Alliance of Civilizations: Perfect Match between the West and East (Part II)
K.S.Chow
Emerging Economies
Modern rising economies, China, India, UAE, Vietnam and other developing countries in Asia are moving rapidly towards multiculturalism because of increasing inflows of huge direct foreign investments which bring along also cultural pluralism from investors’ countries to the foreign countries of investment. Direct foreign investments are usually accompanied with an increasing import of foreign human capitals of multicultural backgrounds. Human capitals of diverse nationalities are sources of rich cultures. Briefly put, multiculturalism or cultural pluralism is imported together with financial and human capitals by multi-national companies. Culture encompasses four-fold dimension, namely thoughts or ideas, materialism, arts and values or norms.
My focus is on religious or philosophical culture. The English educated corporate leaders and entrepreneurs of the east are particularly interested in personal development or motivation programmes from the west. The western gurus are too happy to accept the invitations to come to the east to organize seminars or conferences to transmit their knowledge or wisdom because of the lucrative income. The easterns are happy to pay high fees in order to be spiritually motivated and transformed. If we were to examine their lectures closely, it is interesting to ascertain that their value education concurs with religious or philosophical values. The secularists in the modern society are actually spiritualized with such western value education. Successful meritocratic men and women in any field especially in the sphere of business are spiritualized with universal values which help them overcome the odds and excel in their careers or enterprises. Pure secularists, ignorant of the importance of spiritual values are usually mediocre and under-achievers.
For those enterprising or brilliant youths who are currently under-graduates and would-be future graduates, I have a sincere prescription. If one aspires to be a member of the future circle of meritocracy to serve his or her nation, please opt for double majors while you are pursuing a university first degree. The first major, of course, should be your subject of specialization or major interest, such as Business management, Engineering, Information Technology and so forth and your second major should be either religion, philosophy or comparative religious study. Alternatively, he or she should opt for the first major in the under-graduate degree and complete the recommended second major in the master degree.
I have made such a recommendation of the basis of human engineering by which an enterprising youth strives diligently and resolutely to shatter the shell of mediocrity. It is better to have the knowledge of religion or philosophy without a university degree rather than having a university degree without the knowledge of philosophy or religion.
Countless degreeless Chinese wealthy businessmen in Asia were and are able to amass economic affluence or wealth because they adhere to the right knowledge of philosophy furnishing them the power of Tao to excel. In the west, the degreeless Bill Gates is one of the richest man in the world because of his Microsoft Corporation. I can assure you that without the knowledge of philosophy or religion, Bill Gates would not have excelled and surpassed his counterparts through in the cyber expertise. Microsoft Corporation is an economic miracle because Bill Gates had a far-sighted philosophy before his corporation took off. He aspired to produce a computer which would be a valuable tool on every office desktop and in every home. Together, we witness that His philosophy has been crystallized into a stark reality. Besides, his Microsoft software and hardware have produced countless more millionaires and billionaires, scholars, savants, intelligentsia globally.
Amazingly again, Bill Gates, being a giant businessman and chief software architect of Microsoft Corp. exercises his altruistic compassion to set up his own’s Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation involving in global humanitarian aids in health and education. He is currently assuming dual role of businessman and a philanthropist. He is currently one of the most eminent corporate intelligentsia and philanthropist invigorated with two powerful wings. They are the wing of philosophy and the wing of religion. These two disciplines are actually two of the most powerful driving forces behind human outstanding missions and feats.
Today, unfortunately modern youths are ignorant of edifying potentialities of philosophy and religion. Both disciplines are cold subjects in universities in the east but they getting warmer in the west. In actual fact, many of the spiritual leaders and eminent professors in philosophy and religion are found in the west. Interfaith-dialogues are very common in the west but they are cold in the east. In actual fact, the easterners’ knowledge of interfaith is almost zero because such faith dialogues in the east are generally not encouraged. As a result, the eastern religious adherents and leaders are mainly fundamentalists in the sense that they conceive their own religions to be true and any faith adherents other than theirs are perceived discriminatively as infidels doomed for Hell. Another serious shortcoming of the faith adherents is that they emphasize the exoteric dimension of ritualistic practices neglecting the esoteric dimension of wisdom and virtue.
The polity of both the west and east emphasizes secular governance in which state and church or monastic order are separate. But, politics and religious ethics cannot be separate. When a secular political party campaigns with the slogan of promoting and fostering trustworthiness, commitment, accountability, transparency, anti-corruption and respect for fundamental human rights, we perceive clearly that politics and religious ethics or values are inseparable. Even the politicians are fully aware that devoid of ethics, the society and the nation become corruptible and weakened. Secular knowledge alone cannot develop and bring forth the innate supremacy of Man.
Philosophy or religion especially can draw our human intrinsic supreme capacity. Brahman, Buddha, God and Allah do not tell lies. Untruthfulness and the Absolute are mutually exclusive. Religion is preached to awaken us to our innate supremancy in knowledge and conduct or wisdom and virtue. The modern secularists not only do not want to listen to spiritualists but also they persecute them in cunning ways by which they can escape legal punishments. History revealed many tragedies striking religious or philosophical leaders. Jesus Christ Mahāyānist Nāgārjuna, Sufi al-Ḥallaj, Philosopher Socrates, Clergyman Martin Luther King, Philosopher Mahatma Gandhi and others were cruelly persecuted and their wisdom was rewarded with murder. All these religious persecutions were confirmed to be unjustified and erroneous centuries later.
Anyway. from the perennial philosophical or process theistic perspective, every portion of the phenomenal world is related to the Absolute Essence or God-head. Succinctly put, religion is connected with all aspects of human experiences in the secular world. In other words, God, Tao or Buddha permeates everywhere. Alas ! the modernists or secularists are not aware of this intimate connection. Even if they are aware, their knowledge is elementary and does not suffice to discern the connecttion. Spiritually put, , such ignorance places them at a great disadvantage in wisdom and conduct. In actuality, whoever discovers the Truth is exalted in terms of self-victory and public victory.
One of the most important dimensions of cultural transfer between west and the east is the knowledge economy accompanied with other dimensions of multiculturalism or cultural pluralism. Since the China’s liberalization and open-up policy commenced about 20 years ago, countless business savants or intelligentsia have been flocking incessantly to mainland China with a huge inflow of direct foreign investments to take advantage of the vast Chinese market, cheap labour and lands to expand their investments. Foreign corporate leaders and knowledge intelligence work force collaborate with local Chinese corporate leaders capitalizing on their massive cheap labour force to enlarge their economic cakes. In the rapid process of globalization and liberalization, the alliances of civilizations between the west and east and between the north and south have helped fuel the current China’s economic rise. Previous cultural isolation almost ruined China national development. Liberalized multiculturalism has fueled the economic power house of China and has fruitfully liberated China economically. The 2008 Beijing Olympics is a concrete showcase.
Being a overseas Chinese myself who apprehends Chinese philosophy and history, I can assure you that Chinese political and economic rise is a peaceful one. Even the modern China’s polity is based on communist philosophy. Tao wisdom is deeply embedded in the heart of Chinese culture. Chinese parents teach their children to avoid ‘luan’ ( disturbance or chaos) since childhood. Therefore, the Chinese children are taught to endure what is unendurable. They are fully aware of the golden philosophy of ‘Being nice to others is being nice to oneself.’.
In the business sphere, Tao is a decisive or critical attribute of any typical successful Chinese businessman. Chinese history depicts that the Chinese had the gun-power and maritime power to colonize the world including the west but they did not do so. The Neo-Confucian Ethics of ‘Ren’ (Benevolence) and wisdom of ‘Zi’ suffice to restrain from the trespass. They are fully aware of philosophical truth that being nice to others are nice to oneself.
Every country has its ugly side of human right problems. China’s human rights issues have been blown out of proportions. China’s undemocratic treatment of dissidents and some foreigners is motivated by their burning loyalty and patriotism to protect their national’s interest. National interest is above all else in China. For instance, national interest is also a top priority in the minds of Singaporean political leaders. Modern Singapore’s employs Internal Security Act to arrest dissidents without trial to safeguard their national interest without compromise. Of course, abuse of International Security Act is a catastrophic to a nation. Without strict legalism, China cannot restrain her huge population of citizentry who had or have transgressed the state laws and miscreants and foreign extreme human right activists. Of course, there are bound to be cases of overbearing implementation of extreme government’s bureaucrats who have tarnished the governance of the China. Most importantly, China’s strict Legalism has helped the country reduce tremendously the number of poor Chinese of 835 million to 207 million from 1981 to 2005. China thus serves as a supermodel for the poor countries in Asia, Latin America, and Sub-Sahara Africa of having successively implemented the United Nations Organization’ strategic plan of United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals to combat poverty very successfully. The Tibetan problem is an internal affair which ought to be settled by diplomatic and civil negotiations and not by demonizations through ugly street demonstrations worldwide. The United Nations Organization is the most appropriate body to deal with the human right issues. The unpleasant voices from other nations should be perceived as friendly advices but not as condemnations. When our friends behave unrighteously, it is our deontological duty to advise them in order to save them from moral downfall. I do not appreciate a friend who does not advise me when I have derailed myself from the track unethically or unlawfully. We ought to treat a friend’s advice as a mirror. No one in the world can see his or her original face without the aid of a mirror.
Without uncompromised legalism in Singapore, Singapore would not have constructed and fared so well politically and economically. Singapore’s policy of harmonious and cohesive multiculturalism and racial harmony is a great success too.
Democracy and respect of fundamental human rights are only applicable when they are implemented or practised on the basis of religious Truth or Righteousness with full awareness of moral accountability – the universal law of boomerang. Unsupported and uninvigorated by religious wisdom, representative democracy is positively harmful and backfires. In order to use any modern sophisticated weapon, one ought to be well instructed and well-trained. The same is true for the representative democracy. Democracy is sacred and dear to those who are sacred and dear. In the hands of the miscreants, democracy kills. In the hand of a tyrant government, democracy makes the citizentry weep and strike their chests in despair.
Having encountered with overseas Chinese, the mainland multi-national Chinese business elites have pleasantly ascertained that countless overseas Chinese business men globally have transformed from rags to riches. The secret of their economic harvests is thus: Their minds are being invigorated with Neo-confucian ethics and wisdom. It is spoken casually as ‘Guan Xi’ (Good Relationship). It seems to be only a common sense. Any common sense transmuted into practical action is wisdom.
Neo-Confucianism is the cultural melting pot of Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism. It emphasizes the significance of unity and harmony of ‘Guan Xi’. The Chinese is the only race in the world in which small Chinese businessmen are faring well in China towns in the West as well as in the Oceania. Most importantly, they dwell in harmony and fellowship with local citizentry. The Chinese corporate leaders or elites walk in fellowship with their counterparts almost all over the world.
Spiritualized Economy
The ordinary worldlings are not aware that the most powerful and valuable culture is religious wisdom of Theosophy or Perennial Philosophy which invigorates knowledge economy. Buddhism is a model of Perennial Philosophy For instance, the abstruse ancient and modern western philosophy and modern economy and management science can be more easily comprehended with the aid of the knowledge of Theosophy or Perennial Philosophy. Theosophy or Perennial connects the secular world with the Absolute Truth of esoteric religion. Philosophy and religion play an identical crucial role of developing insight into the relationship between the phenomenal world and the spiritual Truth. From the knowledge of this relationship, human moral flaws and pitfalls are reduced considerably and eventually eliminated totally through Gnosis. The spiritual fruit is good human relationship manifested in unity and harmony.
For instance, the knowledge of business and economy are the phenomena or the necessary existents. The virtues and religious wisdom of the entrepreneurs or corporate leaders are contigent conditions. Every phenomenon or existent is the unity of the contigent conditions. It is not difficult to behold that many truly successful corporate leaders enjoy their business success because they are adept at managing the contigent conditions affecting their business performance. The TQM (Total Quality Management) managers manage the unity of contigent conditions prudently and insures high productivity and competiveness.
Broadly put, there are two critical contigent conditions in managing business. In other words, business success is the unity of two major contigent conditions. They are, firstly, the prudent management science and knowledge economy of the corporate elites and secondly, their enchanting personalities or the high emotional quotient (EQ) scores to deal with their diverge human resource personnel. The degree of wisdom of the second contigent is directly proportional to religious wisdom developed.
Frankly put, many corporate elites or entrepreneurs have developed their entrepreneurial wisdom through advanced personal development or motivational courses, seminars or programmes. If we were to examine closely the contents of these self-imrpovement trainings , it would not be difficult to ascertain that they actually embody an abundance of flavours or elements of religious wisdom. The law of success is actually related with religious wisdom. But the atheists or non-religious persons do not recognize the religious wisdom behind the self-improvement courses or programmes. Those religious ones or theists are aware of their intrinsic value to condition aspirants to excel or succeed.. Hence, they are prepared to pay high course or training fee in order to move forwards to emerge as the elites in their respective fields.
Transfer of the ethical philosophy occurs mutually in two-way street between the west and the east. The easterners acquire universal moral values from the westerners through western models of personal development or motivational programmes. Such trainings are actually value education. The westerners learn Confucian values, Taoist values and Buddhist values from the eastern religious civilization. The easterners too learn western philosophies from the west. Today, some Western philosophers are so adept that they can help the eaterners to better comprehend their eastern religions or philosophies. The eastern religions, founded by the Prophets or Tathāgatas, vindicate the western religious philosophies expounded by western thinkers. The Westerners and the easterners can learn from one another in many diverse disciplines or fields. For instance, the western philosophies of Perennial Philosophy, Process Philosophy and Theosophy can prove to be very helpful to religious easterners. They are useful knowledge which aid in the understanding of the process ontology of dynamic becoming of eastern religions. Eastern religions comprise Vedānta of Hinduism, Taoism, Buddhism, Eastern Christianity and Sufism. Furthermore, western Neuro-Science vindicates eastern religious teaching of conceptual thoughts of the phenomenal world and intuitive discernment of Truth. Even Nirvāṇa is explicated in western Neuro-Spirituality. Like trade, the flow of religion and philosophy is mutual. Thus, the alliances of civilizations benefit both the west and the east.
Religion teaches that peaceful co-existence is the way, the truth and the life in a global village. Western liberalization and globalization testify the validity of the peaceful co-existence through their doctrine of a single global village for all human beings. The western concept of a global village or globalization concurs with the religious vision of a single human family on earth. Trade and commerce liberalization and globalization are actually the expansion of economic cakes for all the global villagers. It emphasizes oneness of the world and the distribution of global affluence for all.
For instance, when a direct foreign investor from country A invests hugely in a foreign country B, the economic wealth benefits both countries A and B through governments’ tax policies. This is the Truth of Dependent Co-arising which is the fundamental doctrine of all religions. This symbiotic relation between the west and east is the new world’s order or equilibrium (Tao). The current clashes of civilizations between the west and the east on the controversial issues, such as terrorism, extremism, demonization, democracy, human rights, separatism, press freedom, religious freedom, global warming, climate change and so forth are causes for major human concerns.
Understanding relation between unity and parts or phenomena and principle in relation to virtue is the core of esoteric religion. Religion is thus most useful instrument for harmonizing human relationships. For instance, in the field of commerce, it helps us understand the correlation between business system (unity), business environment and human personalities (parts) in relation to religious wisdom in the ultimate sense of interdependence and peaceful co-existence locally, nationally, regionally or globally. Religion is intimately concerned about human beings and their immediate environment in relation to ethics. Since God or Emptiness (Unity, Brahman, Tao, Buddha or Allah) is a universal set, God is everything. Since religion is about God or Emptiness, religion is everything. Therefore, religion is a comprehensive discipline and covers every aspect of life, human and non-human. Knowing religion is knowing everything.
Esoteric religion teaches us about the relation between the unity and parts. Existence is about relationship between unity and parts. It is a dynamic process and is not static. For instance, a business system is the unity of subsystems or micro-unity; the subsystem or micro-unity is, in turn, the unity of its parts. The correlation between the whole and its parts is the critical issue of religion. It is not confined to only analytical science or business management. The God or Emptiness (Brahman, Tao, Buddha or Allah) is the universal set. All other disciplines, such as Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, Business, Accounting, Geography, History and so forth are only phenomenal. They are only subsets of the universal set of God or Emptiness. All subsets are encompassed in the universal set. If one masters Religion (universal set), one masters the general structure of all other disciplines (sub-sets). All other disciplines are conventional or relative truth. Only the God or Emptiness (Brahman, Tao, Buddha or Allah) is the ultimate Truth. The relative truth is the mirror of the ultimate Truth. All phenomena are sustained by the God or Emptiness (Brahman, Tao, Buddha or Allah). The God or Emptiness is cosmic Unity or Oneness (Dharmadhātu). Dharmadhātu is dependently co-arisen Unity or Non-duality.
John Hick, an English philosopher of Religion and Theologian, is a great proponent of Religious pluralism. His Religious Pluralism states that religions are diverge in external forms (parts), but they expound a communal philosophical Truth of Unity. Another modern spiritual leader is Frithjof Schuon, the author of ‘Transcendental Unity of Religions’. He expounds that all religions are exposition of the same Truth of Unity despite their superficial distinctions.
All intuitive yogis or mystics experience the same state of Unity or Non-duality or Union with God which is beyond all religions at the climax or summit of spirituality. This inter-faith understanding is useful in promoting and fostering the alliance of civilizations between the west and the east, between the north and the south, between the south and the south and between the north and the north.
Theravāda Buddhist Abhidhamma’s Theory of Elements (Dhammavāda) deals minutely with the doctrine of the parts (Work of Analysis) and that of the whole or Unity (Work of Synthesis). Dhammavāda is parallel to the scientific Theory of Atoms or Matter. A Dammavādin perceives the Unity (One) in diversity (many) and the diversity in Unity. When it is applied in one’s daily life or career, it makes one a more understanding, more tolerant, and more co-operative team member. Being religious, one always thinks of oneself as a part of the whole team. Without grasping, one becomes a selfless worker. A selfless worker is definitely more productive than a selfish worker. A selfless work lives in unity; a selfish worker live separate parts. The former is religious and thus wise; the latter is derailed and thus ignorant.
In the economic world, the parts are broadly recognized as land, labour, capital, and enterprise. These major parts can further be analysed and reduced further into more elementary constituents. Every constituent is a contigent condition. They are the contigent conditions (parts) constituting the unity of production and service in business (unity). Micro-unity or subsystem relates to the issue of totality or organic whole of a business unit or department (unity). There are a number of subsystems or micro-unities (parts) which constitute the total system or the whole business organization (unity). Totality or organic whole is intimately related to the Absolute Unity of religion known as the Unity of Being or Existence in Sufism and Emptiness in Mahāyāna Buddhism. The parts of totality or organic whole are related to the phenomenal world. Therefore, the business system or any other system, such as political system, economic system, educational system, social system and so on are related to the ultimate Truth of the Absolute Unity of Being or Emptiness. Unity of Being or Emptiness is the essence of God (Brahman,Tao, Buddha or Allah).
The human society is a large organic system comprising many subsystems or micro-unity. Every subsystem or micro-unity comprises a number of contigent beings or dependent conditions. This holistic or organic system mirrors the Truth of the Absolute Truth of the One in the many and the many in the One. Religion is the study about organicism or holism in relation to parts in connection with human behaviours. Good human behaviors lead to unity; bad human behaviours lead to defect of unity or disunity which is failure or catastrophic. The Christian concept about ‘Sin’ is very meaningful and profound. When one is individualistic or self-centred and thus breaks oneself from the unity or God, he or she is declared to be sinful. Sin is the destruction of the mould of unity. God is the mould of unity. God is Emptiness as Emptiness is Unity or Non-duality.
As the process philosophy of the esoteric religion is the philosophy of organicism or holism, therefore, nothing in the world can be divorced from the issue of religion in all dimensions of human life process. Wherever human beings exist, religion exists. They interpenetrate and co-exist like milk and water. A Human being is like milk and religion is like water. They are intimately related and interdependent. Modern securalists tend to divorce themselves from influence of religion. For this religious ignorance, the backfires and retributions impact them through the occasions of human experience of misunderstanding, tension, conflict, disputation, hatred and so forth. Man is religion; Religion is Man. It is through Man that we are connected to God (Brahman, Tao, Buddha or Allah). In fact, everything is connected with religion because every human action is connected with religion. Every human being has a God-head (Every human being has a Buddha-nature). Therefore, every human is innately divine. Divinity and Man are innately inseparable. The Chinese Saints affirm: Tao is not distant from Man; Man is distant from Tao. Monotheists say synonymously, “God is closer to us than our jugular veins.”. The main cause of the worst finiancial crisis and resultant economic downturn globally in mid September 2008 since the 1930 Great Depression is those few greedy black sheeps. They are ignorant of the intrinsic existence of God-head existing in each and everyone of us. Ignorance of God-head leads to poor poor decision and unethical business practices rooted in greed and unethical underwriting. The ugly behaviours of a few black sheep suffice to result in the melt-down of the global financial markets. It mirrors each and everyone can be potential threat to a giant financial institution if greed and corruption creeps into the corporation.
Every sound business transaction is related a religious issue and not merely a pure economic or commercial issue. Pure secularism devoid of ethics supported by religious wisdom is actually a potential threat to the world in all disciplines of human lives in which economy predominates. Global economy is borderless. Any severe global credit trouble or financial turmoil reverberate around globe in seconds through the cyber world. Paradoxically, the majority of the world’s populace are pure secularists empty of religious philosophy. Anyone who acts without the God-head is a pure secularist. The modern history of financial crisis reveals that unethical key credit officer(s) or unethical management board members dealing with huge business transactions in any leading international financial institution is a potential threat to the world because his or her unethical business decisions would result in serious repercussions during major economic recession. An additional credential to employ a key credit officer or key management member is his or her religious or ethical background. Mere professional qualifications and vast experiences are not sufficient credentials. Any giant multinational corporation, transacting rapidly millions or billions of businesses each day through the computer information technology or critical investment decisions made in board meetings, is only secure if its corporate key men work with the head of infallibility and the heart of absolute conscience or Godly mind. This is where virtue invigorated by religious wisdom plays a pivotal role in business security and sustainable development of the global financial industry. The faltering of the Wall Street giants, namely Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch and Bear Steams are edifying lessons for all. Any black sheep should be identified early and fired before the meltdown of the global financial industry. It is wiser to deal with the cause rather than dealing with the effect.
In the Deer Park, I always write about the alliances of civilizations between the west and east and between the north and the south. The alliance is the Face of God. But alas, the current epic clashes of civilizations between the west and east or between the north and south disfigure the Face of God. This is a sign of future catastrophes to swamp mankind. In fact, the signs of catastrophes are evident in almost in every part of the world. The current financial crisis, rising oil and food prices, political instabilities or turmoils, terrorisms, global warming and climate change are some of most serious man-made plages swamping us. If one truly understands God or Emptiness, one is increasingly being alarmed by the currently perverse situations of the world in which global peace is incessantly punctuated with teething problems or troubles.
The Absolute (Brahman, Tao, Buddha, God or Allah) is immanent and pervasive in all aspects of human lives whether we are aware or not of it. The Absolute permeates everywhere. Everything is innately Divine. Everything is the image of the Absolute. If one behaves badly, one opposes the Order of phenomenalism. If one behaves well, one resonates with the Order of phenomenalism. The Order of phenomenalism is the Absolute Truth. The worst financial tremors in the Wall Street since the 1930 great depression was a catastrophe due to the destruction of the Order of phenomenalism. The Order of phenomenalism is the mould of God.
In imperial China, a spiritualized rule is manifested in the form of righteous or ethical kingdom invigorated by Confucian Ethics, the wisdom of Tao and strict Legalism. The Confucian or Neo-Confucian bureaucrats advised the emperors on the proper courses of actions in the political and economic governance. Those emperors, who listened to the Confucian or Neo-Confucian bureaucrats, governed their dynasties relatively longer. Those, who failed to listen, were doomed.
Singapore’s economic miracle is underpinned by the national policy of strict Legalism and great emphasis of racial harmony to preserve a clean, trustworthy and efficient bureaucracy, and a stable and secure nation. Singapore is not a religious state but a secular state. However, this city state is being successfully spiritualized through the consistent implementation of strict Legalism to inculcate moral values and to establish a strong ethical society to protect national interests. Offenders including ministers or president and ordinary citizens or foreigners are promptly identified and severely punished by the strict rules of civil or criminal laws. Singpapore’s security, peace and prosperity are further invigorated by an equally successful policy of ethnic integration and harmony to create a very cohesive plural society. Singapore’s polity of cohesive and harmonious multiculturism is a supermodel to be emulated by some chaotic countries in the world. She is secretly and openly esteemed by many. Even a big nation like mainland China silently and gratefully obtains national development sutra from Singapore even though many of their bureaucrats are mainly trained in the west like Japan. Singapore’s impressive national development is a supermodel of fruitful alliance of civilizations between the west and the east – the melting pot of multiculturalism.
Hong Kong is another supermodel of the fruitful alliance of civilizations between the west and the east. Hong Kong is obviously is the product of the alliance of western modernization initiated by British rule and eastern traditionism of Neo-Confucianism. Hong Kong’s economy like that of Singapore is one of most competitive in the world. Hong Kong economic competitiveness is the product of syncretization of western management science and eastern Neo-Confucian ethics.
Dubai Internet City is currently a rising star of the alliance of civilizations between the west and the east in the Middle East. Dubai capitalizes on western information technology, expertise and huge inflows of direct foreign investments to construct her Dubai Internet City. With the current vigorous pace of strategic modernization and electronized urbanization, Dubai Internet City will surpasss those of Singapore and Hong Kong in terms of electronized urbanization and automation about ten years from now. There are contigent conditions of foreign direct investments flowing rapidly from the west into Dubai annually. The demand for lands in Dubai is so rapid that Dubai has to turn to the nearby sea to claim additional man-made lands to satisfy the great demands of direct foreign investments. The prosperity of any nation depends on how its political leader manipulates the contigent conditions of national development. It also depends on how the political leader deal with direct foreign investors to create a smart partnership of win-win situation. Dubai seems to be able to understand perennial philosophy of God pertaining to the Unity of contigent beings. Its city development is fueled by steady inflows of massive contigent conditions – the huge foreign direct investments from renowned multi-national companies from the west. I wish to express my genuine congratulations to Dubai from the bottom of my Heart if and only if its leaders and people of the corporate world have not neglected their Islamic Theosophy to spiritualize the impact of post-modernism. Dubai has a very important asset and in fact a great treasure – Islam. Islam is far more precious than and electronized urbanization and modernization. Traditionism and modernism are equally important.
Process-theistically viewed, any form of unity is a necessary existent. Renowned Sufi Ibn ‘Arabī defines that every necessary existent is the unity of contigent condition. Every Unity is the essence of God (Absolute =God=Brahman=Tao=Buddha=Allah=Unity) or the Truth of Emptiness (Śūnyatā). Religion is actually the most interesting and most beneficial subject on earth. Paradoxically, many stay aloof from it worshipping secularism and post-modernism. When an insurance sceptic says that he has not decided to purchase a life insurance policy to protect himself, his spouse and children, he has actually made a decision for himself and his family members!
To be continued |
