[MD] Reifying carrots

[118]

Hi Marsha,

Buddha saw the path to enlightenment by putting suffering at the core
of his philosophy.  This is not the only way to go about it, but an
effective one.  Nobody wants to suffer, and Buddha's notion rang true
with many.  What could be more motivating than to stop suffering?

I see it as many paths, Buddhism being one of them.  It is a useful
structure, but takes a lot of discipline and devotion.  It doesn't
come naturally to many, and so alternatives are appropriate.  I agree
that selflessness is much more healthy than selfishness.  One creates,
the other destroys.  Since we only look through one pair of eyes, it
would seem that selfishness comes first and selflessness must be
cultivated.  It is a process of seeking liberation, but one must first
conceive of being trapped.  One creates the other.

Mark

On Mon, Dec 6, 2010 at 2:26 AM, MarshaV <valkyr at att.net> wrote:
>
> I see.  The Buddhist emphasis on a strategy to end suffering by
> seeing things as they really are and developing compassion
> would be the better approach.  Nursing the ego is not?
>
>
>
> On Dec 6, 2010, at 12:50 AM, 118 wrote:
>
>> Yes, there are happy drugs of course.  But this whole notion of
>> creating a structure for how we think and behave I find ridiculous.
>> How can one person tell another how they are thinking?  It is all
>> projection.  It is also a spiritual dead end.  It cannot survive the
>> inner nature of man.  It completely blocks growth of any kind.
>>
>> Certainly the aspect of confessionals at a psychiatrists office
>> followed by advice are useful, but this massive academic explanation
>> of the way things are in our heads is nonsense.  This was already done
>> thousands of years ago.  Now we claim it is science therefore we must
>> abide by it.  Baloney.
>>
>> Mark
>>
>> On Sun, Dec 5, 2010 at 10:46 AM, MarshaV <valkyr at att.net> wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>> Mostly pill pushers, but not all.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Dec 5, 2010, at 1:44 PM, 118 wrote:
>>>
>>>> Hi Marsha,
>>>>
>>>> Yes, open in a way, but very directed by the concept of psychology.
>>>> This is a construct that is used to control and confuse.  In today's
>>>> world it is very prevalent, and our saviors are now psychologists.
>>>> What a racket!
>>>>
>>>> Mark
>>>>
>>>> On Sun, Dec 5, 2010 at 12:46 AM, MarshaV <valkyr at att.net> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> Mark,
>>>>>
>>>>> I'm not sure what you mean.  My point was the influence of Eastern
>>>>> thought.  James seems to have been open to new ideas and quite
>>>>> dynamic.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Marsha
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> On Dec 4, 2010, at 11:53 PM, 118 wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> Hi Marsha,
>>>>>> Yeah, James was pretty smart until he got into psychology.  Then he
>>>>>> just became another hack.  What a waste.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Mark
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On Sat, Dec 4, 2010 at 7:21 AM, MarshaV <valkyr at att.net> wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Buddhism planted the seeds in James:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> James's biography clearly states he had read and reread
>>>>>>> Upanishad and Buddhist texts, texts that belonged to his
>>>>>>> father.  This would have been around 1870.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Here's a list of some of the books:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>    Modern Buddhist - Alabaster
>>>>>>>    Religion des Buddha (Vol.1) - Koeppen
>>>>>>>    Le Buddhisme - Taine
>>>>>>>    Weltauffas der Buddhisten - Bastian
>>>>>>>    Brahma Somej: Four Lectures - Sen
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>    (William James: In the Maelstrom of American Modernism
>>>>>>>        by Robert D. Richardson)
>>>>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
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