ho_sinyan
11-08-2002, 02:07 AM
> Jeremy writes:
> What fascinates me is the whole concept of desire - what
> makes people want what they want, and how do you
> change what you want? How wrapped up in your identity
> is desire?
> _________________________________
>
> Hmmm, this one everyone almost let slip by. It's certainly
intriguing
> to say the least :)Since I can only speak for myself and not
others,
> I would venture to say that desire and will are in the soul's
> original purpose for incarnating in the first place. Sort of like
the
> soul's theme for existence.
Has anyone heard this story which Joseph Campbell attributes
to the ancient Hindus:
<start>
In the beginning, there was only the Self.
And the Self said to It-Self, "I AM."
Now, the moment, it said the "I" in "I AM", it felt fear.
This fear was quickly eliminated, however through this
reasoning: "Since there is nothing but My-Self, of what am I to be
afraid?"
This reasoning, however, was quickly followed by another
thought: "What if there was something else?"
And then by the desire: "I would like there to be something else."
At this point, the one Self, which was as big as a man and
woman embracing, split into two selves, which embraced and
begat people.
<end>
There is some more, where the female of the pair changes into
a bull, followed by the male, who changes into a bull and
embraces her and they beget cattle, and this process continues
down the line for all the animals and insects down to the ants.
But the best part of this story for me is the idea that all actions
and perhaps all things in this universe can be seen as the
products of specific interactions between desire and fear,
making them the two smallest basic units of existence.
They may obtain other names along the way, like positive and
negative, good and bad, attractive and ugly, but basically
everything comes down to those two.
Just to share what I see as a beautiful thought.
> What fascinates me is the whole concept of desire - what
> makes people want what they want, and how do you
> change what you want? How wrapped up in your identity
> is desire?
> _________________________________
>
> Hmmm, this one everyone almost let slip by. It's certainly
intriguing
> to say the least :)Since I can only speak for myself and not
others,
> I would venture to say that desire and will are in the soul's
> original purpose for incarnating in the first place. Sort of like
the
> soul's theme for existence.
Has anyone heard this story which Joseph Campbell attributes
to the ancient Hindus:
<start>
In the beginning, there was only the Self.
And the Self said to It-Self, "I AM."
Now, the moment, it said the "I" in "I AM", it felt fear.
This fear was quickly eliminated, however through this
reasoning: "Since there is nothing but My-Self, of what am I to be
afraid?"
This reasoning, however, was quickly followed by another
thought: "What if there was something else?"
And then by the desire: "I would like there to be something else."
At this point, the one Self, which was as big as a man and
woman embracing, split into two selves, which embraced and
begat people.
<end>
There is some more, where the female of the pair changes into
a bull, followed by the male, who changes into a bull and
embraces her and they beget cattle, and this process continues
down the line for all the animals and insects down to the ants.
But the best part of this story for me is the idea that all actions
and perhaps all things in this universe can be seen as the
products of specific interactions between desire and fear,
making them the two smallest basic units of existence.
They may obtain other names along the way, like positive and
negative, good and bad, attractive and ugly, but basically
everything comes down to those two.
Just to share what I see as a beautiful thought.