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Excerpt from Chapter 23: Cultural Integrity
Summary
In summary, there are four primary factors involved in the evolution of a culture:
1) The Transcendent – The Transcendent is the source of pure harmony and intelligence underlying all existence. The degree to which a culture functions in harmony with the coherence of the Transcendent determines the degree of health of that culture.
2) Laws of Nature of the Land – The Transcendent manifests differently on different parts of the globe. This accommodates the uniqueness of each country and determines the unique laws of nature of that land. For example, living in harmony with the Transcendent would look different on a mountaintop than it would in the desert.
3) Conditioning – When individuals are not transgrandiently integrated, their awareness is dominated by conditioning. That conditioning colors their value system and distorts their relationship with the Transcendent and the ever-changing laws of nature in their land.
4) Change – Just as nature changes with the seasons, cultures also change over time. What it means to live in harmony with nature, of course, changes as well. Cultures must change over time to accommodate natural fluctuations in the civilization.
What in the past could have been a characteristic of living in harmony with nature could in the future become a conditioning. What at some point in the past could have been out of harmony with nature could at some point in the future be in harmony with nature.
The ability to discern is called wisdom. Wisdom breathes life, harmony, and intelligence into the culture in an ongoing manner. Wisdom does not exist in books. It only exists in the awareness of transgradiently integrated individuals.
Excerpt from Chapter 3: Conditioning and Identity
Zen Buddhists aspire to a state of “no mind.” What does that mean? Ancient Sanskrit texts define the mind as something created from conditioning.
Impressions etched upon the awareness determine how we interface with the world. They color everything, including our mood. It even affects how you are receiving this information right now. Since we consider conditioning to be our truth, we often feel passionately about it. Our entire life becomes invested in our conditioning.
The state of “no mind” from Zen Buddhism is a state of unconditioned awareness.
Conditioning is sticky. Think about it. When we try to gain more knowledge about something, where do we go? Where do we look? What do we find an affinity with? What determines our aversions? When we look for a teacher, what is our criterion? Isn’t it based upon our conditioning?
Those we view as qualified teachers are usually individuals more indoctrinated and vested in our conditioning than we are.
Realizing this, you might be tempted to find a teacher with different conditioning. But consider the possibility that:
A true teacher frees you from conditioning in general. This enables you to rest more fully into your innate inner wisdom.
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