In response to Julia Monturo's post "Search for Self at All Costs" (January 26, 2012):
I do agree that choosing one's own quest for enlightenment over the happiness of one's family and friends appears selfish at first glance, and in many cases (such as seems to be the case with the man in the film we watched on Thursday) it probably is. I don't object terribly strongly to the idea of one doing it anyway, as I do not feel that a person should consistently place their family over their own personal satisfaction, but the idea does seem to clash with a doctrine which advocates selflessness.
However, I can think of certain motivations which would render this choice less selfish. For example, if one has assurance that one's family will remain in good living conditions regardless of what one chooses to do, and one wishes to undergo this quest in order to achieve spiritual enlightenment for the purpose of then passing on one's learnings to others, then it is arguable a relatively selfless decision, particularly if making it causes one some sort of emotional pain. Alternately, if one's family was unpleasant and hostile, then I do not think that abandoning them to live a life of meditation is selfish in the same way as leaving a family who loves one (and who one loves in return) - although it still could be interpreted as selfish in another way, some could argue that living away from hostility is not a selfish choice so much as an inherent right.
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