Can you eliminate the emotion of boredom?

sisnarf

Can you kill boredom using boredom? I mean can I lock myself in my room for a month and meditate and really get to experience boredom. Afterward its effects would be dulled. I think its the worse defilement. I hate it, drives me mad. Imagine how simple life would be if you didn't have that feeling. I have been hoping meditation would help this. It does, but only while meditating. The it grabs me and makes me do something else. Once I've done it, its not satisfied and makes me do more. It must die.

mugzy

Can you eliminate any emotion by strongly experiencing that emotion? If that was true most people wouldn't experience anger, jealousy, sadness, etc. In my experience the more you try to eliminate an emotion, the stronger it will become. In fact there's nothing to fight against or destroy - it's just a fleeting state of mind. It's not solid or permanent. Try not to get caught up in the notion of constantly keeping your mind occupied, instead of allowing yourself to simply rest in the boredom.

If you get bored while meditating, that's fine! It's about bringing awareness to every moment, not filling every moment with mental stimulation. If it drives you mad as you say, then look at the feelings being bored generates within you. Try to analyze that instead of simply pushing boredom away.

federica

Boredom is not an Emotion. It's a Condition, like suffering.
Boredom can lead to experiencing emotions like sadness, frustration, and impatience.

NomaDBuddha

Can you kill boredom using boredom? I mean can I lock myself in my room for a month and meditate and really get to experience boredom. Afterward its effects would be dulled. I think its the worse defilement. I hate it, drives me mad. Imagine how simple life would be if you didn't have that feeling. I have been hoping meditation would help this. It does, but only while meditating. The it grabs me and makes me do something else. Once I've done it, its not satisfied and makes me do more. It must die.

Boredom is not an emotion...it's just a state. You can't kill boredom with boredom, but, you can kill boredom by doing something useful.
The real objective is to find that useful thing to do.

buddhajunkie

Listen to this podcast on boredom from Audiodharma

http://www.audiodharma.org/talks/audio_player/2209.html

Mountains

Imagine how simple life would be if you didn't have that feeling.

Then it would just be something else that drove you mad. Life is full of experiences. Experience all of them, even the not so pleasant ones. That's how we grow and learn.

Roger

No such thing as boredom. Period.

There's laziness, fatigue, low-energy health problems, etc., but no such thing as boredom

Especially while striving to follow a Buddhist path for gosh sakes!

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Epicurus

No such thin as boredom? In your world maybe.

I think the only way to kill boredom is to something that you WANT to do. Not while you are bored though, before. When you are bored you are often oblivious to what would make it better. I find that for myself it's interacting with people, playing videogames or travelling.

Arahahahant

boredom is a craving for certain actions/experiences. This may be why a Buddhist precept is basically against entertainment of many types. I have lived for several months without such entertainment, I don't get bored anymore, the moment is beautiful no matter what your doing.

shanyin

Think about nothingness.

DharmaField

Next time you are bored, ask yourself: "What is boredom?"... Dig into this question as if you were watching a tile sinking in a deep pond... don't be satisfied until you have really encountered being bored with your whole being. Eventually, you won't be bored with boredom.

Fran45

the moment is beautiful no matter what your doing.

True.

Also, a thing becomes interesting if you are interested in it.

ravkes

the moment is beautiful no matter what your doing.

that really sums it all up..

@sisnarf: please see that boredom is just boredom, stop creating the drama. suffering happens when things are not seen as they actually are.

Roger

Next time you are bored, ask yourself: "What is boredom?"... Dig into this question as if you were watching a tile sinking in a deep pond... don't be satisfied until you have really encountered being bored with your whole being. Eventually, you won't be bored with boredom.

Exactly. :clap: There's no such thing as boredom. Only fatigue, laziness, inability to focus, or [insert favorite non-boring like-meaning word here].

Epicurus

There is none of those things either, because each of them is also a product of causality, then. There is a word for boredom, we know how it feels, so why say anything of the sort??

It's indeed important to ask oneself why one feels bored, but to say it simply doesn't exist...is the same as saying none of our moods exist either...which from a certain perspective could be a valid statement...but when people are seeking help, it rarely is.

More and more I see people dismissing the OP's problems on this board (bored :P) in a very quick, harsh and ...unskillful way.

sisnarf

There is none of those things either, because each of them is also a product of causality, then. There is a word for boredom, we know how it feels, so why say anything of the sort??

It's indeed important to ask oneself why one feels bored, but to say it simply doesn't exist...is the same as saying none of our moods exist either...which from a certain perspective could be a valid statement...but when people are seeking help, it rarely is.

More and more I see people dismissing the OP's problems on this board (bored :P) in a very quick, harsh and ...unskillful way.

I really agree with you here. I'm really having a hard time with my practice right now because so many of these things go in circles.

For example I mentioned I could stay in my room and contemplate boredom for a week. Hopefully this meditation could provide some insight and relieve this state. I got various responses like you can't eliminate a emotion by stongly experiencing it. At the various opposite end I got suggestions that some people do stay in a room for a week. Many also mentioned meditating contemplating on the bordom. Then we go into this thing that bordom is not real. Well if its not real why do I experience it? I must be able to get rid of it. Then trying to say bordom is something else like fatigue, laziness ect.. doesn't make sense either. Because if there is no such thing as bordom why is there such thing as laziness? Finally coments about going out and doing something seems to contradict the idea of this meditation/mindfull contemplation I'm using for insight into these emotions(states) I do realize I can cure bordom by going to the bar or climbing a mountain but thats not my point. I want to see if I can eliminate the need to want to do these things. To me bordom seems to be the central concept of Buddism. Its about the ego that keeps demanding attention. It wants to be constantly entertained, this creates the I sense(so I figure) Then ultimately you end up suffering when you lose the things that used to fill your bordom. Like if you lose your legs and exercise was your main source of entertainment then you will feel deep bordom. This horrible bordom seems like the worse kind of pain. I wish I was the guy who posted, there is no such thing as bordom. He is either enlightened or has yet to experience some hard battles.

Thanks for all replies and thoughts

caz

First where does boredom come from ?
It is a symptom of an uncontrolled mind, When the mind thrives upon and craves mental stimulation and excitement it ever so more discriminates between this and that as being causes of happiness. This pleasure seeking arises from the Self cherishing mind that seeks our own happiness and when unfulfilled results in mental pain and anguish.

So one must have an aim to work for the happiness and benifit of others and to meditate upon the emptiness of self and phenomena to lessen and eventually cut these root afflictions of self-cherishing and self-grasping and you will find bringing to mind the emptiness of phenomena in this way will help cease delusions arising from our ever pervasive ignorance.

Arahahahant

Be mindful of boredom, just as if it were any feeling. I never get bored in the first place because whenever I am doing some menial or potentially boring task I focus very hard on mindfulness. The more you do it the more second-nature it becomes and the better at it you are. Mindfulness constantly brings spiritual progress, learning to just observe the six senses with equanimity is a great thing, it makes any moment beautiful.

Epicurus

Yeah actually, mindfulness is probably the best remedy for boredom.

Wuji

It is a symptom of an uncontrolled mind, When the mind thrives upon and craves mental stimulation and excitement it ever so more discriminates between this and that as being causes of happiness.

I never looked at it like that but, it makes a lot of sense. We probably get bored much easier these days due to over-stimulation of the mind. I don't know that you can kill boredom with boredom but, perhaps if we stop doing so many mental stimulating activities all the time it would help. Do things that require you to focus on one thing and don't try to multi task too often. Playing an instrument, making art, Yoga, reading, meditation are all great things I've found for this.

As for semantics, I think boredom classifies as a mood which is a long term emotional state.

Roger

There is none of those things either, because each of them is also a product of causality, then. There is a word for boredom, we know how it feels, so why say anything of the sort??

It's indeed important to ask oneself why one feels bored, but to say it simply doesn't exist...is the same as saying none of our moods exist either...which from a certain perspective could be a valid statement...but when people are seeking help, it rarely is.

More and more I see people dismissing the OP's problems on this board (bored :P) in a very quick, harsh and ...unskillful way.

Nothing harsh in my heart. Perhaps it's with the interpretation. May I explain?

To suggest that boredom does not exist is to persuade the "bored" person to get a bit more articulate about what s/he's feeling. Is it laziness? Is it fatigue? Is it lack of focus? All those answers will lead to appropriate action and eliminate the STATIC do-nothing-ness of boredom.

IMO, Boredom is a notch above stupidity, or feeling useless: it's a sickening time waster to think that about oneself. My declaring that is doesn't exist is a means of offering encouragement.

That's a way to inspire people to get going and not sit idle.

Now I understand where you are coming from. I'm sorry for my delay in seeing what you meant.

Dakini

Boredom comes from lack of imagination, no?

pegembara

Boredom tells us that we are in opposition to what is. The wanting mind is always looking for some thing outside ourselves (sights, sounds, smells, touch) or within (fantasies, projects etc).

Boredom is a subtle form of craving. It will be around until one has substantially eliminated craving.

Epicurus

IMO, Boredom is a notch above stupidity, or feeling useless: it's a sickening time waster to think that about oneself. My declaring that is doesn't exist is a means of offering encouragement.

That's a way to inspire people to get going and not sit idle.

It's exactly that attitude that I'm speaking against. My comment wasn't directed at you specifically. I was just pointing out what I feel is a common trend here sometimes. Without further contextualization people asking for help may feel like their feelings aren't valid. If they didn't feel it was sickening they wouldn't post asking for help lol

"Get going" is not the best advice to someone who feels bored. When one is bored one tends to not know "where" to go. But anyway....just clarifying why I said what I said in the first post

PietroPumokin

Can you kill boredom using boredom?

killing is against the first precept.

IronRabbit

the third aspect of the eightfold path is right speech - abstinence from idle chatter that lacks purpose or depth or silly emoticons......


Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.
Mark Twain

A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no other way.
Mark Twain

sisnarf

IMO, Boredom is a notch above stupidity, or feeling useless: it's a sickening time waster to think that about oneself. My declaring that is doesn't exist is a means of offering encouragement.

That's a way to inspire people to get going and not sit idle.

Everybody is talking about curing bordom like one would cure a headache with a painkiller. Lack of imagination, too much time thinking about oneselve being too stupid to figure out something to do. I think I am not expressing myself correctly like I often do. Especially when it has to do with a complicated subjected. My point is, can you get rid of the DESIRE to do most anything? Being so satisfied in your mind you can sit all day. To me I thought this is what Buddism is all about. Like others mentioned bordom is a product of craving which we will basically always have. I want to live the most boring life you can think of and feel great about it. Can this all be achieved by following a meditation path? Is this not really possible and you need to continue to go chase things in life to give that tempory fix to bordom?

compassionate_warrior

Hermits and retreatants sit for months and years without being bored. Is that your question?

genkaku

Pay attention.
Take responsibility.
Then you won't be bored.

Roger

I sincerely do not want to upset anyone. If somebody says, "I'm bored," I understand what they mean and will not throw at them what I throw at myself.

If I say to myself, "I am bored," in my mind it is the same as my saying, "I'm stupid," or "I'm lazy." It's not quite true, not accurate, kind of nebulous and it's certainly not very self-complimentary.

Maybe it was the way I was brought up. We weren't allowed to be bored. LOL!