Leadership

[pilgrim-seeker_tom]

Yesterday I read something interesting about the original Buddha ... of course I don't know that it's factual info ... yet it resonated strongly so I'm sharing it ...

Paraphrasing ... Buddha told his followers not to try and find enlightenment by hanging on to his coattails. He instructed them to ignore his teachings if it was not confirmed by personal experience, personal thought and personal feelings. i.e. one must find his/her own truth.

Reminds me of a more more mundane metaphor I heard in a business environment many years ago. Let me try to paint a picture with words.

The picture has a long rectangular table and at one end of the table is a piece of sting ... stretched out to maximum length ... let's say one metre. The goal is to move the piece of string to the other end of the table.

If one takes the tail end of the piece of string and pushes on it ... the string will all bunch up before it starts to move forward.

OTH if one takes the other end of the piece of string and pulls in the direction you want the piece of string to go ... the piece of string retains it's shapes and moves smoothly in the direction you want it to go.

[WendyDarling]

Why is one end push and the other pull? Why not pull either end or pull from anywhere along the string? Am I missing something here Tom?

Buddha was wise.

I'm worried about the shortsighted folks who don't realize they're shortsightedness though. I agree with your

One could make compelling arguments that we currently live in the 'darkest age' of all human history ... despite all the glitter and gadgetry. Such a thesis stems from mankind's unbridled confidence in science and general disdain ... lip service at best ... for anything spiritual.

WendyDarling wrote

I know of differences and I know of my preferences, but I also know that I am shortsighted. Each persons relationship with their creator is different and that of their preferences, even if shortsighted.

Still I try to share.

[pilgrim-seeker_tom]

Why is one end push and the other pull? Why not pull either end or pull from anywhere along the string? Am I missing something here Tom?

WD ... you're not missing anything ... you're simply doing what you regularly do ... you take interpretation/understanding of a mundane metaphor to a higher level ... a rare talent.

Buddha was wise.

I feel my enthusiasm for my new Buddha info stems from how it dovetails nicely with a parable I shared recently ... the farmer who sows seeds and hopes for a harvest.

It also reminded me of something I read several years ago about the founding of Zen Buddhism ... Chen in China ... during the Tang Dynasty ... a period many Chinese people refer to as their "Golden Age". I find it intriguing that Europe experienced the Dark Age at about the same time.

Apparently the fathers of Chen promoted learning without listening to people talk ... learning without reading what other people wrote. i.e. only learn by listening to the "voice of silence". Today we label this learning process as meditation and contemplation.

I'm worried about the shortsighted folks who don't realize they're shortsightedness though. I agree with your

One could make compelling arguments that we currently live in the 'darkest age' of all human history ... despite all the glitter and gadgetry. Such a thesis stems from mankind's unbridled confidence in science and general disdain ... lip service at best ... for anything spiritual.

WendyDarling wrote

I know of differences and I know of my preferences, but I also know that I am shortsighted. Each persons relationship with their creator is different and that of their preferences, even if shortsighted.

Still I try to share.

WD ... it's all in the perspective you choose ... let me try to illustrate a different perspective for you to consider.

What do most people do in the dark? ... sleep right? ... this 'sleeping' is what you label "shortsightedness"

What do roosters do in the late hours of darkness ... just before dawn? ... make a hell of a racket right? ... they are trying to wake up the people who are still sleeping. You are the rooster ... and this is the year of the "Fire Rooster".

You may find this quote from St Augustine's book Confessions helpful ... "Thus with the baggage of the world I was sweetly burdened, as one in slumber, and my musings on thee were like the efforts of those who desire to awake, but who are still overpowered with drowsiness and fall back into deep slumber. And as no one wishes to sleep forever (for all men rightly count waking better) -- yet a man will usually defer shaking off his drowsiness when there is a heavy lethargy in his limbs; and he is glad to sleep on even when his reason disapproves, and the hour for rising has struck "