Law of Causation - the Israel Palestinian conflicts

 

American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr once said:

"Oh God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; Courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference'. 

In my opinion, the 5 natural laws called the 5 Niyama  in Buddhism can provide some guidance on this. The 5 Niyamas include:

Utu Niyama- the natural law of non-living matter including law of physics, chemistry, geology and other sciences.

Bija Niyama- law of living matter more in terms of the biological aspect of living things including the law of genetics.

Karma Niyama- law of moral causation. "All of our volitional thoughts, words, and deeds create an energy that brings about effects and that process is called Karma".

Citta Niyama- Law of mental activity including psychology that pertains to consciousness, thoughts and perceptions. "We called this stream of thoughts as the mind. So arising and destruction of the thoughts is not controlled by anyone and it is a law of the universe".

Dharma Niyama- a natural spiritual law including the doctrines of Annatta (non self or egolessness), Shunyata (emptiness) and Anicca (impermanence)

Everything in life is explained through these natural laws. Recognising which of these we can change is similar to what Reinhold Niebuhr refers to as wisdom. Knowing the causal effect of our action and thoughts (Karma Dharma) helps us to be mindful of the impact they have on everything around us. Beyond that we have to accept with a sense of serenity the other Niyamas and learn to live within them.

I am reading a book entitled "Israelis and Palestinians; From the cycle of violence to the conversation of mankind" by Jonathan Glover. The book describes at great length the deep baggage of conflict and sufferings endured by both sides for generations. The psychology of seeking revenge for the deep wounds inflicted by the other party, the attachment to rigid religious beliefs and the staunch identity moulded by years of conflict I think exemplified the laws of Karma Niyama, and Citta Niyama and perhaps even shape the DNA of the people as per the Bija Niyama.

Glover suggests bold steps to weaken this "psychological trap"; challenging the rigid religious beliefs, "understanding the Mirage of Getting Even" and creating an identity transcending the conflict. This would be what Reinhold refer to as the 'courage to change the things I can'. 

It will be in line with creating a positive causal effect as per the law of Karma.

To Disentangle

 

7 decades of living, has that make me wiser before the brain begins to degenerate? 

Don't know whether it is an age thing, but I have become a bit more sad when contemplating about the future of the world. Also I begin to believe more in destiny be it for individuals or the world at large. When Trump missed death by an inch in an assassination attempt pumping his fist up in defiance, I  thought to myself his stars are shining bright; but then again who knows what will happen next. I guess America has it owned destined path. 

Maybe it is the volatile nature of everything, the lack of certainty or permanence as well as the despair of wars and climate change that sends the mind twirling, not knowing what to expect next. 

The girl whom I have been counselling had begun to open up and confide in me when her mother stopped the sessions because she had to prepare for her PSLE. I have tried my best and there is nothing much I can do about it now. I know I must detach myself emotionally from my clients' problems. However the question keeps on arising in my mind why some people are born with more challenges than others. Just think of the sufferings endured by victims in the Gaza and Ukraine conflict. This question I have asked since my early teens; and as if in a cycle surfaces again frequently in recent times, unanswered

 In fact at this stage in life I need to detach not only from my emotions but from the concept of a self. 

Below is the transcript from a podcast by Ajahn Amaro:

"The more the heart is entangled with becoming, the more our life is an experience of continual pressure....it might be something that we are attracted to, something that we want, something that we are afraid of, something that we feel a duty to engage with, something that is irritating.....Any of these can be an object of becoming. Attraction, aversion, fear, duty, all of these make the heart very crowded.

Yet most of us are comprehensively addicted to the sense of being and identity that we get from all of that. The pleasant, the painful, the comic and the tragic, doesn't matter as long as it brings a sense of defined being, me being something. ....After the Buddha's enlightenment....he realises all the beings of the world, they are addicted to becoming. They love becoming. They relish becoming. But what they relish, what they love, brings pain.....caught in that love of defined existence" 

( Extracts from transcript Chapter 7.3- The fourth exit point from the Cycle (part 3- Ajahn Amaro podcast by Amaravati)

May I disentangle bit by bit.

 

 

Carelessness of the rich

 

The family that lives opposite my house inherited the old bungalow from their parents, rebuilt it into a modern house with a swimming pool. By the cars they are driving and having 2 helpers in the house, I can say they are considered wealthy. 

Unfortunately from their actions and  behaviour I would describe them as the "Careless Rich". This morning I noticed a Grab food delivery man spending 10 minutes trying to reach them through phone, door bell and calling aloud outside the gate. I was about to go out to help him shout for attention with my sharp female voice when the wife appeared and nonchalantly said "Oh he is here" and asked her maid to open the main gate. Ten minutes is precious time to earn money for a food delivery man. All she needed to do was to get the helper to look out for the delivery. 

The same household would often pile cuttings from plants without properly bundling up for the Green truck to collect. I have seen the truck workers spending time loading the branches one by one onto the truck under the hot sun.

I think they are not intentionally uncaring. I just think they lack exposure to the plight of the lower strata working class hence the want of empathy. The rich or for that matter all of us tend to live in our own world. Our friends are probably of the same education level as us and engage in similar activities. Unless one makes it an effort to open one's eyes to sectors of society outside our circle it would be rather difficult to realise how others live their life.

Today's papers reported the findings of a survey on who should provide for the essential needs in Singapore. Two thirds of those surveyed felt the government should be the main party to support individuals who do not have basic necessities, 'Professor Paulin Straughan who spear headed the SMU study said more opportunities should be created for youth here to volunteer to show that they can make a difference". She said "It's when you can't see where you can contribute, then you may begin to say the Government should provide". She added that businesses and high income earners can do their part "to bring the community together".

I hope my neighbour's children through their school volunteer work will be more cognizant of how they can make a difference or at least don't act in manners that make it difficult for others to earn a decent living.