=46irst, there is the issue of some principle of consciousness that may=
transcend the temporality of the material body -- buddists do not seem to=
conceptualize this sense of being as christians do the soul, and take issue=
with the term. This consciousness may develop over many material human=
lifetimes, and adds another dimension to the evolution of culture that you=
were addressing. I do find this belief to be in tension with my scientific=
training, through which I have come to think of mental processes as having=
an essential material contribution in the physiologic processes of the=
human body. I agree that speculation in this area not well supported.
Second, I had previously expressed my interest in the development of environ=
mental/ecological/systems ways of knowing and believing, and their relations=
to practices. The possibility of re-incarnation affords some different=
relationships with the rest of nature -- the realization of transmigration,=
for instance, may alter one's values of environmental quality after=
personal death. Consequently I wonder about environmental ecology=
practices in relation to this meaning-interpretive system, and the=
long-term stability in their form. One might argue, speciously, that=
stability of an interpretive system and its practices across many lifetimes=
is evidence of transmigration, as this is a means through which=
consciousness perseverates in enlightened beings. =20
>The drive to avoid confronting the realities of death is a strong one.=20
I find this possibility more plausible - that humans, finding death so=
frightening in its certainty and its possibility of bringing complete=
termination to personal existence, 'lock-in' with meaning-interpretive=
systems that offer comfort through alternative futures.=20
This is not restricted to buddism, but applies to spiritual beliefs and=
their stability in general. Yet the various genres of religious ideology =
may differ in their influence on environmental ecological practices, as=
they certainly differ in their conceptualizations of humans and nature. =
Insofar as spiritual beliefs and their related strategies are most often=
mutually exclusive, they are also competitive in nature/society, as we can=
sadly witness through history. I wonder about the evolution of these meani=
ng-interpretive systems in a greater system of nature/society, and the=
consequences for us all. =20
>and more interested in how body
and soul enjoy one another during life
Curiously, I read your message after a week-long bicycle tour of Vermont,=
during which I read the Bardo Thodol and casually observed farming=
practices. It was a peddling-meditation that gathered the ingredients of=
an unusual baking.
Bill Barowy, Associate Professor
Technology in Education
Lesley College, 31 Everett Street, Cambridge, MA 02138-2790=20
Phone: 617-349-8168 / Fax: 617-349-8169
http://www.lesley.edu/faculty/wbarowy/Barowy.html
_______________________
"One of life's quiet excitements is to stand somewhat apart from yourself
and watch yourself softly become the author of something beautiful."
[Norman Maclean in "A river runs through it."]