obyvatel said:
In the chapter titled "Becoming Aware of Genuine Being Duty" in Beelzebub's Tales to His Grandson, Hassein, Beelzebub's grandson, has the following realization
[quote author=BT]
"Only now have I come to understand clearly that everything we have and use today, all the contemporary amenities and everything necessary for our comfort and welfare, did not always exist, nor did they make their appearance so easily.
"It seems that in the past certain beings must have labored hard and suffered very much for all this, and endured a great deal that perhaps they could have spared themselves They labored and suffered solely that we might have these advantages today and use them for our welfare.
"And all this, consciously or unconsciously, they did for us—beings quite unknown and entirely indifferent to them.
"And now not only do we not thank them, but we do not even know anything about them, and take it all as a matter of course, and neither ponder this question nor trouble ourselves in the slightest about it.
"I, for instance, have already existed so many years in the Universe, yet the thought has never entered my head that perhaps there was a time when everything I see and have did not exist, and that everything was not born with me like my nose.
"And so, my dear and kind Grandfather, since your conversation with the captain has gradually made me aware of all this with the whole of my presence, the need has arisen in me to make clear to my Reason why I personally have these advantages, and what obligations I am under on their account.
This is an accurate description of reality. As I write this post on my computer, I am using technology that was created and refined through trial and error of innumerable human beings from conception to design to manufacturing to testing to distribution and retailing. The books that impart the knowledge we collect and discuss have been collected, refined and distributed by human beings of multiple generations going back to antiquity. The chair on which I sit, the house that shelters me - everything has come about through the labors - conscious or unconscious - of people I do not know or acknowledge.
I can say "yes, but I bought these things with
my money. But if I reflect on the "my money" aspect of it, how did I
earn the money? I was not born with the skillset which helps provide for my living as an adult. That skill set was taught to me by others building on the foundation of basic education which also came about through others - teachers, parents, colleagues, supervisors etc.
The point is that an honest reflection shows clearly that our lives are not as "self-made" as we tend to believe. It stands on the foundation laid by countless others - some known to us but most not known. We talk about ponerization of society, how we have been harmed by our narcissistic parents and the education system - and that perspective is valid as well. However, the malignant egoism that affects modern society tends to ignore the basic contributions others have made to give us the life we have today. "Waking up to reality" as much involves seeing the ponerization as it does acknowledging the debt we owe to reality for our very existence. One without the other is lopsided.
Acknowledging our debts to reality - which then brings up the prospect of the being striving of "paying for our arising" - is not some abstract philosophy, metaphysics or even esotericism. It is simple observation and reflection on reality. The idea is not to arouse overwhelming gratitude or overwhelming guilt - but accepting the state of affairs as "what is". If done regularly in the midst of life - working on the computer or washing dishes or folding clothes or driving a car or doing gardening - this can help in combating the malignant egoism or narcissism that afflicts us in modern society. We work simply because we owe a debt - it is a duty to do so. Does not matter whether we like it or have enough self-esteem to do it - just needs to be done to the best of our ability.
Again, the idea is not to get overboard and obsessed or depressed with this - doing so serves no one, neither self or others. On the contrary, I think this has the potential to increase our attention, our awareness and freedom from self-love. I would also speculate that such an attitude is "religious" in the true sense of the term (ligare - to connect), connecting us to life and reality in the right way, without requiring the trappings and dogmas which affect the religions of the day.
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Really great insight. Thanks for sharing and putting it so well. I will redouble my efforts to remember and think about these things as often as possible. We really do need to "pay for our arising."