241–250 of 295 posts
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Is there a longer translation that gives more nuance than "suffering"? Often times we settle for less precise words in favor of pithiness/conciseness.
I prefer "unsatisfactoriness" rather than "suffering". "The word is commonly explained as a derivation from Aryan terminology for an axle hole, referring to an axle hole which is not in the center and leads to a bumpy, uncomfortable ride."
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"It’s very easy to confuse the emptiness of self with the nonexistence of self." Yeah, basically you have to realize that the fact you observe all of the normal brain noise is gone does not mean you are gone. You still observe. And most critically, you are not your brain noise, but something beyond that.
Not beyond. Not becoming. The beyond implies a spatial expanse in which one progresses. Becoming implies a temporal expanse in which one progresses. The cessation of these spatiotemporal limits is fundamental to that "state of being" (this phrase itself betrays that). In that sense memory itself creates that time-space substance, because it is through that, that it exists. This is something that is very difficult to…
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When I did the 10 day I found it interesting that on the tapes Goenka told stories about how he interacted with people and gave them detailed advice during their sessions with him. But the retreats that are run in his name are totally cookie cutter and you get no individual advice other than basically just to keep going. When I lived in Maryland I attended classes with Tibetan teachers for a few years and they always…
I have been told that the same thing happened to Goenka himself: he and his peers all got personalised advice, and so his particular body scanning method was what worked for him , while his peers were given other techniques. So the dogma of the Goenka method is based on the assumption that you have the same kind of character as Goenka himself.
Specifically I could not find any recent publications by a Miguel Farias in Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica
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The problem stems from the fact that the initial translations of the Pali Canon to western languages comes from German monks who understood Pali well but could not find appropriate words in western languages to capture the semantics. Mindfulness technique was used for at least 2000-3000 years before Buddha. So words used in the Pali canon have an etymology associated with them that cannot be easily captured in wester…
Do you think there is an advantage in using meditation to achieve a state where you can manage your thoughts, vs other techniques like CBT? It seems to me that most people don’t need the abstract/spiritual concepts like there not being an I, whatever that means. Your comment implies that understanding the abstract concepts is the real point of meditation, and I still don’t see what the benefit of that is - unless it’…
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> meditation is a religious practice specifically aimed at causing ego-death Only very specific types of meditation, at their advanced levels. The kind of meditation the vast majority of people do in the US, for example, has absolutely zero intention of achieving ego-death. Saying meditation is specifically aimed at causing ego-death makes as much as saying running is specifically aimed at qualifying for the Olympics…
intention doesn't have anything to do with mechanism
Reading through the comments I'd like to help clear up some of the misconceptions/confusion when it comes to the use of the terms meditation and mindfulness: There are different meditation practices, mindfulness meditation is a special type of meditation (popular are Headspace, Calm, the work of Jon-Kabat et al. and many more). There are other types of meditation not aiming primarily at mindfulness, popular examples…
The free 10 day vipassana retreats are really quite dangerous IMO. They're often attended by complete beginners with no prior knowledge, since they're free and sort of marketed as a boot camp. The actual instruction is given on decades old tapes and videos. The "instructors" there are given explicit instruction not to advise anyone and just get them to listen to the tapes (which are very much steeped in religious Bud…
That depends on the 'Assistant Teacher' that is running the course. Maybe some are more willing than others to riff on Goenka's teachings, but from what I've seen most ATs have been willing to give their time to the students. I believe, there are actually other ordained 'Teachers' that tour at the Goenka schools, presumably with their own take on things.
> that isn't usually disclosed to people, there isn't much informed consent. The people who are seeking that usually know what they're getting into.
It's right their in the discourses. And though discouraged, students can leave at any time. Also, to be fair, they do ask each student probing questions about mental state, medications etc. before giving permission to enter the course. I stated that I took alcohol at most once a week, and this was enough concern for them to ask me to clarify. The last thing they need during a silent course is someone losing the plot, or going into withdrawls.
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Why are we saying nihilism is bad?
Because it is not conducive to maintaining any kind of organized group of human beings. The idea that "life is meaningless" means that society cannot rely on you, because you'll do whatever strikes your fancy, whatever the consequences. Worse, it is also a philosophy that contributes absolutely nothing to actually understanding the nature of the world, which is kind of the point of philosophy. In short, nihilists are…
That's bad for society. Who said it's bad in itself or wrong?
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> The idea that "life is meaningless" means that society cannot rely on you, because you'll do whatever strikes your fancy, whatever the consequences. How does "life is meaningless" imply "life is useless"? Also, why would nihilism entail radical individualism? The core of nihilism is that since the indifferent universe is without meaning humans have to give it meaning, quite the opposite of what you're implying.
> The core of nihilism is that since the indifferent universe is without meaning humans have to give it meaning. I'm not that familiar with nihilism, but I'm rather surprised that "humans have to give it meaning" is part of the core. That's somewhat non-obvious to me; intuitively I would have expected nihilists to believe that meaning cannot exist. Can you point me toward some sources that say nihilists actually beli…
That's a big part of existentialism (Sartre, Camus, etc), in which life has no inherent meaning, and it's rather empty existence, and it's up to the person to make any meaning for themselves.
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> The core of nihilism is that since the indifferent universe is without meaning humans have to give it meaning. I'm not that familiar with nihilism, but I'm rather surprised that "humans have to give it meaning" is part of the core. That's somewhat non-obvious to me; intuitively I would have expected nihilists to believe that meaning cannot exist. Can you point me toward some sources that say nihilists actually beli…
i question that too what marks humans out from the rest of the meaningless universe that suddenly blesses them as meaning bearers? almost seems to imply some sort of religious idea that humans are not a part of the ubiverse
Just a good-enough-for-you meaning.
>almost seems to imply some sort of religious idea that humans are not a part of the ubiverse
Well, they're not like other parts, in that they have meta-cognition, and a lot of it.
Planets and black holes and ants don't wonder about meaning.