True Values

Hello! Welcome to lesson number 27. This is Stefan Sojka and I want to examine and share those which I consider “The True Values” Maybe they differ from your conception. What about friendship, team spirit, loyalty, the family, fidelity? …see if your values match mine.

My values have evolved and continue to evolve as a result of my family background, my life experience and my individual genetic make up and it’s response to those experiences. Because of this, I find it very hard to say what my true values are. They are constantly changing, and as new information comes to me, I am forced to modify my ideas.

I fact anyone who claims to know what true values are, is risking humiliation in the face of new evidence, and is also playing the same game of “I’m right, you are wrong” that politicians and religious leaders have been playing for 1000’s of years, failing to understand the diversity and complexity of the human experience and judging others for holding different values to their own.

When the bible was written, rubber condoms hadn’t even been invented, yet the Catholic Church claims to know that God definitely doesn’t want anyone to wear one, even if it means saving your life or the life of your partner and preventing unwanted pregnancies. They also, up until 1992 had the official view that the earth was the centre of the universe.

The Reverend John Howard has just decreed that it is illegal for any baby to not have a mother and father living together in legal or de-facto wedded bliss. All single mothers and separated or divorced parents must now kill their children, as the child’s right to have a loving mother and father has been violated, so they cannot exist in this society. Any man who has sex with a woman then runs off never to be seen again after finding out she is pregnant must be forced to return to the woman to witness the birth of the child, at which time he will be given the choice to marry her and be a loving father, or kill the baby. Orphanages are to be burned to the ground with everyone in them, and if any child’s mother or father dies for any reason, such as a car crash or cancer, the child is to be given a lethal injection to protect it and society at large from the untold terror and mayhem that could unfold.

My personal values are probably far more aligned with the Eastern ways of thinking than the judgemental, inflexible, misguided and highly doubtful premises upon which western society is founded. I recently visited the Nan Tien Buddhist Temple near Wollongong and was inspired by the profound simplicity of some of the writings displayed on the walls, and the overall sense of peace and harmony that permeated the place. Buddhism celebrates life and has a deep affinity with nature, which I find very appealing, since we are, of course, living creatures ourselves who depend on the laws of nature for our very existence.

Here are a few sayings of Venerable Master Hsing Yun, taken from a little book I purchased at the temple boookshop:

Be generous and Affiliate Wholesomely with others.
Possessing and sharing both have their place.
When everyone is compassionate, all places will be auspicious.
Be a global citizen who lives as one, be a compassionate person who feels unity with all things, be a reasonable person who possesses wisdom, be a strong person who is patient.
Have a broad and tolerant mind. Have the courage to shoulder responsibilities. Have the wisdom to be decisive, have the spirit to be self motivated.
We should expect things from ourselves and not from others.
The unkindness of others is the fertilizer for one’s own growth.
Learn to let go of the worries of the world. Fear neither life, nor death.
And a very simple but important saying – “Everything is Impermanent”

I think the reason why eastern philosophies are more appealing to me is that their thinking comes about by clearing the mind through meditation and peace, allowing deeper awarenesses to reveal themselves, whilst other religions such as Islam, Judaism and Christianity fill the mind with words from books that were written so long ago that their original meaning has been all but lost. The students of those religions have allowed their minds to sink into pathological states, as their conscious adult brains attempt to deal with ludicrous concepts such as walking on water, virgin births, resurrection, great red dragons with ten heads and seven horns, women dressed in the sun and marriages to baby sheep. It is no wonder priests and popes through the centuries have had such a difficult time with their own true values, as they try to reconcile those images with the realities of daily life. It probably explains why the church has had such a jaded history of corruption, murder, paedophilia and non-opposition to Hitler’s genocide of the Jews.

Maybe centuries from now, people will be preaching about King Elvis and his Holy Decree – “Don’t be Cruel” and the satanic dance that possessed people under the evil influence of the dark queen Tina Turner just outside the holy “Nutbush City Limits”. Maybe they shall Praise the Lord Max Rowley who sent his loyal subjects out into the world to spread “The Word”, and revile the evil double crossing Apostle Ken, who performed unspeakable acts, the images of which were spread throughout the land, before he was crucified by Emperor Howard for corrupting true values.

True values… ah that’s right, this show was supposed to be about my true values…. Ah, now where was I?

When you live in such a complex world as the one we live in, it is almost impossible to have any kind of belief system and stick to it. As we become more and more scientifically aware, we find that the natural laws that govern our universe are so complex and impossible to comprehend on one hand yet at the same time they are so fundamental, in terms of cause and effect, that all we can do is make the best decisions we can each step of the way.

For example, we may think that letting off thousands of helium balloons at sporting events is a fantastic thing to do and adds to the culture and spectacle of human endeavour, but when we learn that those balloons end up landing in the sea and being eaten by whales who die from having a gut full of rubber, we might think twice about the practice.

When it was discovered that smoking was devastating to human health, the movement to ban cigarettes in work places etc began. It is a very bumpy road to enlightenment, but I am sure we are well on the way.

Sometimes it seems like we are going backwards, like when the atom bomb was developed, but perhaps the existence of the atom bomb has filled us with such awe at the power we have to destroy ourselves, that our wisdom as a species has been elevated to the point of being able to evolve to a higher level of global consciousness.

If nature can produce that much power to destroy, certainly in this bi-polar universe, we have the equal and opposite power to create. After all, the entire physical universe was created from absolutely nothing in a billionth of a second – now that is awesome! As mind boggling as that is, I think that our universe is a simple act of love, and as such, we as human beings have a duty to express the same love in our own little way here on this microscopic speck of cosmic dust we call earth. I guess that is really the one and only true value... LOVE. I love you. I love myself. And I would like to personally invite each and every one of you back to my place after class for some tag team transendental tantric sex rituals.

And now you know the real me, what makes me tick deep down.. or do you? I’ll leave you to dwell on that. We’ll meet once again for lesson number 28, when my creative outpourings will bring the screen to life!! Next week, it’s “The Last Century and the New Millennium”. Well, doesn’t that send shivers up and down your spine? I know you’ll remain on tenterhooks until then. This is Stefan Sojka, saying Good night!