This is with reference to the previous post: The Journey and the Middle Way. On that post I received the following comment (via Google+) —
He continues in another comment —
I never replied to this person for I don’t know him. (I am avoiding philosophical discussions with strangers because more often than not it’s a sheer waste of time.) But I sure have the explanation to give, which is very important too! Hence this post.
What does the middle way mean? And why is it important?
As it appears, this commenter still hasn’t gone far enough to have reached the stage to know about the fundamental truths of life; that is, underlying nihilism and absurdity.
When you develop some understanding, you operate out of that understanding. And that’s generally good. But when your understanding exceeds certain limit, that is, when you understand the fundamental nihilism, absurdity etc about life, and you operate out of it, you essentially stop living, healthily. So, after reaching that level of understanding one has to come back, set one’s worldview to a lower level of understanding, which has meaning and is conducive to goals, ambitions etc, and then live. That’s the middle way.
The commenter is right in saying that the life is an inexhaustible mystery. But I mean what I said in a different way. Take the example of a clock. It is so complex a machine that it may be impossible for an ordinary person to know its each and every tiny part and understand them (horizontal understanding). But still we perfectly know and understand the overall function of a clock and its fundamental nature and purpose (vertical understanding). And it’s precisely because of this, that a clock doesn’t fascinate us every time we look at it.
The very same thing is possible with life. Life happens through extremely intricate dynamics, which is an unsolvable thing. But at a different level, in a sense, it is possible to understand life at least so much as to lose its fascination. And it’s simply not healthy to operate out of that level of understanding. Too much “vertical” understanding of the life definitely takes the fun out of it. Any seeker would know it. That’s the reason why intellectuals (seekers/philosophers) generally appear to be enjoying things less; they know too much about certain things to enjoy them.
And since we are at it, let me clarify one more thing: People have this mistaken notion that seekers renounce the world to seek truth. That isn’t quite true. It’s rather when they reach that level of understanding that they have to renounce the world because they can’t keep up with the absurdity of mundane human life anymore. For them, instead of becoming a saint, the middle way is suggested. Too much understanding of life thwarts living.
I am not even saying that life is not to be understood. Here’s a tricky part: One doesn’t have to limit understanding per se, but after reaching there, one has to take a U-turn if one wants to live a healthy life. Again, coming back doesn’t mean unlearning what one has learned; it just means not applying that understanding in the moment-by-moment living.
But this realization only happens when one reaches that extreme of understanding. Until then one keeps believing that more and more understanding is right; which is what this commenter is saying. And that’s perfectly fine too; for only then he’ll reach there.
Your observation is based on a false premise that it is even possible to understand life so much that it no more remains fascinating. Since such thing is not remotely possible and the world remains an inexhaustible mystery, the rest of what you say doesn't apply. We have to keep searching for more and more understanding without needing to worry about any middle path.
He continues in another comment —
One has to encourage search, without needing to worry that we will come to a point where we know everything about life because such a thought is silly. Middle Way is middling way, so-so, lukewarm. To even begin to understand anything about life one needs tremendous intelligence, not any middle thing or mediocre thing. Boredom or insensitivity or delusion that one knows everything there is to know, these are totally different things.
I never replied to this person for I don’t know him. (I am avoiding philosophical discussions with strangers because more often than not it’s a sheer waste of time.) But I sure have the explanation to give, which is very important too! Hence this post.
What does the middle way mean? And why is it important?
As it appears, this commenter still hasn’t gone far enough to have reached the stage to know about the fundamental truths of life; that is, underlying nihilism and absurdity.
When you develop some understanding, you operate out of that understanding. And that’s generally good. But when your understanding exceeds certain limit, that is, when you understand the fundamental nihilism, absurdity etc about life, and you operate out of it, you essentially stop living, healthily. So, after reaching that level of understanding one has to come back, set one’s worldview to a lower level of understanding, which has meaning and is conducive to goals, ambitions etc, and then live. That’s the middle way.
The commenter is right in saying that the life is an inexhaustible mystery. But I mean what I said in a different way. Take the example of a clock. It is so complex a machine that it may be impossible for an ordinary person to know its each and every tiny part and understand them (horizontal understanding). But still we perfectly know and understand the overall function of a clock and its fundamental nature and purpose (vertical understanding). And it’s precisely because of this, that a clock doesn’t fascinate us every time we look at it.
The very same thing is possible with life. Life happens through extremely intricate dynamics, which is an unsolvable thing. But at a different level, in a sense, it is possible to understand life at least so much as to lose its fascination. And it’s simply not healthy to operate out of that level of understanding. Too much “vertical” understanding of the life definitely takes the fun out of it. Any seeker would know it. That’s the reason why intellectuals (seekers/philosophers) generally appear to be enjoying things less; they know too much about certain things to enjoy them.
And since we are at it, let me clarify one more thing: People have this mistaken notion that seekers renounce the world to seek truth. That isn’t quite true. It’s rather when they reach that level of understanding that they have to renounce the world because they can’t keep up with the absurdity of mundane human life anymore. For them, instead of becoming a saint, the middle way is suggested. Too much understanding of life thwarts living.
I am not even saying that life is not to be understood. Here’s a tricky part: One doesn’t have to limit understanding per se, but after reaching there, one has to take a U-turn if one wants to live a healthy life. Again, coming back doesn’t mean unlearning what one has learned; it just means not applying that understanding in the moment-by-moment living.
But this realization only happens when one reaches that extreme of understanding. Until then one keeps believing that more and more understanding is right; which is what this commenter is saying. And that’s perfectly fine too; for only then he’ll reach there.
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