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You've fallen into the classic trap: Buddhism does not espouse nihilism (the negation of all things), Buddhism simply asserts that what you think is your real

by gacba 15y ago

You've fallen into the classic trap: Buddhism does not espouse nihilism (the negation of all things), Buddhism simply asserts that what you think is your reality, isn't. That's not to say that NOTHING is real or that you don't experience something, it's to say what you put stock in is very much not worth doing so.

ianterrell 15y ago
No. My statement was short, but that's not what I said at all. And while I'm not an expert, I've read extensively on the subject (20 books?), am actually quite familiar with and fond of eastern ways of thought, and am well aware of common misconceptions. My main point, though, is in striving to be desire-free. (To the adept, this is an upaya, a clever means of potentially pointing out the truth, not the truth itself. However, it's an oft used one.) In the case of this article, being desire-free is translated into being expectation-free. They're the same idea to the author. I'm not discussing what reality is here, or what it is not, but am looking at the idea that desire causes suffering. I've imagined this phrased as a set of coefficients indicating quantity for all desires in the world, i.e. x1 is how much you have desire d1: x1 * d1 + x2 * d2 + ... = Suffering In the classic Buddhist disciplines, one eliminates desire (whether as an end goal or upaya is up to you to decide, or more appropriately, ignore). To phrase it again as math, it's the trivial solution to the equation above: 0 * d1 + 0 * d2 + ... = No Suffering My hypothesis is that the coefficients need not be 0 to find a non-suffering answer. (And, in fact, I do believe that's what Buddhism teaches, or shows, eventually. But all of the above holds.)
- jdp23 15y ago
  It's a lot more complex than that. Check out Lama Yeshe's Introduction to Tantra: Transformation of Desire -- http://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Tantra-Lama-Thubten-Yeshe/dp/0861711629 http://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Tantra-Lama-Thubten-Yeshe...
  - deleted 15y ago
    [deleted]
- gacba 15y ago
  Since you pointed out that you've read lots of books, I assume that means you haven't actually practiced under a teacher's guidance. Reading about riding a bike is a far cry for actually doing so. As a practicing Buddhist for a decade, having attending multiple retreats including a 30-day one, this statement right here indicates the flaw in your argument: In the classic Buddhist disciplines, one eliminates desire Actually, Buddhism is about being OK with the desire, but the idea isn't to become some robotic zombie walking around. That's a classic mistake. Buddhism DOES talk about the ability to first limit and later eliminate your REACTIONS to desires, but never the desires themselves. They will always arise, no matter whether you're enlightened or not. It's a question of whether you respond to those arisings.

by gacba 15y ago

ianterrell 15y ago

No. My statement was short, but that's not what I said at all. And while I'm not an expert, I've read extensively on the subject (20 books?), am actually quite familiar with and fond of eastern ways of thought, and am well aware of common misconceptions. My main point, though, is in striving to be desire-free. (To the adept, this is an upaya, a clever means of potentially pointing out the truth, not the truth itself. However, it's an oft used one.) In the case of this article, being desire-free is translated into being expectation-free. They're the same idea to the author. I'm not discussing what reality is here, or what it is not, but am looking at the idea that desire causes suffering. I've imagined this phrased as a set of coefficients indicating quantity for all desires in the world, i.e. x1 is how much you have desire d1: x1 * d1 + x2 * d2 + ... = Suffering In the classic Buddhist disciplines, one eliminates desire (whether as an end goal or upaya is up to you to decide, or more appropriately, ignore). To phrase it again as math, it's the trivial solution to the equation above: 0 * d1 + 0 * d2 + ... = No Suffering My hypothesis is that the coefficients need not be 0 to find a non-suffering answer. (And, in fact, I do believe that's what Buddhism teaches, or shows, eventually. But all of the above holds.)

jdp23 15y ago
It's a lot more complex than that. Check out Lama Yeshe's Introduction to Tantra: Transformation of Desire -- http://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Tantra-Lama-Thubten-Yeshe/dp/0861711629 http://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Tantra-Lama-Thubten-Yeshe...
- deleted 15y ago
  [deleted]
gacba 15y ago
Since you pointed out that you've read lots of books, I assume that means you haven't actually practiced under a teacher's guidance. Reading about riding a bike is a far cry for actually doing so. As a practicing Buddhist for a decade, having attending multiple retreats including a 30-day one, this statement right here indicates the flaw in your argument: In the classic Buddhist disciplines, one eliminates desire Actually, Buddhism is about being OK with the desire, but the idea isn't to become some robotic zombie walking around. That's a classic mistake. Buddhism DOES talk about the ability to first limit and later eliminate your REACTIONS to desires, but never the desires themselves. They will always arise, no matter whether you're enlightened or not. It's a question of whether you respond to those arisings.