This article by @Meaningness got me thinking: How much the origin of religion is influenced by geography?
Could Daoism or Zen have developed anywhere without vertigo inducing steep mountain slopes?
@MichaelAaronK @johndavidebert @martyrmadehttps://meaningness.com/metablog/meaningness-mountains …
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"When you stand high on a steep mountain slope, looking out over the gulf, you see vast space beneath you; turning, you see vast earth above you. This inversion induces vertigo, which stops the mind."
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"In Zen it is said: “First there is a mountain; then there is no mountain; and then there is a mountain.” The mountain is form; no-mountain is emptiness. The mountain after no-mountain is the same mountain, and not the same."
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Note the mountains above and sky below in Chinese paintings. This could not have developed elsewhere. The phenomenology informs the aesthetics which informs the logic and metaphysics. It dissolves the Father Sky - Mother Earth duality.pic.twitter.com/IU9nSBGlCc
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Thoughts on this? Nonduality originates from disorienting experiences in foggy mountains where sky intertwine with earth.
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Replying to @MimeticValue @linkolawave and
Watts refuted this idea staunchly. I would too. Duality is cosmologically problematic. A blind man can surely see both unity and separation.
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Replying to @anotherday____ @linkolawave and
Very good point. But is geography not influential in the development of a religion? I think Paglia or Campbell said that nomads who lived on plains all favored sky gods over earth goddesses.
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Replying to @MimeticValue @linkolawave and
Oh. Geography is influential for everything. It shapes both inside and outside. Impressions and expression. When and how we move and which ideas travel with us. It mediates heaven and earth in the most immediate sense of the word. The foundation of history and language.
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Replying to @anotherday____ @MimeticValue and
How does this work in terms of Christ?
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Replying to @neo_prussian @anotherday____ and
IIRC Judaism started out as Father Sky worshippers who conquered surrounding Mother Earth worshippers. Don't know much details beyond that.
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Yes, Jhwh probably was a classic sky king archetype, similar to Zeus or Ba'al. In competition with them, actually, and unusually possessive.
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Replying to @danlistensto @MimeticValue and
It's interesting to think about in terms of Judaism. What about Christ through I really can't see many similarities tbh
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Replying to @neo_prussian @danlistensto and
Rene Girard said that Christ was an innovation towards resolving mimetic conflicts... but since he stemmed from earlier traditions, he's probably less tied to geography, and he did have global influence.
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