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I have made my peace with the world
betaboy
Veteran
in Philosophy
This world is a mixture of joy and pain, light and dark, although it is evident that pain and all that is dark often overpowers the rest. The Bad often outweighs the Good things like love, peace, creativity, etc.
I no longer look for light in the midst of shadows. I no longer yearn for love in the middle of this brutal, brutal world. I have come to terms with the truth: that this world is a bed of nails, that we have to wear of crown of thorns. It doesn't matter whether you're Buddhist or Christian, it is true that pain is an ever-present reality even among the so-called well-to-do. There may be occasional flashes of joy or love, but like I said these are few and far between - this world is mostly a house of pain.
I have accepted this fact and no longer expect much from life. What is, is. If life gives me warmth, I will take it. Thank you very much. If life is all heat and fury, I will take that too. I no longer have the strength to resist. I resign myself to fate.
I've made my peace with the world. I suggest you do likewise.
I no longer look for light in the midst of shadows. I no longer yearn for love in the middle of this brutal, brutal world. I have come to terms with the truth: that this world is a bed of nails, that we have to wear of crown of thorns. It doesn't matter whether you're Buddhist or Christian, it is true that pain is an ever-present reality even among the so-called well-to-do. There may be occasional flashes of joy or love, but like I said these are few and far between - this world is mostly a house of pain.
I have accepted this fact and no longer expect much from life. What is, is. If life gives me warmth, I will take it. Thank you very much. If life is all heat and fury, I will take that too. I no longer have the strength to resist. I resign myself to fate.
I've made my peace with the world. I suggest you do likewise.
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Comments
I am afraid for you. You will be in my meditations.
As for those worried about your move to the 'dark side'. I actually sense a greater sense of possibility?
Your friend in the Hell realms, Daath Lobster.
Therapy, medication, exercise . . . and we will return balance to 'The Force'. Long live the Sith.
I'm with @vinlyn on this. I hope you're not having a bit of 'dramatic' fun with us, Betaboy... but just the same-
Here's what I posted in your other thread, @Betaboy, when you told us you were recently diagnosed with bipolar disorder:
".... Eat well, sleep enough, keep healthy, find yourself a good doctor who believes in talk therapy as well as medications to help keep things on an even keel, and be aware of how you feel, day to day.
The more you know about your condition, the more aware you become about your own ups and downs within it.
Medications always (yes, always) need to be tweaked and/or changed right from the get-go - and many times for a good long time after. Always discuss with your doctor how new dosages or different meds make you feel; no matter how insignificant you may think the changes are.
Remember, there are different levels of function/dysfunction within the diagnosis of "bi-polar disorder". Don't let the diagnosis get you down! You have a great chance to live a HAPPY, full life, all while managing your BPD. "
A traveler travelled for miles and climbed for days to meet a wise man who could give the definition of happiness on arrival the traveler asked for the secrete of happiness but the wise man was busy so told the traveler to wait for him and have a look around his palace and he would be with him to talk shortly. BUT the wise man gave the traveller a teaspoon with three drips of oil placed on the spoon with the instruction go anywhere in my home but do not spill a drop of oil.
The monk did as he was instructed and waited while walking the halls of the palace inside and out at all times being mindful not to drip a single drop of oil from the spoon. The guru as promised came and met with the traveler and once more the traveler asked for the secrete of happiness.
“Did you walk my palace” asked the wise man “yes” replied the traveler. “Did you see my paintings, the garden with flowers in mid bloom, the array of colours and hear the wild birds sing”? No replied the traveler seeking truth. This is where you go wrong, “the secrete of happiness” said the wise man“is to see the beauty all around you while not spilling the oil”. The monk saw the meaning and went for a second walk through the palace.
For @Betaboy or anyone else struggling with it, even with medications, which I have plenty of :rolleyes: there will always be breakthrough episodes. It is the nature of the disease, and has to be ridden out. You can't let an episode feed on itself and spiral out of control, causing more depression or anxiety. I withdraw and let the storm pass, lest other people irritate me and it gets worse. Hiding out? Yeah.
I know a lot of people will take potshots at my depression, but that's okay. This isn't depression speaking; it is hope.
When I almost cried because I couldn't lift a 1 lb dumbell after shoulder surgery, and I used to do side raises with 35 lb dumbells, I thought of this. He lost his arms after being electrocuted working on electrical lines:
I complain about what I can't do because of my injuries, but look at this guy.
[IMG]http://forum.bodybuilding.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=217600&d=1120644781[/IMG] [IMG]http://forum.bodybuilding.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=217597&d=1120644725[/IMG]
Everyone has their own pain, but how badly do we want to overcome it? He lost his arms after being electrocuted working on electric lines.
That is how I understood it.
It is not about what others say but your interior movement.
Hope. Wonderful. :clap:
Hmmm... doesn't sound 'positive' to me.
If I had heard this from a friend whom I knew had suicidal thoughts or attempts (in the past), honestly?... I'd be getting
a little worried about now.
But you claim it's all positive? Ok then. So be it.
In this fallen world, depression is inevitable due to circumstances, chemical imbalance, other people, etc. Countless reasons to be depressed or no reason - depression for some could even be a natural state because of their genes, chemical imbalance, etc. Point is, I accept that this earthly life is full of thorns and thistles. I don't live in denial anymore, I don't expect the impossible anymore. I have learned to accept facts - and this gives me peace. And belief in the afterlife gives me hope.
So I may not be jumping about for joy, but I have something more powerful: hope. And this hope is my strength.
The world is basically neutral about whether you suffer or not. There is no malignant force at work to ruin your life.
How do I know? Experience. With depression and medication, for myself and many, many others that I know and have known.
And experience with beauty in nature and in people.
As a mariner, I see the ocean when it is so beautiful it would make you cry. Half an hour later you might be shitting yourself in a gale. It's only different conditions and how you feel about them. No agenda.
The Buddha did quite a bit more than that.
Second, my philosophy -- quit whining and get on with living.
THIS.
Frankly, you enjoy suffering. You want to suffer.
Have you considered starting back at the beginning?
There are a number of threads listing books to look into.
. . . find the good, better, hope, help required?
Are we all aiming for peace and happiness whilst living, even the Buddha . . . ? :wave:
Most people think the buddhist path is a cure for this dukkha - meaning the path will make the sorrow vanish. That's not entirely correct. The path will make the sorrow more manageable, that's all. There is no magic cure - sorrow is here to stay until we die. In fact, death itself is a great dukkha for some.
So all I am saying is, let us not have false hopes that the buddhist path or the christian path (or any path) will make the sorrow vanish. It won't.
But that's not what you said in the OP.
In the therapist's office, I'm sobbing (I hate crying period, hate crying in front of others worse) because it is just.all.too.effing.SAD.
She asks me what my spiritual beliefs are, and I reply I'm kind of a Buddhist, more than anything else. She mentions my attachment to the pain of the world, and I told her 'No, it is attached to ME. I don't want it, I'm trying to get away from it." She smiled.
I went home, and sometime later during the day, I stood in the middle of my place frozen in shock, for I had been given the unasked for gift of SEEING just how firmly, fiercely and doggedly I was holding onto the pain. I got this image of myself, like a cartoon, of me running desperately away from something I was holding onto. I remembered my goose Lila (sister to Lilly) who got bail twine wrapped around her leg and was trying to run away from it.
I started meditating a few days later, and though it's not been long, that little crack let a lot of light in.
Pain is a kind of love, pain causes us to move away to safety, the urge to fix or soothe whether we can or not. Same for fear. Neither are completely evil bad bugaboos. Yeah, that's getting real non-dual. But still. Stay brave, Betaboy
Gassho
LG
Now what? Eight fold path anyone?
Dukkha is not incidentally just sorrow, misery, gloom and suffering. A better translation (thus have I heard) is unsatisfactory, discontent, stress
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dukkha
I was studying today, and was reminded of this thread.
Does any of this resonate with you?
In the LAM TSO NAM SUM, (3 Principal Paths) the first path is NGEN JUNG; or renunciation. Sometimes explained as "disgust with life, with the suffering that life entails" or "disillusionment with life(and all it entails)"
This is considered the first of three steps necessary for enlightenment. It sounds negative but is in fact a very important and positive realization. Is this perhaps what you meant when you said you made your peace through accepting that things are often bad? Or am I far off the mark?
the human(and probably all beings in all the world systems) condition remains the same as it has since well before the time of the Buddha, and the four ennobling truths and dhamma is there, for the few who wish to truly follow them. I can't rightly see how he truly changed the world though.
I'm not exactly sure in my limited knowledge that the Buddha was trying to create "Buddhist countries". I also don't see how Buddhism as a cultural and religious phenomenon is any different then hinduism or any other religion. so in that regard would the world REALLY be any different had the buddha not existed?
the real difference is the uniqueness of his message(self reliance) and the path to freedom, which has little to do with what "buddhism" as a whole has become today.
so in that regard especially he really didn't change anything, except for a small few who can follow the path now, and those who will reach that point in the future.
Suggest you read the history of just the relationship between the Khmer and the ancestral Thais. Would have changed the whole history of SE Asia.
But, you are entitled to your world viewpoint, as well.
My wife and I met an old couple on our honeymoon 15 years ago - and we have been in contact ever since. However, the 'jewish ' feminine has always suffered from depression and despite our efforts - she a does not wish to engage in our life - although us and our children would see it in a different light - apparently ash spends most nights playing ANGRY BIRDS or some other INANE game on her smartphone - she does not awnt to engage anymore .await your response`!!! with trepidation±