A Ramble About The Middle Path

I recently read in a pamphlet I received from a Four Square church I recently visited that, “Moderation: We believe the experience and daily walk of the believer should never lead him into extremes of fanaticism.” I find it intriguing that this same church also disseminated a pamphlet, written by the pastor of that church, about how regular and cheerful tithing was just as important as Holy Communion in God's redemptive plan, and was the key to wealth, promotions, higher positions, etc.

Moderation can be defined as “not too much, and not too little.” It is somewhere in the middle between extremes. It can also be called the Middle Path. Immoderation, going to extremes of either too much or too little can be harmful in many, many things. The person who comes to my mind in speaking about moderation, or “the Middle Path” is Gautama Siddharta, or the Buddha.

The Buddha, Gautama Siddharta, said,

“The Tathagata … does not seek salvation in austerities, but neither does he for that reason indulge in worldly pleasures, nor live in abundance. The Tathagata has found the middle path.
“There are two extremes, O bhikkus, which the man who has given up the world ought not to follow—the habitual practice, on the one hand, of self-indulgence which is unworthy, vain and fit only for the worldly minded—and the habitual practice, on the other hand, of self-mortification, which is painful, useless and unprofitable.
“Niether abstinence from fish and flesh, nor going naked, nor shaving the head, nor wearing matted hair, nor dressing in a rough garment, nor covering oneself with dirt, nor sacrificing to Agni, will cleanse a man who is not free from delusions. Reading the Vedas, making offerings to priests, or sacrifices to the gods, self-mortification by heat or cold, and many such penances performed for the sake of immortality, these do not cleanse the man who is not free from delusions. Anger, drunkenness, obstinacy, bigotry, deception, envy, self-praise, disparaging others, superciliousness and evil intentions constitute uncleanness; not verily the eating of flesh.
“A middle path, O bhikkhus, avoiding the two extremes, has been discovered by the Tathgata—a path which opens the eyes, and bestows understanding, which leads to peace of mind, to the higher wisdom, to full enlightenment, to Nirvana! … By suffering, the emaciated devotee produces confusion and sickly thoughts in his mind. Mortification is not conducive even to worldly knowledge; how much less to a triumph over the senses! …
“And how can any one be free from self by leading a wretched life, if he does not succeed in quenching the fires of lust, if he still hankers after either worldly or heavenly pleasures? But he in whom self has become extinct is free from lust; he will desire neither worldly nor heavenly pleasures, and the satisfaction of his natural wants will not defile him. However, let him be moderate, let him eat and drink according to the need of the body.
“Sensuality is enervating; the self-indulgent man is a slave to his passions, and pleasure-seeking is degrading and vulgar. But to satisfy the necessities of life is not evil. To keep the body in good health is a duty, for otherwise we shall not be able to trim the lamp of wisdom, and keep our minds strong and clear. Water surrounds the lotus-flower, but does not wet its petals. This is the middle path, O bhikkhus, that keeps aloof from both extremes.” (“Gospel of Buddha,” Paul Carus)

In another place, he talks about his experience hearing a musician teaching his apprentice on how to tune a stringed instrument. If you make the string too tight, it will snap, and if you make it too loose, it will not play. You have to find the right point in between the two opposite extremes or the instrument simply will not play right, if at all. I've watched my wife tune her guitar several times. I've also heard her guitar when it's not tuned. Often, she has to use an electronic tuner to tell her when a string is in tune, and when it isn't, because she can't always discern it herself by ear, but it is very apparent when she tries to play it.

The Middle Path is the point between all opposite extremes. If you can imagine a number line, in one direction it heads off into the positive numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, etc. stretching into infinity. In the other direction it heads off into the negative numbers -1, -2, -3, -4, etc. stretching into infinity. Right in the middle between these two infinities lies the number “0”. It is the inverse image of infinity and the only other number which shares many of the mathematical properties of infinity without being infinity. Furthermore, any deviation from zero results in a spiral towards either infinite accumulation or infinite debt. The Middle Path is like zero. It is the only point in between either extreme which doesn't lead to excesses. It is the zero point. The still point. The point at which all action or reaction, all motion, ceases. This brings to mind God who is Himself motionless and stationary in reference to both time and space which pass through Him.

“Be still and know that I am God.” However often this saying from the Psalms is taken out of context by New Agers, there is a timeless truth and instruction for us about the Middle Path. To be still is to rest from all motion. We are creatures of motion. It is in our nature to move because we move naturally through time and space. But God as He is is the opposite. We move through Him and encounter His involvement in our lives through our natural motion in time and space, but to draw closer to Him as He is, we must draw back and be still. We must counter our natural instinct to move and act with non-motion. It is not doing nothing, but it is a deliberate and concentrated effort to keep from engaging in actions which would begin our spiral to the right hand or to the left, towards infinite debt or infinite accumulation. It is keeping from engaging in anything which would distract us from Him, the One who does not change, because change implies motion and vice versa.

Seeking to acquire more wealth, a better job, to achieve greater self-esteem; this is all motion. It draws us away from the center, the Middle, the Zero Point. Engaging in sensual pleasure of any kind is motion. In the same way, starving yourself, beating yourself, going to extremes to punish yourself, this is also motion. It is motion in the opposite direction, but it is still motion. Anything we do with our self or selfish interests as the cause is motion away from the Middle.

More than anyone else, we who profess to follow Jesus Christ should be seeking the Middle Path, the point between all opposite extremes. We should be ready to use and be thankful for what God gives, but not cling to it and seek to acquire more. We should take care of our bodies as though we were caring for a broken arm or a wound we are trying to get to heal, but we should not let our bodies' desires consume us and distract us from our goal. As Jesus taught, we should cut off every addiction which tempts us away from the Eternal Life which is union with God himself, even as we must still live until God says otherwise.

The Path of Jesus Christ walks a fine, razor sharp line that if we go to the right or the left we step off the path. We know when we are in the Middle, at the Zero Point, when we cease from motion towards ourselves, be it positive or negative.