Great piece, thanks! I love the discussion of the Tao (literally an oldschooler here) and linking it with sattva guna. This feels like what the recent times researchers have called the "flow state," when mind, body, heart (maybe soul too!) are at 98.6, homeostasis., effortless effort. As a life long endurance athlete, I know this state well and enter into it every day, if briefly, and I never feel more me than when in motion and feeling this way.
I see your connection with sattva guna and the heroes of Minneapolis and the millions around the world trying to bring justice, freedom, and the Common Good to the fore. This is where my "flow state" connection disappears. The flow state does not require courage nor rising to the occasion. As you so eloquently have taught us, in an indifferent universe if we want justice, we must act to make it happen. There is no calvary coming to the rescue; in fact, the "calvary" of today is come to arrest you. Those heroes standing for justice may be "looking natural" in their opposition, but they are doing this in the midst of rajas guna, with the associated adrenaline, sweat, and racing hearts. As I have heard you say countless times, two things can be true at once...sattva guna in the heart and rajas in the biology.
And not in the least bit to compare myself, but I take heart in the fact that Wittgenstein after completing his only major philosophical work spent the rest of his life refuting himself. My kinda' guy. And he left 81 unfinished manuscripts in his desk, preferring the work to arriving at tedious results. I should be so lucky.
Actually I think PI is more important than the Tractatus, however it was not actually a published work but a mss published by W's students. It is certainly reactionary and W spent most of his life after the Tractatus refuting its arguments.
It's kind of like someone writing a piece on how innocent and great a self-professed hero is, only to find out he's guilty and meganiacal, and then devoting the remainder of his or her life to the effort of tearing down the influence s/he had in raising the megalomaniac up in the first place! I'm going to leave out mentioning any real examples!
Even as I was making the case for this Daoist Meets Sattva-guna notion, I was conjuring the alternatives, much as you have outlined here. I do think there is a naturalness to our conscience-acts—-that we experience greater ease and peace of mind in body/mind when we are “doing the right thing.” That said, goodness in an amoral universe is an intervention, a human choice, it’s a choice to rise to the occasion when the natural world offers moral neutrality. This past week’s close reading of Lao Tzu and Sankhya (for my University classes) surely tinted my glasses.
I've always loved studying teachings of the Tao/Dao. They're in fact what ignited my passion towards learning 'Asian thought''-- ever since I read my younger brother's copy of the 'Tao Te Ching' in 8th grade, 35 years ago!
I not sure stupid people can 'revert to the Dao', they much prefer to 'refer to the Dow'!
Great piece, thanks! I love the discussion of the Tao (literally an oldschooler here) and linking it with sattva guna. This feels like what the recent times researchers have called the "flow state," when mind, body, heart (maybe soul too!) are at 98.6, homeostasis., effortless effort. As a life long endurance athlete, I know this state well and enter into it every day, if briefly, and I never feel more me than when in motion and feeling this way.
I see your connection with sattva guna and the heroes of Minneapolis and the millions around the world trying to bring justice, freedom, and the Common Good to the fore. This is where my "flow state" connection disappears. The flow state does not require courage nor rising to the occasion. As you so eloquently have taught us, in an indifferent universe if we want justice, we must act to make it happen. There is no calvary coming to the rescue; in fact, the "calvary" of today is come to arrest you. Those heroes standing for justice may be "looking natural" in their opposition, but they are doing this in the midst of rajas guna, with the associated adrenaline, sweat, and racing hearts. As I have heard you say countless times, two things can be true at once...sattva guna in the heart and rajas in the biology.
And not in the least bit to compare myself, but I take heart in the fact that Wittgenstein after completing his only major philosophical work spent the rest of his life refuting himself. My kinda' guy. And he left 81 unfinished manuscripts in his desk, preferring the work to arriving at tedious results. I should be so lucky.
Wayamin. Don’t you Philosophical Investigations is as important (if reactionary to) Tractatus?
Actually I think PI is more important than the Tractatus, however it was not actually a published work but a mss published by W's students. It is certainly reactionary and W spent most of his life after the Tractatus refuting its arguments.
It's kind of like someone writing a piece on how innocent and great a self-professed hero is, only to find out he's guilty and meganiacal, and then devoting the remainder of his or her life to the effort of tearing down the influence s/he had in raising the megalomaniac up in the first place! I'm going to leave out mentioning any real examples!
Even as I was making the case for this Daoist Meets Sattva-guna notion, I was conjuring the alternatives, much as you have outlined here. I do think there is a naturalness to our conscience-acts—-that we experience greater ease and peace of mind in body/mind when we are “doing the right thing.” That said, goodness in an amoral universe is an intervention, a human choice, it’s a choice to rise to the occasion when the natural world offers moral neutrality. This past week’s close reading of Lao Tzu and Sankhya (for my University classes) surely tinted my glasses.
I've always loved studying teachings of the Tao/Dao. They're in fact what ignited my passion towards learning 'Asian thought''-- ever since I read my younger brother's copy of the 'Tao Te Ching' in 8th grade, 35 years ago!
I not sure stupid people can 'revert to the Dao', they much prefer to 'refer to the Dow'!
Gorgeous! Thank you. 😊 🙏🏼
Thank you Douglas for opening up this contemplation