Alliance of Civilizations: Perfect Match between the West and East (V)
K.S.Chow
Melting Pot
Western nations advocate multiculturalism because they worship democracy, freedom and respect of fundamental human rights. In the process of democratization and liberalization of elite human resources , the western nations absorb the immigration of multiculturalism containing the diverge talents of the immigrants. Consequently, instead of the white ingredients at their disposal, they also have black ingredients (negroes ; Indians; Sri-Lankans; Pakistanis etc), brown ingredients (Chinese; Japanese; Koreans; Vietnamese etc), mixed ingredients (mixed races etc) and so forth. All these ingredients become the melting pot of western multiculturalism.
The diverge talents of the diverge immigrants and those of their citizentry are syncretized and capitalized upon to construct western power, wealth, elitism, and supremacy in all spheres of human accomplishments . The synthesis of cross-cultural talents gives the west not only a cutting edge in producing novelty in science and technology and but also the best religious education and training by the blue-chip religious gurus emigrating from the east to the west. Process-theistically put, the creative advance and concrescence of God are accelerated by the immigration of brain gains from the east to the west. Buddhistly put, it is the growth of the conditioned phenomenon enriched and expanded with additional causes and conditions.
Economic Setback
Before the 2008 financial meltdown, the United States (U.S), the richest nation in the world, accounted for about 1/3 of the total world’s GNP (Gross National Product). Its GNP surpassed that of Japan by 2 times, that of Britain by 10 times and that of China by 10 times. This mirrors the power of unity of the elite cosmopolitan and multicultural melting pot of U.S. Process-theistically put, the U.S economic affluence is the concrescence of God. Owing to the recent 2008 financial woes, the concrescence of God has been retarded . The financial turmoils in US and EU not only upset the Americans and Europeans economically, it also upset many poorest people in Latin America , Africa and Asia who depend annually on US and EU for humanitarian aids. The west and the east are not only cross-commercially interconnected through international trades but also through humanitarian works. The poorest nations in the east are contigent upon western humanitarian aids to help them combat impoverishment, diseases, illiteracy, ecocrisis, natural disasters or catastrophes.
More than 50% of the world’s population are impoverished people. Many of them dwell in unsanitary environment without clean water and do not have food. Many are being impoverished and afflicted with diseases. A large number of them have never received even primary school education. A multitude of them are manaced by HIV or AIDS. The US and EU are annual regular humantarian donors rendering aids to the poorest but also to the victims of epic and dire natural catastrophes worsened by global warming and climate change.
Global Ramification
If UN and EU could not recover rapidly from the toxic financial crisis, can we imagine the predicament of the world if a second tsunami or a major earthquake were to swamp and batter any part of the world that would scream for emergency financial and material aids? No victim nation can manage solitarily a major natural disaster or catastrophe, such as cyclone, major flood, snow storm, earthquake, famine, war, tsunami, financial crisis, or ecocrisis. The UN humanitarian aids mechanism would be rendered impotent when regular financial pledges are incapacitated by unfixed financial crisis. We cannot deny the reality that the needy yearn for the altruistic compassion of the philanthropists or donors. The highest humantarian fund is usually contributed by the western governments .
The elites of the minority of foreign immigrants are generally properly treated in the west. Firstly, they are honoured because they are the golden geese which are capable of producing the golden eggs. Secondly, the westerners worship the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) proclaimed by United Nations Organization about 60 years ago. In fact, UDHR is the greatest magnetic force that annually attracts an increasingly large number of immigrants to US and EU from the east. Furthermore, as long as the elite minority are able to contribute to the GNP (Gross National Product) of the host country, usually permanent residency (PR) certificates are granted to the economically productive or promising applicants when other necessary credentials are fulfilled. Another mesmerizing western culture is that it advocates the philosophy of meritocracy. Elite or very talented foreigners holding PRs can be appointed to sit in key public management positions in western government bureaucracy and other private renowned institutions. U.S has always been perceived by the orientalists as the land of freedom and opportunities in which they can fulfill their American golden dreams. Most importantly, it is a fertile land in which the best and the brightest elites can excel in any field of endeavour. Another enchanting point is the democratization of western tertiary education which permits relatively easy access to tertiary education in the west. In this manner, the future education of the children of the immigrants are more assured.
Silicon Valley
Since 1970, there has been a large influx of Chinese and Indian emigrants from Asia to the Silicon Valley (SV) of California of U.S. SV is the hub of U.S information technological edge of novelty which mesmerizes and attracts immigration especially from the east. Consequently, in the past three decades, the SV has attracted the best and brightest brains from all over the world especially from Asia. The Chinese and Indian engineers and scientists constitute about 2/3 of the skilled knowledge immigrants to the SV. The remaining 1/3 of skilled immigrants originate from various parts of the world. The synthesis or unity of prodigies derived from multiculturalism generates the cutting edge of novelty of SV of California. Process Theistically visioned, the cutting edge of novelty is the maximal satisfaction of God. Psychologically put, the maximal satisfaction of God is the highest good of Man. Knowledge of God sharpens our understanding of the world.
Circulation of Brains
Asian Chinese and Indian students, having completed their graduate and postgraduate studies in U.S universities seek jobs in SV as skilled knowledge economy immigrants. Having mastered the western technological sutras and having amassed some wealth, some of the enterprising and promising skilled Chinese and Indian immigrants make a quantum leap in their careers and emerge as knowledge-economy entreprenuers. They set up their own information technology firms in SV in order to realize the American gold endream of free enterprise and success unlimited.
Instead of being prehended as foreigners displacing native American workers, the blue chip Chinese and Indian entrepreneurs are perceived as wealth builders who generate more new jobs for the native Americans and helping expand the California or U.S economy. Some of the prosperous entrepreneurs return to their countries of origin to set up more branches to build and enlarge markets at home and in their neighbouring countries. This is especially true for the Chinese immigrants from Taiwan and mainland China and Indians from India. This, in turn, expands the international trade between U.S and Asia. These promising Chinese and Indian entrepreneurs expand two-way flow of capital, skill and information so called knowledge economy between U.S and their native countries as well as their neighbouring countries. This is the constructive alliance of civilizations between the east and the west. This west-east alliance is the Unity of Existence . The collective growth of the global village is the concrescence of God . Concrescence is the growth of collective accomplishment in human civilization. Buddhistly put, it is the macro-expansion of conditioned phenomenon with the introduction of additional cause and conditions unified by the principle of Dependent Co-arising . The expansion of global economy is a good example. The creative advance of science and technology is another good example. Global economy is an actual entity or a conditioned phenomenon. Global development and research in science and technology is another actual entity or conditioned phenomenon. Other actual entities or conditioned phenomena include architecture, engineering, management, accounting, philosophy, religions, education, psychology, medicine, nutrition, health, telecommunication, energy, arts, humanities and other fields. When all these actual entities or conditioned phenomena are conglomerated or integrated, the totality or the whole of all these integrated actual entities constitutes the modern human civilizations. Owing to widespread deficient contigent conditions constituting the actual entities or conditioned phenomena, some actual entities or conditioned phenomena become increasingly regressive or retarded instead of being increasingly concrescent. The disfigured actual entities are manifested in terms of financial crisis, economic recession, global warming, climate change, unsustainable development and the wars and political turmoils or tensions. The latest damaged actual entity evoking global outcries is the Middle East tension. The defective contigent conditions are human greed, hatred and delusion.
The micro- actual entities and the macro-actual entities are called the faces of God – immanence of God. Therefore, it is said that wherever you turn, we witness the faces of God everywhere. Buddhistly spoken, Buddha-natures or Dharmakāyas are existing everywhere. The ordinary worldlings or unsaved believers do not witness the faces of God or Buddha-natures everywhere because the multiplicity of the actual entities are masks which veil or conceal the faces of God or Buddha-natures.
Novelty
Process philosopher Whitehead perceives that any actual entity (conditioned phenomenon, Pāl.: saṅkata dhamma; existent, Ara.: a’yān), such as economic growth for common good is the satisfaction and concrescence of God. The actualization of possibilities and novelties is the creative power of God. I perceive that this concrescence of God or the actualization of novelties is the highest good of alliance of civilizations between the west and the east.
SV is a centre of the continuous process of creative advance into technological novelty. From dynamic process perspective, a novelty is the creative advance of God. As far as innovation and experimentation are concerned , SV is a hub of the cutting edge technology of novelty. Process theistically perceived, SV is the centre of God’s creativities in Man manifested in human accomplishments in the world.
Brightest Brains
Instead of brain-drains from the emigrating countries and brain-gains by the immigrating country, we perceive an optimum alliance of civilizations – the perfect match between the west and the east in terms of circulation of brightest brains. The circulation of brightest brains is two-way transfer of technology. This is what we call win-win smart partnership in creative advance in novelty, job creations and sharing of global economic cake. The economic rises of China, India and Taiwan mirror this circulation of talents or the transfer of knowledge economy between the west and the east. This mirrors the positive aspect of the alliance of civilizations between the west and the east. Process-theistically put, such positive and constructive alliance is the satisfaction of God.
The satisfaction of God is the accomplishment in the world. Philosophically put, the satisfaction is the joy of consummation of human will and efforts to actualize success. Buddhistly put, the satisfaction of God is the blessing received from fruitfully accomplished conditioned phenomena through diligence and righteousness. Religiously put, both the west and the east are simultaneously blessed through globalization and liberalization. The whole human family is blessed by the Unity of Existence. The Unity of Existence is God or Buddha-nature. The Unity of Existence is Dependently co-arisen Unity or Non-duality. Unity or Non-duality is Selflessness (Anattā) or Emptiness (‘Sūnyatā). Unity is dynamic process becoming (Santāna Dhamma; Perennial Thought) . Metaphorically put, God is the centre (inner Heart) of a circle; all radii (paths) led to it.
West and East
Goethe, an eminently renowned German poet, who was also a natural scientist and philosopher, studied the Holy Qur’an, Islamic History and Literature. He was not only scholar but also a Gnostic. He compared the western and eastern civilizations. His poetry reveals the complementary relationship between the two civilizations. He ascertained the universal brotherhood of mankind that humanity is one : There should be no distinction between the westerners and easterners. He said, “ A person who duly knows his (true) identity and human nature knows that the west and the east are interrelated , and it is impossible for them to be separate.”
Ethical Problems
Thus, we discern that religion is so pragmatic and utilitarian in a secular life. God is closer to us than our jugular veins. The quarrels between the secularists and the spiritualists are sheer willful ignorance. The disputations, conflicts, fights, wars, disharmony in currently imperiled world are tearing the world and God asunder. The 2008 financial crisis, ecocrisis, wars, unstable oil and food prices and so forth mirror that human relationship with God is getting unpleasant and even at times abnormal. They serve as an early warning system that we ought to rectify and redeem ourselves before it is too late.
Many modernists stay aloof from Religion or God so that they have more freedom and less restrictions to do what they carnally desire to satisfy their greed, cravings ad conceit. I cannot deny the feasibility of the proposed cabinet oversight board overseeing the bailed out business corporations after the 2008 financial crisis in the west. I still strongly opine that God (conscience or sincerity of inner Heart) is the most effective overseer of human behaviours. However, before God can oversee, human beings ought to rectify and overhaul their minds so that the innate human conscience and sincerity of heart are resurrected . Religion or God has a very important role to play in sustaining healthy economy without inflated economic bubbles.
Conclusion
Religion trains us to prioritize interdependence, integration and public or national interests syncretizing diverge talents or abilities for the common good through deontological and virtue ethics supported by the wisdom of Emptiness and Dependent Co-arisen non-dual Unity. Most importantly, the fundamental teaching of Buddhism is cessation of grasping or letting go. This can be attained by effacing the self-centric ego. The fundamental teaching of Christianity is to receive Christ or God. This can only be actualized by effacing the self-centric ego. The fundamental teaching of Vedānta or Hinduism is bringing forth the Ātman or Brahman. This can only be realized by effacing the self-centric ego. The fundamental teaching of Islam is submission to Allah . This can only be achieved by effacing of self-centric ego. Effacing self-centric ego is annihilation of self-identity in the cosmic Self.
Hence, we ascertain that the principle of deliverance or salvation is esoterically identical, that is the effacing of self-centric ego. Thus, the conclusion is obvious : Esoterically, a Buddhist, a Christian, a Hindu and a Muslim are not distinct. We are all brothers and sisters in a human family. There is only a communal prescription of liberating the current world of turmoils : Love your divine Lord (Brahman, Buddha, God or Allah). To love one’s Lord, one only needs to love one’s neighbours (those other than your own family’s members) selflessly and non-discriminatively devoid of any distinction of race, colour, creed, and culture. As far the love of the Lord is concerned, Sufi Rumi is a supermodel to be emulated by all.
I recommend to take Sufi Rumi as the supermodel of lover of the Lord because he is a celebrated Sufi poet both in the west and in the east. One can only love one’s Lord if and only if a saved believer is living in the knowledge of Anattā (Selflessness; Egolessness). The west and the east can only be integrated by Anattā. Anattā is God. God is Unity of Existence. There are two poles sustaining the world , namely exoteric or secular pole and the esoteric or spiritual pole. If we remove the latter pole, the former pole can not stand on its own. The current world is imperiled because we are using only one pole to support our world. This is bipolar world but not a unipolar world – the secular world and the spiritual world is one but not two. |
