Who am I? Part III

Guntars Baikovs
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[2] Eastern ideas


A common theme of Eastern worldviews is that this reality is just an illusion: it’s not real. The ultimate reality is believed to be the spiritual one.

In this world we are just souls dwelling in, or imprisoned by our bodies, suffering for the mischiefs of our previous lives. This life doesn’t matter very much. We are waiting and working to be released,
so that we can finally to escape the prison of matter, be free from this reality, and reach the state where “I” – our self-consciousness – will cease to exist: where we will cease to exist.

Again, we could ask the questions: what picture of human beings do these worldviews provide? What do they teach about our dignity, and about the significance of our lives? About meaning and purpose? About our life together? About attitudes towards others?

Again, let’s consider correspondence, coherence, and creativity.
Let’s test this idea with these questions. Does it correspond to reality as we observe and experience it? Is it coherent with our other beliefs? Are such views, when enacted, good for our flourishing as individuals or communities? Reflect on it!

We can even go further.
There are concepts which many people have embraced because we have found that they nourish us as individuals and improve our life as a society, such as human rights, the concept of human dignity, the equality of every human being, the sanctity of life, and so on. These are all good things. And none of them have come from the worldviews mentioned above.

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