the integrity of individuals

Resistance is called for. By many caring and suffering voices. And we must resist for the integrity of the individual. But what are we resisting? Merely the horrible external circumstances playing out in society (none of them exactly new)? What about the internal forces shaped by our fears, hatreds, greeds, confusions, envies, and prides?

Yes, we must resist the take over by mind-numbing corporate manipulation of values, by attention hijacking, by political confidence games, and unquestioning religious belief, especially those cloaking racist nationalism. We resist these because they reinforce the confusion, fear, selfishness, and ignorance within us. To wisely resist we must be dedicated in coming to terms with such inner forces, while blossoming the spiritual powers of compassion, fortitude, humility, honesty, and interiority.

In his brilliant late essay “The Undiscovered Self,” CG Jung highlights the crucial psychological and spiritual place of the individual. Writing after the horrors of two World Wars, he examines the ways modern society employs mass thinking. He clearly delineates how becoming the most of our individual potential is the only thing standing in the way of tyranny, whether of the marxist, fascist, capitalist, or hybrid flavors. (This podcast is a good introduction to the essay, How Did I Become a Statistic? Jung’s Essay, The Undiscovered Self.)

The early Buddhist figure of the true person (sappurisa) is essential for living a spiritually committed life (brahmacariya). Persons of integrity aren’t necessarily awakened and fully liberated, yet are dedicated to ethics, goodwill, healthy relationships, humanistic values, and contemplation. True persons are individuals discovering the path breath by breath. They support and aid others discovering their particular versions of path. However, groups don’t follow the path, only individuals do.

Emptiness doesn’t cancel individuals, ignorance does. Emptiness reveals the radically interconnected, relational realities of individuals and how individuals are in flux, are continuity within change, without a permanent core. Persons of integrity are in relationship with other beings, our bodies, nature, and truth (Dhamma, God, Tao). Thus, they don’t cling to narrow conceptions of their individual selves. Their desires aren’t self-centered. While each inhabits the path each is finding and embodying.

This post is telegraphic. I haven’t posted much in recent months, so wanted to convey something timely. Further looks at the perspectives above are in drafts that I haven’t quite finished.

And from a friend on Substack who is also concerned about the integrity of “Buddhism” amidst the destructive forces unleashed by our insincerity towards genuine science and religion.