Whiteheadian Concept of God: Corroborating the Truth of Anattā or ‘Sūnyatā (3/3)
Wong Weng Hon
Non-accomplishment
In the case of non-accomplishment or sheer failure or doom due to human disunity, the actual entity or actual occasion of experience is said to be indeterminate and incomplete unity of existence according to Whitehead. When an actual entity is indeterminate and incomplete, God or Unity of Existence does not exist. The existence of God requires a determinate actual entity or a complete conditioned phenomenon. When a determinate actual entity is destroyed by disunity or ugly human behaviour, the mould unity of God collapses. This is the dissatisfaction or anger of God. The dissatisfaction or anger of God corresponds to the personal experience of a failure as a form of punishment for one who does not behave well to actualize accomplishment in the world. For instance, the excessive production of CO2 by Man leads to global warming and climate change. Man is punished by more frequent and serious natural disasters or catastrophes, such as rainstorms, snowstorms, floods, cyclones or hurricanes, forest fires, heat waves, and so forth. These are witnesses of the collapses of the mould unity of God.
Adverse contigent conditions due to poor human behaviour dependently co-produce adverse actual entities. Crises, disasters , catastrophes and so forth are negative actual entities. A negative actual entity is a deficient negative conditioned phenomenon. The face of God has been disfigured or even shattered in a doomed situation. Buddhistly put, dharma has been impeded or shattered . An impeded or shattered dharma is an adharma. A house devastated totally by a bom is a shattered actual entity. The toxic contigent condition of the actual enity (house destruction) is war. Metaphorically and personally expressed, a devastated actual entity is the anger of God. Whitehead’s philosophical exposition of the doctrine of God in terms of Process Thought can make us understand the relationship between the world and God better.
Dissatisfation of God
The dissatisfaction or anger of God implies the devastation of the actual entity (conditioned phenomenon) in the process reality. The devastation of actual entity is manifested in terms of non-accomplishment of failure or defeat. The non-achiever or failure will automatically be punished by his or her failure or defeat. The failure or defeat is manifested in terms of indeterminate or incomplete actual entity or unfulfilled accomplishment. This is the actual meaning of punishment or anger of God expressed metaphorically. The anger of God is uttered by many God’s believers who erroneously reify God as an external al-Mighty force which can make or destroy anything by His will alone. In other words, they discriminate between the divine believer and God as two separate entities. This classical concept of God is the substantial view of God. The process concept of God is insubstantial and reconciles the concept of Reality with Buddhism and Hinduism. God is insubstantial and yet it is eternal. It differs from the insubstantial view of a static discrete entity.
This concept of duality (dvaya) between a believer and God is religious blindness. This blindness is the ignorance of the bipolar and non-dual relationship between the world and God. Buddhistly, it is ignorance of the relationship between the conventional truth and the ultimate Truth. The relationship between the conventional reality and the absolute Reality is non-dual and reciprocal. They are inseparable. Secularity and spirituality are inseparable and interpenetrative. The two poles of phenomenon and principle constitute the whole of the bipolar Reality. Secularists are excessively inclinded towards the pole of phenomenon to obtain happiness and success. The principle pole is absent for a ignorant non-believer; the pole of principle is weakened for a carnal or weak believer. The saved believer is wise and has two equally strong poles.
God is not a single al-mighty autonomous figure who punishes the sinful with His supernatural power. All non-achievers or failures are punished by the Law of causality which states that you reap what you sow. Buddhistly put, it is the operation of the law of karma. The Process Theism’s explains everything through the process philosophy of the ontology of dynamic becoming . Hinduism, Taoism, Buddhism, Eastern Christianity, Judaism and Islam can be reconciled through the dynamic process becoming – the creative advance of the world through dynamic unity of existence between the phenomenon and principle . The phenomena are the multiplicity (many) and the principle is the Unity (One). Buddhistly put, the multiplicity of forms are the conditioned phenomena or actual entities ; the Unity is Selflessness (Anattā), Emptiness (‘Sūnyatā) or Dependent Co-rising (Pratītyasamutpāda).
Friend or Enemy
Common sense knowledge unveils that ethics foster unity; vices breed disunity. Thus, we prehend that virtue is the friend of God (Brahman, Tao, Buddha or Allah) ; vice is the enemy of God . At this critical point of the knowledge of God, it is important to discern that the destruction of self-centric ego maximizes the unity of God and the promotion of self-centric ego destroys the unity of God. The most pragmatic value of salvation, resulted from the complete annihilation of self-centric ego, is to eliminate the selfish, anthropocentric acts of Man. Therefore, anyone who is engaged cohesively in intimate integration with others in any teamwork or group activity produces the unity of existence. When he or she is selfless in spirit, he or she is said to be born of God. Buddhistly put, she or he has the Buddha-mind. Whoever has annihilated individual self in a group’s unity is Godly. Buddhistly put, he or she practises Zen perfectly . Whatever paraphrase is utilized is immaterial. The communal divine spirit for all is Anattā (Selflessness; Egolessness). God or Buddha is Anattā. God is also ‘Sūnyatā (Emptiness) . God is also Dharmadhātu (cosmic Self).
Unity of existence generates accomplishment which is success experienced by all the members of the team or group. The unity of team or group should commence in a happy family life. It is then extended to the unity of employer-employees’ relationship in the work place. It is further expanded into the unity of a human society, the nation and the world. In every unity of association, there is the face of God or the Truth of Anattā or ‘Sūnyatā. Conventionally put, the face of God is interdependent co-existence of human family without any distinction in colour, creed and race.
Gotama Buddha promulgates four foundations of unity (Saṅgaha-vatthus) to promote and foster unity of existence in human society. They are Generosity (Dāna) of giving and charity, Lovingly kind Speech (Piya-vācā), Benevolent Actions (Attha- cariyā) and Equal Participation (Samānattatā). These four virtues promote and foster social cohesion or integration – the spirit of unity and bless.
Process- theistically put, the maximum satisfaction of God of an individual is reached when self-centric ego is entirely removed from a human personality. Religion instructs us to fulfill the satisfaction of God through the synthesis of relevant contigent conditions. That fulfillment can only be accomplished through consummated wisdom and virtue. Consummated wisdom and virtue ensue from religious salvation. Salvation is self-redemption – the resurrection of the innate supremacy of Man through the obliteration of self-centric ego. It is the regulation of intellectual thinking by using the inner Heart of intuition of Truth discernment.
When the Buddhist four foundations of unity are supported by the Buddhist Four Sublime Virtue (Brahmavihāra) of Lovingkindness , Compassion , Appreciative Joy, and Equanimity (Monotheistcally put, it the selfless love of neighbour), all actual entities become completely determinate or all conditioned phenomena are fully consummated . The perfection of actual entity is the face of God or Tao or Dharma . Salvation is the unity between Heaven-Earth and Man. The bipolarization between the phenomenon and the principle is consummated . Monotheistically put, this is the immediate tasting or experience of God or the Buddha-Mind or Nirvāna or Baqā .
Satisfaction of God
Buddhism unravels the Truth that God can only function and affect the world because the world is ultimately empty. The world is empty because the contigent conditions are mutable. A permanent world, which does not exist, is not empty. God is actually the totality of multiplicity. God is the ultimate Reality of cohesively organic, interdependent and interconnected co-existence. Any genuine co-operative and accomplished team work is the unity of God. When one experiences satisfaction from one’s accomplishment, that satisfaction is the actual entity of God. An accomplishment can be either individual, group, community, societal, national or global enterprises as God is immanent everywhere.
Human accomplishments are called the products of the creative power of God in co-operation with human impositions and determinations of actual entities. The impositions and determinations correspond with human freewill and efforts. Positive karmas are positive impositions and determinations. Human beings must play their deontological roles through wisdom and ethics in order to fruitfully synthesize the impositions and determinations. Positive karmas are wholesome reciprocal, constructive relationship with God. Buddhistly put, the phenomena and principle penetrate one another harmoniously. Karmaless actions are perfect relationship with God. Buddhistly put, the phenomena and the principle penetrate one another perfectly.
God save only those who save themselves. Human freewill and human efforts must precede the role of unity of God. An enterprising person adds new actual entities to be integrated by the growth of God. The evolution of the world is the growth or creation of God . God does not create from sheer nothingness . God creates the accomplishment from the contigent conditions imposed and determined by the self-determinism of human freewill and efforts. The unity of God completes the determinate actual entity for Man. The relationship between Man and God is non-dual and reciprocal. That God saves those who save themselves should be understood in the manner of the reciprocal relationship between the world and God.
According to Whitehead, Man must add new contigent conditions so that God continues to grow. When God grows, the accomplishment of Man also grows correspondingly through his wisdom and virtue. God and Man are reciprocal. When Man plays his role well, God responds correspondingly. For instance, the oversignt committee is added to the bailed out financial institution to improve its financial management to mitigate the financial crisis and to fix it finally. The purpose is to resurrect the economy so that it grows normally again.
The oversight committee and regulated human behaviours are positive actions producing actual entities. The economic growth of Man is known as the creative advance of God designated as the concrescence of God. The concrescence of God is the integration of presently existing wholesome actual entities with new wholesome actual entities so that the enlarged actual entity of new accomplishment becomes more prosperous. God Unity is enlarged. Buddhistly, the human accomplishment is further expanded and enhanced by the addition of more wholesome contigent conditions (cause and conditions). When the contigent conditions are toxic , God Unity is diminished . The 2008 financial crisis is a an excellent warning for the world.
For instance, the new injection of U.S government‘s financial capital into the bailed out financial institutions and introduction of more stringent oversight of the financial performance will improve the contigent conditions and consequently, improve the financial performance of the financial institutions to be saved . It is important to behold that the two essential keys to the unity of existence of any actual entity are wisdom and ethics. In this sense, knowledge of religion or God help us tremendously. God is certainly much more supreme than the oversight board of the treasury, congress or government. Without God consciousness, the oversight board does not function well.
Progress or Regress
Whiteheads elucidates that the concrescence of God is the growth of God together with the phenomenal world in which the positive actual entities are introduced by Man. Every growth of God is an accomplishment in the world . Alas!, the world is currently being imperilled, eroded and increasingly being weakened by financial woes, global warming, climate change, natural disasters or catastrophes, terrorism, wars, and other global ecocrises or turmoils. Human moral fallibilities and vulnerabilities have diminished God Unity in the dark year of 2008.
The epic clashes of civilizations between the west and the east or even within the same nation mirror that God is not growing concrescently. In fact, a multitude of crises created by Man in our modern world today has retarded the concrescence of God. This does not augur well for the future generations of mankind. If one pleases God or fulfills Unity of Existence, one will be correspondingly rewarded or blessed. If one displeases God (erodes Unity of Existence), one will correspondingly be retributed . One reaps what one sows. The law of award and retribution is precisely zero defect.
Emptiness
Whitehead’s process ontology of dynamic process becoming is consonant with that expounded by ‘Sākyamuni Buddha. Whitehead had developed the mind of the Buddha or God because he perceives and categorically emphasizes that every actual entity is empty of inherent existence and is mentally constructed by the prehension of the perceiver’s mind. All actual entities are ultimately empty. There are the manifest of the mingling minds. They are creations of mental obsessions. Whitehead’s process philosophy is the Buddhist perfection of wisdom (pranjñāpāramitā)
Ibn ‘Arabī’s and Nāgārjuna’s Thoughts
Interestingly, Sufi Ibn ‘Arabī also expounds an identical concept of God in terms of Process Thought. In this sense, Buddhism and Monotheism including Christianity , Judaism and Islamic Sufism are reconciled through the ontology of dynamic process becoming. Whitehead and Ibn ‘Arabī have both corroborated the Buddhist teaching of Emptiness and Dependent Co-arising of ‘Sākyamuni . Emptiness or Dependent Co-arisen non-dual unity of contigent conditions (the harmony of cause and conditions) is the dynamic process becoming leading to the creation of the world.
Nāgārjuna is the greatest exponent of Mahāyāna Buddhist process philosophy through the doctrine of Emptiness which he equates with the Truth of Dependent Co-arising. Nāgārjuna is celebrated and highly esteemed because the Process Thought expounded in brief by ‘Sākyamuni Buddha has been expounded in detail by him. Nāgārjuna, Whitehead and Ibn ‘Arabī are renowned religious commentators on the ontology of dynamic process becoming. This Process Thought pertains to the dependently co-arisen non-dual unity of contigent conditions. The Vedas and Upaniṣads (present-day Hinduism) expounded the process philosophy more than 3000 years ago.
Whiteheadian Philosophy
Whitehead posits the highest value of Process Thought thus :
Process Thought takes care not to commit the fallacy of misplaced concreteness (mistaking the abstract for the concrete.
Process thought eliminates grasping upon the multiplicity of forms which conceals the Absolute Truth of Unity or Non-duality. This statement of Whitehead is soteriologically significant. Process Thought eliminates the erroneous view of substantial view of ontology. Substantial view pertains to the illusive perception of defining signs, marks or characteristics of perceived reified objects (actual entities). Process Thought unveils the ultimate Reality that all phenomena are ultimately signless, markless or characteristicless. Whoever perceives the Emptiness of forms perceives the Emptiness of the five aggregates . Emptiness is Process Thought.
Heart Sūtra
The Heart Sūtra expounds that the liberated Bodhisattva (Wisdom Being) puts an end to suffering when he or she perceives the Emptiness of the five aggregates which is the dynamic process becoming of the world . The Sūtra continues to depict Process Thought mirrored from the attributes of the Emptiness : All phenomena as neither arising nor ceasing , neither impure nor pure ; neither increasing nor decreasing. This is the quintessence of Process Thought empty of forms and resultant clinging : Form Is Emptiness ; Emptiness is Form. Whoever discerns Emptiness perceives God. God is Process Reality. When God is moving, God is the manifestation of the universe. When God is unmoving , it dwells unmanifestly in the inner Heart of Man. The inner Heart is the pure and infinite consciousness of Man.
Christian Thought
A Christian who sees God obliterates his or her self-centric ego. Obliterating the self-centric ego, he or she redeems the Mind of God .The Mind of God is indwelling Christ, Christ Mind or the Holy Spirit. The Christ Mind is synonymous with the Buddha-mind ; the Holy Spirit is synonymous with Dharmakāya.
Conclusion
Every actual entity or conditioned phenomenon prehended is an ego. The world is actually the manifest of the multiplicity of egoes mentally fabricated by sentient beings. Each ego conceals the face of God or Buddha. The Process Thought is the elimination of ontological commitment to substantial thought. Whoever discerns the dynamic process becoming sees the God or Buddha. Dynamic process becoming (process or perennial Reality) unveils the Truth of Impermanence (Anicca), Selflessness (Anattā) and Dependent Origination (Pațiccasamuppāda). The Process Thought is insubstantial view . Insubstantial view is the right view of Emptiness (‘Sūnyatā). Dependent Origination is the concrescence of God. Buddha-nature or Emptiness is the primordial potentialities of God. Buddhism and Monotheism are thus reconciled through the perspective of process or perennial philosophy. Science also has corroborated the Process Thought or Reality (Santāna Dhamma; Sophia Perennis; Religio Perennis).
The End
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