From: Anders Sandberg (asa@nada.kth.se)
Date: Thu Jul 18 2002 - 17:44:37 MDT
On Thu, Jul 18, 2002 at 01:36:41PM -0700, Sehkenenra wrote a very moving
description of his encounters with buddhism. Congratulations! I look
forward to hear your results with your resolutions; even if only half
work out that is still plenty to build on.
Personally I find much to admire in buddhism, but I also disagree with
the fundamental tenet that all is suffering (this is why I enjoy Zen,
which is rather far from this). Just as I see something positive and
downright exuberant in existentialist freedom (unlike most
existentialists :-) I think the real message of buddhism seems to be
"existence is suffering if you feel so, ecstasy if you feel so". As
Chairman Yang put it,
What do I care for your suffering? Pain, even agony is no more
than information to the senses, data fed to the computer of the
mind. The lesson is simple: you have recieved the information,
now act on it. Take control of the imput, and you shall become
master of the output.
Not that he is much of a compassionate buddhist :-) But we can avoid
suffering and achieve pleasure both by controlling the external world
and by controlling the internal world. Suffering is important, but so
is joy. Tranqulity is great, but so is action.
We are subsets of the universe, subsets with internal states shifting
according to our strivings and directing our external actions. Hence our
strivings and actions are the internal strivings and actions of the
universe. In a way we are the mental subprocesses of it. So we better
awake ourselves and the universe in the process of making it greater.
[Ramblings half two in the morning, caffine levels ridiculously high.
YMMV. Right now considering the world to be pure pleasure. ]
-- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Anders Sandberg Towards Ascension! asa@nada.kth.se http://www.nada.kth.se/~asa/ GCS/M/S/O d++ -p+ c++++ !l u+ e++ m++ s+/+ n--- h+/* f+ g+ w++ t+ r+ !y
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