Dear all,
Let me be perfectly clear about this excerpt below. It is a QUOTE from a book. It does not express what I think about the questions that Raymond Rogers poses, but, rather, states his (at the time) thinking on a concept you may find interesting.
My question to you is how you, given our wide expressions of individuality loosely within the Nichiren spectrum, view your practice as it informs, defines, enables, elucidates your behavior has a human being - or not! See what you think.
Raymond Rogers, in his book, "Coming Into Existence", 1967, examines the illuminating experiences in life, the ones that change us for the better forever. How they happen, what they are, and so forth, and this is one thing he has to say in a larger discussion of the role of difficulty in the process of growth.
Rogers says:
"We encounter life-generating difficulty even within ourselves. We can reasonably ask whether or not it is possible to do "nothing but good" -- that is, to behave in a purely constructive way. The standard human virtues were identified long ago and are well known to almost everybody. It is easier to understand them than to practice them in specific situations, however, because the practice of one virtue is sometimes not consistent with the practice of another. This is the origin of some of our moral problems, and, more broadly, some problems of psychic integrity.Honesty and kindness, for example, are respectable virtues which all good people try to practice. But suppose your wife asks what you think of her new hat -- and you don't like it? Shall you be honest or shall you be kind? And this is really an oversimplification, because there are many other virtues that necessarily come into play here, such as generosity, optimism, loyalty, the obligation to help with the education, enlightenment, and protection of those weak and deficient in taste and intelligence, and so on. It seems unlikely that all the relevant virtues can be constructively applied here, or that the intrusion of some vices can be avoided. What you probably have to settle for is the best creative blend of virtue and vice you can put together, excluding as many vices as possible. Living is lamentably complex!"
Do you agree with Raymond Rogers on this, as a Buddhist who chants NMRK? Does your practice influence this aspect of your lives? If so, how?
Best,
Armchair
1 comment
Yes, life is complex. I am of the school that we are all profoundly intuitive beings. We do not need to chant or do anything special to become intuitive. We already are keenly sensitive to the complex dynamics of situations, and to the complicated needs and desires of ourselves and other people.Often I chant to have the courage to live true to my intuitive perceptions. I am not advocating a type of "anything goes" practice -- the type of practice where you just do whatever you want regardless of others or regardless of what the effect might be, but then chant to make "all good." That is not a healthy way to approach chanting. If you insist on drinking vodka all night, you will have a hangover the next day. Chanting is not "insurance" against getting a hangover.Rather I mean that I intuitively know when a person needs a kind word from me (or a stern word, for that matter) -- we all know these things, intuitively, but often we fail to act on the information. I wish to courageously follow this intuitive guidance. I wish to speak the kind words that need to be spoken, without a moment's hesitation, even if my jealousy or anger or simple pettiness would have me withhold my generosity.Having the confidence and self-esteem to trust my intuition is the key to "creatively blending virtue and vice."