(333) What can heal your mind in absence of religion and value?
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By Janet Shin
To begin with, a great difference lies in the cognition of ‘chaos’ between the Eastern and Western cultures. The latter is interspersed with anti-sentiment toward chaos.
The Enlightenment in the history of Western intelligence involves human rationality, empiricism, science, universalism, progress, individualism and freedom. One of the major concerns of the Enlightenment thinkers was to suspect things around humans in order to correctly perceive ‘the thing itself’, which are divided into two. One can actually be detected through our five senses while the other can only be perceived mentally, such as spirits, the universe and the gods. Owing to the astronomic discoveries of Kepler and Copernicus in the 16th and 17th centuries about the universe, the traditional cosmologies were challenged by empirical science and people became aware of human capability based on reason and rationality by eliminating unscientific belief systems such as superstition and religious ideology.
The other major aspect that they couldn’t abide by was chaos. They thought it was an attribute of savages, whom they had to educate and organize or get rid of. When delineating the savage’s way of thinking, they also associated it with enchantment.
Meanwhile, the East considered chaos in a rather opposite way. If the West regarded it as a state of disorder, irrationality, darkness and negativity, so as to be overcome and conquered, the East found it as an origin of all creation so it should be recognized and blessed as it was.
Here is an interesting fable about chaos, in the book of Zhuangzi, an ancient Chinese classic from the Warring States Period (476-221 BC), written by Zhuang Zhou and his followers. In the olden time, there lived three kings, Suk of the southern sea, Hol of the northern sea and Hondon of the middle. Hondon literally means chaos. Suk and Hol, representing quickness and artificial deeds, met in the land of Hondon where they were given a warm reception. Suk and Hol deliberated together to return their favor for Hondon’s cordial regalement and they decided to make seven channels of perceptions so that Hondon could discern by seeing, hearing, eating and breathing as he didn’t have any of those. They made one channel day by day only to cause Hondon’s death at the end of the seventh day.
Having the seven channels implies people’s ability to distinguish things and concepts, in this story. Once they got to have the power of discernment, however, they ended up losing the knowledge of truth and consequently their lives.
The story of Hondon makes us reconsider the way we perceive the creation of the Universe, antithesis over chaos and furthermore our faith in rationality and intellect based on a Western point of view.
How can we define our modern society? We might have achieved tremendous advancements as a scientific civilization, which was believed to enhance our quality of life so that it could ultimately bring us happiness. Did it truly happen in reality? We became alienated by the means of production, technology we invented and the condition of the economy. No one can deny the fact that capitalism has brought us material affluence, which doesn’t inspire us with happiness but dominates and strips us of our dignity. The religious components have given way to secular and materialistic aspects of modern culture. Accordingly people must be aware of the absence of meaning and virtue in society.
Many people are fascinated by virtual reality, fabrication, pleasure and games to fill the empty spaces where religious beliefs used to comfort their mind. Material abundance doesn’t seem to be the main factor leading to sentimental happiness. The ratio of absolute poverty may have decreased but it doesn’t mean the improvement of life. Reinforcement of individualism accelerates people’s anxiety to communicate with others at the same time. Avocation is one way of artistic activity to connect and praise the facets of life, both rationality and irrationality.
Enchantment is no longer a feature of the uncivilized but another way of perceiving the world, which may be related with mythical thought. The wounded minds of the public are healed by psychologists, fortune-tellers and popular idols, which had been done by religion or its faiths in the past.
Are you interested in learning more about the ancient Chinese teachings, the “Four Pillars of Destiny” and oriental ways of fortune telling or fortune tellers? Janet teaches Saju for the public at Seoul National University of Education. For further information, visit Janet’s website at www.sajufortuneteller.modoo.at or her blog, https://blog.naver.com/janet_shin. You can also contact her at 010-5414-7461 or email janetshin@hotmail.com. The writer is the author of “Life’s Secrets”.