Posts tagged ‘society’
I’ve been thinking about this whole idea of children’s debt to their parents – the duty to care for them in old age, when they can no longer manage on their own. I’ve noticed that many people seem to think that by having grandchildren and raising them, they are somehow paying off the debt to their own parents. I really don’t get it… As if, in some metaphysical way, the energy they invest in their children and grandchildren spreads to the realm of the grandparents? That’s just nonsense. I don’t have children myself, and I believe we should take better care of the elderly than of children – because children have given you nothing, while your grandparents and parents gave you everything.
Before I discovered Hinduism, I thought that it was the Buddha who introduced the ideas of karma and reincarnation. However, he actually took them from Hinduism. The Buddha himself contributed his own insights – that the root of suffering lies in desires, and by escaping from desires, one becomes happy. But here’s my question: is that even possible through an act of will? I mean, if you try to force yourself to “stop wanting,” aren’t you just suppressing that energy and ending up wanting it even more?
So the ideas of reincarnation and karma are eternal… they have existed and will continue to exist for as long as humanity itself exists, while the ancient teachings are merely the written records that have survived to our time.
And Buddhists and Hindus do think about monotheism. And monotheists think about reincarnation and karma.
What I mean is that we need to separate the eternal Dhamma (reincarnation and karma), which is universal, and the ideas introduced by the Buddha, which are essentially his personal vision.
Confucius’s fundamental idea was “ren\jin” 仁 – humanity, kindness. And its essence is that you need to think of others more than of yourself. This resonated with me, and I remembered the words of one christian monk: that you should do good without expecting gratitude from people, that you should do good not for the sake of thanks, but for God, and God\Karma will repay you.
