The Dance of Maya

Almost anything, from alpha to omega.
Locked
User avatar
Ihavesayso
Posts: 57
Joined: January 3rd, 2005, 7:54 pm
Location: Lodi, California, USA

The Dance of Maya

Post by Ihavesayso »

An excerpt from chapter two "Finding Validity" at: http://www.tassos-oak.com/online/02validity.html

"The Vedanta branch of Hinduism takes the view that the essence of the universe is play -- the universe is at exuberant play with itself, dancing a vast private dance in which each interchange of energy is a step, each structure a graceful gesture[8]. The more carefully scientists look, the more their observations support this grand metaphor: the universe drives toward structure at every scale of measurement , any structure at all, filling out every possibility.

At the level of biochemistry, the universe likes to ramify branching structures, whether tree roots or blood vessels in the eye. We carry the most elaborate branching structures ever made inside our heads -- our brains. However (lest we get cocky), our foliage is pathetic, and we couldn't filter plankton through our teeth at any price. In other words, we are only another gesture in the great dance of form.

In this view, we do indeed have a right to exist, but only the same right as any other arrangement of matter and energy: the right to continue to exist until transformed into something else. And the universe has no special interest in when that happens. After all, it is no less invested in the "something else" that we will become (and in what that becomes, ad infinitum ) than it is in ourselves.

Try to replace Pascal's "abysses of infinity and nothingness" with this image of an exuberant, light-filled universe, bursting out into forms and living species as readily as an ocean bursts out in waves and sea-foam, and reabsorbing them just as readily. When you do, two nice consequences follow.

First, any "problem of evil" disappears. This universe regards the murder of one human by another exactly the way it regards an avalanche falling on a human, or a virus infecting one: with sublime indifference. Avalanches fall; viruses infect; mammals prey on one another -- it's what they do . Now, this absolutely does not mean that we should be indifferent! On the contrary, desiring to be moral, trying to be compassionate, and urging other people to be moral and compassionate, are also things that we do , quite as naturally and with better outcomes for our own survival. However, when the virus infects or the avalanche or blow falls, we no longer have to torment ourselves trying to invent explanations why, or trying to see how such awful things can fit into a plan.

Second, the light-filled universe makes it easier to know why you are here, and what you should do with your existence. Why are we here? Because each of us is one tiny "yip" of pleasure from a careless, tap-dancing infinity. In that sense, you and I are exactly as important as the same number of eagles, or oak trees.

We have no choice but to be part of Infinity's dance. We do have a choice of what kind of partners we will be! How, then, should we live? There can only be one answer: emulate the universe. Ramify! Burgeon! Dance!"
If God is not your ventriloquist, you're just another "dummy!" - ihavesayso
User avatar
Speculum
Posts: 151
Joined: March 28th, 2005, 3:28 am

Post by Speculum »

Very nice stuff. It brings to mind a quotation at TZF’s Eco-Consciousness page: “What is the purpose of the giant sequoia tree? The purpose of the giant sequoia tree is to provide shade for the tiny titmouse”.

Being naturally egoic, when we think of dance we naturally think of ourselves as being the dancer, and the rest as being the dance floor and providing the dance music.

But, except grammatically, “dance” cannot really be separated into parts, like dancer, dance floor, and dance music, which can be separated out or removed. If you take dancer out of dance, or dance floor out of dance, or dance music out of dance, it is no longer dance. Dance is an indivisible whole. I think the Universe is like that. We think we are separate pieces of it, but in Truth, there are no separate pieces.

When I clicked on the link ...
chapter two "Finding Validity" at: http://www.tassos-oak.com/online/02validity.html
... which you provided, it opened a page about home sales, a bit unlike what you wrote about. Was that an intentional “even this is the dance” gesture, or is the link wrong?
User avatar
Ihavesayso
Posts: 57
Joined: January 3rd, 2005, 7:54 pm
Location: Lodi, California, USA

Post by Ihavesayso »

That's very strange, Stefan. I clicked on the one I provided and the one in your quote. Both took right to chapter two of the book from which I obtained the excerpt.
If God is not your ventriloquist, you're just another "dummy!" - ihavesayso
User avatar
Peggy Sue
Posts: 2
Joined: December 12th, 2007, 1:46 am

Post by Peggy Sue »

I have been a frequent visitor to The Zoo Fence, including this forum, for a few years. Today I join formally so I can read The Sand Box too. I have met my friend the Persian poet Rumi often on these pages. Perhaps you have come across his writing this. “I knocked and the door opened but I found that I had been knocking from the inside.”
User avatar
zoofence
Site Admin
Posts: 187
Joined: September 7th, 2002, 3:07 pm

Post by zoofence »

ihavesayso, you're right. It works for me now. I must have right-clicked when I should have left-clicked or caps locked when I should have num locked! I have just started reading there by jumping to its first chapter. It is all interesting. Thanks for the link.

Peggy Sue -- welcome to TZF. You're right, too. Rumi is a favorite here.
User avatar
Ihavesayso
Posts: 57
Joined: January 3rd, 2005, 7:54 pm
Location: Lodi, California, USA

Post by Ihavesayso »

"If at first you don't succeed, click, click, again!" You are welcome, Stefan. I read all eleven chapters, but got more from two, ten, and eleven, than the others.
If God is not your ventriloquist, you're just another "dummy!" - ihavesayso
jenjulian
Posts: 137
Joined: July 20th, 2007, 11:46 pm

Post by jenjulian »

Hi Peggy Sue :D

Isn't this the coolest site? I cannot even explain how much it has helped me through in the last year. The writings always speak to my inner journey, sometimes in almost an eerie way...

It is nice to have somewhere to go, where we may explore this spiritual seeking, which is life, and talk about it.
Locked