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You are of course entitled to your own personal philosophy, as am I. That doesn't mean I have to silence my disagreement. And in fact I find that "viewpoint" t

by nova 13y ago

You are of course entitled to your own personal philosophy, as am I. That doesn't mean I have to silence my disagreement. And in fact I find that "viewpoint" totally incomprehensible. I can asure you, I loved my mother much, much before cancer killed her at 52. That was not a gift, that was her body malfunctioning and our ignorance about how to fix it. I have no need for death or grief to love or to value life, thank you very much. And I don't keep my mouth shut about this because I worry about the real consequences of that philosophy. At any other moment of human history acceptance of death was perhaps the only sane thing to do, because there was no alternative. But we have now a scientific civilization and we should be fighting it, instead of rationalizing it.

wpietri 13y ago
That's a false dichotomy. We can fight to extend life at the same time we accept death as inevitable. I have a friend who's a very dedicated doctor, and a very dedicated Buddhist. So much so that they're arranging a version of the charnel ground [1] meditation. But rather than sit in an actual charnel ground, my friend has requested photos from the research facilities that study human decomposition. To the average American, that sounds hopelessly morbid. But people practicing it see it as necessary to fully understanding death. And thereby, to understand and appreciate life. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charnel_ground http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charnel_ground
Helianthus 13y ago
>You are of course entitled to your own personal philosophy, as am I. That doesn't mean I have to silence my disagreement. I don't think you are being asked to be silent, I think this is a question of attachment to life yielding suffering through anger. What cannot be changed must be accepted, and to you calm acceptance looks like complacency--to the extent that you insist that _no_ one could be free from your horror at death, and anyone who claims otherwise is subject to 'Stockholm Syndrome.' I seem to hear you saying "Well excuse _me_ for being attached to life." I am of the opinion that attachment to life is readily apparent; of course we are attached to life, that is was it _means_ to live. It's just... death is just a thing. It is. And it is an experience like any other. To appreciate its unique aspects is part of life. Even should we conquer death, we cannot change the fact that death has happened. ...Now, is it insensitive to be talking about death like this in a topic about someone's death? Maybe. But I am confused, somehow, at a violent reaction to a very contemplative perspective on death.

by nova 13y ago

wpietri 13y ago

That's a false dichotomy. We can fight to extend life at the same time we accept death as inevitable. I have a friend who's a very dedicated doctor, and a very dedicated Buddhist. So much so that they're arranging a version of the charnel ground [1] meditation. But rather than sit in an actual charnel ground, my friend has requested photos from the research facilities that study human decomposition. To the average American, that sounds hopelessly morbid. But people practicing it see it as necessary to fully understanding death. And thereby, to understand and appreciate life. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charnel_ground http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charnel_ground

Helianthus 13y ago

>You are of course entitled to your own personal philosophy, as am I. That doesn't mean I have to silence my disagreement. I don't think you are being asked to be silent, I think this is a question of attachment to life yielding suffering through anger. What cannot be changed must be accepted, and to you calm acceptance looks like complacency--to the extent that you insist that _no_ one could be free from your horror at death, and anyone who claims otherwise is subject to 'Stockholm Syndrome.' I seem to hear you saying "Well excuse _me_ for being attached to life." I am of the opinion that attachment to life is readily apparent; of course we are attached to life, that is was it _means_ to live. It's just... death is just a thing. It is. And it is an experience like any other. To appreciate its unique aspects is part of life. Even should we conquer death, we cannot change the fact that death has happened. ...Now, is it insensitive to be talking about death like this in a topic about someone's death? Maybe. But I am confused, somehow, at a violent reaction to a very contemplative perspective on death.