How being at one with nature means living in peace with technology
The core of Buddhist, or ascetic,
tradition resides within a common imagination of being. One imagines,
especially for the practices of meditation, that one is in a tranquil
forest, or floating gently in a calm ocean of peace. This alludes to
our essential quest for inner peace; the 'De-materialization' of our
imagination is considered a precursor for harmony with nature.
It has entered the mainstream, these
imaginary postulations for a being of self which detaches from
material objects. However, the essence of these traditions also
requires a fundamental level of acceptance of the world around us. To
have peace inside, one must, the tradition goes, be at peace with the
immediate and the apparent.
Let us assume that few of us have the
pleasure of perpetual access to 'classical' nature; the modern world
is a world of roads, concrete, plastic and metal. There is precious
little 'natural' element present. It would therefore be important to
allow for a certain acceptance that this paradigm, the building of
our material compass, is inclusive of technology.
Thus, the breakages around us, the
damaged roads, the ineffectual public transport systems, imposing
buildings and apparent oddities of the real world are not to be shied
away from. The real trick is to face it all, the noise, the pain, the
blockages and the swamp of pollutants. It is to see, and yet to
create a balance. It is to feel, and be in harmony.
This breakage can be a real,
quantifiable one. Technology is now enshrined in our lives. It acts
as a means for social assemblage and social interaction. It cannot be
shirked, nor should it be shirked. The breaking down of technology,
not merely as a opaque concept, but the actual malfunction of
technology, also needs alignment with what I would call the
'neo-natural' world. As we move from capital to information, from
physical to digital, the natural world, our natural habitat, is now
set deep in a technological world. This has to be considered the new
natural world, for to not consider it thus is fighting the core
tradition of the spiritual freedom of Buddhism.
And so, should our home entertainment
system break down, though it may pain us, it us but the meandering of
the river in our habitat. A turn of the tide of our waters.
Our natural habitat has been unnatural
for an age. It is time to accept what we have as a new natural world.
The end, when it comes, will have already fused the material with the
natural. Acceptance of these nuances of neo-natural concepts may make
for a better introspective experience.
3 comments:
We don't really have the choice, do we? Even my grandparents who don't understand how internet works realize that it is a database of knowledge. Even they know that social media has aided connectivity vastly.
Looking at it from another perspective, I think we are pretty much used to this precarious equilibrium that nature and technology currently exist. Imagine yourself in the midst of Amazon Forest with nothing but the nature. For most people, that'd be unacceptable.
For most people it would be accepted if they find peace with things as they are, and not as they think they should be
For most people it would be accepted if they find peace with things as they are, and not as they think they should be
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