On the Triangle of Ethics - Faith: Dialogues on Checkerism

Answered the teacher: "One's behaviour is ethical when it adheres to the Triangle of Ethics."

Queried the student: "I don't understand. What is this triangle?"

Answered the teacher: "Look at this picture (SWF). It shows the Cycle of the Universe. The upper right triangle, with the white background, is the Triangle of Ethics."

Insisted the student: "How does this help me in the search for ethics?"

Retorted the teacher: "Tell me. When you study the white triangle, what do you see?"

Answered the student: "I see a triangle with half a circle, with the steps Sacrifice, Life, Evolution, Sentient Beings, History, Experience, and Reflection. The first and last step overlap the black triangle as well."

Asked the teacher: "Some of those steps are marked with an arrow. They are transitions. Others are marked with a big dot. Those are the milestones. Now have a look at the milestones only: Life, Sentient Beings, and Experience. What do these words mean?"

Summarised the student: "We discussed life in our previous classes. Life is energy. Something that is alive is formed out of energy. Science tells us that matter equals energy. Therefore all forms of matter must be alive. If it isn't alive, it can't be matter. But matter isn't necessary. Pure energy is alive too."

The teacher agreed and asked: "And what about sentient beings?"

Said the student: "I remember one of our classes, in which I asked why us humans exist. And you said, that the gods might have a purpose for our existence. So maybe we are able to do something that they can't. That only works when the gods themselves are sentient. And we ourselves most certainly are sentient. Maybe the gods are sentient in a different way than us. Sentience at least has advantages from an evolutionary point of view."

Said the teacher: "That's a good start. Perhaps you'll be able to fill in more of the concept after telling me about Experience."

Answered the student: "That's an easy one. We believe that our purpose in life is to gather as much experiences as possible, by living life to its fullest, including hardship and happiness."

Asked the teacher: "Does the concept of Sentience make more sense now?"

Exclaimed the student: "Ah, yes! Without senses, there would be no experience. What good then does it do, to reincarnate as a morter brick? Bricks don't have senses. Is it possible at all to reincarnate as a brick? With them being man-made and all?"

Retorted the teacher: "The matter that forms the brick, does it not equal energy as well? Does that not make it alive, like all the other forms? The brick is a separately identifiable object. Does that not make it a being? Granted, a brick might not interact much when compared to humans, but it does carry the weight of a house. Who are we to say, that the experience of carrying a house, is irrelevant? The titan known as Atlas got to carry the planet, and the tortoises known as Akapura and Bedawang Nala carry the world on their back. I'd say, knowing how to carry a house is a good start."

Asked the student: "So now we have life, sense and experience. How is that going to help me define ethics?"

Explained the teacher: "How are we going to experience, when we aren't alive? Ethic: protect life. Your own and that of others."

Objected the student: "But we must eat... in order for us to stay alive, we must kill plants, and maybe animals."

Answered the teacher: "Such is their purpose. They too are part of evolution. But we must be careful not to kill too many plants, and not to kill too many animals, otherwise we won't have anything to eat next year. Ethic: if you must kill, make sure the source can replenish."

Added the student: "Then we also have to consider the other beings that eat what we eat, and those who eat them respectively."

Said the teacher: "Wise words. You seem to be grasping the concept. Now how about communities, where we live and work with others?"

Answered the student: "My goal might be to experience loneliness, in which case I can reject everyone and behave like an outcast. But my goal might also be to experience family life, in which case I need to behave as part of the family."

Added the teacher: "With all the necessary ethics attached to it: to honour and respect, to follow, listen and help, to protect and lead. All of them, depending on one's position in the community, and in good balance with the community."

Said the student: "I see, wise man. How do I recognise wether or not I'm behaving in good balance?"

Answered the teacher: "Balance is achieved when things are going smoothly."

With that, the teacher left the student to ponder.