A sense of Non Sense

lobster

In the field of Dharma, lucid, clear and often intellectual thinking is preferred.

However . . . music does not make sense but it may change our mind. No part of many sangha but not all. The Mullah Nasrudin, one of my more fictional mentors, never lied about his non existence.

What makes no sense to you? What makes you think it has dharma?
What made no sense previously and now has a sense of greater meaning?

Jeffrey

What doesn't make sense is how awful life can seem to be. When really it is just morning, noon, and night with no reason to fret. Morning, noon, and night. I can drink decaf while on the net! How nice is that? At the same time I can get non-sensical feelings that life is so painful and want to off myself.

How can something as ordinary as morning, noon, and night be so painful? Nonsense.

EvenThird

I was thinking about the effect of music on the mind today. Would music that produces feeling (but is listened to primarily as an entertainment activity) a hinderance?

My human brain makes no sense to me sometimes. Yes, it is responsible for reflection, thinking, and certain insight, however it is also the reason I need to be on a brain-altering medication. But maybe that is because of my karma. Either way, it makes me wonder about possible future limitations on the path. Then again, as Jeffrey said, it's morning, noon and night. What limitations does that pose? No external ones, at least. (I will remind myself often)

The feeling of wanting to escape, and deep isolation made no sense to me in the past, as I felt this way for years. Things weren't bad, but I felt this clawing need to escape. I now know that it had nothing to do with the external and everything to do with the internal. I was perpetuating my problems by looking at them in the wrong way, as unsolvable and permanent. I initially went about trying to fix external things when I knew I couldn't escape my circumstances, but things only changed when I tried to change my thinking. From chaos and nonsense came clarity through a tiny tidbit of coincidental insight... I guess I should be grateful I escaped that frame of mind.

I have to admit, anything that makes sense to me now is probably thanks to buddhism as a whole.

federica

@lobster the "Advanced Ideas" forum is for discussing more complex components of the Dhamma, the suttas and in the Buddha's more convoluted teachings.
It's not meant as a repository for your blog entries.

. Please confine your mental meanderings and musing to "General Banter".

Thanks.

lobster

federica said:

Thanks.

In the very unconvoluted beginner section, or beneral banter, I will do my best . . .

In non Dharma paths, the scatter methodology is used to approach a piece of understanding from a variety of angles. A sort of free form jam . . .

In dharma, literal and linear thinking that @federica is insisting is the approach I take - and I am doing my best, please have a little patience . . . we need to create the right tone.

This is difficult, if for example the conductor, instruments and composition are all different.
So there has to be the right score.

In this case we call it dharma and sutra.
Here for example we have the idea of harmony
http://buddhasutra.com/files/saraniya_sutta.htm
the meaning leads to what? Cacophony or harmonisation dependent on the Dharmic instruments (ourselves) and their ability to align with the spirit and trend towards amicable play.

@Jeffery and @EvenThird have both described aspects of what does not make sense in themselves and their lives and how dharma has helped to create a better tune to sing, or mantra to recite or methodology to compose. A symphony in which the community of well being or sangha can reinforce or complement the good in the individual and therefore the whole . . .

It is not therefore the focus on beginner or advanced or general that makes sense, it is in part realising that one is not attuned, not playing ones instrument optimally and often not even part of the band. Sometimes we are the audience.

Now I can not make this clearer because any role changes. Sometimes we learn from beginners, sometimes from the established guru musicians and sometimes we just jam . . .
:clap:

federica

In dharma, literal and linear thinking that federica is insisting is the approach I take -

.....

I'm not insisting you do anything of the kind. You misunderstand me.
I'm telling you what the forum is for, I'm not telling you what to post about, or how. I'm just telling you to post in the appropriate forum, depending on the vein or topic of your subject of discussion.

lobster

^^^ Cool.
In that case where I posted was appropriate maybe? Maybe not. It usually is not as I find it difficult to distinguish at times. :buck: My fault no doubt and I am happy wherever it finds its space.

The use of non sense is perhaps most associated with Zen and the 'Crazy Wisdom' tradition
http://zenproject.faithweb.com/zen_teachings/what_is_zen_buddhism.html

In which trivia or paradox becomes illustrative and impact orientated.

Jeffrey said:

How can something as ordinary as morning, noon, and night be so painful? Nonsense.

Now clearly I hope, the value of practice and adoption, tuning in if you will, allows confidence or refuge in the Middle way. So much so that we increase the time we play in harmony with the three jewels and even practice becomes a jam day . . .

aMatt

Jeffrey said:

What doesn't make sense is how awful life can seem to be. When really it is just morning, noon, and night with no reason to fret. Morning, noon, and night. I can drink decaf while on the net! How nice is that? At the same time I can get non-sensical feelings that life is so painful and want to off myself.

How can something as ordinary as morning, noon, and night be so painful? Nonsense.

Morning noon and night with no reason to fret? Fretting always has a reason which fuels it. Just because the morning doesn't cause us to fret doesn't mean we don't bring fretting seeds with us.

Instead, we can wonder how our self grasping generated the condition of fretting... and as a complete circle of cause and effect, set it down. Agitated body, agitated mind... these are simple states which calm as we move our attention back to the meditation object. Be glad! Fretting is just our energy misdirected when our "I" fears the unknown, considers painful emotions eternal, or attempts to escape the truth of cause/effect. No need to suppress it, we just set down the maze and its walls dissolve quite peacefully (even when the startle is painful, such as moving into sunlight with open eyes after being in a dark space)

With warmth,
Matt

lobster

Ah the string section . . .

The neck of a guitar showing the nut (in the background, coloured white) and first four metal frets.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fret

['nonsense' mode on]As we all know, the meaning of sacred language is sometimes multilayered. For example ostensibly the Tibetan Book of the Dead is about the death process . . . maybe so, it is also about the process of dying to our less musical selves . . .
['nonsense' mode off]

Nevermind

I think this is all imponderables, and being so should be categorized under advanced ideas.

lobster

^^^ah the homophonic cymbals [symbols]
Is everyday language and experience a pointer or revelation or just so?