Archive of UserLand's first discussion group, started October 5, 1998.

Me and 'the other'

Author:Christoph Pingel
Posted:9/12/2000; 8:35:04 AM
Topic:fork
Msg #:21234 (In response to 21216)
Prev/Next:21233 / 21235

I like your examples, but I have doubts about their scope. Every situation has something that is *not* you (or at least more than your own conception of 'self'.) Call it essence, reality, the "Ding an sich". The condition of the possibility to be surprised. And that pure 'other' demands your respect - it's not accessible. That, to me, is the deepest buddhist truth: Learn to respect yourself by respecting the 'other', the universe, the law, or whatever names you'd like to drop here.

The german painter Max Beckmann once said: »There is a mystery about your existence that you cannot and should not grasp. But your destiny is driven by the way you treat that mystery.« I like that phrase because it implies that you can have (good) intentions about life and get the appropriate results - even without knowing what life 'really' is.

Talking about buddhism, is there anyone in the DG familiar with Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo?

Christoph

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