[MD] dharma

[kieffer odigaunt]

Marsha,

yes it is shocking to me that people, scientists even, can one moment appear
rational and then the next seem (to me) completely irrational; belief in God
for me is irrational - belief in a destructive, vengeful God even more so.
Memes, behavioural instructions that are replicated in our brains by
evolutionary mechanisms, help explain this for me.

I have been reading Susan Blackmore's 'The Meme Machine' and feel greatly
the better for it - especially the astonishing and completely unexpected
final chapter: she had shown how our sense of free will, consciousness and
selfness is an illusion and is then considering the implications of this
conclusion. I quote:

'Some scientists prefer to keep their scientific ideas and their ordinary
lives separate. Some can do biology all week and go to church on Sunday. or
be physicists all their life and believe they will go to heaven. But I
cannot divorce my science from the way I live my life. If my understanding
of human nature is that there is no conscious self inside then I must live
that way - otherwise this is a vain and lifeless theory of human nature. But
how can 'I' live as though I do not exist, and who would be choosing to do
so?'

Here is her astonishing recommendation:

'One trick is to concentrate on the present moment - all the time - letting
go of any thoughts that come up. This kind of 'meme-weeding' requires a
great concentration but is most interesting in its effect. If you can
concentrate for a few minutes at a time, you will begin to see that in any
moment there is no observing self. Suppose you sit and look out the window.
Ideas will come up but these are all past and future orientated; so let them
go, come back to the present. Just notice what is happening. The mind leaps
to label objects with words, but these words take time and are not really in
the present.......'

Sound familiar? She gives other such techniques, meditations if you will,
for evading the tyranny of the self - I am sure you love that feeling of
selflessness when you are deeply in your painting?

That is why I say: let the neck be free, to let the head go forward and up,
to let the back lengthen and widen...'

-KO

2008/12/18 MarshaV <marshalz at charter.net>

>
> Keith,
>
> One man's "scientific" theory of evolution is another man's allegory and
> metaphor.  I get this.  It is, it isn't, it's both is and isn't, and
> neither.  Who holds the illusion is an interesting question?  Pragmatic?
>
> The other day I was listening to C-SPAN's Washington Journal.  The question
> was about Obama's choices for his "team".  A man called in to state that he
> felt pleased with Obama's choices.  He made a very rational statement.  He
> then went on to state that Obama should offer total commitment to Israel,
> BECAUSE if we didn't GOD would destroy the world.
>
> Pattern?  Dharma?  Meme?  Not real, not not real?   The West is a fucking
> mess!  (Pardon the appropriate word.)
>
> Marsha
>
>
>
> At 04:10 AM 12/18/2008, you wrote:
>
>> Marsha, you know i don't dissagree with the not and not not - and other
>> shores - is too obfuscated for me - maybe because they cannot see the
>> evolutionary picture and must always depend on allegory and metaphor.
>>
>> -KO
>>
>> 2008/12/18 MarshaV <marshalz at charter.net>
>>
>> >
>> > Keith,
>> >
>> > and patterns...   It's the 'not and not not' that has me twisted.  I can
>> > see it as clear as ..., but see nothing.  I read the words and they fall
>> > through me.  Perhaps it's time to paint.
>> >
>> >
>> > Marsha
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > At 04:02 AM 12/18/2008, you wrote:
>> >
>> >> Hi Marsha,
>> >>
>> >> teaching and entities of the mind - i see a strong connection with the
>> >> idea
>> >> of memes
>> >>
>> >> -KO
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> 2008/12/18 MarshaV <marshalz at charter.net>
>> >>
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> > Dharma:  "A Sanskrit word that means "what is real," whether an
>> object,
>> >> an
>> >> > event, or a teaching.  In the Abhidharma school, the term is applied
>> to
>> >> > entities of the mind."
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> > Not and not not, and I am skipping like a scratched 45-rpm record.
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> > Marsha
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> > .
>> >> > .
>> >> >
>> >> > Shoot for the moon.  Even if you miss, you'll land among the
>> >> stars.........
>> >> > .
>> >> > .
>> >> > Moq_Discuss mailing list
>> >> > Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc.
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>> >>
>> >
>> > .
>> > .
>> >
>> > Shoot for the moon.  Even if you miss, you'll land among the
>> stars.........
>> > .
>> > .
>> > Moq_Discuss mailing list
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>
> .
> .
>
> Shoot for the moon.  Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars.........
> .
> .
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