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Help me accept beginning Buddhist practice
I very much am interested in the practice of Buddhist vipassana meditation, but I have some reservations. I feel that this stillness of mind and serenity, that would doubtless be far grander than anything I currently experience, would diminish temporary pleasures I have in my life. I love music, art, occasional and responsible drug use (psychedelics mainly), video games, film, sex, Christmas, travel, food, and everything else. I feel this Buddhist worldview will negate my ability to derive pleasure from these activities. What I say probably seems shallow to you much wiser humans, but I think it is a rational question.
Also, a second question: it seems that Buddhism regards human beings as the ultimate end to which all our acts should strive. Particularly, ending their suffering. What is the best way to accomplish this? What about other sentient beings that aren't human?
How do Buddhists see science and western philosophy in regards to their practice? And how does this relate to the goal of ending human suffering? Is truth or knowledge an end in itself? Or must it relate to compassion towards sentient beings?
Lastly, I am an extreme perfectionist. I feel that I need to organize my life/priorities/goals very specifically and perfectly before taking any action. Do you have any advice on how Buddhism can help me cope with this? For example, I often try to list what a human's highest goal(s) should be, generally with helping sentient beings and obtaining truth being the only two I can rationalize. This is a vague comment/question, so I accept openly any advice.
Thank you for your time.
Also, a second question: it seems that Buddhism regards human beings as the ultimate end to which all our acts should strive. Particularly, ending their suffering. What is the best way to accomplish this? What about other sentient beings that aren't human?
How do Buddhists see science and western philosophy in regards to their practice? And how does this relate to the goal of ending human suffering? Is truth or knowledge an end in itself? Or must it relate to compassion towards sentient beings?
Lastly, I am an extreme perfectionist. I feel that I need to organize my life/priorities/goals very specifically and perfectly before taking any action. Do you have any advice on how Buddhism can help me cope with this? For example, I often try to list what a human's highest goal(s) should be, generally with helping sentient beings and obtaining truth being the only two I can rationalize. This is a vague comment/question, so I accept openly any advice.
Thank you for your time.
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Comments
Depend on what schools of meditation you study, you should seek out experienced teachers that guides you in the practice. I personally practice Chinese Ch'an meditation.
Buddhist encourages practitioners to make ethical and moral considerations when we enjoy the pleasures of life. You have to ask yourself, are all the activities you've mentioned above making you more greedy for more of the same only for yourself? Does it make you less compassionate or care about others around you? Are you addicted to any of them? Do you use excessive amount of it? Does it take away time for you evaluate yourself? Do you think about others when you spend all your money on yourself?
Unfortunately, drugs are not positive for Buddhism. Anything that alters the function of your brain dramatically like this will be detrimental to spritiual development. Whatever seems of "enlightenment" you get from psychadelics are illusions.
Lay Practitioners can still have sex. The same moral questions above applies. Sex in a positive and respectable relationship is perfectly morally acceptable.
All sentient beings are equal. Buddhists do not have to worry about the big picture right from the start. Start with small things like improving yourself. Stop killing bugs and becoming kinder to other people and creatures etc.
Buddhist philosphies complients Science, psychology and theories of evolution.
I recommend this book as a good starter:
http://blpusa.com/great-realizations
I think it's impossible to make a judgment whether say, listening to music or watching a film is greedy or compassionate? How would I know that such an activity wouldn't urge me to be more compassionate afterwards?
I strongly disagree with this. Psychedelics have been used historically in many religious traditions, including Buddhism. The end result is exactly the same as well, that of ego-loss, selflessness, connectedness.
I understand this start small, build up mindset. But at the same time, I think that I could make an enormous and positive impact on humanity without Buddhism. I could be compassion-less, but hold a completely logical and emotion-less drive to help people. Why spend my time meditating? Einstein didn't and he has progressed humanity farther than anyone in the past century, far more than H.H. the Dalai Lama, for instance.
Albert Einstein: 'nothing will benefit human health and increase chances for survival of life on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet.'
Wow! this is wonderful and heartening to learn of your super heart, but how, and what form of help and goal for this people that need your help without reference on Buddhism text for future living beings? This future living beings will develop doubt on your attainment although it may be recorded as text for future reference, which similarly like Buddhism text, being a doubt of many living beings in this modern era
Thank you for the Einstein quote. Sorry, I couldn't understand your last paragraph.
In that case, it's all a matter of using reason.
the emotionless drive to help others sums up the true skillful compassionate heart!!!
And true indeed! Buddhism is only a name!
So what would the hypothetical YOU who takes up meditation say to the YOU of today who enjoys all those things? I think meditation changes something different than ability to enjoy those things. I mean you would have to see how it unfolded.
Its not something that you have to make believe. At first it feels forced. But thats because the compassion is constricted. Like say I tell you 300 people died in a plane crash in Indonesia today? What do you think? There is compassion in there but it is probably a bit confusion and practice buddhism helps you see through.
If we know so much who does it help? We know too much for our own good. Only makes us doubt.
Try to think of goals and wishes. But notice how some cancel eachother out they are going pushing and pulling on eachother. So look deep at what you want.
Thank you for your time.
I sense sarcasm in this post
I am not saying my way is correct, I am just having trouble seeing meditation or Buddhism as necessary or even beneficial to performing actions that help others.
The wish to attain enlightenment to help all sentient beings isn't beneficial to help others?
It can be. My goal of life is already to help all sentient beings. Why do I need Buddhism?
Because without the wisdom of impermanence and no-self your compassion will ultimately only be temporary.
Supposedly Buddhist meditation helps us see the ultimately transitory nature of the pleasure that you derive from the enjoyable activities that you describe, such that when those activities come to an end, you can accept that with equanimity as well. We are taught by the Buddha that "life is suffering", that is, that supposedly enjoyable activities come to an end, we tend to suffer. We also tend to suffer when presented with a situation that we don't want, loss of what we do want, and so forth. The Buddha teaches us that this suffering has a cause, that is, emotional clinging to the pleasurable state. We are further taught that there can be an end to this suffering, and that is by following the Noble Eightfold Path, which I invite you to look up for yourself.
The point of Buddhism is to alleviate the inevitable suffering that comes about when the above factors are realized, that is, to be able to deal with that suffering with relative equanimity when it inevitable comes. We all age, get sick, grow old, and eventually die, and this is mainly what the Dharma teachings focus on.
So in your case, when psychedelic substances are not available, when all the other things you list as pleasurable activities are no longer available or no longer hold their fascination for you, you would hopefully be able to deal with that with relative equanimity. This is my understanding of the teaching of the Dharma as taught by Siddhartha Gautama, who became known as the Buddha.
This is not to say that there should necessarily be any diminution of the pleasure you derive from the activities you list, but just that their transitory nature should be recognized and that you should prepare yourself for the time when these pleasures are no longer available to you or do not provide you with that same pleasure any more.
There is nothing wrong with "knowledge for the sake of knowledge". It can be very elegant and enriching. Excessive attachment to this state is something that can get in the way of one's progress, and it can conceivably get in the way of one's compassion for others.
In the Buddhist system known as Theravada, "metta" is the act or state of extension of compassion to all sentient beings, usually defined as humans and animals. In the system known as the Mahayana, there is the bodhisattva vow, which has to do with a more specific and, I might say for the sake of discussion, a more clearly defined intention to achieve enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings. Metta and the Bodhisattva vow can be practiced alongside the quest for knowledge for the sake of knowledge, and it's only when such a quest gets in the way of our work toward compassion for all sentient beings that this becomes a problem.
I know this is only a partial answer to your questions, but I must excuse myself because I am not feeling well today and have some things to do.
Practicing Buddhist meditation should not diminish your pleasure in your chosen activities (and it is to be hoped that these are ethical activities). It will just place them in the perspective of being transitory.
This helped me a ridiculous amount, I greatly appreciate it!
Stop driving yourself and everyone else crazy.
If you still enjoy all the 'good things' in life, you dont need vipassana.
The time will come when you want more in life.
What if when I am sober and i miss all the crazy fun I had when i was drunk.
In that case you strongly don't understand even the most basic things about Buddhism. My advice is to study more, meditate more, then make a decision on whether Buddhism is right for you. Buddhism and drug use are fundamentally incompatible. And as a nurse, I won't even go into the myriad medical reasons you shouldn't be polluting your brain with things like that.
Psychedelics can (not do) promote mindfulness for a temporary period of time, allowing one to "see" what enlightenment entails. It is why I sought out Buddhism in the first place.
I do not intend to mean it as a replacement for meditation in any sense, but it is a very powerful tool and not entirely pollutant and harmful, though of course it can be.
If there were a pharmacological free ride to enlightenment, I think we'd have heard more about it before now in mainstream Buddhism. There is no free lunch. It takes dedication and strenuous effort. Psychedelic drugs for your mind are just like steroids for your muscles. They might work for a while, but eventually you'll pay the price for using them. That's a 100% iron clad guarantee.
I agree completely. I have used mushrooms in the past and meditated while on them. the first couple uses I had no control and it became recreational but by my third use I found I was able to better control my mind and desires, reaching higher states of thought, even made all the colors and unreal images disappear when they should have continued on for hours! Im convinced that it can be used as a tool to help you focus. Mushrooms are not drugs, they grow from the earth naturally. I would also add that I tried this with lsd and had horrible results. lsd only promoted more illusions at an even deeper level and my mind was in a bad state for a week or so. My theory is that the use of marijuana and mushrooms for spiritual purposes does not help at all unless you have overcome the basics of negativity. It is not for the weak minded. I see it as no different than chanting or lighting incense
Being open minded and accepting is indeed the fundmentals of Buddhism. But for most us normal humans got to start practicing with a certain set of rules.
No one is forcing anyone to do anything. But there are certain rules that are pretty much set in stone for the good of new practitioners .
No one can convince anyone how what they should be doing unless that person genuinely want to change and give their current practices.
Nothing wrong with commiting wrong doings and breaking rules, whats unfortunate if one does not want to change their ways or realise their practices are harmful in the first place.
Frankly, Buddhist teachers will smack a practitioner in the face if he deems it appropriate at the time.
Psychedelics - OK. Well you have a curiosity to see what is really going on inside. That's good.
The use of acid could be compared to some of the the Buddha's life experience before he became the Buddha. He lived the extreme asceticism life of the yogi. Sleep deprivation, starvation = Visions, hallucinations. Oh yea. He was tripping his brains out underneath that tree.
The important thing to note is that he completely rejected this extreme. Totally unnecessary. The Middle Way. Just need to wake up. Practice sitting meditation everyday for 30 days. You'll see.
Don't worry about giving anything up. Desire is not bad until it becomes grasping. Takes the insight of a calm mind to see and let go
Good luck.