In the lights of the events of September 11th, we need more than ever to understand the roots of our political and philosophical predicament, in particular the deep divisions between peoples that result from differences in ideologies and beliefs. In his book of essays, Maurice Ash unpicks the fallacy of fragmented and compartmentalized knowledge. Although each essay stands alone, the underlying theme is to unequivocally expose the inherent falsehood of Cartesian dualism. From Ashs perspective, the deep cause that lies at the root of the multiple crises facing Western societies is the split between self and the world, between subject and object, the observer and the observed. With his powerful arrows of Buddhist logic, he hits two targets. First, there is no Self separate from the World. It is the notion of the Self which has given birth to self-centred, self-seeking, selfish and egotistical individualism. Only by moving away from the illusion of Self can we embrace the reality of community. The world is constituted of the relationships of relationships, says the author. The second target Ash aims to demolish is the notion of metaphysics, which gives birth to idealism, utopianism, communism and all the other isms. For the author, reality is in the here and the nowit is in the way we live our everyday life.
Maurice Ash
Maurice Ash has been Chairman of the Town and Country Planning Association, The Dartington Hall Trust in Devon and The Green Alliance. His books include New Renaissance, Journey into the Eye of a Needle and The Fabric of the World.
Satish Kumar
Satish Kumar is an internationally renowned speaker on ecological and spiritual issues. He lives in England, and is Editor of Resurgence magazine, Director of Programmes at Schumacher College and founder of the UK?Schumacher Society.
Process and Pilgrimage began in 2009 with a conversation between Philip Franses and Satish Kumar about process in physics and the nature of pilgrimage, where, in each, the adventurer sets out without a clear idea of where he is going, but is open to meet with ‘wholeness’ somewhere along the way.
This is the third year of Process and Pilgrimage events, which is situated at the restored 800 hectare monastery of Abbazia di Spineto in Italy. The five days will be a fascinating mix of discussions and presentations about the projects emerging from the participatory inquiry of Process and Pilgrimage with practical proposals on education – ‘Journey School’, health – immune ‘mind’ and land-use. Read Revival: Growing Health and Education in the Monk’s Garden or to find more information about taking part and online booking visit: www.earthlinksall.com/pp2012
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