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A Buddhist monk confronts Japan’s suicide culture (2013)

newyorker.com

171–180 of 183 posts

Re: A Buddhist monk confronts Japan’s suicide culture (2013)

#171

i used to struggle a lot with suicidal thoughts. i kept wanting to get out from the loneliness and general sense of "well what's the point? nothing i do really matters". i felt like the world was broken and alternated between trying to enjoy myself as much as i could, and wishing i could make things better. what helped me finally move past this was repeatedly trying and failing to kill myself. always someone would co…

You're not alone. I happen to subscribe to the same fanciful notion myself, even though it is in no way rational.

I've had about 3 or 4 serious suicide attempts before, and a number of smaller ones. Even in the more serious attempts, the ones that landed me in critical care, necessitated blood transfusions, etc., in the end i'd always wake up. I'd black out, and then always wake up in the hospital, someone having found me in time by chance and such.

Based on sparse personal evidence, probably a bit of narcissism, possibly mild psychosis, and survivorship bias, i have concluded i am possibly immortal, at least to myself, and that life-ending attempts might be pointless, or at the very least i should be very careful in the future to limit injury in the case of my surviving.

Not sure where aging would fit into that cosmology, at least that which i have experienced for myself, or what would happen if i do become frail from old age. Old age and death for others could be explained by timelines diverging, but for myself i have no idea. I'm open to suggestions though! ;-) I still think everyone is real, just that you and everyone else exist in your own realities and timelines that converge and diverge from my own based on positive and negative personal affinities and orbits.

I don't know if you have experienced this for yourself, but my conclusions on personal realities, timelines, and affinities were partly based on qualitative experiences of convergence and divergence in my own universe. People already seemingly closely aligned to me enter my personal life and sphere by chance, and often only become more and more closely aligned the longer they stay, while they influence me as well. Divergent individuals exit just as randomly yet commonly, or stay at the periphery.

Synchronicity seems to be a strong signal of some kind, one which ebbs and flows, surrounding strong events and turning points like a force field.

Full voluntary disclosure necessitates me telling you i've been deemed ill and delusional in a clinical environment quite a few times, even though to me it was merely for making obvious connections and inferences establishment types seemed to deliberately neglect making, to preserve their own seeming sanity, sense of self, and sense of place.

I'm more measured and careful about how much i let ride on any non-grounded inferences and notions i have, and you might want to do the same (if you don't already!) It's important to validate common notions of reality in public or during interactions, and only deviate in ways that won't put you at odds with other people you wish to keep in your life, and also don't threaten your own safety, any standing you wish to preserve, legality, etc.

Psychologists often call this "double bookkeeping", but for those of us who still happen to believe judged-delusional personal notions still have a good chance of being true, it's simply a compromise and a necessary one to be able to navigate safely in the world.

A cautionary tale on the dangers of lack of "insight", as perceived from this timeline:

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2011/05/30/god-knows-where...

And the always entertaining, Was Jesus Bipolar?:

http://thoughtcatalog.com/anonymous/2013/05/was-jesus-bipola...

Diverging from expectations doesn't mean you don't have good ideas, or maybe know some deeper truths, though you should always be aware of how others do / are going to perceive you.

Re: A Buddhist monk confronts Japan’s suicide culture (2013)

#172

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My wife is Japanese (born and raised there) and she does not look at it that way. She says people who commit suicide are losers can't apologize properly and work hard to make up for their mistake, or people who don't have the guts to weather through the hard times. Also, the whole samurai/bushido thing essentially doesn't exist for anyone under fifty over there. I went to Japan with my family in January, and I had a…

She says people who commit suicide are losers can't apologize properly and work hard to make up for their mistake, or people who don't have the guts to weather through the hard times. Charming attitude. I doubt that many suicidal people have anything much to atone for, more likely they had some horrible things done to them or are just wired in a way that makes them deeply unhappy. I don't see suicide as brave or cowa…

Teenagers bullied into suicide must have a whole lot of serious stuff to apologize for, to kill themselves so early on! /s

Re: A Buddhist monk confronts Japan’s suicide culture (2013)

#173
post #169
post #168

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If I had believed what you are saying, I'd be dead. Would not have been worth pushing through what I went through. Just sayin'.

Fair enough, religion has had a use for you - many religions clearly have a use for many people. But that doesn't make what you believe in objectively real.

Agreed, which is why it is referred to as faith. I have examined the evidence surrounding the Christian claim that Jesus Christ was and is God and that He rose from the dead, but that does not constitute proof. It is, however, evidence and something that each person will need to weight and decided for themselves.

I respect a person's right to believe whatever they want, all I ask is they respect my right to believe whatever I want as well. Seems like you and I are doing that, and I really do appreciate what you are saying, and especially in the way you are saying it. Cheers :)

Re: A Buddhist monk confronts Japan’s suicide culture (2013)

#174
post #165
post #88

I was suicidal for an extended period of time many years ago. Doctors weren't sure what was wrong. The hospital emergency ward gave me clonazepam and ativan, but that was only a band-aid, and didn't help long term. Although I wanted to die, my fear of death and an eternity in the Lake of Fire was a far greater fear (Revelation 21:8). I'm not asking you to believe what I do. I'm just relaying what I went through, and…

Revelations 21:8 (King James Version)> But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. It mentions sorcerers, other versions of the bible mention practitioners of magic. So basically most people who read HN are condemned to the Lake of…

Uh... yeah. Jesus Christ has been mischaracterized as someone who talks exclusively about peace and love, yet the most terrifying words (I think) ever written are in the seventh chapter of the Book of Matthew.

Here's a snippet: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+7%3A13-...

Re: A Buddhist monk confronts Japan’s suicide culture (2013)

#175
post #141
post #120

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Yeah, but how many folk tales do you know of have our calendar measured after the life of one man? 2014 AD or more fully "Anno Domini Nostri Iesu Christi". How many of those tales give you a single point of failure, that if you can explain away one point then internally the whole belief system collapses? ( http://bit.ly/1uNpRwT with a modern explanation at http://www.reasonablefaith.org/the-resurrection-of-jesus ) Se…

The answer to each of those questions is rather a lot. The lack of knowledge of other belief systems here is utterly stunning. Did you really just put all your faith in the very first religion that you randomly happened to be exposed to, and not consider any others at all?

Heh. No :) Remember that my main point here was simply an experience I had facing suicidal. I came to faith in Christ back in my early 20's after thrashing and lashing out severely at many different faiths. My illness came to bear back in my 30's, and it is my belief that what happened in my 20's saved my life in my 30's.

Now I'm in my 40's. I have a phrase that I use a lot. I respect a person's right to believe whatever they want, all I ask is they respect my right to believe whatever I want.

Re: A Buddhist monk confronts Japan’s suicide culture (2013)

#176
post #157

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Really? I've written guidance code. A missile that doesn't go where you point it is a deadweight loss; while it might be best if they weren't fired at all, it's better they hit their intended targets than random (probably civilian) victims.

Absolutely, but If no one could reliably aim their bombs, would they fire them?

Probably. The V2s couldn't hit a smaller target than "London", so that's where they fired them.

Re: A Buddhist monk confronts Japan’s suicide culture (2013)

#177
post #117

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Sounds like you and I have had different faith experiences. I didn't grow up with it as a kid, so all of what I know I've had to discover as an adult. As far as mockers and fools, you only have to look as far as the comment section of YouTube to find a whole plethora of them. If the Internet had been around when I was growing up, I would have been right there among them.

I grew up with it as a child but I went back and forth with it when I decided to stop caring too much over it and accept it as something that is good, in itself. The problems with people are always going to be more fundamental than what religion they attach themselves to. This has always been my experience, and it seems consistent all the time.

I've mostly observed that in technical circles (ie: Vim vs Emacs vs flavour of the month). I don't think it's a religion thing. I think it's a people thing.

Re: A Buddhist monk confronts Japan’s suicide culture (2013)

#178
post #108
post #97

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I often wonder why so many people like Fight Club so much (seriously). I mean, a bunch of my friends think it's the greatest thing, and repeat some of the cra..., I mean, some of the lines all the time (not really, but anything annoying that gets repeated starts to look like it's all of the time). All that fascist streak doesn't even get noticed, and I get confused looks when I mention it. Weird.

Because it's a Good Movie. Seriously. I disagree with it on almost every level from the superficial to profound (not quite all, but even what agreement I have is mostly the identification of problems where I think the solutions are wrong, and yes, I realize the film is not necessarily directly advocating for everything it presents), but it's a hell of a good ride, the twist is well done, and it has an energy that kee…

Yeah, I liked it too. It was a good movie. But notice I was complaining that my friends liked it way too much. To me it was a good movie, and the twist was good too, but, for example, two people I know got fight club tattoos on them.

Re: A Buddhist monk confronts Japan’s suicide culture (2013)

#179
post #164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Socrates was sentenced to death and chose to accept the judgment of the law and drink the poison himself rather than escape (or, I guess, force an executioner to become more directly involved). That hardly counts as suicide.

He could have left. But he decided to take the "honorable" path instead. Because someone suggests you kill yourself doesn't make it any less killing yourself. This applies to ancient Japan as well. That was my point. The custom of "honorable suicide" wasn't confined to ancient Japan.

A death sentence isn't exactly a "suggestion", and by "he could have left" you mean "he could have escaped but chose not to". (I believe this is the premise of Crito).

Re: A Buddhist monk confronts Japan’s suicide culture (2013)

#180
post #164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He could have left. But he decided to take the "honorable" path instead. Because someone suggests you kill yourself doesn't make it any less killing yourself. This applies to ancient Japan as well. That was my point. The custom of "honorable suicide" wasn't confined to ancient Japan.

A death sentence isn't exactly a "suggestion", and by "he could have left" you mean "he could have escaped but chose not to". (I believe this is the premise of Crito ).

Not to beat a dead horse... but he drank the poison. He wasn't killed, he took his own life. There was an alternative in which he lived, but which he refused.

But all this is getting off the point. Honorable suicide was a custom in more than ancient Japan.

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