“The Middle Way” Toward Moral Perfection

[amosknows]

Moral perfection is the total relinquishment of your survival instincts. It is the relinquishment of self. People who sacrifice their lives for others have therefore engaged in moral perfection. In other words, a conscious decision to totally relinquish self or your survival instincts which resulted in your death would be an “absolute” of this principle. This is exemplified by Jesus’ willingness to die for others. Or the story I read recently about a Marine who threw himself on a grenade to save his fellow soldiers.

In any action you engage in there is an opposite reaction. Your survival behavior will always have direct negative consequences on the ability of other people to survive. Even eating an apple can negatively impact the survival of other humans. Of course, no one can actually achieve this “absolute” of moral perfection and survive. Leaving us with a dilemma regarding what is expected of us as moral beings. To address this enigma. Buddha put forth the “middle way”.

The “middle way” involves avoiding self-indulgence and achieving a balance between survival and morality. There are also varying degrees of sacrifice between the “middle way” and the absolute way - for example Mother Teresa’s attempts to dedicate her life to others would push her balance toward the absolute. While most of us will be unable to achieve such a degree of morality, as a moral individual you should strive to push yourself to the absolute by eliminating self toward the unattainable goal of moral perfection.

In any attempt to guide yourself toward moral perfection you must therefore eliminate your own personal needs, wants and desires and begin to minimally think about how your actions are affecting other human beings. Most people operate in, or are tipped toward, their survival programming - allowing it to dominate their actions. When they behave what they are thinking about is themselves and not others. Certainly most of us could intentionally never lay down our lives for someone else. But what’s equally troubling about the state of humanity is that many of us will not even sacrifice excess wealth to help other people. Most who have much more than they need justify their status on the basis of “hard work”, a value system which is strongly rooted in the material world. We humans can also rationalize having ten apples and only sharing one - it’s actually a way in which most people suppress any feeling of remorse or guilt they might have. So not only are people behaving like animals, they are able to side step their moral component by rationalizing their behaviors.

Amos was a farmer and a prophet who lived within the confines of Israel and Judah from 793 BC to 753 BC - at a time when both Israel and Judah were wildly prosperous. But also at a time when the people of Israel and Judah had reached a low point in their devotion to God. The people had become greedy and had stopped following and adhering to human values. The wealthy elite become rich at the expense of the poor. Peasant farmers who once practiced subsistence farming were being forced to farm what was profitable as foreign trade. This period of time mirrors ours, and probably mirrors many periods that have come before.

God speaks to Amos and tells him that the judgment day for Israel and Judah is coming due to the decadency of it’s people and that this punishment will be inflicted by a foreign nation.

One of the central themes of the teaching of Amos is that social injustice and and a general lack of concern for the disadvantaged is ultimately punishable at God’s hand. And that punishment need not be a direct blow, but as a result of the actions of the people so effected and/or from outside sources as a result of it’s influence on other nations.

As a race of beings, it’s imperative that we begin individual self examinations. An examination of what is causing and guiding our behaviors. Only in this way can one become enlightened to the causes and control of one’s own behavior. An understanding of what is causing you to behave the way you do is essential to being able to chose the “middle way”. A focus on societal change, policy change, the change in our economic system, or our criminal justice system, will never lead to a global improvement in the human condition. Mainly because the substantive parts of our society and our civilization will remain grounded in animal survival instincts.

www.amosknows.com

[BaalChatzaf]

Dear Amosknows,

Now hear this. You are gonzo, demented, and brain burned. You recipe is one for the destruction of the human race. Shame on you!

Stop skipping your meds.

Ba'al Chatzaf

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

This poster is anonymous and his/her blog is anonymous.

The post is nothing more than a repeat of a text on his/her blog.

I will be reviewing further posts from this person before allowing them up.

Meanwhile, I don't mind providing a backlink to his/her blog from our garbage pile.

(This message will be repeated on the other two threads.)

Michael

[amosknows]

Dear Amosknows,

Now hear this. You are gonzo, demented, and brain burned. You recipe is one for the destruction of the human race. Shame on you!

Stop skipping your meds.

Ba'al Chatzaf

I'd be happy to debate your opinions but so far all you have exhibited is an ability to call someone a name, make an unsubstantiated blanket statement, and display disdain. If you have something substantive to say I'm all ears...