I will say that I've had an unbelievably great life.
So when I hear someone at odds with enjoying life it bothers me.
Recently some country is moving to take a really strong stance on people using a smokable herb. It makes me REALLY angry...and not because I need to smoke it, but I had an unbelievably good life with Mary.
I studied philosophy with excellence.
It's ok and right for people to enjoy their lives, but somehow seeking wisdom, hopefully.
Sometimes your rants about your disappointments are like a release therapy...and I bear them with you...even though it's like, ok, yeah, I got it already ... <3
Oh, I wasn't aware that I was ranting. My purpose was in giving people something to relate to, in order to awaken. It's an important point to help people deal with disappointments in life. I hear from many people who are dealing with very serious tragedy and trauma. My point is to help them by sharing what I did with my own trauma.
As a side note, someone very close to me just couldn't understand why I had become a Buddhist. I said, "well, we all suffer, even if we are living a very enjoyable life, we suffer. Everything is temporary; and, when all these enjoyable things come to an end, we have big problems. We need to learn how to prepare for that inevitability." He laughed and said that he never suffers. In the weeks and months leading to his death, I watched someone very unprepared for death, suffering like I've never seen anyone suffer. I stayed with him while he was in the hospital and later in hospice. He was very angry at everyone. There was nothing I could do, it was too late.
Of course wisdom and enjoyment are not a problem. What is a problem is when anything keeps us from awakening. Pleasure is a really powerful demon, mainly because we seek more pleasure, rather than committing ourselves to awakening. This is why it is said that it is not really a blessing to be born in the God Realm, because the pleasure is so great that gods forget how important awakening really is. When they are reborn in the Hell Realm, then they are very angry about what just happened. The Human Realm is the best place to be, because pleasure is more obviously temporary, we're not so stupid like an animal, we have many reasons appearing for us to awaken.
Philosophy is a good thing, except all philosophies fail at some point. We have to learn how to get beyond conceptual thinking in order to awaken. Our beliefs, our concepts, all of them, are also demons we must learn to get past. If you realize the Nature of Mind, then you no longer find yourself attached to concept and belief. Everything becomes good. We are no longer judging everything as good and bad, and we actually gain freedom from the constraints of mind.
I sought after 2 Ultimate things since childhood:
1. Wisdom (in the face of death)
2. Enjoyment (in the face of death)
I will say that I've had an unbelievably great life.
So when I hear someone at odds with enjoying life it bothers me.
Recently some country is moving to take a really strong stance on people using a smokable herb. It makes me REALLY angry...and not because I need to smoke it, but I had an unbelievably good life with Mary.
I studied philosophy with excellence.
It's ok and right for people to enjoy their lives, but somehow seeking wisdom, hopefully.
I will definitely hear you out...
Sometimes your rants about your disappointments are like a release therapy...and I bear them with you...even though it's like, ok, yeah, I got it already ... <3
Oh, I wasn't aware that I was ranting. My purpose was in giving people something to relate to, in order to awaken. It's an important point to help people deal with disappointments in life. I hear from many people who are dealing with very serious tragedy and trauma. My point is to help them by sharing what I did with my own trauma.
As a side note, someone very close to me just couldn't understand why I had become a Buddhist. I said, "well, we all suffer, even if we are living a very enjoyable life, we suffer. Everything is temporary; and, when all these enjoyable things come to an end, we have big problems. We need to learn how to prepare for that inevitability." He laughed and said that he never suffers. In the weeks and months leading to his death, I watched someone very unprepared for death, suffering like I've never seen anyone suffer. I stayed with him while he was in the hospital and later in hospice. He was very angry at everyone. There was nothing I could do, it was too late.
Of course wisdom and enjoyment are not a problem. What is a problem is when anything keeps us from awakening. Pleasure is a really powerful demon, mainly because we seek more pleasure, rather than committing ourselves to awakening. This is why it is said that it is not really a blessing to be born in the God Realm, because the pleasure is so great that gods forget how important awakening really is. When they are reborn in the Hell Realm, then they are very angry about what just happened. The Human Realm is the best place to be, because pleasure is more obviously temporary, we're not so stupid like an animal, we have many reasons appearing for us to awaken.
Philosophy is a good thing, except all philosophies fail at some point. We have to learn how to get beyond conceptual thinking in order to awaken. Our beliefs, our concepts, all of them, are also demons we must learn to get past. If you realize the Nature of Mind, then you no longer find yourself attached to concept and belief. Everything becomes good. We are no longer judging everything as good and bad, and we actually gain freedom from the constraints of mind.