Thou Art That - Garden of Eden

I posted this on a message board.  I think it's pretty scattered, but it's got some good stuff from Joseph Campbell in it, so I figured I'd post it. :)

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Thou Art That: Transforming Religious Metaphor

Joseph Campbell

There was one part of the book that I thought would make for some good discussion here. He explains the significance of the two trees in the Garden of Eden and what it could mean. To do this, he also brings in the Buddhist myth of the gates that lead to Nirvana. Some might object to that saying you have to work only within one tradition, but I think considering all religions as a piece of the puzzle can lead us to a much much better understanding.

Anyway, here we go:

"What is that tree of immortal life? Even after examining it in depth the rabbinical discussions of the two trees in the Garden, it remains something of an enigma.

"Look closely and you may see, as I do, that they are the same tree. You are in the Garden and the tree is the way out. The way out is through learning of good and evil, a process that is symbolically expressed by eating the fruit of that tree. It is as if you are walking from a room where all is one into a room where, as you pass the threshold, all is suddenly two.

"Look back at the gate of the Garden where stand the two cherubim with the flaming sword between them, and you are out, in exile from the place where all was one.

"What is the way back? The idea appears to be that God is keeping us out of the Garden, forbidding our reentry. In the Buddhist tradition, however, the Buddha says, 'Don't be afraid, come right through.'

"But what does that mean?

"Of the two guardians in the Buddhist theme, one has his mouth open, and the other has his mouth closed: they are opposites. One represents fear, the other represents desire.

"The fear is that of death and the desire is for more of this world: fear and desire are what keep you out of the Garden. It is not God who keeps us in exile, but ourselves."

He goes on to say that people are converting to the Eastern religions all the time these days because it's obvious that the meaning and relevance to their daily lives is right there. Christianity....not so much. But that doesn't mean we don't have that meaning...it's just hidden underneath so much literalism and historicism.

"This is what the story of the expulsion from the Garden of Eden is all about. It is not about an historical incident but about a psychological, spiritual experience, a metaphor for what is happening to us right now."

We make an unconscious decision to leave transcendence when we are very very young. And it's in our nature. We live in a world in which transcendence doesn't really matter if our goal is survival. Especially in the modern world, where transcendence has been all but sapped out of everything in our daily lives. And yet the way in is the same as the way out, only reflected as in a mirror. We have to see that the world is more than just opposites, but we're held back by our fears and our desires. It's our very feeling of separateness that keeps us separated.

We distinguish between heaven and earth, good and evil, right and wrong, up and down, pretty and ugly, mind and body etc. The whole world is made up of pairs of opposites for us. That is the world we live in where all is suddenly two. To get back to the Garden, we have to realize that all is also one. That the opposites are really the same thing. That is why God is often described in paradox. God is this and God is not this. God is both, for he transcends our pairs of opposites, and for him all is one. There is no other physical place where we will go to be in the Kingdom of God. That's thinking in opposites again. It's something that's already here, and yet is on its way. Heaven and Earth are one.

"The Kingdom will not come by expectation. The Kingdom of the Father is spread upon the earth, and men do not see it." - Gospel of Thomas

and

"With the moon walk, the religious myth that sustained these notions could no longer be held. With our view of earth rise, we could see that the earth and the heavens were no longer divided but that the earth is in the heavens. There is no division and all the theological notions based on the distinction between the heavens and the earth collapse with that realization. There is a unity in the universe and a unity in our own experience. We can no longer look for a spiritual order outside of our own experience."

We have to find things that open us up to transcendence and let us see the world beyond the pairs of opposites. If our symbols are failing us, we must find new ones...or breathe new life into the old ones. If our religious laws aren't serving us and helping us to reach towards God, we can't cling to them. For the Law was made for man, not man for the Law.

And we've got so much. The world is literally littered with shattered symbols. Ideas and myths that once structured society lie in ruins all around us...including parts of our own traditions. If we search and pick up the pieces and put them together, perhaps we can regain that sense of transcendence that is all too rare in our day in age.

I wonder if that whole thing didn't make any sense. I wish I was better at explaining things in more common language.