What is “the Middle Way”? … (12/31/11)
A question was posed: If Jesus was betrayed and if he did die to absolve me of my sin, then it seems reasonable to assume that someone is to blame … And yet, if blame of self and blame of the other are the same, what is the third option? What is the Middle Way?
A typical “New Age” response was then offered: “The Middle Way is the observer consciousness. In observer consciousness there is no blame because life is viewed through the guiding principles of a Reality that [merely] reflects to us what we believe … To stop this sort of victim mentality, we see reflections of our own limiting perceptions instead of problems, and we make adjustment. That is the path to freedom from suffering … Christ freed us from having to go through a similar route … Christ came to show us an alternative [to victim consciousness], of how, by attuning to the Father, we could become one with God.” ~ Lynne F.
And finally, some clarification that might prove to be VERY IMPORTANT for you:
1) How we perceive Reality is indeed our choice, and as such there truly is no solid ground upon which blame of any sort can stand.
2) That having been said, there IS also a Reality outside our limited means of perception — a Reality that does often inflict us with immense amounts of pain & discomfort.
3) The Middle Way that Christ showed us was NOT “attuning to the Father” by mentally accepting whatever happens to us and ladling it with thick coverings of faux-gratitude and emotional isolation. Rather, Jesus’ message was a practical, active, Caring way of dealing with the tragedies that regularly come into our lives. The primitive being has only two alternatives at his/her/its disposal when inflicted with pain: capitulate in hopelessness to its “tragedy” or strive in vain to overcome/alter/eliminate the same. Both paths are futile, and both lead to suffering. Jesus, on the other hand, showed us The Middle Way — a way that had nothing at all to do with us simply shrugging our shoulders and retreating “within”. rather, his Way had everything to do with USING pain to empower our concurrent & subsequent “irrational” deeds of Kindness. His Way was active and it was Kind and it was courageous — it had very little to do with avoiding suffering, and very much to do with USING suffering to empower our acts of Love (which, ironically, happen to have the unintended after-effect of eliminating all suffering).
Consider …
“Give to all who beg of you …” ~ Jesus in Matthew 5:42
“It is more blessed to give than to receive.” ~ Jesus in Acts 10:35
“Those who do what is True will come into the Light … Those who have done Good will rise to Live … Do for one another just as I have done for you … By this everyone will know that you are my followers, if you show Love to one another … If you understand [my Teachings], blessed are you while you do them.” ~ Jesus in John 3:21, John 5:29, John 13:15 & John 13:35-37
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