Howdy, Stranger!

It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!

Sign In Register
Examples: Monday, today, last week, Mar 26, 3/26/04
Welcome home! Please contact lincoln@icrontic.com if you have any difficulty logging in or using the site. New registrations must be manually approved which may take several days. Can't log in? Try clearing your browser's cookies.

Embracing the Bad

revolutionary14revolutionary14
edited December 2010 in Buddhism Basics
"It's only once we've lost everything, that we're free to do anything"
-Fight Club
I was watching this movie, and it was the part where the burning salt is poured on the narrators wound, he is in unbearable pain and begs Tyler to help him out, but Tyler tells him that this is a great thing and it is 'pre-mature enlightenment', and that he must accept pain and realize that one day he will die.

This inspired me throughout the day today to try and embrace negative emotions and events, and not fight them. It made me feel balanced and made the good emotions feel even better.

I think this is a good thing to try and do because if you don't let anything bother you or upset you, including death ultimately, nothing can effect you negatively.

Is this too nihilistic though?

Comments

  • cazcaz Veteran United Kingdom Veteran
    edited December 2010
    revolutionary14 wrote: »
    "It's only once we've lost everything, that we're free to do anything"
    -Fight Club
    I was watching this movie, and it was the part where the burning salt is poured on the narrators wound, he is in unbearable pain and begs Tyler to help him out, but Tyler tells him that this is a great thing and it is 'pre-mature enlightenment', and that he must accept pain and realize that one day he will die.

    This inspired me throughout the day today to try and embrace negative emotions and events, and not fight them. It made me feel balanced and made the good emotions feel even better.

    I think this is a good thing to try and do because if you don't let anything bother you or upset you, including death ultimately, nothing can effect you negatively.

    Is this too nihilistic though?


    Dear friend.

    I would not say it is a good idea to Embrace negative emotions and events but practise patient exceptance toward what arises without letting your mind become disturbed :)
    When mind is calm and controlled no matter how loud the wind howls it cannot move the great mountain of a controlled mind. :)
  • SherabDorjeSherabDorje
    edited December 2010
    Pema Chodron has some writings and talks along these lines, although they are considerably more nuanced than a movie like this. IMO, her writings have much more to do with active acceptance of the inevitable sufferings of life than mere stoicism. IMO, her works have to do with Buddhism helping to work through these things and learn from them, which I suppose could be termed "embracing" them, but again, what she has to say is considerably more nuanced and not just talking about adopting a stoic attitude toward what might be classified as negative.

    You may want to check out her work.
  • fivebellsfivebells Veteran
    edited December 2010
    revolutionary14 wrote: »
    Tyler tells him that this is a great thing and it is 'pre-mature enlightenment', and that he must accept pain and realize that one day he will die.
    That is a deeply fucked-up movie, but when he just stops struggling and accepts the situation in that scene, it is good depiction of the end of suffering.
  • Invincible_summerInvincible_summer Heavy Metal Dhamma We(s)t coast, Canada Veteran
    edited December 2010
    "One must imagine Sisyphus as happy" -- Camus


    I think this quote fits fairly well here.
  • revolutionary14revolutionary14
    edited December 2010
    fivebells wrote: »
    That is a deeply fucked-up movie, but when he just stops struggling and accepts the situation in that scene, it is good depiction of the end of suffering.

    It's movie about letting go of attachments, and capitalism being a backwards system..
    how is it deeply fucked up?
  • revolutionary14revolutionary14
    edited December 2010
    caz namyaw wrote: »
    Dear friend.

    I would not say it is a good idea to Embrace negative emotions and events but practise patient exceptance toward what arises without letting your mind become disturbed :)
    When mind is calm and controlled no matter how loud the wind howls it cannot move the great mountain of a controlled mind. :)
    Thanks! :)
  • karmadorjekarmadorje
    edited December 2010
    Man, I see in fight club the strongest and smartest men who've ever lived. I see all this potential, and I see squandering. God damn it, an entire generation pumping gas, waiting tables; slaves with white collars. Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don't need. We're the middle children of history, man. No purpose or place. We have no Great War. No Great Depression. Our Great War's a spiritual war... our Great Depression is our lives. We've all been raised on television to believe that one day we'd all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars. But we won't. And we're slowly learning that fact. And we're very, very pissed off.

    That's not messed up, that's insight.
  • LadyFire713LadyFire713
    edited December 2010
    karmadorje wrote: »
    That's not messed up, that's insight.

    :winkc:
  • hermitwinhermitwin Veteran
    edited December 2010
    Wow, you are able to do that? Congratulations.
Sign In or Register to comment.