Jean Paul Sartre (1905 – 1980), French philosopher, attempting
to define existentialism said that all existentialists believed that “existence
precedes essence.” We are all born (existence) into a meaningless and absurd world
and it is necessary for us to create our own meaning (essence) out of this
reality.
Sartre lived during the Enlightenment-influenced Modern Era
where belief in science trumped belief in religion. Science could explain
everything. What we experience with the senses is what is real, everything else
is fiction. We live and we die, there is nothing eternal. All we have is our
life, and that life is meaningless unless we create our own meaning. Nietzsche,
another existentialist philosopher, spoke of our “will to power.” Ambition and
achievement, striving to reach the
highest possible position in life, drive us to create our own meaning. We climb
over everyone in our way to reach the top, fulfilling Darwin’s theory of the survival
of the fittest.
Unfortunately, this world view has left many people in our
day with an existential loneliness
and a deep longing for something beyond ourselves and our “absurd” world. There
is something within us, an internal compass, that continually points to
something beyond ourselves. To ignore it, as the Enlightenment taught us to do,
causes this loneliness. In our culture, too often this loneliness, or this holy
longing, is filled with obsessive behaviors; addictions to shopping, sex, alcohol
and drugs, food.
A way to quell this loneliness is to turn Sartre’s statement
around and to understand that essence precedes existence. We are created in
God’s image and likeness (Gen. 1:27). This is the internal compass that points
us to something beyond ourselves. This God-stamp within us is eternal. According
to Andrew Scott, “. . . the image of God [is] woven into the fabric of our
being. If it were taken out of us, we would unravel. We would cease to be.” This
is our essence, and it belonged to us before we were born. Essence precedes existence.
Henri Nouwen in his video series “The Vulnerable Journey,” speaks about all of us existing in the “heart of God” before we were born, and
that our life (existence) is only an “interruption of eternity.” Being in the
heart of God assures us of God’s eternal love for us. Being in God’s heart is
our essence.
In order to deal with our existential loneliness and our
holy longings, we need to get in touch with this eternal essence. This essence
trumps the socialization of culture and family. This essence trumps the “will
to power.” This essence makes us more than animals responding to external
stimuli. This essence is our compass and hope.
This reminds me of a famous Zen Buddhist teaching from Shunryu Suzuki:
ReplyDelete“I went to Yosemite National Park, and I saw some huge waterfalls… And I thought it must be a very difficult experience for each drop of water to come down from the top of such a high mountain. It takes time, you know, a long time, for the water to finally reach the bottom of the waterfall. And it seems to me that our human life may be like this. We have many difficult experiences in our life. But at the same time, I thought, the water was not originally separated, but was one whole river. Only when it is separated does it have some difficulty in falling. It is as if the water does not have any feeling when it is one whole river. Only when separated into many drops can it begin to have or to express some feeling. … Before we were born we had no feeling; we were one with the universe. This is called “mind only” or “essence of mind” or “big mind.” After we are separated by birth from this oneness, as the water falling from the waterfall is separated by the wind and rocks, then we have feeling. You have difficulty because you have feeling. You attach to the feeling you have without knowing just how this kind of feeling is created. When you do not realize that you are one with the river, or one with the universe, you have fear. Whether it is separated into drops or not, water is water. Our life and death are the same thing. When we realize this fact we have no fear of death anymore, and we have no actual difficulty in our life.” p. 82-83
It seems to me the danger in calling the essence or oneness a mind is that we may fall into a trap of thinking it is a mind like our human brain. And the danger of calling it “God” is that we create an entity within our mind and name it God. Perhaps if I prefer one of these constructs, I should practice the other for awhile, like crossing my legs one way, then another, to keep the circulation going! I practiced Christianity for 20-25 years, though, so I might linger awhile in my current position. — Jody