a Western preoccupation, the fruit of the poisoned tree will bear only poisoned fruit. In Tao nothing exists except there, with us, at the moment. There is nothing before, nor beyond.
So, to answer your question about the Monk's bowl--he now has something to eat, before he had nothing. For the Monk this is acceptable. To you, the source becomes all important. For the theif, he has now the blame of his theft--and no money.
I like the poem by TS Eliot that says, "What might have been and what has been point to one end, which is always present."
Therefore, the present for the Monk, for you, for the thief, and the Buddhist are all individualized. This is a liberal position. The pages are colored differently by the individual backgrounds, teaching, etc. This is where liberalism has difficulty, when the attempt is made to convert philosophy into law. The one size fits all is an illeberal concept.
Publius
Current Events » in reply to Good post
the source of the Monk's bowl is......
The whole thread (30 posts)
- A little perspective on the word Liberal
- re: Liberal=liberated=free=freedom of thought
- the problems of liberalism.............
- re: the problems of liberalism...
- In that sense the liberal movement has the same problems as conservatives.
- Good post
- see: communist, socialist