Best Of
Re: To exist or not?
Perhaps it's simpler.
That which is selfish suffers from the causes of its own disintegration.
That which is selflessness, is suffering's absence itself.
The experience of Death simply being those balance weights measured.
And perhaps some wonder that for all those moments of life or death, that was all it was.
Which is enough.
how
Re: To exist or not?
I'm just the opposite. For most of my life the thought that I would die someday was a great comfort--that the struggle and frustrations and "The heart-ache, and the thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to" would be over and I would be able to stop fighting. Now the thought of dying is no longer a comfort, it is a question of "what comes next?" and not knowing the answer to that is disquieting. I'm not exactly afraid of death, I am just really uneasy about it.
I always loved this poem:
From too much love of living,
From hope and fear set free,
We thank with brief thanksgiving
Whatever gods may be
That no life lives for ever;
That dead men rise up never;
That even the weariest river
Winds somewhere safe to sea.
Now I just don't know.
zorro
Re: Space - the final frontier
It very well might be that within a few decades it will be possible for anyone to fly to Space for a reasonable price as a tourist, orbit Earth, experience zero gravity - and see Earth from Space. All of the accounts of astronauts that I've read describe a mind-expanding, deeply philosophic, and humanistic perspective that results from such an experience. Hence, this might be an amazing thing, a bit like travel expands our views, just on steroids.
marcitko
Re: Space - the final frontier
@marcitko said:
A launch every 2.5 days is incredible. From what I've read (these numbers may be well off) SpaceX will increase total global launch capability by 1000x and will have 100x the launch capability of current global launch demand. So, the problem will be - what to launch? As these things go, this will probably turn out to be both a good and bad thing, but at least we do have the launch capability for serious space exploration and travel at reasonable cost.
If you build it, they will come. With the cost dropping like this there will be lots of new and previous ideas that were out of reach than can now be developed. No doubt like all progress it will improve our lives at one end while producing negative trade offs on the other, but over time the negative can be modified or improved while keeping the good.
person
Re: All Things Apple (was MacBook Air, but things evolve...)
No problem. With Apple it’s a whole design philosophy, which extends from the design of the outside of the hardware, to the resolution of the screens, to the design of the software, to the way in which the software is regularly updated. The idea is to provide the best possible quality computing experience. Anyway competition among companies is a good thing, and Microsoft and Google have benefitted from copying Apple in the past.
Jeroen
Re: All things Sport(s)
I watched and enjoyed the recent Netflix 8-part series documentary on David Beckham. I thought both he and Posh Spice were more honest and genuine than I'd have expected. Even though he is not very animated, I still found him quite interesting, and even relatable.
marcitko
Re: The Medical Model of Mental Illness
No worries, the amount of dukkha was minimal. It was mostly a joke re: the thought of responding to long replies. I know everyone means well.
In general, I'm doing better these days financial than I have at any time in the past, although I'm still not making what I'd consider a living wage in a city with unaffordable rents. And I find it very frustrating having worked in multiple states and industries, just not the right ones I guess. (And my dependents are my partner and 2 pets, no children. 👧🐕🐈⬛) My main point, though, was really about the impact of external/material conditions on our lives and mental health.
In Buddhism, there's a big focus on the mind and how it relates to experience with an emphasis on preventing the second arrow of suffering we experience due to painful bodily and mental feelings. And those techniques are quite effective. However, I've found that in my experience, the more involved/invested I am in worldly life, the harder it is for me to let go, practice equanimity, or any of the things that prevent myself being pierced by that second arrow. So I feel the weight of things moreso than when I had more time to practice and go on extended retreats. I just don't have the time or ability with the amount I work and all of the other things I'm responsible for. It's a trade off, but I've accepted that I'm a householder and not a monk, so more of my focus is now on working to make that life more materially comfortable and conducive to ease and happiness and the ability to practice for myself and others. And looking at the world, I think capitalism has contributed to an increase in depression and anxiety, environmental degradation, consumerist culture that feeds our greed, difficulties in monastic communities supporting themselves/being supported by the community, etc.
Jason
Re: All Things Apple (was MacBook Air, but things evolve...)
Well, with Mac it’s that the whole system is engineered to “Just Work”, leaving you only to do those things where the user’s choice is essential. With a Windows PC there is quite a lot of technical stuff that’s exposed, like device drivers or network settings, which on Mac is usually hidden and automated.
Over the last two years that I’ve had my iMac I have spent more time doing support for my dad’s PC than I have spent on solving technical issues on my own iMac, and my dad is pretty savvy, most things he can do himself. A Mac is like a more expensive, easier-to-maintain, slicker cousin to the PC. It also comes with a lot of software which you have to pay for on PC.
The iPhone is just about hardware quality and software support, your phone will last 5-6 years with a new OS update every year and more frequent security updates. There are Android phones with better cameras and cheaper storage, but they don’t last as long which means in the end it’s more expensive.
Jeroen
Re: It’s All in the Mind Redux
Rather than "it's all in your mind" (of course it is, where else would it be?) I always tell myself "it's not real, you can ignore it." Anxiety, skewed perceptions and priorities are all due to some kind of chemical imbalance, or inability of my brain to process correctly rather than to anything "real". Anxiety isn't about anything that's actually going on in my life, so it can be ignored. My way of dealing is to just hang on till it passes and don't make any decisions, as skewed priorities and perceptions mean any decisions will be greatly regretted later on. Doesn't make things easy, but it is easier than thinking there is something I need to "do" about it.
zorro