Substance vs Peripherals

Recently we went to watch a theatrical production called the Monkey King, a story from China based on a fairy monkey who gains immense powers, and tussles with using them for the right causes vs aggrandisement. Going through lessons of correct use and misuse of power, the fairy monkey eventually wins many supporters, and also through trial and tribulation develops an attitude of bravery and simultaneous humility. He therefore rightly becomes a celebrated character and hero. In the production as you can imagine, there was a lot of jumping and bouncing, and coordination between the various actors; from jumping on trampolines in a synchronized manner between four or five people, to in some parts more than 10 people coordinating beautiful dances. The concept of control and coordination are typically part of any successful execution. Anything from medical procedures, to military coordination, to building work; everything hinges on some degree of command and control. The Monkey King showed the importance of competence in his determination to obtain the treasures, but also the importance of character in ensuring proper treatment and sensitivity to others around him. We may have experienced that leadership and even life without meaning or purpose doesn’t lead to satisfaction at a deep level. It may lead to superficial satisfaction and impacts, but lacks depth and longevity. There are so many paths one can take. Will Smith recently said he read the Bhagavad Gita, and how amazed he was with it. Should our choices of what to believe hinge on such endorsements? If they do, then I would hope there is accompanying good reason. Unfortunately, too often there isn’t – it’s more sentiment and factors on what we refer to in this blog as the "periphery". The way we view things is critical. How should we view, or conceptualise our path, our mental state and finally our actions? The issue with many "religious" paths for people is often the human factor. Indeed many have tried to re-brand religion as "spirituality" to essentially de-couple the substance from the politics. There have been countless stories of treatment of children in Churches, people in positions of influence being imprisoned for activities, indeed with even President Obama abandoning Chicago’s Trinity United Church of Christ after a string of controversies. We argue here that one should logically and rationally consider the "substance" as well as the "periphery" of one’s path in life.

Separate the Two

After practicing martial arts in a few disciplines and in various martial arts in different contexts, with different teachers; over time it has become easy to separate the substance from the people, who may form the periphery. I have met some bad people, and I have met good people. I have met those who are incredible with technique, but disastrous in character, and vice versa. Ultimately, the substance which consists of the practice and the techniques, is separate from the people involved. If we have a terrible boss, we will likely create an association between our work and the boss, and we will hate both. This is because we are human and can be more sentimental than we are rational. If we have never trained martial arts and in our first attempt we experience someone who treats us in a rough way and injures us, it is likely we will carry that association for a long time. Given it is a first try for these people, who is to blame them? I know people who have had extremely serious injuries early in their martial arts careers and continued. And conversely have also seen the opposite where people have quit after a first attempt or few tries. The difference can come down to how much the person wants to learn AND how easily they are able to separate the substance and the peripherals. If we are not able to do this, we will always limit our experiences to the quality of people we are around; which we are not able to guarantee at all. If a beggar on the street offers me an authentic Rolex watch on the street whilst am on a busy lunch time hustle to get to the shops, it is still very unlikely I will stop, give attention and take the watch. Because we are programmed to associate things together based on repeated experiences to the extent that we may miss the substance due to the peripherals. The only means of separating the substance from the peripherals - is to be conscious, to be aware and rational in our choices concerned with our journey and path.

Be Conscious

The nature of this tendency to attribute the quality of our experiences with the peripherals comes from lack of objectivity. If we are objective in the extent to which we apply our judgments about things or people, this will help us to be objective about the reality, thereby leading to a more accurate view of the world and understanding who we are in relation to it. What do we believe in, and why do we believe in it? What do we gain from it? What are the fixed aspects, and what is variable? What do those variables depend on? Assessing these kinds of things is to be aware. Intuition is a huge topic; it comes even when we don’t want it to - sometimes when we most don’t want it to.  What is the source of intuition? Intuition is a complex mesh of feelings, experiences, sentiment, and sometimes also a sixth sense. It is defined as "the ability to understand something immediately without the need for conscious reasoning". This indeed sounds dangerous, and sure it can be, but sometimes it can be spot on, because it is immediately in tune with who we are. By all means we can let intuition play a role in our beliefs since our beliefs need to be close to our heart and intuition can come from the heart. But there must be rational, logical thinking that also is applied to this. If I feel intuitively that I like to break peoples cars, and that becomes my life goal; it is not in line with good cultural norms with a rational justification. The alignment of intuition and rationale are therefore essential in understanding and discovering our beliefs over time. One quality  of "religious cults" is that they tend to discard rational thinking on the basis of sentiment and order. If my teacher taught me something happened 50 years ago because “that’s what it says in the book”, and 25 years later I am explaining to people “this happened 50 years ago”, then I am objectively 25 years off. A humble and open mind understanding our shortcomings, a desire to discover the truth and it's application in our lives in a thoughtful way lay the foundations of a journey of fulfillment.

A more conscientious sense of spirituality means that we are balanced between objectivity and intuition  in the understanding the effects of applying and refining techniques, means and practices of thought processes in our own lives whatever they might be; and not in being purely ears for the movement of others.