Far From Buddha

[_lauren_]

I still haven't made any progress as far as Buddhism goes. Unfortunately reading about it no longer inspires the desire in me to follow it. There are negative characteristics that have been developing in the past year that I really want to get rid of so I think I'll note them here before they get too big for me to handle and hopefully so that it

Comments

[siegementality]

Do you think that religion/organized philosophy is really going to help you? It seems that things like Taoism, Buddhism, and Christianity are just filters that you feed the world through. If you really want any kind of "enlightenment" you probably just need to accept the world as it really is, and not worry about what ultimately become fantasies. Fantasies you can discard and pick up at your leisure, but reality is always going to be there, ready for you to deal with it. Or really, reality doesn't care if you deal with it or not, it's just there.

[_lauren_]

I'm not sure what you mean about religion being a filter to feed the world through. I do know that religion isn't for everyone though and it may not help you but it does help others who can relate to it (least on a healthy level where they don't take it too far)

One of the reasons why I like Buddhism so much is that it is about accepting the world as it is and not worrying about fantasies. I suppose you're implying my decision to practice Buddhism is a fantasy, sorry if I'm wrong. It might seem like that from an outward perspective but then again sometimes its hard to tell between a person's fantasies and goals. For me Buddhism isn't a fantasy or a phase that I'm going through. I may fail at keeping at it, but its something that I hope to keep with me for the rest of my life.

[siegementality]

What I'm saying that buddhism and other activities like that are fantasies in and of themselves. They are ways of digesting reality in a way that may seem more palatable than eating it raw. It's like having your food chewed for you, which I suppose is fine for children and old people. But then again people's mouths are incredibly dirty, you're going to pick up a disease. What I'm saying is that to be a mature, enlightened person you need to learn to chew your food for yourself, and not try to find easier ways to go about it. Reality can seem ugly, and some people do need others to chew their brains for them, but i doubt you're one of those people. Some people need religion or pseudo-religions to have any kind of control in their lives, and those things might help them, but it isn't because the religion/philosophy has any truth behind it, truth isn't what's important when it comes to that kind of thing, it's the stability they provide that matters. You often sound "lost" in your posts, where you're not content with how you see

[_lauren_]

But you're missing the point. What you are explaining is what Buddhism does. They don't sugar coat things so its easier, they accept things how they are. They eliminate fantastical ways of looking and experiencing the world because they feel the only right way to go about it is to accept it as it is

[_lauren_]

Desire in Buddhism is a complicated thing. I feel like thats the hardest question to answer of all and to an extent you're right. It's complicated because it seems impossible to live without any kind of desire otherwise we couldn't make any decisions at all. A monk wouldn't be able to decide where to sit or in what direction to walk when meditating. In my opinion there are desires that definitely need to be eliminated but there are some, such as wanting to be Buddhist or to become englightened, that are okay to have as long as you are not attached to them. And that is very important. Eliminating attachment and grasping is a high priority in Buddhism because its the attachment that brings about frusturation, anger, unhappiness, etc.

Fortunately you pointing that out has helped me to realize I am attached to my desire to be a successful practicing Buddhist because its upsetting me that I'm failing. So thanks for helping me even if it was unintentional =)

[_lauren_]

Don't worry about that being long. I like seeing people understanding the true way to be happy. It makes me feel good and you're totally right. It's all about discipline and training yourself. You can be angry or you can be patient and happy. Its a decision that a lot of people fail to understand. And for the ones who do understand it, its a hard one to practice. I'm just going through one of those tough periods.

[ultracrush]

Well they say nature allows no vacuum... sounds like you're just displacing and dispersing one big pile of frustration. The comments about the strangers, the customers, the resentment... do you think they all have one source but many different outlets?

[_lauren_]

I'm definitely displacing my frusturation and although it seems its coming from a variety of places it may be from just one. I don't know honestly. Either way what I'm wanting is to rid myself of it entirely and that just takes discipline of the mind. I've done it before, I can do it again.

[ultracrush]

Does it take a discipline of the mind or does it take an action to resolve the source of the frustration?

[_lauren_]

It can take either depending on how you want to eliminate it. For instance I could quit my job and find a new one in order to eliminate what seems to be the source of my frusturation, that place, my low wages, the customers. But if I did that I would find new things to frusturate me.

If I do it with discipline of the mind then I can get rid of frusturation all together and to do that I just need to re-adjust how I react to the situations and people around me. For instance instead of being bitter about how low my wages are I can consider how little business the place I work at gets and the amount I'm paid is all they can afford and they would pay me more if they could. Thinking in that way changes my interpretation of the situation entirely. If I really wanted more money and it was a significant issue for me then I could still get a higher paying job but since it isn't its not necessary for me to be angry about it.

[ed_dirt]

You're a human being. Ok, you're more beautiful than the average human (which isn't anything you can take credit for, but it's nothing to be ashamed of either), and you're more intelligent (see previous parenthetical statement) and you really are kinder (this one you get to keep), but you ARE flawed just like all rest of us

[_lauren_]

Thanks, and you're right I'm definitely not trying to be perfect. I don't feel like I'm being too hard on myself either though. Its not like I'm thinking these things everyday

[condenser]

Just do what I do and take it all out by beating up infants. They're surprisingly good sparring buddies.

[_lauren_]

Hah, thanks. I haven't tried that one.