ON THE MOVE

In the previous posting, MOVING TARGET:  A SHORT STORY, the person states that spirituality, for him at least, is a moving target.  In point of fact, it is a moving target for everyone.  Indeed, there is nothing that is not a moving target.

This transience, so-called, is the source of all suffering in the world, according to Buddhism.  Vedanta is more optimistic, contending that transience makes us yearn for what is not transient, which is God.  It motivates us to seek God, which Vedanta teaches is the purpose of life.

We are, at the same time, under the illusion, called Maya, that nothing is moving, or at least we don’t pay attention to the movement.

Our believing that nothing is moving means that there are static, permanent things, including ourselves, which, of course, is not true.  We point to things as if they were unchanging, saying, “it,” “this,” “there.”  We give ourselves a name, Joe Smith, Mary Jones, as if we were one constant thing. 
 
There is the argument by the Sixth century Greek philosopher Parmenides that the appearance of movement is just that, an appearance.  Movement is limited to the relative world and does not exist ultimately.  The trouble is, we do not live in the ultimate world, so we are stuck with movement.

Movement began with the Big Bang.  The good news is that there is such a thing as death, presumably the end of movement.  The bad news is that death leads to other things, to reincarnation for one, which means still more movement.  Relief is nowhere in sight.