China: Spirituality Or Materialism?

The courage of Mahmoud Vahidnia -- the Iranian math whiz who apparently had the courage to stand up to Iran's supreme leader recently -- really has me wishing for an American version of the young man, someone to point out some of the unhealthy and dangerous presuppositions long rife in our consumer capitalist society. Government plant or genuine hero, his action underscores the need for the same sort of frank talk by someone of like ilk in China.

I'm just back from a tour of northern China, researching my new book on Daoism, a philosophy that embraces balance and finds lessons (and beauty) in nature. While the recent recession has many Americans rethinking the wisdom of chasing money and things all our life even at the cost of our health and happiness, the Chinese have no such reservations. Theirs is an all out frenzy of industry, a rampant desire to assume economic primacy in the world. Stepping out onto the street in Shanghai or Xi'an at rush hour is an exercise in unbridled competition for one's own square piece of sidewalk. Passing through a doorway in China, or trying to board an elevator, is often a test of one's pushing skills. Stripped of their august cultural heritage by the brutality of the Cultural Revolution, the Chinese seem to be in a headlong rush to what they think they want and need--the material excess of the West--and are zooming forward without either social restraint or the lessons of history in place.

I'm certain that China's sea of poverty-stricken people need a standard of living upgrade, just as I'm also sure that at some point they will come to the same realization we are reaching, which is that the American Dream, replete with a new car every few years, an ever bigger house, an ever shinier refrigerator, is not the road to happiness, and it's certainly not the road to health. The Chinese people are remarkable for their capacity for suffering, for tenacity, for focus, and for industry. I feel sure they will, despite serious social challenges, eventually make good on their ambition. The problem is that world resources cannot sustain that ambition, and even if they could, the environmental cost of projects like the Three Gorges Dam--not to mention foul air and undrinkable water--have already started to affect the rest of the world.

Actually, there is a movement afoot to focus China's considerable talent and energy on the pursuit of renewable resources. America can't afford to ignore this initiative, but at the same time simply entering into an economic or technological race with China ignores the underlying problems of a society so focused on consumption that it takes as a given the need to develop more energy resources rather than questioning the emotional and spiritual hunger that keeps so many people in the world who already have far more than enough desperately questing for more.

If China had a Mahmoud Vahidnia, (maybe dissident bloggers like Shi Tao and Wang Xiaoning play the role) or if America had her own version, it would be great if he or she would point out that a balance between technology and conservation is essential and possible, that a balance between freedom and security is possible, and most of all that those of us who love nature and quiet, peaceful time are not reactionary, lazy, Luddites. Working smarter, in concert with the natural needs and strengths of our minds and bodies can be very productive, and at the same time keep us from misery, a constantly competitive mindset, and poor health.

David Rock's new book The Human Brain in the Workplace, in fact talks about this very thing. Yet even for those with little spiritual or religious bent, greater productivity is not, I hope, the ultimate purpose of life. I know I speak for others of like mind when I say that I don't wish to lie on the tarmac with the life leaking out of me after just having been hit by a bus, hear the distant approach of the ambulance, know it is too late, and think: wow, I got a lot done. Better to think with satisfaction of having deeply experienced life in all its ups and downs, and to have been aware, as continuously as possible, of the unlikely marvel of simply being alive. Better to have cultivated compassion than consumption, and to have found harmony in living simply, awake and aware.

America has one set of challenges and China has another, but when our Mahmoud Vahidnia shows up, it would be great to hear some suggestions about how we can slow down and live life more fully without foisting our values forcibly on anyone else and without ruining the planet in the process. Oh, and a little more transparency in government, even on our shores, wouldn't hurt either.

 

Follow Arthur Rosenfeld on Twitter: www.twitter.com/machobuddha

Comments

[ToddJi]

Is it not possible that we have many with same conviction and drive as Mahmoud Vahidnia here in America? I think the difference is not that these people are necessarily marginalized, but rather that our society welcomes (in large part) the freedom of speech. In a country where speaking your mind can result in death or imprisonment, the act of "standing up" certainly shines a spot light - both from the media and society. In America it is much harder to stand out amongst the crowd, but this does not mean that no one is standing. Thank you for writing such a thought provoking post!

[QuietLightTraveler]

We have had people like Mahmoud Vahidnia in this country and in others.. People who are well known, like Henry David Thoreau for instance, all the way back before the civil war. His wisdom is there for all to enjoy in his many books, and the lessons in them would serve this country and China well. There is great wisdom among the history of humankind for those who want it but most just ignore it because its easier for them to live on a base level of ignorance. Thoreau himself lamented this tendency of society.

[Pearlswan]

I think there are plenty of individuals like Mahmoud Vahidnia in both China and America. But, unfortunately, they are always pushed to the margins of society where their voices are barely audible to the mainstream masses chasing after profit and possession. I think more than speakers, we need to awaken a class of listeners who have the power to act on what they hear and learn from those with the courage and experience to speak truth to power.

[OnTheCusp]

Neither, nor. Just some place in between.

[StopGlobalWarmingBeVegan]

To be whole, we need to be l spiritually successful and take our earned money to help others. Money is just a tool either to do good or bad.

[dlo2]

CCP leaders have probably greater 'official' reverence for Confucian thought, manifested outwardly as a 'necessary' rationalized political dynamic with the intent to control a large, diverse, multilingual population. Perhaps in their private lives, there are many political leaders who do maintain spiritual practices including Daoism. The writings of Lao Tzu are particularly inspiring especially on the topic of leadership.

[Arthur Rosenfeld - Huffpost Blogger]

During the Cultural Revolution, most aspects of Imperial rule, including an embrace of Confucianism, were denied, but lately I think you may be right, we may be seeing a slow return to some of Confucian values seeping in. As for Lao Tze, you make an excellent point. At my recent visit to a Daoist retreat best known for being the place Lao Tze spent his last days teaching (he even purportedly died there) I saw strong evidence that the captains of Chinese industry, as well as CCP leaders, were seeking advice from the abbot. This is why so much of my work revolves around Lao Tze's wisdom.

[khanti]

At the moment China is recovering from the period of desperation she suffered towards the end of the Ching Dynasty where their riches and cultutre were plundered by foreigners who offered nothing but opium at the end of a gun barrel.
She had gone through all that over the centuries of Dynastic Rules both good times and bad times. Both cultural and spirituality. There is nothing for the rest of the World to teach them. Now they are in the materialistic phase and once they achieve that yet find no contentment then they will seek spirituality.
I have been to Beijing as a tourist and have been to Taoist and Buddhist temples. At the entrance of the Taoist temple a Taoist master collects entrance ticket.same with the Buddhist temple. Both temples were crowded with organized tourist groups. No doubt the Chinese Government have done a wonderful job restoring these temples but they are no longer places of peace and santuary.

[Pem3]

It is sort of like when you are young you want the newest toy you saw on tv.

When you become a teenager you want the newest gadget so you can be cool.

When an adult you want what your neighbors have just better than theirs.

Then as an older wiser person you you just want your comfortable chair and a nice warm place and friends and good food.

[janeycat]

this by far is the best post here