74 overcoming the worldsurrounding us, our struggle to demand the unlimited from the lim-
ited, the relentless move from privation to frustration or satiation and
in either event to disappointment and boredom— from this ordeal we
can never escape.
On the other hand, the world seduces us at every turn. Th e posses-
sion of life is the gateway through which we move toward its irresistible
glories. Th e radiance of being, of its unity and diversity, threatens to
dazzle, blind, and paralyze us if we fail to turn away from it to the busi-
ness at hand.
Th e doctrinal expressions of the overcoming of the world off er an
account of the sources and meaning of this contradictory character of
our experience. Th e sensibility and consciousness expressed and en-
hanced by these doctrines promise relief from this rift within us. Th ey
propose to show how we can see and live in such a way that the charms
of the world may prevail over the fl aws in existence. Th e quest for in-
vulnerability to change and suff ering, as well as for benevolence given
from on high, provides a practical route by which to achieve this goal.
It is thus a mistaken prejudice to associate the overcoming of the
world with a philosophical pessimism, as it is associated in the philoso-
phy of Schopenhauer, the sole thoroughgoing development of this point
of view that we have had in the West. Like the other two major orienta-
tions in the history of world religion, the overcoming of the world
connects insight with hope and salvation. Th e question to ask next is
whether it looks for salvation and hope in the right place.
Serenity and benevolence
Th ese ideas and incitements inspire a vision of how to live. In that vi-
sion, the two central commitments are to serenity and benevolence.
Th ey are closely linked.
We achieve serenity by conquering the will, which, seated in the em-
bodied self, seeks the attractions and prizes of a realm of shadows. We
cultivate an inner reserve from the commotions of this shadowy do-
main, a reserve founded upon our ac know ledg ment of the truth— of
the One being or of the archetypes of reality— lying behind the veil of
time, distinction, and individual selfh ood. We discount the signifi -