Best Of
Letting go of games
I think I’ve reached a turning point in my relationship with games. In the past I’ve mentioned that I had a strongly ambivalent stance towards games. I worked on games as a designer and a software developer for many years, but ever since finding myself on a spiritual path ten years ago, I have been getting signs that these two don’t go well together. It’s been difficult for me to let go of it because it was a huge part of my life and my passion, and coming across things online has kept enticing me back.
Recently I made a summary on paper of the things telling me games weren’t a beneficial direction. Firstly, violence, rewards and addictiveness. Second, that you’re not getting closer to truth and enlightenment, but that you get more stuck in illusions and other people’s dreams. Third, that the Buddha also said games were a waste of time and energy (admittedly he was talking about early variants of chess). Fourth, I can feel in my mental states that most games play on desire, lust for battle, challenge and passion, and that this feeds the fires within and doesn’t lead to inner peace.
So something seems to have changed, making this summary has allowed me to drop a few things. My father advised me to adopt another activity, to channel my energies in a different direction, and I think that is wise advice. Do something else instead. Thanks dad.
Jeroen
Re: No Buddhist Quotes
"Three things in human life are important. The first is to be kind. The second is to be kind. And the third is to be kind.”
~Henry James~.
Shoshin1
Re: Getting better "blog"
A new sleep regime often takes a while to settle down, but it sounds like you are doing good things. I hope it works out well in the end.
Jeroen
Re: No Buddhist Quotes
“There is no law in existence that you always go higher; you can go lower, you can fall below the previous stage. The path of evolution becomes certain only when you are becoming more conscious; then each successive life is on a higher plane.
But how many people are trying to be conscious? On the contrary, most of the people in the world are trying to be as much unconscious as possible, because what little consciousness they know of is nothing but anxiety, anguish, worry. It is a torture, a tension. And there is no certainty that what you are deciding is the right thing, so there is a great fear, a hesitation. In the small consciousness that man has, he is always in the position of either/or -- divided, split, torn apart -- one part pulling in one direction, another part pulling in another direction. He is simply miserable.
It is not an accident that alcohol and other drugs which can drown your consciousness in the vast unconscious are as old as man.”
— Osho, ‘The Path of the Mystic’
Jeroen
Re: No Buddhist Quotes
@FleaMarket said:
"Be the empty welcoming abode where all manner of states of being are greeted warmly"
— I don't remember
Sound's a bit like Rumi's The Guest House
This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.
The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.
Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.
Shoshin1
Re: No Buddhist Quotes
"Be the empty welcoming abode where all manner of states of being are greeted warmly"
— I don't remember
Re: Getting better "blog"
Nice efforts @marcitko, you're sounding very self-aware. Knowing what you're doing in large and small certainly provides some valuable moments where a decision is found when previously there may have been an unaware impulse to follow by default. The spiritual bank account grows.
Re: Buddhist quotes
"If we have any doubt of this sort, then it will certainly
hold us back, and we will not exert ourselves to do our
level best for it — because we see no hope: You seem to
say to yourself: “No, I’m not made for this; not ME. This
is much too high for me.” or “That’s too perfect for me.”
This is lack of self-confidence. And it would amount to
nothing but heaps of excuses for laziness and shirk-
ing. But this self-doubt is against the first doctrine of
Buddhadharma that ultimately all sentient beings share
the same quality of Buddha Nature"
Reverend Cheng Kuan
Re: Is the middle way comfortable?
@Jason said:
It's a lot like the story of Jesus and the rich man, where the man who observes the basics as far as precepts go (refraining from killing, committing adultery, etc.) asks Jesus how to be perfect and Jesus tells him, "Go, sell what you have, and give to [the] poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” And as the story goes, "At that statement his face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions."
This story reminds me a lot of how people who became Osho’s sannyasins in the 1970’s would follow him. They would literally sell their homes in the west, book a one-way ticket to India and go live near the ashram in Pune, using up their money on therapy groups and working at the ashram. People had very little, but they were content and they didn’t worry about tomorrow.
That said, intentional poverty doesn’t make a lot of sense these days. It’s just a question of living a simple life and just using what you need.
Good post, Jason!
Jeroen
Re: Getting better "blog"
Friday was a good day in that I did everything that I said I would, except that for the work sessions I chose all of the easy tasks and avoided the hard ones, and that I drank a coffee in a bar after the gym. Except for "pick-me-up" situations, I notice that I indulge in harmful behavior also sometimes as a "reward" (such as a reward for going to the gym).
Saturday (yesterday, when I did not post) was a shit day because I slept very poorly due to having to get up very early for an appointment - and then that appointment got cancelled. I find I am very sensitive and easily derailed by things such as poor sleep, coffee, alchohol (which I do not drink), etc. The day was not very productive but I did do my morning routine, did some learning, and participated in the spiritual Zoom.
I have been doing concentration meditation on the breath twice a day for 10 minutes and am finding great benefit - it calms me, I experience moments of peace - hooray! 
I also notice all of the random rambling thoughts that induce anxiety, good insight, but just return to the breath without suppressing. For that reason I am increasing the time to 15 minutes.
Plan for today:
- Morning routine (15 minutes concentration meditation, cold shower, smoothie)
- Go to the gym
- 1 45 minute session work
- Clean kitchen and bathroom
- Two Zooms (one work, one friends)
- Evening routine (10 minutes clean up, "what was good, what was bad", 15 minutes concentration meditation).
Yesterday while meditating I realized that I must make sure to make good decisions in both small and big decisions since the small ones are a) frequent and b) shape the way in which I make the big decisions. Many small good decisions result in very big good outcomes, kind of like with compound interest with investing. Too frequently I give myself a pass and take a "I'll do better tomorrow" attitude, especially with small decisions which are "not that important". No, I need to do better (the best I can) today.
marcitko