The Mystery of The Right
I recall coming across
Buddha's Eight-Fold Path for the first time over 20 years ago----and my first
thought was "What is the right thing, dammit?"
The Buddha laid out that the Eightfold Path to Liberation as consisting of such things as:
Right Livelihood
Right Thinking
Right Action &
Right Speech
....among others.
What struck me was that "right" was not so clearly defined by the Buddha. Yes, there were some guidelines such as not "making profits off of suffering" or contributing to the increase of suffering for others... and then calling it "making a decent living." However, there was not the concise outline of what I SHOULD do in any one situation in life. It was all so vague and incomplete. It left me a bit disappointed.... and even, to a degree, frustrated. What was "I" supposed to do?
Now, with a bit of age and experience under my belt I still don't have a clue. I still don't know what I am led to do in any one situation. Yes, there are these general moral guidelines that set boundaries on the array of potential choices before me, but to know specifically and exactly what I am to do in order to be "right" or "righteous" in any one moment is still as profound a mystery as it always was.
I suppose this must mean I am morally empty and have no strict ethical guidelines for conducting myself in the context of being in relationship to everyone and everything. It may mean that I have no "moral compass." Or... in another breath.... it could suggest that none of us have any assurances as to what we "should" do in any specific instance in life. Sure, we can guess.... we can do hypotheticals, too. We can also say what others "ought" to be doing based upon our rather narrow observations and understanding of their dilemmas and personal history.
Ultimately, though, maybe "right" is as mysterious and perplexing as quantum physics can be. Where the question is at least as important---if not more important---than the answer.
The Buddha laid out that the Eightfold Path to Liberation as consisting of such things as:
Right Livelihood
Right Thinking
Right Action &
Right Speech
....among others.
What struck me was that "right" was not so clearly defined by the Buddha. Yes, there were some guidelines such as not "making profits off of suffering" or contributing to the increase of suffering for others... and then calling it "making a decent living." However, there was not the concise outline of what I SHOULD do in any one situation in life. It was all so vague and incomplete. It left me a bit disappointed.... and even, to a degree, frustrated. What was "I" supposed to do?
Now, with a bit of age and experience under my belt I still don't have a clue. I still don't know what I am led to do in any one situation. Yes, there are these general moral guidelines that set boundaries on the array of potential choices before me, but to know specifically and exactly what I am to do in order to be "right" or "righteous" in any one moment is still as profound a mystery as it always was.
I suppose this must mean I am morally empty and have no strict ethical guidelines for conducting myself in the context of being in relationship to everyone and everything. It may mean that I have no "moral compass." Or... in another breath.... it could suggest that none of us have any assurances as to what we "should" do in any specific instance in life. Sure, we can guess.... we can do hypotheticals, too. We can also say what others "ought" to be doing based upon our rather narrow observations and understanding of their dilemmas and personal history.
Ultimately, though, maybe "right" is as mysterious and perplexing as quantum physics can be. Where the question is at least as important---if not more important---than the answer.
posted by David Jon Peckinpaugh @ 11:57 AM
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