Reading today: Contemplative Prayer by Merton, and Black Swan by Nassim Taleb. Have I mentioned that I love Taleb's writing? Very entertaining and he covers the subject of unknown unknowns to a degree that I've not seen done anywhere else.
I think cold showers are perhaps the best thing I've done for myself in a long time. The ability to withstand small systemic shocks (such as the discomfort of a splash of cold water) is perhaps one of the most useful skills to have in life. Am I afraid of being cold for a minute? Do I hesitate? Can I push through it? Is it as bad as I think it will be? The whole lesson is within the activity itself which brings me to another case of that.
Buddhism. Yes, those of you that know me, we've tread this ground before, but now I see it with new eyes. First we'll have to look at the four noble truths:
1. there is suffering(dukkha.: stain/pain/suffering)
2. there is origin of suffering. (our own actions, mental and physical)
3. there is cessation of suffering (all suffering that has an origin has an end)
4. there is a path to the cessation of suffering (see the problem, see the origin, see the end-- the path is the linkage between these, and also the conclusion of truths 1 to 3.)
The thing that feels completely obvious to me now, that was not before is that the system of Buddhism only addresses suffering that can be changed by actions. This lines up with something I read elsewhere, which is that in terms of life satisfaction 50% is genetics, 10% is environment, and 40% is our own actions. Buddhism's methods care primarily about that 40%. Is it not said: do good, don't do evil, train the mind?
I do not think that the buddhist path can be fully attended to by someone who has many things on their mind, or many possessions (see: strings of sensuality) that tie them to the world. If objects lead to identity formation, then fewer objects, and fewer variations between objects, should lead to a firmer sense of identity right? And yes, I'm referring to self-construct here, or the construction of self. (I know, I know, all the stuff about 'no-self.' That's useful in some cases, and being able to fabricate a sturdy identity is useful in others: which is where I'm at right now. Trying to deconstruct and reconstruct my own life.)
Do note that I said: 'fully attended.' Buddhism is still for anyone who wants it, to the degree that they choose to embrace it. In my current thought, I view Buddhism mainly as an extensive form of Dialectics in the sense of discourse, the dialectic method: except that instead of debating with external people, it's about what I tell myself about things, especially past or future events.
Do I think something coming up will be really good? Well, maybe it will be terrible. How can I know? Predictions are very useless the further away the date of an event is from my current point in time. I can make ok predictions about myself, today, tomorrow maybe. But past this it all starts crumbling: the world has far too many parts. It is inconstant, constantly shifting and whirling. This basic idea of thought-counter-thought-- anything can be a good idea or a bad idea, right? So thoughts of the past and future end up being... only very marginally useful.
I can't go forward, or back-- and I can't stay still. So what is there to do? Forget about movement, about where I'm going. I can be here now, or thinking of the future or past. There is a relevant bit in Ecclesiasties, about 'whatever your hands find to do, do it with all your might.' and 'eat, drink and be merry. This is nothing, and we're all going to die.' At this time, I can think these thoughts and strangely, unlike in the past, the idea doesn't make me depressed.
Unfortunately, I'm out of typing time. Or perhaps fortunately, as I've gone all over the place this time. >.<
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