Thinking Through Religions 5 - Essay Example

Alan Watts cautions the reader to be alert when relating to diverse images to God. To this end, Alan Watts asserts that a God does not have to be embodied or expressed in a certain image. Alan Watts points out that most theologians are “hardnosed” on matters relating to the nature of God implying that God has a truly distinct nature. This creates a rift between the root and ground of being; hence, people should not be in awe of an image of God such as God the father since the projected image may be faulty and not representative of God (Watts 55). The root of the difficulty lies within the nature of God and the projections made by the image of God. The images of God can be perceived to generate compensating protestations of absolute certainty regarding matters that are inherently unknowable. As such, the images of God can be considered as representing competing models that are not helpful (amounts to promoting exclusive access) and consistent with the human understanding of God. Consequently, the images of God can be regarded as projecting a God who can be described as severely handicapped, which, in reality, is not the case (Columbus and Donadrian 46). Attempting to learn from the images of God is misleading as the images projected and that people follow may be flawed as the images of God may be deficient. Moreover, no two people can ever draw the same thing, which makes a picture a no substitute and accurate presentation of God. Moreover, how the god is visualized hinges on the cultural context. # 2 Alan Watts pointed out that the world comprises of “dividing lines” representing lines that unite and join as much as they divide and distinguish. The point in this assertion is that the lines join the opposites while at the same time distinguishing them; hence, one cannot find a concave without a convex since the outline of the concave is in line with the convex (Watts 80). As such, both aspects of reality are in tension with one another and critical to sustain the entire game going (the unity of opposites). Alan Watts employs the notion of the unity of opposites as a mode of approaching a comprehension of God as the ineffable mystery that underpins humanity and the world (Watts 81). The fact of unity of opposites is commonplace and represents a perfect way of the way of approaching an understanding of God, given that the more that one ponders about God, the more it becomes strikingly peculiar. The notion of unity of opposites presents interesting moral reasoning as it implies that the dark and the light (negative and positive) are all necessary parts of the overall whole (Eversole 55). In the notion of unity of opposites, Alan Watt furthers the idea that two contradictory truths are possible simultaneously. The notion of unity of opposites represents a perfect way of approaching an understanding of God whose ways may not be logically consistent, but profoundly paradoxical. The fundamental nature of God is not something that one can get too precise about as the basis of both life and death remains inherently undefined. # 3 Sir Kenneth Clark writes about Abbot Suger, who can be considered to be the father of the gothic architecture. Suger asserted that individuals only come to understand absolute beauty-that is God, through the impact of precious and beautiful things that appeal to individuals’ senses. Abbot Suger used beautiful objects to furnish the church symbolizing God, in which the radiant beauty draws an individual’s attention up and beyond earthly matters to elevated heavenly things (Gardner and Fred 341). Suger’s assertion represented a more rational view of God in which he saw God as encompassing numerous things such as reason, light, and proportion, all of which make up beauty. The Gothic church embodied a visual attempt to generate a setting drawn towards purity and light that could embody an image of heaven (Sullivan 304). The Celestial Hierarchy is transmitters of Providential Life to all below and comprises, for the aspiring soul that joins itself to them, a spiritual ladder of ascent from the earth to heaven. This manifests in the threefold ways: the Active Life via the Way of Purification (in which men become God’s servants); the Inner Life (way of illumination and sonship with God); and, the Contemplative Life Way in which men gain true friendship with God). The notion of transcendence comes out well within medieval church architecture representing a sacred place where beauty, the eternal, and transcendence are alive (Gardner and Fred 341). Suger employed fine arts as expressing the infinite beauty of God within the works made by human hands. The Gothic cathedrals speak to the transcendent values of Christianity and generate emotional, as well as irrational experiences via rational design. # 4 The core theme in the poem features choices and balances that an individual make in his or her everyday life, including conflict that manifest between rationality and emotionality. First, the narrator transcends the mundane of daily life into some tentative wonder or beauty. Second, the narrator presents the readers with thesis and anti-thesis such as rationality and emotionality, sorrow and paradoxes. The poem, “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening,” brings out deep meaning embodying a transcendent moment experience in which two emotions can be expressed (wonder and serenity; a sense of loneliness and sorrow). In particular, the words “And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep” carry a significant and hidden meaning. The first line translates to the fact that the subject has a long way to go prior to getting home while the second line is much more intricate as it relates to the amount of time that the subject has until he/she dies (by sleep, Robert Frost is referring to the man’s death rather than mere sleep). The poem brings out deep meaning or a transcendent moment experience and deeply reflects the contemplative journey to God. Certainly, the subject in the poem is on a journey that can be grueling and dangerous. In the spiritual road to God, individuals frequently take wrong turns, weary, and even get sidetracked; indeed, at times, people may feel they have “arrived” at their destination only to realize that they have a long way to go where they grow restless and hunger for more. # 5 Altruistic behaviors refer to dedication to others’ interests and represent an ethical principle that yields to self-sacrifice. Altruism is a form of self-transcendence as it gives individuals the opportunity to recognize human spirits based on the capacity to step outside oneself and look back. Through, altruism individuals are able to become aware of themselves and notice that they exist-to serve others. Such moments may manifest spontaneously or through the creation of moments of vision. Altruism enables individuals to create their own moments of vision as they learn how to open doors to their being. As such, individuals can opt to look deeply into themselves, constructively given that unselfish caring of others aids individuals to rise above self, transcend self-interest, and realize that other s possess human thoughts and feelings. Altruism is not an illusion, but rather is a form of transcendence. Those who claim that altruism is illusory link altruistic behavior to the motive of social recognition. Strong reciprocity represents an artificial expression that lacks any concise motive. Altruistic behavior represents unconditional, voluntary, and one-sided giving. Individuals who question altruism can be considered as dogmatic in the same way as those who refute the possibility of freedom. Altruism makes individuals transcend themselves and respond sympathetically to others in suffering. The basis of altruism-empathy, kindness, and compassion- are all signs of the human spirit. Altruistic behavior represents any behavior that is not selfish or self-interested. Altruistic behavior recognizes fairness, trust, and cooperation that underpin morality. # 6 The movie reincarnation draws from the premise of reincarnation. The film’s premise is simple but effective and scores high on the originality scale. The film utilizes the concept of reincarnation to bridge and interconnect all the elements in a refreshing and satisfying way. Reincarnation can be regarded as a brilliant film that uses imagination and psychology to stimulate one’s perception about the world. Every person enjoys a place in the heart of God and all people are created to receive joy, delights, and joys of heavenly life owing to God’s love. As such, death or passing to the spiritual world can be associated with birth, into a fresh and deeper level of existence. # 7 The experience of awe and wonder represents a characteristic human response to larger realities right from the beauty of the natural world, to remarkable feats of body and mind, as well as an individual understands of perceived encounters with the divine. My most vivid experiences of awe and wonder happened largely in my childhood when I had most special memories. The green and beautiful landscape always aroused feelings of awe and wonder, especially when I had the opportunity to view the world from above when I was flying. The beauty of nature was alive to the sensory and transcendent wonders that actively ushered in the conduit between the world and the next. # 8 Goodness connects to truth, rhythm, harmony, and beauty that are spiritually and/or spiritually related. This means that transcendental goodness carries the qualities of water that is clear and life-giving. As such, individuals should live modestly, give wholeheartedly, reason deeply, work skillfully, speak sincerely and move in rhythm with the flow of life (Crosby 174). Transcendental represent properties of being in which beauty, truth, and goodness shape a subgroup within the family of transcendental (Woznicki 58). Goodness can be conceived in reference to some desire, and represents that which is desired in the same way that water quenches thirst. Just like water, the goodness of a being draws from its perfection. A being can be regarded as perfect when it possesses all the constituents that nature requires, and all the power necessitated acting for the achievement of its end. # 9 Terror can be overwhelming and can be perceived to be transcendent especially in this age of terrorism where terrorist attacks have ushered the world into a frightening “age of terror.” The emergence of terror and its transcendence as it heralds suffering followed by the desire for compassion and help if help fails this leads to dejection, humiliation, and despair. Consequently, this may lead to transformation from victim to master of fate, followed by retaliation and more suffering. # 10 Transcendence translates to “going beyond” and self-transcendence refers to going beyond a preceding form or state of oneself (Woznicki 57). Transcendent experience represents an elusive experience portrayed, paradoxically, as desirable and possibly life-changing. Transcendent experiences can be typified by moments of tremendous happiness, sense of harmony with the entire world, and feelings of freedom and lightness. I experience transcendent and emotional affinity with the environment, especially natural water bodies that significantly motivate me to become actively engaged in safeguarding and restoring aquatic environments. When I am in a transcendent environment, I feel free and safe in nature or a feeling of oneness with nature. Works Cited Columbus, Peter and Donadrian Rice. Alan Watts-Here and Now: Contributions to Psychology, Philosophy, and Religion. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2012. Print. Crosby, John. The selfhood of the human person. Washinton: The catholic University of America Press, 1996. Print. Eversole, Finley. Art and spiritual transformation: The seven stages of death and rebirth. Vermount: Inner Traditions, 2009. Print. Gardner, Helen, and Fred S. Kleiner. Gardner's Art Through the Ages: The Western Perspective. Boston: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2010. Print. Sullivan, Richard. A Short History of Western Civilization. New York: Mc Graw-Hill, 1994. Print. Watts, Alan. Buddhism, the Religion of No-Religion: The Edited Transcripts. Boston: C.E. Tuttle, 1995. Print. Watts, Alan. The Tao of Philosophy: The Edited Transcripts. Tokyo: Tuttle Pub, 2002. Print. Woznicki, Andrew. Transcendent Mystery in Man: A Global Approach to Ecumenism. Bethesda: Academica Press, 2006. Print. Read More