In the Second Council at Vesali, in ca. 383 or 377 BC, it was found desirable to make changes to ease the burden of Buddhist discipline. During king Ashoka’s time, about 273 BC, a Buddhism flourished despite sectarian differences.  In the Third Council in 245 BC, a serious effort was made to reform and reorganize the order, after which the more ardent Buddhists embarked upon a program of expansion. Under Ashoka’s royal patronage, missionaries were sent south to Ceylon and eastward to Burma, Siam (Thailand), bearing the orthodox message of original Buddhism. Christianity The Biblical God ad Humanity “Love follows knowledge” -Thomas Aquinas “Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe.” – Augustine of Hippo In the fifth century, Augustine’s writing was considered to be the most influential in the early medieval period. Confessions On Christian Doctrine On the Trinity The City of God We shall treat the statement “God exists” as a hypothesis, which we call the theistic hypothesis. Religious people definitely do not treat God’s existence as a hypothesis because for them, God is a constant presence, rather than a Being whose existence is accepted as the best explanation of available evidence. Monotheistic-there is only one God {the concept that the Christian philosophers develop} For the biblical writers, proving God’s existence would be as pointless as trying to prove the existence of the air we breathe. The religious problem reflected in the Old Testament narratives is not atheism but polytheism; not the denial of God but the worship of too many gods In the New Testament, the reality of God is unquestioned due to the conviction that in Jesus of Nazareth the eternal God became flesh and dwelt among human beings. In its earliest missionary endeavors, Christians directed their preaching to Jews who accepted the reality of God. It was only later when Christian missionaries confronted a variety of naturalistic philosophies that they felt the need to argue philosophically for the existence of God. God ordered Paul to share the gospel of salvation of Jesus Christ to non-Jews, the early Christians found it necessary to explain the truths of God from the views of people with different religious and philosophical backgrounds For Augustine (354-430 CE [common/current era]), philosophy is amor sapiential, the love of wisdom; its aim is to produce happiness. Happiness means fulness of living, a feeling and state of goodness experienced not only in the body and mind but also in one’s finances and relationships. However, for Augustine, wisdom is not only an abstract construction but is also substantially existent as the divine Logos or the very knowledge of god manifested in earth among human beings. Hence, philosophy is the love of God: it is then, religious Teachings of Christianity are based on the love of God, from which Augustine, Aquinas, and St. Anselm of Canterbury’s arguments are basically rooted. Love means faith in His existence, goodness, and commands and in His plans to bring salvation and good among human beings. For Augustine, Christianity, as presenting the full revelation of the true god, is the only full and true philosophy. Knowledge of God begins with faith and is made perfect by understanding. All knowledge leads to Good so that faith supplements and enlightens reason that it may proceed to an even richer and fuller understanding. This means that the more we know about the physical world and the history of people, the more we can know God’s characteristics and nature. Faith is the motivation and guide that points reason to the right places to gain knowledge about the world and people. As a French poetry laments: Philosophie J’ai tout lu. I have everything. J’ai tout vu. I have seen it all. J’ai tout connu. I knew all. J’ai tout entendu. I have heard it all. J’ai tout eu. I had it all. Et je suis… un peu perdu. I had lost… I am a bit lost. Without God, human beings are bound to fail. (this means that people, despite their best efforts to be smart, rich, wise, and healthy, ultimately will make mistakes, lie, hurt others, and eventually die and lose all their achievements.) “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you  will bear much fruit; apart from me, you can do nothing.”- (John 15:5) “Thy thoughts are very deep! The dull man cannot know. The stupid cannot understand this…”- Psalm 92:5-6 For Augustine, even if we grant that the senses yield no certainty in themselves so that we can always doubt their reports, one thing we cannot doubt, and that is the fact that we doubt. Here, then, is absolute certainty. Now, if we doubt, we are and as doubting we must be living and rational beings. We have then established with certainty three grades or levels of existence: mere being, living being, and rational being. The most basic form of knowledge is that of sensation, yet as we ascend higher to knowledge of rational principles, it is the will which directs the mind’s eye to truth, first influencing the mind itself, then upward to the eternal truth. Only the pure in heart shall see God; the progress in knowledge and wisdom is not only speculative, it is more fundamentally practical and moral. In other words, when a man has full understanding of God, humanity, and self, both in the spiritual and rational levels, then man finally achieves complete knowledge of the soul. Augustine’s theory of knowledge is one with the procedures of speculative mysticism. From the mystic love and intuition of God follow all the principles to direct humanity in all their undertakings. For Thomas Aquinas, another medieval philosopher, of all creatures, human beings have the unique power to change themselves and things for the better. His philosophy is best grasped in his treatises Summa Contra Gentiles and Summa Theologica. (The Summa Theologica intended to explain the Christian faith to beginning theology students, whereas the Summa contra Gentiles, to explain the Christian faith and defend it in hostile situations, with arguments adapted to the intended circumstances of its use, each article refuting a certain belief or a specific heresy.) Thomas Aquinas considered the human being as a moral agent (spiritual and body elements; the spiritual and material). Our spirituality separates us from animals; it differentiates the moral dimension of our fulfillment in action. (we have conscience) (we choose to be “good” or “evil”) Read a brief quotation from the Scripture. Reflect on a verse about compassion or generosity. Turn it over in your mind and picture a loving, caring God speaking these words to you personally. When you are ready, write or share your reflection Based on the Eightfold Path, which is the most applicable to cultivate in your family and friends? For example, upon graduation, how can you apply the means of livelihood or earning one’s living by honorable means? Answer the following. Avoid erasures. 1. What flower is commonly associated with Buddhism? 2. What is the world’s oldest organized religion? 3. What do you call the oldest Indian sacred texts? 4. Who constitutes the Trimutri? 5. What is the ultimate goal of Buddhism? 6. What does the title “Buddha” mean? 7. What is St. Augustine’s most popular work? Confessions 8. What are Aquina’s popular works? 9. What concept din Christian philosophers develop? 10. Which belief holds that humanity’s life is a continuous cycle of birth and rebirth? Rightness means pleasing God. Can you give examples that will support this claim? If you are a non- Catholic, how do you view the meaning of “right” actions?