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No Man Is An Island; Buddhist Perspectives
Bodha8
Veteran
'No Man is an Island'
No man is an island entire of itself; every man
is a piece of the continent, a part of the main;
if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe
is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as
well as any manner of thy friends or of thine
own were; any man's death diminishes me,
because I am involved in mankind.
And therefore never send to know for whom
the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.
Although the author John Donne was a Christian Catholic Priest (1571-1625,)I see parallels of oneness and buddhist philosophies within his work. For example: "No man is an island" "Any man's death diminishes me" "And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls;it tolls for thee"
Is this message of universal oneness with us today? If not, how can it be revived.
No man is an island entire of itself; every man
is a piece of the continent, a part of the main;
if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe
is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as
well as any manner of thy friends or of thine
own were; any man's death diminishes me,
because I am involved in mankind.
And therefore never send to know for whom
the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.
Although the author John Donne was a Christian Catholic Priest (1571-1625,)I see parallels of oneness and buddhist philosophies within his work. For example: "No man is an island" "Any man's death diminishes me" "And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls;it tolls for thee"
Is this message of universal oneness with us today? If not, how can it be revived.
0
Comments
Was it ever with us?
On the whole most folks have never know nor will ever entertain such ideas. The world for most, is one of a separate self rooted in permenance. This is the ignorance we as buddhist we are trying to cut at the root.
@Bodha8 "If not, how can it be revived".
Utopian ideals I think can work well individually but collectively they don't as everyone needs to be on the same page and this path requires much work and most would be uninclined or disinterested.
I like the poem
It seems fairly easy to conceive of oneness. The hard part is bringing it to fruition.
I feel there's a tendency for some to think that they are self made individuals. They pulled themselves up by their bootstraps, got an education and make a decent living where they can pay others for the things they need. Its all through their own effort. Maybe they weren't given a handout or provided with any advantages, but did they educate themselves or was it other people who taught them and wrote their textbooks? Are they the ones that also use whatever it is that they produce?
Thats not to say that we all don't do our part, but we all need one another in order to surive and thrive.
"Why is that? From an inconstruable beginning comes transmigration. A beginning point is not evident, though beings hindered by ignorance and fettered by craving are transmigrating & wandering on. Long have you thus experienced stress, experienced pain, experienced loss, swelling the cemeteries — enough to become disenchanted with all fabricated things, enough to become dispassionate, enough to be released."
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn15/sn15.014.than.html
This quote kinda takes the wind out of the sails of the people who say the Buddha didn't teach reincarnation. Unless they have a reason to believe this passage is a later addition to the canon. There's always that argument.
Nowhere in this passage does it speak of dying and being reborn in a different body. To me, it only suggests the metaphysical "shoulders to cry on" notion and the displeasure with their relentless reoccurence in this world.
"The buddhas care only for others; worldly beings care only for themselves. Just look at the difference between them."