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" A central technique of mindfulness meditation, after all, is to accept things as they are. " That is a debatable point. From a Buddhist perspective, the goal

" A central technique of mindfulness meditation, after all, is to accept things as they are. " That is a debatable point. From a Buddhist perspective, the goal is not so much to _accept_ things as they are, but to _perceive_ things as they are, which means letting go of your accretions of illusions attached to things. The fundamental mechanism of capitalism is to foster a sense of eternal dissatisfaction with your material state, but Buddhist thinking is directed toward relieving yourself of this, and encouraging the realization that more attachments means more discontent.

bena 8y ago
I think it may be a bit of column a and a bit of column b. Be "mindful" of how things are, accept that they are the way they are, realize that whatever is "now" is just temporary so it doesn't make sense to excessively worry over it.
vokep 8y ago
I agree with the comment about "a bit of column a, a bit of column b" By default we are immersed purely in illusion. I'm sure you have your own mental image of a person who is entirely immersed in the illusions presented by media etc etc. Often these illusions are driven by needs/wants which are interpreted as all being needs. Full Buddhist perspective is that all but the most basic for survival are wants, not needs, but that is at odds with capitalism and the survival of the species. If we don't have some way of technological advancement, we may live happy simple lives, but eventually something cosmic will happen that the species can't handle and thats it. With technology that can change, which is where capitalism comes in. Capitalism reminds that in the bigger picture, there is a need for anything the helps survival. Given that, at least personally what I take away is, capitalism motivates us to do things we don't "need" to do, but may be very important one day. To the extreme, it implies that everything is needed and anything short of perfect may as well be death. The other side of the coin is nice but vulnerable. Together - use mindfulness to stay rational and aware - and pay attention to capitalism to understand and situate yourself into the future. Together they are quite powerful - I feel I live a pretty happy life enjoying the benefits of both. TL;DR stress motivates, but sucks. mindfulness is good but doesn't build the future. together in the right balance they're amazingly powerful

bena 8y ago

I think it may be a bit of column a and a bit of column b. Be "mindful" of how things are, accept that they are the way they are, realize that whatever is "now" is just temporary so it doesn't make sense to excessively worry over it.

vokep 8y ago

I agree with the comment about "a bit of column a, a bit of column b" By default we are immersed purely in illusion. I'm sure you have your own mental image of a person who is entirely immersed in the illusions presented by media etc etc. Often these illusions are driven by needs/wants which are interpreted as all being needs. Full Buddhist perspective is that all but the most basic for survival are wants, not needs, but that is at odds with capitalism and the survival of the species. If we don't have some way of technological advancement, we may live happy simple lives, but eventually something cosmic will happen that the species can't handle and thats it. With technology that can change, which is where capitalism comes in. Capitalism reminds that in the bigger picture, there is a need for anything the helps survival. Given that, at least personally what I take away is, capitalism motivates us to do things we don't "need" to do, but may be very important one day. To the extreme, it implies that everything is needed and anything short of perfect may as well be death. The other side of the coin is nice but vulnerable. Together - use mindfulness to stay rational and aware - and pay attention to capitalism to understand and situate yourself into the future. Together they are quite powerful - I feel I live a pretty happy life enjoying the benefits of both. TL;DR stress motivates, but sucks. mindfulness is good but doesn't build the future. together in the right balance they're amazingly powerful