and if right action itself is relative based upon the perceptions of heart and mind, wouldn’t we all be little buddhas running around – masters of our own individual ideal dharmic worlds? yet there is still so much suffering, which is what following dharma is meant to alleviate, that it would seem there is an objective standard most of us fail to even recognize, let alone attain. and yet… within this greater scheme there is always the realization that each individual is walking their own trail and finding their own homeostatic balance; subject to objective standard (wtf?!) yet within their own niche in the greater system.

i have yet to reach an internal resolution to this issue, and i’m not even certain that there is any resolution. but thank you for your comments, they’ve certainly provided some food for thought.

-justin

It requires a more expansive level of the brain than most people are used to understanding, namely the heart brain. The level of intelligence of the heart-brain (what some consider our soul) is based on wisdom and knowing. And knowing can be defined by yin-yang polarities such as true-false or yes-no.

However, what determines positive and negative responses of the HB is the belief stucture of the individual at that moment. And since we are influenced by the common belief structures of our environment, environmental factors do play a part in what our hearts tell us is dharmic and adharmic. Depsite whatever our belief system is I believe we should be aware of the connection between ourselves and our environment.

I won’t say that a person sacrificing a cat in a public park is insane because he sacrificed the cat. I might not agree with it, but if his belief structure says it’s dharmic, then so be it. I would, however say he’s insane because he had no awareness of his environment to understand that doing it in a public park would raise a few eyebrows.

The more closed the heart to the world, the more it survives. The more open a heart to the world, the more it Lives.

i often find myself surrounded by people who do not have any appreciation of their own self-worth and value. but i refuse to believe that helping others to reach their full potential (a more do-able version of helping others to achieve enlightenment – at least for this wiccan…) has to be an either/or proposition. we do not have to be self-sacrificing in order for others to meet their needs. nor do we have any right to expect self-sacrifice of others to further our own wants and needs.

how much more wholesome, skillful, and virtuous then is it for those who choose the path of self-sacrifice, expecting nothing in return?

-justin