Just yesterday I was listing to a song on Brian Wilson Presents SMiLE album (2004). The name of the song was Child is the Father of the Man.
"Child is the Father of the Man" is a line from William Wordsworth's poem, "My Heart Leaps Up". The poem I came to learn did provoke some controversy. The poet William Blake objected to the phrase "natural piety" which appears in the last line of the poem. Blake believed that man was, instead, naturally impious. I am guessing, but I think his objection was that man is quite capable of showing ignorance or disrespect for the truly sacred, even transforming himself unknowingly into a beast.
From a Buddhist perspective the child is by no means innocent, in the sense of the child being a little Buddha. Rather, each newborn child bears the karmic burden of their previous life and its iniquities. This is in contrast to the modern idea, held by some, that children are born innocent and this innocence must be preserved and protected by the parents and the community.
To be honest, I have seen enough parents who hold to the view of the innocent child which doesn’t last long. Sooner or later, the karmic direction of the child or adolescent takes hold of them. Then the adolescent grows into an adult and becomes the parent. At that point, Wordsworth’s natural piety—if it ever was there—is replaced by reality and with it a struggle.
From all this I have to say, beware of attributing innocence where it is not. On the same score, all beings have the Buddha-nature but only potentially. Not actually. And that means a lot because we can do very bad things in spite of having this nature. William Blake had the more sober, realistic view. At times, Wordsworth was too much of an incurable romantic. One who looks at life while walking with towering stilts.
Enjoyed the Wordsworth/Blake comparison on this--well done!
Posted by: MStrinado | September 11, 2017 at 09:21 AM