Mirage, I don't understand your question. Can you clarify it?

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May your awareness be perfection

The link to the wiki has a summary of a story about a place called Omelas. I think if you read the summary, you will understand what I am asking. I am wondering what you would do if you lived there. What would be the right thing to do?

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"For small creatures such as we the vastness is bearable only through love."
- Carl Sagan

I did read it. I just did not understand from what perspective you wanted me to answer: If I was one of the adults I would wash the child if it bothered me and rejoice. If I was the child I would take a bath if I felt filthy and rejoice. If I didn't feel filthy I would do nothing but rejoice with everyone else.

How do we know what the "right" thing is to do, when we continue to look through the eyes of judgment?

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May your awareness be perfection

You may not wash the child. "The terms are strict and absolute: there may not even be a kind word spoken to the child." Upon this one thing does the joy of Omelas depend.

The child cannot take a bath and rejoice. The child is locked in a room, a closet, just 2 paces by 3 paces with just two mops and a bucket. It is never let out. The only light seeps from under the door. The child is fed half a cup of corn meal and grease a day. That is all. It sits in its own excrement.

All of the people of Omelas know of the child. All of the people of Omelas know that their own happiness depends on the child's suffering. If they do anything to help, even a kind word, their own happiness will end.

And so they do nothing. And a few, just a few, leave and never come back.

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evangelicalhumanist: Greek "eu"=good and "angelos"=messenger. Spreading the good news of Humanism.

Mirage and E.H.
I'd free the child, even if it meant to risk my own happiness. I could not walk away nor stay, in awareness of this happening.

What would you do?

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May your awareness be perfection

I may answer what I would do later (it would take too long here), but for now, I have to ask you why you would free the child? Why could you not walk away or be content in awareness of what's happening. After all, you yourself said in this thread:
Surely, in order for you to want to do something, you must have judged this situation as intolerable. Wouldn't it be better, in your own words, to simply not see this as either good or bad, but just as it is? Then you would be free from any vicarious suffering on behalf of the child. Whatever it is that is happening, why should it disturb your state of peace?

And besides, you must remember that if you free the child, you are not affecting only yourself, but every other citizen of omelas, since they will all suffer, not just you. Will you take them into account?

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evangelicalhumanist: Greek "eu"=good and "angelos"=messenger. Spreading the good news of Humanism.

Mirage posted an interesting reference and question yesterday, and it deserves a thread of its own, because I think it speaks to a great many themes that regularly appear here at IFF.

While talking about suffering, Mirage mentioned a short story written by Ursula K. Le Guin, called "The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas." The text of the story can be read here, or a brief overview of it can be read on Wikipedia.

Mirage's question was "what should we do if we happened to live in Omelas?"

I have moved a number of threads that pertain directly to this question to this thread (I hope that everyone is okay with that). I should be interested in a more fully-developed discussion, if anyone would care to read the story and participate. There are some important themes here.

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evangelicalhumanist: Greek "eu"=good and "angelos"=messenger. Spreading the good news of Humanism.

I will have to give this some thought. My first impression is that just as Omelas is Salem O backwards, so is the thinking of the people of Omelas. True joy and happiness is obtained by bestowing joy and caring onto others. They need to learn how to see reality rather than mirror images. This is common to many of us. Rather than rejoicing for others we think we will feel better if we downgrade others. This is a story of the sacrificial lamb, the crucified hero, etc. There are things within each of us that have to die in order to find wholeness, however some think something outer has to be sacrificed. That is avoidance and laziness.

So, how do we solve this? We stop torturing our inner child. We allow the inner child to thrive and be happy.

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E.H.
Every person that comes to me, is helped. Do I risk one life to save five? No. Do I turn my back on those that are suffering? No. No matter what, their experience is real to them. As every experience is real. It's an experience. Does it have to become my experience, just because I have compassion with those suffering? No. I would not be able to help them then at all. All action is in Love and Love is action...the only action that is Real.

You seem to think that action requires judgment. I cook every day for my family. Do I think it is good that I cook? No. Do I think it is bad if I don't cook? No. My being is not depended on taking action. I am action.

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May your awareness be perfection

I see what EH is asking you. I don't think you can compare cooking dinner to helping someone who is suffering. However to cook dinner means we have made a predetermined judgement that people need to eat to survive. In order to determine if someone is suffering you have to make a judgement. To not make a judgment would mean you might help someone who isn't suffering. Just the act of helping someone means you have made a judgement that they need help.

I thought compassion meant to suffer with. I am wondering if you can have compassion if you aren't in effect experiencing what the other person is experiencing.

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