the Culture & Society blog

One of his students asked Buddha, “Are you the messiah?”
“No”, answered Buddha.
“Then are you a healer?”
“No”, Buddha replied.
“Then are you a teacher?” the student persisted.
“No, I am not a teacher.”
“Then what are you?” asked the student, exasperated.
“I am awake”, Buddha replied.

The first written records of Siddhartha (Later called the Buddha) come from Siri Lanka (an island off the coast of South India), several hundred miles from where he taught. Like many other figures of mythology, his teachings were first written down well after his death, about 300 years later, so the reality of his teachings were already well mixed with local religious ideas and mythology.

I like the above book because the author separates the meditational philosophy of balance/awakening from the religious beliefs. This makes the practice of awareness/awakening something that a person of any religious persuasion can learn and apply. For example, Siddhartha basically taught that,

“Anguish is to be understood, its origins to be let go of, its cessation to be realized, and the path to be cultivated.”

Or in other words, the root of anguish is desiring life to something other than it is. Accepting life as it is helps release anguish.

When this becomes, “Life IS Suffering” and the “Cause of suffering IS craving” then the philosophy of cultivating awareness becomes a belief system to be followed. This is where Buddhism becomes a religion.

During Siddhartha’s lifetime many people were able to attain awareness and “awakening” but after his death it became something to be strived for and rarely, if ever, achieved. Why has it become so hard to attain awakening? Because turning Buddhism into a religion made it’s tenants “Holy”, something well above ordinary reality. So following the teachings as a practice of expanding awareness switched to one of devotion.

The Buddhists explain this lack of “enlightenment” in modern religious Buddhism as an example of the degradation of humanity over time. That is the common excuse for any religious person to explain why the tenets of their religion are NOT followed in society AND can never be followed until ‘the end days’. This effectively removes moral responsibility for their actions as a society, as it is not the practitioners fault but life itself that makes enlightenment/awakening/peace impossible.

“An unawakened existence, in which we drift unaware on a surge of habitual impulses, is both ignoble and undignified. Instead of a natural and non-coercive authority, we impose our will on others either through manipulation and intimidation or by appealing to the opinions of those more powerful than ourselves. Authority becomes a question of force rather than integrity.”

Living for momentary pleasures makes a person jump from one thing to another rarely finding complete satisfaction in one thing - always looking for the next ‘high’. This high can be social company, excessive exercise, drinking, drugs (both illegal and legal ones) etc. Letting go of craving can free us, even if it is only momentarily. That is why the path must be cultivated.

Experiment
Sit comfortable and consciously relax all the muscles in your body. Begin from your scalp and work your way down to your toes. Now become aware of your breath and as you maintain the focus on your breathing ALSO become aware of the surface you are sitting on, the cloths on your body, your surroundings and even the dome of the sky stretching off to the horizon. Be aware of your breathing and all of the above simultaneously.

If you can do the above only for a few seconds that is fine. You just have experienced ‘expanded awareness’. Many people who try this will recognize the awareness they are experiencing from a previous experience. Yes, humans are ‘mystical’ creatures. Awakening, no matter how much it is avoided, is intrinsically a part of everyone AND is something that ANYONE can learn.

As a global culture we fix ourselves in ‘palaces’ of what is familiar and secure. We sense there is more to life than trying to gratify our desires and defend ourselves from fear. Yet we don’t know how to get their and this leads to even more activities of distraction.

For Example; We all know that the only certainty in life is death. If we keep the inevitability of death on our minds many things we worry about will no longer matter. Instead we try to avoid that thought at all costs to the point where when we encounter death we are shocked and terrified and say, ‘his/her time came early’. There is no such thing. Without the perspective of our death how can we possibly make short or long term decisions that aren’t influenced by drowning ourselves in momentary pleasures?

“Since no one knows the future,
who can tell him what is to come?

No man has power over his spirit to retain it,
so no one has power over the day of his death.”
Ecclesiastes 8:7-8:8

Death is always there waiting for you, every day of your life. It is sad, depressing, part of the sorrow of life, but it is not ‘early’.

What is life? It is the flash of a firefly in the night. It is the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime. It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset. - Blackfoot

Since death is certain, avoiding it makes you avoid life itself.

Think about it. How do you know that someone is alive? By the simple fact that he/she is not dead. in other words, death defines life. Without death we would not know what life is. So by avoiding the acceptance of death we become escapists of life itself. Chasing momentary pleasures to cloud our awareness and our fears.

If you are constantly making life to be some perfect image to be attained at some point in the future, you will ALWAYS be chasing that image. If you cannot be content now you will never be content as there will always be something else you ‘need’ before you can be happy. A bigger car, a bigger house, a plane? This will give a rush of excitement followed by boredom with your new toy and craving for the next one.

This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t enjoy expensive things just that you should be happy first or nothing you get will ever satisfy you. (“Be bountiful and multiply”)

If you jump from one emotion to another, blindly avoiding pain and seeking pleasure with no awareness or separation from your emotions THEN your emotions will control you. You will be a slave to your desire. Anyone who knows your desires can control you.

“All man’s efforts are for his mouth,
yet his appetite is never satisfied.”
Ecclesiastes 6:7

According to this book, the first step out: Become aware of every emotion you have as you experience it. Don’t try to stop the emotion but learn to distance yourself from it, pain, sorrow or joy. Keep a part of yourself that is always observing yourself and your emotions.

By these definitions awakening is a process of building and maintaining the discipline of awareness.

Laziness brings on deep sleep,

And the shiftless man goes hungry.

Proverbs 19:15

“The wise man has eyes in his head,
while the fool walks in the darkness.”
Ecclesiastes 6:7

The Story of Socrates

Probably the most famous ‘wiseman’ was an ancient Greek by the name of Socrates. His story goes something like this:

While Socrates was chillin in his home, minding his own business, he heard that the ‘Oracle at Delphi’ has declared that ‘there is no man wiser than he’.

The Oracle was a person who was something of a ‘Diviner’, where a person has the ability to read ‘signs’ presented by the world around them or through devices such as deep trance or something like the ruins used by the ancient druids. The equivalent, in terms of Authority, in western society would be a preacher with powerful charisma.

So when Socrates heard that he is the ‘wisest’ he had to pay attention. The first thing he did was get confused, “what is the interpretation of this riddle? for I know that I have no wisdom, small or great. What can he mean when he says that I am the wisest of men?”. So he decided to go and ask others around him who he had heard called wise before. Thus began his little quest.

He realized that if he found one man who knew the meaning of wisdom then he has found someone wiser than himself and would be proof that the Oracle is wrong. Upon cross examination he discovered that the rich and powerful men that he questioned, known for their wisdom, had no idea what wisdom was. When asked ‘what is wisdom’ they would define it in terms of something else like doing an activity or having an attribute like virtue which was also defined in terms of some activity.

In short, no one Socrates talked to could define wisdom specifically. They could only point to activities that they thought were wise or led to wisdom.

By this experimentation Socrates concluded that no body knew what wisdom was. The only difference between himself and the ones that were thought to be wise was that he didn’t delude himself into thinking he knew what wisdom was. He also pissed off a bunch of rich and powerful men for proving that they weren’t wise so they labeled him with charges of heresy and brought him to court.

This reminds me of verses that I read in a book of the Old Testament called “Proverbs”

“Do not be wise in your own eyes” Proverbs 3:7

Socrates doesn’t see himself as wise so he fits that definition.

“Do not rebuke a mocker or he will hate you;

rebuke, a wise man and he will love you.” Proverbs 9:8

Socrates rebuke of the rich and powerful that were supposed to be wise made them hate him. If the above verse is true then by getting angry these people proved they are not wise. Yet at the same time, by asking all the questions that Socrates asked, he did bring upon hatred from the powerful, which led to his death. So how wise was Socrates? Well the Oracle didn’t say he was the wisest man, she said there is no one wiser than he. There is a difference.

Noticing these similarities I opened the book of Proverbs and immediately read the following;

“let the wise listen and add to their learning

and let the discerning get guidance

for understanding proverbs and parables,

the sayings and riddles of the wise.”

This verse reminds me of Plato’s Allegory of the Cave. The author is suggesting that the wise talk in parables and riddles, which is also one of the conclusions of the cave parable!

So, why can’t a wise person just say what wisdom is and tell us how to attain it as well?

I think the answer to the above question lies in Platos Cave Allegory;

To understand this parable imagine a civilization that has spent it’s entire existence in a cave lit by a fire. This society believes that the shadows on the cave wall, that is cast by the fire, is actually themselves and their friends and family. They believe they are the shadows on the cave wall because they are chained to the ground and their face is locked in a position facing the wall.

Now imagine one person breaks his/her chains and steps out of the cave. This person sees color for the first time. Even sees his/her own hand for the first time as the chains are gone. Now this cave of shadows escapee has a serious problem…how do you explain to people who have never seen anything but shadows what color is? How can you explain a tree or even the blue dome of the sky? You can’t. They won’t even have words for the color blue or red since they live in the black, white and gray world of shadows.

Plato’s theory, which seems to be supported by the book of Proverbs, is that like a cave dweller who has stepped into the sunlight, the wise man too has stepped out of society and culture. When he comes back to his people to explain what he has learned, he discovers that there are no words in the language to define what he knows. So he must talk in riddles and parables.

If all cultures exist in caves then a wise man from any culture may resemble a wise man from another culture. It is the people from different caves that will appear different to one another as they have each developed their own culture within their particular cave. While the wise man steps outside and sees the same reality that any other wise man would see.

A wise man returning to his/her own culture (cave) will have to use the language of this particular culture. BUT would the theme of the returning wise mans lectures/lessons be similar across ALL cultures?

If similarities are found is the ‘sayings of the wise’, despite cultural differences of behavior and what is considered to be the ‘true religion’, then ALL wise men really do encounter the same reality and it is to the sayings of the wise and the models of our scholars that we can derive the most benefit from. Why? The sayings of the wise, to see if we are on the right track and the models of the scholars to apply our best knowledge to our cultural circumstances so that we too can develop the qualities of wisdom through knowledge and discernment.

Here are some of the definitions and sources of wisdom that I will be referring to as I continue the study of culture and society, which is the topic of this blog.

The University of Stanford has come up with the following definition of Wisdom as a starting point for further discussion

A person is wise if

1. he/she has extensive factual and theoretical knowledge.

2. he/she knows how to live well.

3. he/she is successful at living well.

4. he/she has very few unjustified beliefs.

Notice; living well will have different attributes in different cultures. For example, if a Christian started sacrificing animals like a Jew of Israel here in a suburban town they will be seen as crazy and the cops will probably be called. By the person doing the sacrifice he may have been doing a ‘wise’ thing for his own culture but it may not be wise for someone in the culture that they are in now. So this is a useful definition but cannot be used as a blanket definition of wisdom.

FROM: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wisdom

Wisdom is having gained knowledge, understanding, experience, discretion, and intuitive understanding, along with a capacity to apply these qualities well.

Researchers in positive psychology have defined wisdom (a.k.a. psychological perspective) as the coordination of “knowledge and experience” and “its deliberate use to improve well being.”^[6] With this definition, wisdom can be measured using the following criteria.^[7]

• A wise person can discern the core of important problems.
• A wise person has self-knowledge.
• A wise person seems sincere and direct with others.
• Others ask wise people for advice.
• A wise person’s actions are consistent with his/her ethical beliefs.

Confucius stated that wisdom can be learned by three methods: Reflection (the noblest), imitation (the easiest) and experience (the bitterest).

Buddha taught that a wise person is endowed with good bodily conduct, good verbal conduct & good mental conduct (AN3:2) and a wise person does actions that are unpleasant to do but give good results and doesn’t do actions that are pleasant to do but give bad results (AN4:115).

“Then you will

In Taoism Practical Wisdom may be described as knowing what to say and when to say it.

The fascinating part of these definitions is that parallels for the definitions exist in the Book of Proverbs of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament)!

The proverbs include references to enhancing understanding and knowledge for discernment, which is at the heart of wisdom. It also outlines basic behavioral conduct in human societies which are support by wisdom quotes in the other religions and cultures.

CONCLUSION: Since all the above traditions indicate a similar idea of wisdom it is reasonable to say that wisdom is something that all cultures AND religions have in common.

So a wise person in one society, if he is truly wise, will also be a wise person in another society.

In future posts I will look at more examples from various traditions and maybe find more proof for a continuum of wisdom that individuals of ALL cultures have access to but this should be enough for now.

NOTE: The interesting thing about Socrates’s death is that he could have avoided it. He had many strong supporters who could have easily taken him away from there. But Socrates had spent his whole life in Athens, as a peasant, warrior and politician. Always standing for principles that even got him put him jail, while he was a politician, but always were proven to be in his favor as time passed.

The reason he chose to die was to set an example;

Since Socrates has interpreted the Delphic Oracle as singling him out to spur his fellow Athenians to a greater awareness of moral goodness and truth, he will not stop questioning and arguing should the people forbid him to do so, even if they were to withdraw the charges. Nor will he stop questioning his fellow citizens. “Are you not ashamed that you give your attention to acquiring as much money as possible, and similarly with reputation and honor, and give no attention or thought to truth and understanding and the perfection of your soul?” (read about the apology on Wikipedia)

Does this remind you of the following from the Book of Proverbs?

8:1. Doth not wisdom cry aloud, and prudence put forth her voice?

8:2. Standing in the top of the highest places by the way, in the midst of the paths,

8:3. Beside the gates of the city, in the very doors she speaketh, saying:

8:4. O ye men, to you I call, and my voice is to the sons of men.

8:5. O little ones understand subtlety, and ye unwise, take notice.

8:6. Hear, for I will speak of great things: and my lips shall be opened to preach right things.

8:7. My mouth shall meditate truth, and my lips shall hate wickedness.

8:8. All my words are just, there is nothing wicked, nor perverse in them.

8:9. They are right to them that understand, and just to them that find knowledge.

8:10. Receive my instruction, and not money: choose knowledge rather than gold.

8:11. For wisdom is better than all the most precious things: and whatsoever may be desired cannot be compared to it.

8:12. I, wisdom, dwell in counsel, and am present in learned thoughts.

8:13. The fear of the Lord hateth evil; I hate arrogance, and pride, and every wicked way, and a mouth with a double tongue.

8:14. Counsel and equity is mine, prudence is mine, strength is mine.

Read the Book of Proverbs

Despotism - A 1946 educational film produced by Encyclopaedia Britannica Films Inc In collaboration with Harold D. Lasswell, Ph.D. of Yale University. (10 Minutes approx)

Despotism

If the video above doesn’t work you can watch it at an alternate location by clicking here or here or here.(link opens in a new window)

Despot: A system of government in which the ruler has unlimited power Merriam-Webster Dictionary

Definition of Despotism from Wikipedia:

“Despotism is a form of government by a single authority, either an individual or tightly knit group, which rules with absolute political power. “

The English government is cited to have reduced the American people under absolute despotism in the United States Declaration of Independence. “But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.”

Outline of the Model for Measuring Despotism

You can locate any community in the world on a simple scale from democracy to despotism (tyranny)

A man who may be Harold D. Lasswell phd. Begins by saying that, “Avoid the comfortable idea that the mere form of government can of itself safeguard a nation against despotism”

When a competent observer looks for signs of despotism in the community he looks beyond fine words and noble phrases

Many observers have found that 2 yardsticks help a person determine how near to despotism a community may be – these two scales are the “respect” and “power” scales.

1. Scale of respect

Low respect exists if:

If common courtesy is withheld from large groups of people on account of their political attitudes

If people are rude to others because their wealth or position give them that right

Or because they don’t like that man’s race OR religion

Equal opportunity for all citizens to develop useful skills AND the ability to put those skills to use is one basis to measure respect

2. Scale of power

It gauges the citizens share is making the communities decision.

Communities that concentrate decisions in a few hands rate low on a power scale and are moving towards despotism

The test of despotic power is that it can disregard the will of the people. It rules without the consent of the governed.

As it is written in the constitution:

“Government are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”

Look beyond legal formalities on an election in measuring a community on a power scale to see is the ballot is really free.

If the citizen can vote only the way they are told then the community approaches despotism

In a despotism opposition is dangerous whether the despotism is official or unofficial.

The spread of respect and power in a community is influenced by certain conditions which can be measured using the scales of “economic distribution” and “information” scales.

A. economic distribution

If a communities economic distribution becomes slanted and middle class goes smaller then despotism stands a better chance to gain a foothold

Where land is privately owned, one sign of a poorly balanced economy is the concentration of land ownership in a very small number of people

-when farmers lose their farms they lose their independence either by losing their farm of their stats as boss.

In communities that depend almost entirely on single industries have jobs and business opportunities concentrated in only a few hands and despotism has a good chance.

Another sign of a poorly balanced economy is where taxation is more on those least able to pay. A tax will effectively hurt a small income person more (the type of tax mentioned in the movie is a simple one and taxes today are more complicated).

B. Information scale

A community rates low on an information scale when the press – radio and other channels of communication are controlled by only a few people and when citizens have to accept what they are told then despotism stands a good chance

You can also see how a community trains its teachers

If students are taught to accept uncritically whatever they are told. If questions are discouraged about what is taught in a text book then it is not surprising if the person starts to beklives everything they read. If the media is controlled then people will accep exactly what the people in control want them to.

The press can be controlled by a state of by private interests.

What sort of community do you live in? How would you rate it on a democracy and despotism scale?

To know how to rate the above use a respect and power scale

To find out in what way your society is likely to go in the future use the economic distribution and information scales

The lower your community rates on economic distribution and information scales, the lower it is likely to rate on respect and power scales and this in turn approaches despotism.

I have been wondering how to start this blog. Should I outline the different theories of culture, the different ways research has been done, what does evidence suggest, how cultures percieve each other, how do cultures and societies self-destruct, etc. I decided to do a little of everything. The presentation of this blog won’t fit together like a book but it will fit together if you read all the information it provides and links to.

Links to scientific evidence and expert opinion will litter my text but at the same time I don’t want to constantly have to invoke authority to make a point. If you sense any anger from a post it is because the particular topic makes me angry. If you sense sadness or joy, it is for the same reason.

To start off the blog I picked something simple and possibly controversial (though I can’t see why it would be). This upcoming topic is something I recently became aware of . This topic is very important, both for public safety and the safety of our children. So I thought I should write this first to set the tone of this blog .

Note: if you can’t handle controversial topics with an open mind and balanced disposition I suggest you leave this blog now.

If you tend to react with anger before thought but you want to be able to sit down and think rationally then I suggest you learn meditation. Web pages on these topics are being published on my profile page, under my name Abbas Abedi (to visit click here).

You can also go over my main website that teaches powerful meditation techniques so that anyone can develop the ability of “Instant Stress Management” (to visit click here).