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[Make a Post]>you just accept reality as it is,
This is slightly "wrong", in my vision. "Accept" is not to be passive. If you see something bad in reality and you can help, you should do it.
The word "accept" has more the meaning of "innocence" than "ignorance".
I didn't mean "accept" in the sense of being completely passive about everything. It's more a recognition that humans are very limited in how much agency we actually have over circumstances; much less than we think we have and, obviously, much less than we wished we had. So, it's accepting the fact that change, loss, pain, aging, sickness, death, lack of power, etc. are all going to be a part of our reality to varying degrees sooner or later. Instead of fighting against circumstances beyond our control, we accept all circumstances that remain after the limits of our power is reached, and we cultivate peace and contentment, even in the midst of our suffering.
>>11824
I don't know if following concrete school of buddhism is really any different than following religion xyz.
I find religion and spirituality to be like a vestigial appendage to human reasoning, it must have been useful once, a long time ago.
I'm satisfied that abstract buddhism is NOT religion and in essence is all about taking control of ones mind and being capable of channeling the mind into a state of equilibrium. My understanding of Buddhism is that it acknowledges that to live is to be in an unstable state and by finding mental equilibrium it is easier then to ask questions like "What for?" and "How Come?"
Wouldn't you rather be in that state? regardless of what you think about Buddhism, surely acquiring the mental state-o-being buddhism teaches is better for many reasons. The general butthurt over everything would be exponentially lower and we'd have more ingenuity in problem solving.
>>11829
I think many religious buddhists are just passive though, but there are two different ends. 1; Find abstract enlightened ideals that enhance your life, or 2; be generally fear driven and do what you're told, be passive and hope the great ones (as if they exist) take mercy on your soul (if that exists).
To try to be as free from external stimuli as possible. To control yourself. Your rushed responses. You can be calm even if the world is on fire or you can be on fire inside you when the world is doing fine. Your own perception of what you think is the proper set of responses to any given moment is more important than the moment as presented to you in both the present, past and the future. Since you can both negatively and positively influenced by events that had happened or will happen. Think, you can get scared of something that you perceive may happen in the future yet does not exist at the present. Self control is the key. The easiest person to fool in your entire life is yourself.
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Non-self is too deep a topic and too prone to misunderstandings to even discuss here. Basically, only an Arahant can grasp what the implications of non-self actually imply about reality.
What's more accessible to the lay person are the concepts of attachment and impermanence, which leads to suffering.
From my understanding of the Theravada school, basically, you just accept reality as it is, in whole without cherry picking what you like best about it and pushing away the rest. Embracing experience or "reality" as it is and seeing it merely as empty phenomena, impermanent and lacking any intrinsic value or meaning. Therefore, there's no reason to attach to anything, nor reject anything. You just accept the moment for what it is and cultivate a sense of contentment in that space. This is the best life has to offer, so grasping for something else is just the cause of present and future suffering.
Meditation is simply relaxation of the mind, nothing more. Each in-breath and out-breath is merely a reminder to relax the mind and let go of all thoughts, feelings and judgements.
There is nothing more to do than to simply be aware of the phenomena of the present moment. That which is perceived before labels and judgements are attached to it and the ego gets involved.
Discuss.
https://invidio.us/watch?v=a29jzOHwwq0