|
Dear Dishwasher,
My name is John and I'm a student. I am writing to you, because my
class is doing a documentary on dishwashers( people dishwashers).
We were looking for someone who is an "expert" on the subject, if there is such
a thing. Are dishwashers treated the way you think they should be treated? And if
not, how should they be treated? How do you see the dishwasher in relation to the
society as a whole? And finally, could you elaborate on your philosophy on dishwashing
and life (e.g., like you can't enjoy clean dishes with out the dirty dishes)? Thanks
for your time.
P.s. How long have you being doing dishes?
Phil
Dear Phil,
Nobody is treated the way they should be treated all the time.
Classes and races of large groups of people have been systematically mistreated
since the beginning of time. In our most recent modern world the economics are the
new standards by which people are judged and mistreated accordingly. By the word
treated I assume you mean with dignity and respect regardless of color, religion,
economic bracket or job (dishwasher). You assume by the question that dishwashers
are not treated nicely. This is true but this is not a brilliant observation. So
what? I'll tell you ...
Efforts to improve humanity through political action or spiritual
nurturing is universal, and through all time...this business of culture, notion
of progress, even evolution, stems from the premise that we can do something, and
should... history has meaning right? The truth is, in political terms we haven't
gotten anywhere! Life is not fair! These conditions or inequalities are the gristle
out of which we work out our individual Karma...the conditions themselves are not
what's important, it’s how we live around the conditions that counts...conditions
are the content of our lives...how we live day by day...working out our various
situations...politically, economically, etc. That is the real story being told.
Pay attention to that story. Life is not just, people are not equal, the conditions
are not fair...We should work to rectify that in society, but don't be deceived
into thinking that is why we're here on earth, that it is our mission.
So for instance...washing dishes is no different than being president
or running a large corporation when considering the spiritual mission involved (the
other story). The content is different but the human challenges are similar, and
in the end we all defecate and die: hard, old and useless from the political, economic
perspective. So dishwashing (the actually physical work), cleaning dishes, follows
the same principle that other jobs have: order to chaos, filing, management, mass
production, order to chaos, whether large or small, it's all the same. People focus
too much on the end result...the goal.... which by definition exists only in the
future. All hail the clean dish...almighty clean dish and send the dirty ones to
hell...this polarity or division of Good vs. Evil is felt more in Western society
where we’re used to good and evil fighting it out. But I look at the dirty dishes
with the same affection as the clean ones. Dirty dishes means we're making money
…business is happening...can't have order without the previous mess, now can we?
Dirty dishes are part of my context ...the process through which I learn who I am...
could be dishes...could be armies...could be paper or numbers. I particularly like
dishes because they are so physical, real...but that is just a personal aesthetic...the
president would no doubt say the same thing about his job...or the accountant. There
are many traps in life, traps that divert us from being our spiritual selves. Avoid
these. One illusion is the future...(worshipping the clean dish), or an ideal (clean
dishes), or hatred of the evil past (dirty dishes), arrogance of political action
(see how good I do dishes), greed (see how much more money I make doing dishes than
my counterpart in India?). Men are for the most part lost in hope... sacrificing
for an unknown time to come... the future... or driven by fear avoiding all that
is bad...the past ...that one little dirty dish If only we could get rid the world
of dirty dishes, drugs, crime, hatred, etc. You see, that will never happen. Love
all your dishes...like Jesus said... love your enemies.
I'm not your typical dishwasher, but frankly, you'll find if
you look carefully that there are many people living the other story and simply
working a job as a way of participating. These people don't buy the future (the
American Dream is one version). Not climbing a corporate ladder, they are outsiders
but not criminals.
For further reading: Colin Wilson's
"The Outsiders."
Any Buddhist text
More Dishwasher Essays |
