The Middle Road

I've long known of Buddhism's teaching of the "Middle Way," that neither excess nor asceticism provides one with a good way to live one's life. When Siddhartha left his rich life on the search for enlightenment, he first followed a path of severe asceticism; the legend goes that at one point, he could survive on a single grain of rice per day. However, this did not lead him to his destination. He realized that forcing oneself to live in total austerity was as much of a purposeless indulgence as was to live in extravagance and debauchery. The true road, he discovered, was the way between the extremes.

I was reading, today, the book To Be a Jew, by Rabbi Hayim Halevy Donin. I was struck when I came across a section entitled "The Middle Road." In this section, Rabbi Donin quotes the incredibly influential Medieval Jewish philosopher Maimonides:

Lest a person says: Since jealousy, lust, and desire for honor are evil ways . . . I will separate myself completely from them and go to the other extreme, to the point where he refuses to enjoy the pleasure of food by abstaining from eating meat and drinking wine, where he refuses to marry a wife, or to live in a pleasant house or to wear nice clothing but instead chooses to dress in rags . . . this too is an evil way, and it is forbidden to go that way.

Maimonides, whose Hebrew name was Moshe ben Maimon but is more widely known by his Greek name, was referring to a section of the book Ecclesiastes (which is generally attributed to King Solomon, though his name never appears in the text itself). Ecclesiastes says:

Do not be too righteous, and do not act too wise; why should you destroy yourself? Do not be too wicked, and do not be a fool; why should you die before your time? It is good that you should take hold of the one, without letting go of the other; for the one who fears God shall succeed with both (Eccles. 7: 16-18).

I have to mention here that Maimonides's name, in Arabic, is Abu Imran Mussa bin Maimun ibn Abdallah al-Qurtubi al-Israili, and that he's often referred in Jewish works by the acronym Rambam. Sorry, just had to get that off my chest. Whew.

It is not good to indulge in excess and evil, of course not. However, it is at best only slightly better to indulge in extreme "righteousness." I sincerely doubt that either Maimonides or the writer of Ecclesiastes meant that it was wrong to be very good and abstain from evil, but rather that it is wrong to interpret the rules in such an extreme fashion. It's wrong to drink to excess, but it is just as wrong to abstain entirely under the pretense that "Wine is evil!" It's wrong to become a glutton, but it's just as wrong to proclaim that eating is a sin.

I think, here, that the emphasis needs to be on the proclamation of the self as "righteous" and the condemnation of the avoided act as "evil." If one did simply did not enjoy eating meat, then would there be anything wrong with that?

I'm reminded of a certain type of person--I've met several of these people during my life, and perhaps some of you have as well. They don't watch TV. Not only do they not watch TV, but they don't even have a TV. Not only that, but they take every opportunity available to bring up the fact that they don't watch, no, that they don't even own a TV. They take an enormous amount of pride in the fact that they are "better" than the rest of us plebeians, glued to the idiot-box.

Is it wrong not to watch TV? Of course not. Maybe you think it's boring, maybe you have other hobbies you enjoy more, or maybe you just don't have the time. What's sinful is the extreme moral position taken up by these people; the insinuation that the rest of the population is beneath them in some way. Of course, it's highly doubtful that they would admit that they look down on us for owning a TV . . . but the tone of their voice when they proclaim their own TV-lessness tells another story.

Bringing in the NT somewhat, I'd like to also mention that though Jesus certainly seems to come down closer to the ascetic side of the fence, compared to the extreme asceticism of John the Baptist, who came from the desert "clothed with camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and . . . ate locusts and wild honey" (Mark 1:6), Jesus's life was spent quite close to what could be called a "Middle Way."

This message seems to be lost on many modern people, whether they are Christian or not. Even atheists fall prey to this; though rationalism is not without its benefits, at least half the time I hear someone expound upon its advantages, he or she is focusing entirely upon how much better it is than the "imaginations of the superstitious."

I must admit, however, that at least in this country, it is the Christians who fail in this fashion most often. It seems to rarely be enough to simply do what one thinks is right and correct, one must also stand tall on the pulpit and denounce how horrible the people are who don't agree with what you think is right and correct. While this may persuade some weak-willed souls, sad and afraid, into converting, it is entirely the wrong way to go about things. It makes the church look bad, it makes Christians look bad, and it thereby makes me look bad.

I don't take kindly to that.

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