Being becomes conscious of itself/appears to itself. Beings do not perceive appearances and infer reality - we perceive reality/it appears to us. But it is perceived differently by/appears differently to different perceivers.
We distinguish between being and seeming:
"Ruling is as much about seeming as being. If there's a difference..."
-SM Stirling, The Given Sacrifice (New York, 2014), Chapter Five, p. 99.
Maybe there is not always a difference but usually there is. A while back, British farms were threatened with Foot and Mouth Disease. Farmers had to avoid physical contact with their customers. While addressing our meditation group, a monk from a Buddhist monastery that bought dairy products from a local farm began to say, "We must not seem insensitive to their situation," but then corrected herself and said, "We must not be insensitive to their situation." An important difference.
5 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
Just a minor correction, don't you mean a NUN from that Buddhist monastery, instead of "monk"? We Catholics call our female monks "nuns."
And I think I understand what Stirling meant. An EFFECTIVE ruler has to, for example, at least SEEM confident and determined, esp. in times of crisis, to encourage and hearten his people. Even tho that ruler might very often be a prey in his heart to anxiety and uncertainty over what would be the right decision to make. To say nothing over anxiety over whether it SUCCEEDS.
Sean
Sean,
The Order of Buddhist Contemplatives applies the word "monk" to both men and women.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
It still seems odd. I've seen formally inducted Buddhist women contemplatives called "nuns" elsewhere.
Sean
Sean,
They are. The OBC, founded by a woman, decided to break with tradition and make the terminology neutral.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
And I don't agree with that kind of attitude adopted by the OBC. Men and women are DIFFERENT, and we should not ignore that or pretend there are no differences. A queen, for example, is not a KING, to cite one simple example.
Sean
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