Consider the foxes and the rabbits. The foxes' place in the ecosystem is to eat the rabbits, but it is not the rabbits' place to be eaten. To the contrary it is the dharma of the rabbits to avoid being eaten. These dharmas are at odds with each other, yet both are part of the Asha of nature. For either side, to abandon its position of opposition in this dynamic is to die. An en masse concession by one side could even wipe out both sides, as the other side exhausts its food supply. Thus discord allows the world to be maintained and life on Earth to continue.
Hail Eris, and may kismesis reign throughout the cosmos.
I like this parable. I like how well it illustrates that the tension (strife) inherent in the struggle between the foxes and the rabbits is exactly what allows their existence to continue.
Thank you.
I'm trying to expose the false dichotomy that clains that every conflict has a right side and a wrong side. Both sides can be correct (or incorrect) and yet still remain in conflict.
This is a great reminder that some conflicts you never will win, but need to fight anyway.
Thanks for posting this little nugget of insight.
BTW, I just remembered this thread and the fact that I had meant to eventually include a glossary of the more esoteric terms used therein. So here it is:
Dharma- A Sanskrit term denoting morally prescribed behaviors that are specific to one's specific situation (caste, sex, age, occupation, et cetera). It literally means "That which upholds [the propriety of the cosmos]"
Asha- A word from the Avestan language designating "Rightness" or "Truth". This term most often comes up in works relating to Zoroastrian philosophy and theology.
Kismesis- An Alternian term from the webcomic "MSPA Homestuck (http://www.mspaintadventures.com/?s=6&p=004295)" whose approximate meaning is to "love to hate" someone or something, but in an extremely literal sense, denoting the presence of both the kind of spiritual and emotional fulfillment (as well as the potential to lead to procreation) that one might associate with actual love, as well as, simultaneously, the bloodlust and potential for hostile action and for schadnefreude in response to observed misfortune that one associates with hate.
I like it, it illustrates http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GreyAndGrayMorality (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GreyAndGrayMorality) and goes beyond it.