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metaphysics is one of the best games in town for we are all at a existential disposition. and buddhism holds it's own: not only does it have a powerful and cred
by 50 3y ago
metaphysics is one of the best games in town for we are all at a existential disposition. and buddhism holds it's own: not only does it have a powerful and credible metaphysics but a well-grounded epistemology and ethics which has inspired many from bashō to schopenhauer. nāgārjuna, dōgen, niguma, bodhidharma, to name a few, are on par with the manifestations of jc, laozi, and ramakrishna
if only assimilation came easily! unfortunately in modernity, we are cursed with reducing our psyche to a smooth glossy surface where everything just slides off and nothing is taken in and allowed to reshape us
but buddhism brings forth countless of interesting questions, e.g., paraphrasing žižek: not can we really break out of this wheel of desire into the primordial peace of nirvana but how did this primordial peace get disturbed in the first place? how did appearances emerge? or rather, is there a deeper tension in nirvana itself of infinite self-contradiction?
otherwise, i assume, like many people in the west, i was introduced to buddhism via alan watts when i was an early teenager
- nerdyadventurer 3y ago> but buddhism brings forth countless of interesting questions, e.g., paraphrasing žižek: not can we really break out of this wheel of desire into the primordial peace of nirvana but how did this primordial peace get disturbed in the first place? how did appearances emerge? or rather, is there a deeper tension in nirvana itself of infinite self-contradiction? I am not proficient enough to answer this question, but I'll explain my thinking. what you are thinking is similar to chicken, egg problem or how the universe came to bee in the first place. I think world is what it is due to it nature and there are principles in the universe which governs how it operates. But I think it is better question to ask is "Does Buddhist teachings bring pieces to the world? ex: does following five precepts establish piece in the world?" For me the answer is yes. And answer to this question is within our reach, unlike beginning of the world. If your answer to previous question is yes, then you can ask more questions based from that ex: "4th of five precepts ask you to refrain from lying, if you experience and seeing not lying is good, then you can trust other Dhamma pieces by sitting on the foundation of truth" Yes there can be misinterpretations, lies said about Buddhism by people but use your wisdom to filter those incorrect teachings. And you may also be able find out how the universe came to be when your mind reach higher levels, but questioning those things at lower levels is fruitless in MHO, since we would not be able to grasp it at lower levels.
- 50 3y ago> questioning those things at lower levels is fruitless in MHO, since we would not be able to grasp it at lower levels rings true