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I love synchronicities. I once experienced a synchronicity that startled me so much I interpreted it as a revelation from God. But that's another story.
I had two minor synchros this past week. I was in the library browsing a couple of new books. One was on philosophy, the other about science. I read a passage in each book that quoted Ludwig Wittgenstein's axiom: "Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent."
The common theme was that human knowledge has limits, and we must acknowledge and respect those limits. Neither philosophy nor science can speak with certainty about transcendent matters. There are mysteries beyond human understanding.
Therefore, uncertainty is part of the human experience. It is a spiritual experience to say, "I don't know." Too much certainty about too many things is sacrilegious.
Don't try to say more than can be said. We could use more silence among clergy. (Maybe I've already said too much.)
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The second synchronicity occurred when I read about 'craving' in two publications. The magazine Moment had an article discussing the 10th commandment, "You shall not covet…" [March/April 2010 issue, p. 22] Various rabbis gave their commentaries. Rabbi Gershon Winkler says that the tenth commandment does not forbid envy, it forbids craving. Winkler says that 'craving' is the only innovative idea in the Sinai revelation: "Sins of the mind, the sin not of envying what someone else has but of craving it. Craving sits on the edge of actually going for it."
In Paul Knitter's new book, Without Buddha I Could not be a Christian, he writes about the basic outlook of Buddhist philosophy: (1) Suffering comes up in everyone's life; (2) This suffering is caused by craving; (3) We can stop suffering by stopping craving; (4) To stop craving, follow the Eightfold Path—which consists of living a moral life by avoiding harm to others, and following a spiritual practice based on meditation.
Jews, Buddhists (& Christians) see the danger in our cravings. Another word for it is 'desire.' The classic Christian term is 'concupiscence.' There is a drive within human nature that leads to suffering (which is a kind of natural Judgment).
The answer to our cravings is to learn to 'let go.' Which is also related to Wittgenstein's insight: "Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent."
