Lately I have been struggling somewhat with spirituality and the frequent requirement of detachment it requires. A detachment from things external to the soul seems to be paramount to most spiritual paths, whether we're talking about Christianity, stoicism, Buddhism, or myriad others.
Obviously a degree of detachment is necessary. One cannot live a fulfilling life always at the whim of external circumstance. I think we have all seen this absolutely devastate someone we love. Certainly something can be said for the necessity of a certain level of detachment and for the ability to detach oneself from circumstance. I myself have found great strength and solace in stoicism and its application in many areas of my life.
However, one can still attach to good things, ride them to their heights, then detach before the downward trip. This is also a technique I use in my personal life.
But even this sidesteps the question: what is all this detachment and spiritual austerity for?
Of course Christians and Buddhists have definitive answers for this. To Christians, this serves an end-goal of joining Jesus in heaven for all eternity. In a far more similar way than most give it credit, Buddhism also has an end-goal of reuniting with the Godhead through enlightenment (though some flavors of Buddhism actually teach you can surpass the Godhead in a way many religious traditions would find deeply blasphemous). Buddhism in fact has a somewhat better explanation, too, of how one can return to enjoy earthly things once they have learned not to need them (which may be the answer in some ways, but I digress.) Many newer spirutual traditions such as Thelema also promise a sort of zero-sum reuniting with the Godhead. (To those who may be more familiar with The Elder Scrolls than religious studies, this is not unlike the concept of CHIM)
Perhaps I am just an earthly creature, confused and coping, but I have a hard time imagining this type of path. I am not a materialist or an atheist, I am certainly not a hedonist, and I see the value in discipline, asceticism, and detachment, but I struggle to comprehend a celestial life which would be more fulfulling to me than an earthly one. I do not believe the earthly is diametrically opposed to the celestial, and I believe we humans, as mortal creatures, are earthly beings created exactly as we should be. We are not fallen. Our souls (itself a nebulous concept I will elaborate on more in a different entry) contain no Original Sin.
I want to be good. I want to align with the Cosmic Order. But I am an earthly creature, and this order for me is earthly.
The Tao which can be understood is not the eternal Tao.