Guiding Questions for Discussion:
How do the Hindu concept of Neti, Neti ("Not this, Not that") and the Zen phrase "Only don't know" challenge our fixed views about religion, reality, and self?
In Exploring Ideas, we are invited to consider the Mountain (Perennialism) and the River (Process Thought) as metaphors for religious truth. Could Neti, Neti and "Only don't know" be seen as a third approach—one that keeps us open to the unfolding mystery?
Thomas Berry suggests that we need a new cosmology, one that integrates religious traditions with an ecological awareness of our interdependence. How might letting go of fixed views help us step into a deeper relationship with the Earth and the evolving universe?
Can spending time in nature serve as a contemplative practice for staying open, awake, and responsive to the world’s unfolding?
I’d like to share a link to Herman Greene’s The Long View: Thomas Berry’s Instruction on the Reform of Religion, Law, and Culture in His Later Books. This piece explores Berry’s vision for how religion must evolve in response to the ecological and cosmological realities of our time. I think it offers valuable insights for our discussions on Process Thought, Perennialism, and the evolving role of religious traditions. Here’s the link: Greene’s The Long View
