THE
WAY OF BEING
A MANUAL
COPYRIGHT © ANIL MITRA, Thursday,
December 31, 2020
HOME
Contents
Essentials of the way
of being
2
The aim of the way 6
The universe 7
Experience, being, power, and the universe 7
There is but one universe 8
The universe has no creator or effective cause 8
The void
9
The universe is the greatest possible 9
The existence of the universe is necessary 10
Individuals and civilizations 11
Paths to the ultimate 13
The aim of being 14
Being and the universe 14
Classes of being 14
The real metaphysics 16
Using the metaphysics 17
A program of
realization
18
Program templates 20
Everyday template 20
Universal template 22
Reading 24
In print
24
The internet 25
Essentials of the way of being
The aim of
the way, 6
The aim of
the way is to live well in the present as inspired and shared discovery and
realization of the ultimate.
The
essentials of the way, p , emphasize realization. The subsequent narrative
also presents present demonstration and conceptual foundation.
The
universe, 7
The universe is all being.
There is one
universe and no other.
The
universe has no creator or effective cause.
The void,
which is the absence of being, exists.
The
universe is the greatest possible.
Necessity
is the cause of the existence of the universe and realization of the greatest
possibility.
The
universe is dynamically one (and there is, effectively, but one void). The
universe phases between manifest and void form; it has identity.
The
universe and its identity are limitless in every possible way—particularly,
in form, variety, extension, duration, and peak of being.
Individuals
and civilizations, 11
Individuals
inherit the power of the universe for, otherwise, the universe would not be
limitless.
Individuals
and civilizations merge with the universe in its peaks.
Human
limits are real but not absolute.
Birth,
death, pain, and physical form are real but not absolute limits. Knowledge
and fear of death may be employed as cathartic in living well in the present
as one with endeavor toward the ultimate.
Paths to
the ultimate, 13
There are effective,
intelligent, enjoyed paths to the ultimate. To be on a path is not just to
follow, but also to share and develop paths.
sangha—community and sharing
pathways—is effective in discovery and realization.
The aim of
being, 14
If
enjoyment is a value, to be on a shared path is a human and moral imperative.
To be on a path is a core ethic.
The aim of being is just the aim of the
way of being—to live well in the present as the way to inspired and shared
discovery and realization of the ultimate. To live well includes ethical
living.
The best
address of pain and other impediments is dual—therapeutic and engaging with a
path. Though not the same, engaging in a path and therapy ought not to be
distinct.
Being and
the universe, 14
The real
metaphysics, 15
The real
metaphysics is a synthesis of (i) the universe as the greatest possible, (ii)
pragmatic knowledge, (iii) experience of and in the world, (v) reflection,
and (v) action, results in a real metaphysics that is a perfect instrument of
realization.
Using the
metaphysics, 17
To employ
the system, we have appeal (i) to tradition and its approaches or methods, of
which the foregoing captures a framework (ii) for the ideal part, to
imagination subject to critical thought (iii) for likelihood of occurrences,
to various paradigms such as mechanism and evolution as known in our cosmos.
A program
of realization, 18
This
program of realization will use two templates—everyday (immediate) and
universal (toward the ultimate).
Outline
of the everyday template—rise early (dedication and affirmation),
meditative review (life – the way – the day), realize (yoga – work – share;
reflection and work on projects), physical exploration (nature, art,
society), evening renewal and community, and sleep early.
Outline
of the universal template—being in the world, ideas (reflection – writing
– sharing, publishing), becoming (nature with psyche; civilization, society,
and artifact (technology), and community; the universal—peak, part known, and
unknown—being in the universe.
Program
templates, 20
Everyday
template, 20
Universal
template, 22
Reading, 24
In print, 24
The
internet, 25
The
way of being
The aim of the way
• The aim
of the way is to live well in the present as inspired and shared discovery
and realization of the ultimate.
The
aim defuses the tension between living and becoming (maintained by some
ways), which are and should be sought to be in balance.
The essentials of the way, p 2, emphasize realization, for approaches
to the ultimate are underdeveloped. The narrative also presents conceptual
foundation.
The
way develops a non-standard and ultimate view of the universe as the greatest possible, p. 9. To understand and use the way, suspension of
standard paradigms, immersion in the new, are essential; it may then be
possible and desirable to mesh the new view with the old. Except informal
use, it is essential reading to adhere to the definitions, which are marked
by small capitals.
A
bullet (•) indicate essential content. Daggers (†) mark consequences of the fundamental principle, p 9. Two daggers (††) indicate consequences of the real metaphysics, p 15. The consequences may follow
directly or also depend on earlier results.
The universe
Experience,
being, power, and the universe
experience is consciousness—conscious or subjective
awareness in all its forms—perceiving, thinking, feeling, emoting, willing,
intending, causing, acting, and more. There is experience of
(concept), passive and active, and the experienced (‘referent’ or
‘object’)—which is the world which includes experience itself. It is the
place of real knowing. When the referent is no more than experience, it is
‘pure experience’. There is a sense in which we never get out of experience.
Thus, though it is not all that is significant, it is the place of
significance—and thus the effective place of our being and kind of being—and
of real and instrumental living, change, transformation, and realization of
ultimates.
a being is that which is—i.e., that which exists; being
is existence. The sense of ‘is’ in ‘that which is’ is
trans-spatiotemporal—i.e., within, enmeshed with, or beyond the arena of
spacetime. Since being refers to no other foundation, it avoids hypothetical
substance and, potentially, infinite regress. The way realizes this
potential.
The
hypothetical being that has no direct or indirect on experience is effectively
nonexistent.
Identity is sense of sameness of self or other
existent.
An individual or person is a being, with identity of form and
awareness, for whom the awareness is perceptual, feeling, conceptual, and
capable of choice, will, and action.
power is interaction or effective cause—having
or receiving effect (self or other). The hypothetical being that has no power
is nonexistent.
There is but one universe
• The universe is all being.
There is
one universe and no other.
The
universe has no creator or effective cause
There
is no other being to create or effectively cause the universe; and
self cause presumes the universe to be manifest before it is manifest.
• The
universe has no creator or effective cause.
The void
is the being—or a being—that contains no beings except itself.
The void
• The void,
which is the absence of being, exists.
Existence
of the void follows from equivalence of its existence and non-existence. This
may be doubted. However, existence of the void is consistent with experience
of the world and reason. Therefore, existence of the void may be regarded as
a rational and existential postulate.
The universe is the
greatest possible
laws of nature are patterns; patterns are immanent in the
world and therefore have being.
In
the void there are no laws.
Reference to a being without a concept
(‘experience of a being’) is without meaning. This does not mean of imply
that the concept creates or is the being. Rather, a being is equivalent to a
net aggregate of direct and indirect experiences—by self and other being.
A
being is possible if its conception
does not rule out existence. The possibility is real if the laws or patterns do not rule out
existence. The concept itself may rule out existence; the conditions on a
concept to not rule out existence are called logical;
in this case the being is called logically
possible.
If
all that is possible did not emerge from the void, that would constitute a
law of the void. Therefore—
• The
universe is the greatest possible.
This assertion is named the fundamental principle of metaphysics.
It is clear that the greatest possibility
cannot exceed logical possibility. However, for the logically possible to not
emerge from the void would be a law. Therefore, the greatest and logical
possibilities are identical.
Note that ‘greatest possible’ includes
the good but does not mean ‘best of all possible worlds’. It means that if a
being is possible, it is in the universe.
The
existence of the universe is necessary
• Necessity
is the cause of the existence of the universe and realization of the greatest
possibility.
From its definition it was seen that
there is numerically one universe.
• The
universe is dynamically one (and there is, effectively, but one void). The
universe phases between manifest and void form; it has identity.
The
conclusions above are simple consequences of the definition of ‘universe’ and
the fundamental principle.
An
example of a ‘method of using the fundamental principle’ now emerges. Imagine
or conceive any being (or aspect of a being, which, in any case, is also a
being); then, provided the concept is logical, the being exists (this
‘method’ will be extended in § using the real metaphysics, p 16).
•† The universe
and its identity are limitless in every possible way—particularly, in form,
variety, extension, duration, and peak of being.
Individuals and civilizations
•†
Individuals inherit the power of the universe for, otherwise, the universe
would not be limitless.
†
The individual is the universe.
†
There is no being that is eternally isolated. Beings and being are
essentially relational. What is thought of as a non-experiential being is a
being whose experientiality is zero. That is, in an extended sense of
experience, experience and relation are identical. The being that has no
effect on or in experience does not exist.
†
Our civilization is one of limitlessly many across the universe.
•†
Individuals and civilizations merge with the universe in its peaks.
†
This realization is given.
†
While a ‘limited being’ has limits noted below, those are local limits;
relative to the extent and duration of the universe, all beings are
limitless; all beings have freedom without limit except the limits of all
being.
†
The universe may be viewed as a block which contains the trajectories of all
beings. A given being is the intersection of multiple trajectories; the
merging of individuals in peaks, followed dissolutions, occurs in the
intersection and divergence of the trajectories.
•† Human
limits are real but not absolute.
•† Birth,
death, pain, and physical form are real but not absolute limits. Knowledge
and fear of death may be employed as cathartic in living well in the present
as one with endeavor toward the ultimate.
†
That the ultimate is realized by all individuals is given. But effective
realization of the ultimate is found in commitment to this life and the
ultimate. Intimate acquaintance with death and fear is transformative.
†
For some individuals, seeing and realizing the ultimate is a continuous and
visible thread, beginning in this life. It is so for all beings, except when
the quality of vision is limited and, therefore, the truth may be hidden.
Where we do not have full vision from the present, it is acquired in merging
with others, beyond this life.
Paths to the ultimate
•† There
are effective, intelligent, enjoyed paths to the ultimate. To be on a path is not
just to follow, but also to share and develop paths.
The
way is process.
• sangha—community and sharing pathways—is effective in discovery
and realization.
The aim of being
• If
enjoyment is a value, to be on a shared path is a human and moral imperative.
To be on a path is a core ethic.
• The aim of
being is just the aim of the way of
being—to live well in the present as the way to inspired and shared discovery
and realization of the ultimate. To live well includes ethical living.
• The best
address of pain and other impediments is dual—therapeutic and engaging with a
path. Though not the same, engaging in a path and therapy ought not to be
distinct.
Being
and the universe
Classes
of being
The categories or classes of
being are classes at or just below being in inclusiveness, chosen for
effectiveness in understanding and reason.
Begin
with ideal classes of being, two
aspects of being itself—direct and experience of (intrinsic, concept)
and the experienced (instrumental, referent or object)—i.e., psyche
or mind and world (world includes mind). Note that because
experience is experienced, the distinction between the intrinsic and the
instrumental is a continuum.
To
add a practical complement, we may use a system of the culture in which we
live. Such systems are invariably imperfect relative to ‘ideal knowledge’.
However, if imperfection is invariable, the imperfect is the only instrument
in realization of the ultimate and, given the inevitability of the ultimate,
the imperfect is perfect relative to that goal. In a western worldview, the world
divides into the following pragmatic classes
of being: nature (which contrasts to the artificial or
constructed and includes the elementary or physical at a range of scales
from micro to cosmological and more, the complex or living, and psyche—the
experiential or mental aspect of nature), society (at least partially
constructed and includes civilization and artifact or technology), and the
peak, part known, and unknown elements of the universe.
The real metaphysics
Tradition will mean—what is valid in cumulative
cultural history (inclusive of art, science, and technology), of in process
and enhanced by reflection, experiment and action, and learning.
† There are two systems of understanding—the ideal and
tradition or the pragmatic. The ideal shows an ultimate real and value and so
illuminates and guides the pragmatic; the pragmatic illustrates and is
instrumental toward the ideal. The pragmatic is ‘limited truth’ according to
traditional criteria of perfect faithfulness. However, the pragmatic is the
only and therefore ‘best’ instrument so far in realization. Thus, in terms of
the ethic of realization, the pragmatic has an ideal or perfect character
(and the ideal may be seen as a limit of the pragmatic). Thus, the ideal and
the pragmatic constitute a single perfect system for living in the world and
realization of the ultimate. This system is named the real metaphysics. In summary and conclusion—
• The real
metaphysics is a synthesis of (i) the universe as the greatest possible, (ii)
pragmatic knowledge, (iii) experience of and in the world, (v) reflection,
and (v) action, results in a real metaphysics that is a perfect instrument of
realization.
Using the metaphysics
• To employ
the system, we have appeal (i) to tradition and its approaches or methods, of
which the foregoing captures a framework (ii) for the ideal part, to
imagination subject to critical thought (iii) for likelihood of occurrences,
to various paradigms such as mechanism and evolution as known in our cosmos.
Consequences
of the real metaphysics are marked ††. Examples follow.
††
To see how individuals merge as one, consider that the ‘individual’ is a
unity of individuals, and, by analogy, the one is a unity of the many. Though
introduced by analogy, this is logically possible and therefore necessarily
realized.
††
The cosmos in which we live is one of limitlessly many, which are relatively
stable and symmetric in form, and, which, together are limitless in magnitude
and quality—and which are in transient transaction with the void. This
description is—most likely—inadequate to convey the variety of being.
††
To see why the majority of cosmoses would be formed, analogy from the theory
of evolution, suggests an incremental emergence in which forms with near
symmetry are more stable, and it is longevity, which results from stability,
that accounts for the majority. Cosmoses with intelligent experiential beings
would obviously the ones that are recognized.
A program of realization
• This program of realization will use two templates—everyday
(immediate) and universal (toward the ultimate).
To
make the range comprehensive, the templates draw from the ideal and pragmatic classes of being, p 14. The ideal classes are reflected
in both templates—the experienced or intrinsic is especially significant as
the place of being and ‘becoming’. Intrinsic means, e.g. meditation, are
supported by the instrumental—e.g. hatha yoga and technology. The pragmatic
classes are reflected, especially in the universal template.
The
pragmatic classes of being are psyche, nature, civilization (society), and
the peak, part known, and unknown. These classes are reflected in the
templates, especially the universal template.
An
outline of templates follows (details follow in path templates for realization, p 20). The templates, derived from
experience with the program of realization, p 18, are rendered adaptable to a range
of circumstances and personal orientations. They are intended to be adapted
and modified.
• Outline
of the everyday template—rise early
(dedication and affirmation), meditative review (life – the way – the
day), realize (yoga – work – share; reflection and work on projects), physical
exploration (nature, art, society), evening renewal and community,
and sleep early.
Notes—yoga includes meditation; practice extend to
action throughout the day (the reading has sources on yoga).
•† Outline of the universal
template—being in the world, ideas (reflection –
writing – sharing, publishing), becoming (nature with psyche;
civilization, society, and artifact (technology), and community; the
universal—peak, part known, and unknown—being in the universe.
Notes—the
areas of activity are driven by the ideal
and pragmatic classes of being, p 14. The templates below outline an explicit and in principle
complete program.
Program templates
Supporting
material and versions of templates with greater detail and explanation are
linked in reading, p 24.
Everyday template
Time
|
Activity
|
|
Rise early—before
the sun, dedicate to the way and its aim, affirm the universal nature of
being. Morning reflection in nature. Breakfast.
|
|
Meditative-contemplative review priorities and plans—life, the day, the way.
Reflect on realization, priorities, and means; employ simple reflection,
(calming—Shamatha—for re-orientation of purpose and energy, contemplative
or analytical meditation—Vipasana—to see what is essential now and in other
time frames; see the discussion of experimental yoga).
|
|
Realization—(a)
work, (b) care and relationships—networking, (c) ideas and action, (c)
experimental and structured yoga-exercise-meditation-share in practice and
in action, (d) other activities or ‘engagement in the world’—e.g.,
languages, art.
|
|
Tasks—daily
and long term; midday meal. Attitude—in tasks and toward others and the
world—an element of realization; light; yoga in action. May merge with
Realization.
|
|
Physical activity—exercise and exploration of the worlds of nature and culture
for discovery and inspiration.
|
|
Evening
rest, renewal, review, meditation and realization, network, community,
tasks, supper, preparation-dedication for the next day and future. Sleep
early.
|
Universal template
1.
|
Being in the world—Dimensions (a) Pure being (b) Community
(c) Retreat for experience of the real.
|
2.
|
Ideas—Dimensions
(a) relation, knowing (as relation to the world); reason and
art (b) acting (effectively, creating the real). Means—reason, yoga (meditation), and the real
metaphysics, p 15.
|
3.
|
Becoming—Dimension:
nature as catalyst to the real. Animal being and
devolution—observation, situational empathy, defocus, reason.
|
4.
|
Becoming—Dimension:
society. Civilization as vehicle and path to the real. Transformation via
psyche—by immersion in social groups as place of being and catalyst to the
real.
|
5.
|
Becoming—Dimension:
artifact. Civilizing the universe (especially technology as enhancing being
in the universe)—universe as peak consciousness via spread of sapient
being.
|
6.
|
Becoming—Dimensions:
universal, incompletely known. The common way from self to peak being
(Atman to Brahman), via the block universe and extended secular
worlds consistent with experience of and in the world.
|
7.
|
Being in the universe—Dimension: universal. Realizing Being (Brahman) in
the present. Apparently, rarely achieved in ‘this life’ which is a
beginning that is continued beyond death. Outcome of items #2 to #6. The
means are in the previous dimensions and open.
|
Reading
This
work outlines a way shared discovery and realization of the ultimate. It does
not define a complete program. Indeed, it ought not to, for a real program,
it was found, is not just to follow but also to forge paths. The suggested
readings supplement the way.
In print
(i) Ian Baker, The Heart of the World:
A Journey to Tibet’s Lost Paradise, 2004. An exploration of travel to the
heart of nature as means of self-transformation.
(ii) Chagdud Tulku, Gates to Buddhist Practice:
Essential Teachings of a Tibetan Master, 1993, Rev. 2001. A readable account
of Tibetan Buddhism, its worldview, and practice. Has practical advice, based
in the worldview, on dealing with everyday issues, especially blocks to being
on a path.
(iii) John Hick, The Fifth Dimension: An Exploration of the
Spiritual Realm, 1999. An excellent account of the meaning and reality of
spirituality from within the worldview from modern science.
(iv) Christopher Wallis, Tantra Illuminated: The Philosophy,
History, and Practice of a Timeless Tradition, 2nd ed., 2013. An immense
source of ritual for those who may be interested. Somewhat aligned with
Tibetan Buddhism.
(v) Pema Chödrön, How to Meditate: A Practical Guide to
Making Friends with Your Mind, 2013. On the practice of meditation and its
use in becoming centered—in living well with one’s imperfect self. The book
is open with regard to aims of meditation.
(vi) Eknath Easwaran, trs., The Bhagavad Gita, 1985. A
practical guide to a world view similar to that in this work, as well as an
account of the realms of Yoga.
(vii) Richard K. Nelson, Make Prayers to the Raven: A Koyukon
View of the Northern Forest, 1983. Nice account of a primal world view and
way of life.
The internet
The
internet pages below are reading suggestions for a program and its
development. The links are to the way of being site, http://www.horizons-2000.org, and other sites. The page for the links
is at http://www.horizons-2000.org/2020/reading.html.
(i) Everyday and universal templates for action—with further
resources.
(ii) For a system of knowledge based in the real metaphysics, a system of human knowledge, reason,
practice, and action. It attempts to synthesize and go beyond sources that include
the ancient and the modern, the eastern and the western.
(iii) The way
of being and
other essays linked from the site above.
(iv) The main influences on my thought.
(v) For its suggestiveness for the background metaphysics, the
framework of Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus by Ludwig Wittgenstein.
(vi) For a program of action in our world, a journey in being: problems and
opportunities.
(vii) Background on yoga in traditional and modern approaches to
living in the world
as a system of realization and on the ultimate nature of the self. For more
on yoga, see A Sourcebook In Indian philosophy by Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan and Charles
A. Moore.
|