[MD] Knots

[MarshaV]

Hi Mark,

Why wait for some scientific future to come true when there is an 
immediate need.  There is this twenty-five hundred-year-old 
tradition that has been working on just such a science of mind.
From what little I understand they use both rationality and special 
introspective techniques.  To remind you:


    "Upon first learning of mental states described in traditions outside of one's, there is a natural tendency to seek counterparts in one's own background or in the knowledge of one's native culture.  For many people it si difficult to acknowledge the possibility that the attainment of quiescence may have no counterpart in Western civilization, that the contemplative science of ancient India made advances that the West has not duplicated.  Especially over the past five hundred years, the West has made tremendous advances in developing physical instruments to aid us in exploring the world.  Such research instruments have enabled us to probe deeply into the nature of physical phenomena, but they offer no direct access to mental events.  The mind is the only instrument capable of examining all types of natural events --- including both the physical and mental.  But in terms of refining human awareness in the development of stability and clarity as described above, Western civllization has made no progress since the Scientific Revolution.  In this field of contemplative science ours is a backward, underdeveloped culture.  If we wish to explore these Buddhist theories and practices further, we are well advised to proceed not with blink faith, but with our full powers of critical intelligence.  In so doing we follow the advice that the Buddha gave to his monks when he counseled:

     O monks, sages accept my words after examining them well--
     like gold after it has been melted, cut and rubbed--but not out 
     of devotion [for me].

(Wallace, B. Alan, 'Choosing Reality, : A Buddhist View of Physics and the Mind',2003,pp.198-199)








On Oct 26, 2010, at 12:08 PM, 118 wrote:

> There is some discussion on the use of the subject-object analogy in MOQ
> discuss, and the attributes of Value to such an analogy.  This bears inquiry
> as it could also be interpreted that such an analogy is at the heart of many
> religions.  This SO divide brings out the search for the true subjective.
> Vedic philosophy can be interpreted to have assigned such subjective the
> “I”.  That is the “I” that is witnessing what I appear to be.  In such
> philosophy, that subject is compared to a vibration or a hum.  Buddhist
> thought which arose from such Eastern tradition, used intelligent thought to
> describe the subjective as not inherently existent, and described such a
> concept with a co-dependent arising metaphor.  More recently, Christian
> metaphors were interpreted by Kierkegaard, who proposed that the ultimate
> union of the subjective and objective could be achieved through extreme
> belief and devotion, requiring a leap.  Much existentialist interpretation
> followed his lead, including Heidegger’s “Being”.
> 
> 
> 
> In terms as what is referred to as Western philosophy, it is the opinion of
> this author that the subject-object analogy was converted to an
> object-object description.  That is the comparison of two objects.  Plato
> provided such description by objectifying the subjective.  More recently,
> Descartes further congealed the objectification of subjectivity by defining
> it as thought.  The statement “I think, therefore I am” suggests that
> thinking is the underlying presence of self.  Previously, in the Eastern
> thought described above, thinking was something that the self experienced as
> an object.  The description of the objectified sense of thought as the
> subjective sense of "I" has more recently led to notions by scientific
> materialism that the self can be explained physically through appropriate
> investigation into the brain itself.  Such studies are ongoing, but
> difficult.
> 
> 
> 
> Western considerations of the subject-object confused the subject with the
> object.  The metaphorical root of this transition could arise from the use
> of language.  As a matter of logistics, language must express the subject
> object idea as object-object to be useful.  Subject-object Metaphysics
> cannot be discussed without the objectifying of the subjective side.
> Indeed, the conversion of thought into words is a process of
> objectification.  Is this  notion therefore something that creates a
> roadblock and cannot be truly discussed due to the structure of language,
> and something that we have no control over?
> 
> 
> 
> Perhaps, but consider the following thought experiment (science fiction as a
> metaphor).  At some time in the future, the principle of telepathy will have
> been understood and harnessed.  There would be direct communication between
> brains through some kind of brain-wave harnessing.  Would such communication
> be in the form of words?  The answer is no.  There would be no need for
> words since entire awareness could be communicated.  Words would be bypassed
> so that entire appreciations could be conveyed such as the sense one gets
> when looking at a painting.  This would mean that thoughts as words would
> not be necessary, and words would only be used temporarily over long
> distances if there were no other means of communication.  Such words would
> be considered primitive communication, like the telegraph is now.
> 
> 
> 
> The awareness of how words form our subject-object metaphysics is, in the
> opinion of this author, a fruitful interpretation which is provided as
> analogy.  Through the development of such metaphors it is possible to
> appreciate (or create) some more meaningful underlying principles (or
> metaphors).
> 
> 
> The opinions expressed in this post are the author's and do not necessarily
> represent positions of the MOQ.
> 
> 
> Mark
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