There is an underlying duality in our brain between the left hemisphere and the right hemisphere. While they tend to cooperate they can also not cooperate so that there exists an inharmonious tension between the two. Needless to say, they both have their place: one side leans towards the individual while the other side is towards the big picture that the individual dwells in.
When the squirrel eats the acorn on my front lawn the squirrel also has to be aware of the hawk that could be circling overhead looking for a meal. In other words, man's day-to-day life needs to be also aware of the big picture.
Some big picture questions are: Where is this life of mine going? How do I know if I am on the right path? Am I is really as smart as I think I am?
There are many more such questions that arise from the big picture which relies on the right hemisphere of the brain. We could even say for the religiously minded that the left hemisphere is oriented to the fleshy individual, whereas the right hemisphere is oriented to spirit or the divine. It truly is Lord (S., Bhagavān) not the left hemisphere.
Leading a balanced life really means living a life where the left hemisphere has to be subordinate to the right hemisphere just like a ship must be subordinate to the direction of travel otherwise it will not get to its destination.
Keeping with this, Buddhists have always subordinated the individual or left hemisphere of the brain to the Lord hemisphere or the right hemisphere. The lodestar of the Buddhist is nirvana that is direct intuition of the unconditioned. In so doing the Buddhist must also realize the perishable nature of the flesh; that it is suffering and there is no spirit to be found in it.
As history shows us, mankind is not all that interested in taking the right hemisphere seriously. The pleasures of the flesh grab mankind's attention more. In fact, mankind it seems is always trying to usurp the natural leadership of the right hemisphere, the Lord, that leads us to the other shore.
Comments