A lover of science and an integral evolutionist, Mokshananda offers that, as far as he can see, spiritual realization is the only lasting “balm” for the plight of manifest existence. From his book, I Am Missing Me: “Buddha, in his First and Second Noble Truths, and post-modern evolutionary theorists suggest the same thing. Discontentment, suffering, and pervasive dissatisfaction are ‘hard-wired’ intrinsic deep structures that appear to us from early human and pre-human evolutionary realms. Those early hominids that mated or ate and then rested on their laurels were less likely to past their genes on to future generations than those who kept on going, never feeling satisfied, mating, eating and wanting more. In a very real sense, the current human organism is the living, genetic heritage of all that. We think, it’s my unhappiness, but it’s much more impersonal than that. It’s all of ours, and to the extent we accept this, which is Buddha’s truth, is to the extent we start to become free of it. That’s why it’s called a Truth—- it’s not something to be overlooked—-and why the 1st and 2nd Noble Truths precede the deep realizations offered by the 3rd and 4th Noble Truths. In other words, it’s hard to “wake up” to non-dual awareness when you’re still doing battle with your humanness.”
Rabbi Cat’s musings on Parsha Tazria
As I think about what is happening today in Israel and Palestine, I think about the challenges we all face when we are confronted with stories different from those with which we were raised and that held a lot of meaning for us
