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This is a disturbingly misguided exercise in Western psychology. If you think that the endless stream of thoughts in your mind is your self, then you have not r
by riskneutral 7y ago
This is a disturbingly misguided exercise in Western psychology. If you think that the endless stream of thoughts in your mind is your self, then you have not realized your true self. When we are day dreaming, we are in a kind of dream, which means we are not awake and not in the present moment. This can be highly destructive, for example if you are constantly day dreaming when you are around your partner or your children, then even though you are physically present you are not really there for them and that can have long term consequences for relationships and development. The way to break the cycle is through meditation.
In his books, the Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh describes a cartoon he saw depicting the Western philosopher Descartes raising one finger in the air and declaring “I think, therefore I am.” In the background a horse is depicted saying, “You think, therefor you are what?” Thich Nhat Hanh goes on to assert that Descartes should have said, “I think too much, and therefore I am not in the present moment.”
- quonn 7y agoDogen might disagree - although you can find him saying just the opposite as well: "Yet, as a manifestation of the functioning of That Which Is Reality, this consciousness is the Absolute Principle of Reality". "If the Buddha Dharma is real, then it follows that a picture of a rice cake must be real as well". „Dreaming and being awake have always been as one and the same, for they are both manifestations of the Truth. And even if the Buddha’s Teaching were a metaphor, it would still be a manifestation of the Truth. And, as already stated, It is not a metaphor. What we create in a dream is the reality of the Buddha’s Teaching.“ For more on this, check out this chapter in particular: https://www.thezensite.com/ZenTeachings/Dogen_Teachings/Shobogenzo/039gabyo.pdf https://www.thezensite.com/ZenTeachings/Dogen_Teachings/Shob... as well as: https://www.thezensite.com/ZenTeachings/Dogen_Teachings/Shobogenzo/037muchuSetsumu.pdf https://www.thezensite.com/ZenTeachings/Dogen_Teachings/Shob...
- adfm 7y agoI’m no Buddhist scholar and think highly of Buddhism, but didn’t Siddhārtha Gautama leave his wife and child on his path to enlightenment? Appreciate the perspective and agree you’re not present when you daydream, but your example might confuse its intended audience. To me, it says, “Do as I say, not as I do.”
- htek 7y agoThe search for great knowledge requires great sacrifice.
- riskneutral 7y agoYes he did, and I am not a scholar either. I will just say that the path is not something to be debated, it is something to be experienced directly.