We are only Travellers

I was watching a movie called Experimenter. It follows the life of Dr Stanley Milgram and the effects of his now famous (infamous?) and still studied experiment in human behaviour. Just to refresh your memory, Dr Milgram conducted experiments where the test subject was asked to administer electric shocks of increasing degrees to a fellow tester in an adjoining room. The test subject was prompted by a scientist exerting himself as an authority figure to continue the electric shocks even if the test subject felt he/she should not do so.

The results of the experiment showed that most of society will follow orders regardless of their own ethical standards and in fact let a virtually unknown person control their behaviour to such an extent as to possibly murder another human being. There were a few test subjects who managed to stand up to the authority of the scientist and quit the experiment all together.

If 90% of people will follow orders despite their own ethical inklings not to and only 10% have the (for lack of a better term), moral fibre not to blindly follow orders – what does that say about our society today and is it unerringly routed in human nature? What about the 10% that managed to overcome and pass the test? Is there a way to address this challenge in human nature?

I came upon an article that reminded me of my studies in Buddhism. The title read “How to Let Go of Emotional Attachments”. Huh...but this was not an article about the “no mind” of Zen. Well not exactly. Remembering back in university trying to sit still and let each random thought that popped into my head float away in an imagined soap bubble, I was missing the point. Back then I thought “clearing the mind” meant that if I could manage to think of “nothing” for a certain amount of time every day sitting in meditation it would solve problems and create inner peace. What I didn't understand was that it does not signify the literal absence of thought, but the state of being "unstained" by thought. It is to separate oneself from one's own thoughts and opinions in detail as to not be harmed mentally and emotionally by them.

I left off with Zen Buddhism at that point because it seemed to me pointing a way out of this world while still in it and I didn't see a purpose in extracting myself so completely from living. Still there was some kind of good idea in being “unstained” by thought, but I needed more clarification.

The adjective "ascetic" derives from the ancient Greek term askēsis, which means training or exercise. The original usage did not refer to self-denial, but to the physical training required for athletic events. Its usage later extended to rigorous practices that are used in all major religious traditions, in varying degrees to attain redemption and higher spirituality. Ok so the original meaning of asceticism wasn't that Zenish idea of denouncing the world. More searching brought me to the various books titled Kitab al-Zuhd (Book of Renunciation). Zuhd describes a sense of devotion that includes actions and modes of behaviour that are not encapsulated by the common English translation of "asceticism" or "renunciation." Such practices include: treating orphans well, fighting battles against disbelievers, contributing alms, being of good intention, how to properly acquire and utilize knowledge, and so forth. As scholars in the field have pointed out, not all early Muslims labelled as a zāhid exercised extreme poverty, in fact, some even articulated that zuhd did not entail a complete abandonment of wealth, but rather that wealth be used appropriately.

Live in the present and realize your fate is not in your hands. Accept the situation you are in. Chill and appreciate the good things around you and be grateful for them. Partake in life, but dont overindulge and get lost in materialism because we are all just Travellers in this world, resting for a while and then moving on. Funny how simple the truth is sometimes. We learn it in preschool with the sweet little tune of Row your Boat. Turns out that life IS but a dream.