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March 10, 2018, 08:48:46 AM |
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I think you are right in many respects, but it is also important to remember that belief systems are incredibly complex, and cannot be as easily evaluated, discarded, or upgraded as a purchasable commodity. To really get to grips with a belief system can take years, and many of them are not quite what they look like on the surface. You are right that we need to learn how to take care of ourselves and each other, but how to do that is not a simple question and does not have straightforward answers. Who should we take care of - just our immediate circle or also those we may not know but whom we could easily help? What constitutes helping ourselves -- should we spend time in meditation and learning, or should we go out and develop experience in the world? What about trade-offs, when taking care of ourselves means spending less time taking care of others? Or perhaps, when taking care of others means taking care of ourselves, even when we might not want to face the fact of our own inadequacy?
There is a lot of arcane thought no longer relevant to us in many traditional belief systems, but there is also a reason that these ideas get discussed thousands of years later. Some aspects of the human condition are universal through time and different spaces, but it may take a long time to begin to appreciate and understand the connections and relevance of ancient ideas to modern life. I think what is really needed is an upgrade in our ability to discern what is relevant and what is good, and to separate these insights from all the debris around them.
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