Can Individuality Survive?
QUESTION: You suggest you are a ‘pratyeke’ in a buddhist meaning of your mystical experiences of Reality, then seem to leave it at that, letting your readers make of it what they can. But will you explain what you think pratyeke means in your case?
ANSWER: I read that “Quietism” is no longer fashionable in some spirituality tainted ‘social justice’ religious circles, but it does seem to describe me. I accept everything known and as yet unknown. I make no attempt to bring about change, not even renewal. I think this describes Quietism and Pratyeke. I don’t “double guess” Reality. So I am a ‘Pratyeke’, or ‘Quietest’.
Reality revealed to me that All Is Well – “In good order” as the Quakers might say about the human condition.
I therefore know it is a spiritual regression when humans attempt to interfere with the Creation and its individuals, now or ever.
Human history is littered with the devastating consequences of attempted and always failed impatient interventions, assumptions, mythomanias, taboos, and hubris, violence and violation – resulting in monumental meddling and disaster for all individuals, in whom Reality lives.
That’s why all attempts to interfere with individuals ‘for the good’ of some religious or secular mind stuff like the Inquistion for instance, or Communalism and Socialism, all eventually fail – because Reality lives in individuals, not collectives, communities or ‘societies’ that are not even based on human realities.
By challenging the seminal state of individuality, misguided people are challenging Creation, Reality. No wonder ancient and contemporary histories reveal the inevitable failure of all such attempts.
All of which of course makes it easier to understand why Quietists or Pratyeke mystics are not called upon to get involved with humans, except with Seekers. Reality is in charge, Pratyeke’s and Quietists will certainly survive. Individuals not so much by the looks of humanity today …
All Is Well. Reality prevails, as always.
Mystical Experiences of Reality 
Would science be permissable? I can understand wholesale attempts at utopia through political and social change may be utterly futile in terms of Reality. But I was wondering whether it is permissable in your view to try and drag ourselves out if the gutter by improving our lot generally. I aasume there can be no harm in this? I am still captivated by the idea of Teilhard de Chardin’s Omega Point as taken up by (discredited?) physicist Frank Tipler. I can not help but feel that science may all be a part of reaching out to reality, exploring it. Bringing into the fold of some greater truth than we are able to see. Wishful thinking perhaps, but there you go!
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There are aspects of the pragmatic, enquiring mind of the exploring scientist that want to understand humans and the human environment – without which humanity expires into conjecture, gossip and mere philosophy.
However, before it disappears into its own insignificance science does deliver technology. Technology delivers practical science such as survival, shelter, food, clothing, distribution of wealth, systems and tools of health care and communication.
Technology becomes a debilitating condition though when it pits itself against Reality’s purpose for individuals, when it becomes a distraction from the powerfully simple spiritual destiny that is at the very root of all existence.
So, are all the nay sayers significant after all? They claim we’re committing suicide by aiding and abetting climate change, making man made poisons, death devices, polluted foods, destrcoying renewable resources or are they irritating evidence of a nascent defence against human self destruction?
Fortunately Reality, which is really in charge, as mystics and some scientists now agree, gives us an antidote:: ‘OBVIOUS DANGER OBVIATES DANGER”. Maybe this more comforting axiom is a new milestone for human development?
So are science, technology,, doom slayers, political and religious ideologies, collectives, human hubris and mythomanias, merely a dying remnant of the present state of our evolution into fully realised individual beings…? Is a substantive human change taking place?
Keith.
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I very much hope that substantial change is taking place. I had always somehow imagined that we would have to pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps and that de Chardin’s Omega Point would have to be reached on our own initiative. Perhaps this is wrong. I hope so !
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