The sound of one hand clapping is the sound of one hand clapping. How can that be wrong?
Because the answer is not supposed to be conceptual.
“Be neither pleased nor concerned over that which you do and do not desire…and know that these feelings are created only in the mind.”
I am not at war with myself, but it’s like the quote above says that these feelings are created by you. That what you do or don’t want is just made up by you. That your wants and dislikes are just creations you make up.
And like was mentioned with the huffpost article, that what looks to be a solid human is really just a bunch of little cells, it’s hard to go back to looking at people as whole when you really know they are just parts. That you aren’t interacting with a whole being.
That your wants and dislikes are just creations you make up.
As human beings we create things. Our bodies grow hair, we expel oxygen, sound comes out of our mouths. Those are creations from us. Also our brains create thoughts. We don’t understand exactly how that happens. Then, we do this thing called making up stories. We understand that a little better and we have some control over what stories we make up. Breathing is also something that goes on naturally, but we can also control those muscles sometimes if we want.
Buddhism is about understanding that the natural act of breathing is who we are and the natural act of having feelings and thoughts is who we are. With practice, we can gain a bit of control over those things, but nowhere does Buddhism say you should stop have feelings or that they aren’t real, anymore than it says you should stop breathing. You’re confusing ideas about “what is” and “we are just parts” with complex concepts that we “make up” and concluding that we can control our feelings or ignore them or that we shouldn’t have feelings or we can’t be happy.
Buddhism say you should stop have feelings or that they aren’t real, anymore than it says you should stop breathing. You’re confusing ideas about “what is” and “we are just parts” with complex concepts that we “make up” and concluding that we can control our feelings or ignore them or that we shouldn’t have feelings or we can’t be happy.
Actually it does get at that. The point is to have a clear view of reality unmarred by ignorance. Likes and dislikes must be removed as well, like the browser meditation people say and Buddhism too. To find awe and beauty and other such qualities in life is delusion since such qualities are just a fabrication of the mind.
Your sense of self is also a construct of your mind (constructed of mental behaviors). Anything that you are aware of is a construction of the mind (constructed of mental behaviors, specifically, awareness related behaviors). All of it, the feelings of awe, the recognition of beauty - a construction of mental behaviors.
But mental behaviors take place in private, inside our skin. The only physical properties are the electro-chemical patterns of neurological firings. Still they are physically real occurrences.
Does Buddhism tell you that? (If not, I suggest they are lacking, somewhat, in the enlightenment business.)
This guy describes something very different than what you say. He even warns against indifference. Pretty funny. Apparently other students of Buddhism have made the same mistake you have and masters have given a name to it and teach how to avoid it.
Your sense of self is also a construct of your mind (constructed of mental behaviors). Anything that you are aware of is a construction of the mind (constructed of mental behaviors, specifically, awareness related behaviors). All of it, the feelings of awe, the recognition of beauty – a construction of mental behaviors.
But mental behaviors take place in private, inside our skin. The only physical properties are the electro-chemical patterns of neurological firings. Still they are physically real occurrences.
The video talks about how the self is something that we cannot define, it’s like saying “we can’t see the eye that sees or touch the hand that touches”. I posted it earlier but it bears repeating.
As for the humans being just a bunch of cells, well it’s going to make it hard to see people as “people” again.
Oh yeah, I believe in the power of narratives. On the site about “unplugging from the big story” they said “When we unravel from our persistent self-narratives that shape our realities and avoid the temptation to relocate too quickly into new stories, all stories become available for enquiry.”
Sounds to me like they are encouraging to selectively search for a new narrative that seems best for you. They do NOT seem to be suggesting that you separate forever from any narrative at all.
I realize you meant this for someone else, for someone else’s thing:
“You need to release yourself from the crazy idea that your emotions aren’t ‘real’ because they are not universal. They are absolutely real because you experience them.”
But as a happy accident, it just so happens to be what I needed to hear at the moment, for a totally unrelated thing.
Glad to be of service, regardless of who the help was initially directed towards.
For some reason Xian refuses to acknowledge that what we feel is real.
I suppose that in some philosophical sense one could argue that it isn’t. But we exist and we are real, so our feelings and experiences and thoughts are also real because they’re part of us and can be shared between us. No one can literally hug ‘happiness’ or ‘punch’ anger, but they absolutely exist.
Oh yeah, I believe in the power of narratives. On the site about “unplugging from the big story” they said “When we unravel from our persistent self-narratives that shape our realities and avoid the temptation to relocate too quickly into new stories, all stories become available for enquiry.”
Sounds to me like they are encouraging to selectively search for a new narrative that seems best for you. They do NOT seem to be suggesting that you separate forever from any narrative at all.
