Tue, 30 Sep 2008
Power and Love
Edward Conze once defined power as the ability to ignore the wishes of others. Given that differences in power are inevitable (parent and child, boss and worker, and yes, spiritual teacher and student) it seems to me that all such relations should be based on friendship and mutual concern. It seems that we in the West assume that in all relations both parties are only seeking personal advantage. However, in the East the relation between superior and inferior is seen as supportive and mutually beneficial. This is probably the most important spiritual lesson I took away from studying the martial arts.
