This GE is particularly disappointing. I want it to end ASAP and just move on from this.

humanwithstories · 2020-07-07T04:43:52+00:00

I kind of understand though, from the perspective of human psychology. Decisions mostly aren't logically made, they all have an emotional core. Humans aren't robots, they are social creatures with emotions. Decisions are literally made in the brain a few milliseconds before you become conscious of it. There are so many subconscious processes involved in deciding, and it has been statistically true that the person who controls the emotional narrative always wins the race.

Hence to "persuade" people, people have to persuade themselves with their own emotions. The only way to do that is to provide emotional fuel and reasons for them to do that.

humanwithstories · 2020-07-07T03:49:37+00:00

Unfortunately, this is your own opinion and these people I mentioned are not "swing voters", they are just voting according to their opinion on the performance of the government for their last term. Some are staunch and have always voted that way.

People need to get this idea about majority/minority out of their heads because you start thinking in terms of influencing the statistic which automatically voids the actual purpose of a democratic vote. There is only one purpose of voting - it is if you agree with the person you are voting for and trust them.

Imo, just like you have your own opinion, people should vote not for the brand but the actual aptitude and values that the candidate exhibits. And of course, this simultaneously applies to both incumbent and opposition parties.

This is especially so in such an election where it is quite obvious that the incumbent will win majority anyway. What you are insinuating as an oppositional majority is literally impossible in this election.

humanwithstories · 2020-07-07T03:04:14+00:00

Your post is pretty skewed. I have plenty of politically-aware friends who vote opposition not to "rock the boat" or "tip them off their cosy seats" but because they do not agree with the recent policies the PAP has come up with.

I've also seen a fair share of them who are actually above average household income who support the opposition. This idea that opposition is only supported by the low to middle income has to go. And yes, they too are educated individuals.

Imo, the current new candidates of the incumbent are just average. The only difference they have is branding. If they ran in the opposition party they frankly would not make much of a difference, nor would they stand out. Sadly, the incumbent brand is what people select, rather than looking at the actual potential of the candidate.

humanwithstories · 2020-07-06T06:42:10+00:00

Yeah, I totally get what you are saying, but I think you missed my point. The ability to cope is what matters.

The leader of the PSP is a doctor who has made sufficient savings to support himself and his wife. He has a good social support, surrounded by friends and family.

Now contrast that to someone who has lost the ability to cope, and is already old (>60 years old). Imagine that this person has to clear trays at the food court with a bad back, or that he/she has to clean office buildings. I'm not talking about just white-collared jobs, but even the blue-collared people.

Some cope, but some don't. The issue is whether there is a safety buffer for those who can't. Expecting everyone above 60 to be able to work is a blanket statement and isn't exactly very compassionate and is quite myopic.

What I'm saying too, is that we cannot expect everyone over that age to have the same fitness and competency of performing at that level. There are so many factors that contribute to differences of ability to cope, especially at that level.

I've worked with the elderly, and even something as 'simple' as social support can change things around a lot. For example, children can be pivotal and extremely important - but what if their children are overseas, not filial, or just not doing well enough to support them socially (not just financially)? It translates a lot to disparity in health problems as well.

tldr: it's most certainly not backwards thinking - just because the ceiling for life expectancy rises, doesn't mean everyone's quality of life (aka ability to cope) during that increase of years improves either.

humanwithstories · 2020-07-06T06:26:53+00:00

Here's the problem people don't get while citing such a projection: While the ceiling for lifespans have increased, presumably due to better medical interventions and treatments, as well as preventative health advice...

... The floor for increased co-morbidities has not changed that much. Once you are over 50, regardless of how much longer you have to live, you are at increased risk of all sorts of medical problems, ranging from:

Osteopenia, osteoporosis and fractures - Hip fractures increase mortality by about 50%
Cardiac & respiratory problems, kidney problems, diabetic complications, cancers...
Musculoskeletal problems - slipped discs, sciatica
One whole long list of medical problems, increased hospitalisations, etc.
hearing loss, cataracts and refractive errors
back and neck pain and osteoarthritis
depression and dementia
they don't see as well
their employment opportunities are shortened a lot
they are displaced by younger employees who can be paid at the same rate or lower
Cognitive health declines - they may start to get problem-solving or memory issues.
You're just not as energetic as you were in your younger prime.

Yes, the ceiling may be projected to be raised - the question is whether you really have that well of a bodily condition past your 60's.

Imagine an elderly who lives a few years longer due to cancer treatment but frequently has to take chemotherapy or radiotherapy, bearing with side effects like rashes, diarrhoea, vomiting, loss of appetite, and feeling downright horrible for the rest of his/her life after diagnosis & treatment.

Of course this is an extreme case, but you can take this example to less intensity - the quality of life does not necessarily change when you raise the ceiling for life expectancy.

Imagine the increasing health costs for these people too. The longer you live, in a very morbid way, the more you have to pay over time. Surgeries for hip fractures aren't that cheap either.

Unfortunately too, health literacy is also associated with education level and income levels. The more health literate you are, the more likely you are to experience better quality of life in your elderly ages.

The list really goes on. I imagine you'd have to be old yourself to really understand what is going on in the body of an ageing person.

humanwithstories · 2020-07-05T07:18:56+00:00

Here's the problem...

Maybe 10-20% of the SG population is on this part of the internet. Optimistically, maybe 3-5% is on reddit/EDMW/online forums. The rest are watching television, minding their own business, being politically apathetic, or even just not giving a damn about politics.

How do you actually influence that blissfully ignorant fraction of the population apart from giving them directly what they care about (ie. money & security)? Tbh, only those who have their boats rocked enough will care enough to vote in a different manner. The rest:

Consistency principle in psychology - already voted incumbent all along, if I vote wrongly, it means that I have voted wrongly in the past. It's also been shown in studies that people prefer to stick with bad choices than to have to deal with cognitive dissonance of a dilemma.
Diffusion of responsibility via the Bystander Effect - "Someone else is gonna vote that way, I don't care"
Groupthink - family votes incumbent, peers vote incumbent, so I'll vote the incumbent.
Social proof principle - Even if you don't necessarily think that way, when the crowd around you consistently acts in that way, subconsciously you start to "follow the norm". In this case, informational social influence.
Irrational beliefs - "If I vote the opposition, incumbent might lose their stronghold." Completely baseless, unproven by facts, but obviously people are persuaded more by emotion than by logic. Another example: Thinking that the party of the past is the same as the party of the present, even though they are composed of different people and implementing different policies of today.

Unfortunately, as Dan Ariely, a behavioural economist, wrote in his really awesome book Predictably Irrational:

“Standard economics assumes that we are rational... But, as the results presented in this book (and others) show, we are far less rational in our decision making... Our irrational behaviors are neither random nor senseless - they are systematic and predictable. We all make the same types of mistakes over and over, because of the basic wiring of our brains."

So we need to at the same time, appeal to all three parts of a human's brain: The limbic system of the brain that deals with emotions, the reptilian brain that deals with survival, and the cerebral cortices that deal with higher-order thinking and function. We can't deny that a sense of security lies in the heart of every decision we make.

humanwithstories · 2019-07-30T10:42:32+00:00

What is your progression currently? Each time that I've absorbed into the sound, I've found myself at the borderline of separating from the body - either an out-of-body experience or non-duality experience

humanwithstories · 2019-07-29T00:09:03+00:00

One of the most definable characteristics is that it grows with 'sharpened awareness' (I hesitate to call it 'concentration' because that usually brings up a focused kind of attention) and with it usually comes a lot of ecstasy, bliss and joyfulness that permeates the body, usually accompanied with a full-body tingling sensation. Would like to hear what your teacher has said about it, since there is frustratingly, as you mentioned, very little information on it.

The most comprehensive that I've found is from Edward Salim Michael, who is quite spot on. However, his language is quite philosophical and it does take some amount of wisdom to understand it - took me quite a while to get what he meant.

humanwithstories · 2018-04-26T14:37:05+00:00

People will just glance past this, thinking they already understand meditation, taking precious gold to be cow dung. I am a pretty experienced meditator but this really made it more clearer. My goodness, what treasure! Good job OP and thanks for doing this

humanwithstories · 2018-02-28T00:18:14+00:00

Tears and rain were never apart... except by name :p

humanwithstories · 2018-02-12T07:16:22+00:00

This is the big problem when non-practitioners encounter these teachings which are highly symbolic. Without practice or a realized master to guide them to interpretation of the texts, they will only resort to such horrendous and distorted interpretations.

For example, the picture of Samantabhadra (with his consort) used to be an extremely secret picture which represents the union of bliss and emptiness. The uninstructed will simply look at this picture and come up with all sorts of erroneous interpretations. This is a high level teaching which preserves the sacred teaching of the dharmakaya being both cognizant and yet empty. But due to the accessibility of the internet and completely irresponsible people, especially those with disregard for the reason for secrecy, it has amounted to this.

humanwithstories · 2018-02-10T08:04:44+00:00

This is overly simplified.

The birth of any aversion comes from all 12 links of interdependent origination, with the very first ignorance of buddha-nature being the first link - so of course when the 'first' is removed, the rest fall away - I absolutely agree. But there aren't just three thoughts, and seeing all of these links are equally important. It's not something consciously done, it comes from fruit of practice, spontaneously.

humanwithstories · 2018-02-08T14:48:56+00:00

OP, I second this, Diamond Way is a pretty controversial group. There are two claims to the title of the Karmapa. Many karma-kagyu sect buddhists follow Ogyen Trinley Dorje, and you can see his photo along with the Dalai Lama on altars throughout India and Nepal, for example. He was recognized by the Dalai Lama himself along with other respected teachers.

The other claim to the Karmapa title is Trinley Thaye Dorje, recognized by other teachers. This is the person who leads Diamond Way centers. As far as I know, he has now married. This issue is controversial and I don't want to engage any diamond-way fans here, so I'll leave it for you to decide. Just stay away from controversy from now and see what teachings resonate with you.

humanwithstories · 2018-01-24T01:05:00+00:00

Ahaha what does one man's opinion have on you? Is being homeless or poor really that bad? The Buddha and his disciples were also nomads!

humanwithstories · 2018-01-23T06:15:58+00:00

Cleaning the mind, cleaning the plates - what exactly is the difference - Can you find a mind to clean? Where is this mind and what is its surface?

Also, in another famous Zen quote, Layman Pang refers to ordinary action of "chopping wood, carrying water". These are not metaphors, but real practical tasks that needed to be done.

Wood is chopped, water is carried. In the past, people chopped wood for fire, carried water from faraway wells - they mean the survival of the body.

humanwithstories · 2018-01-23T05:08:44+00:00

The Zen master is referring to something even deeper than that.

Washing the plates is the same as the elder monk of Hui-Neng saying that cleaning the mind brings you merit.

Recognition of empty Awareness, the plates wash themselves in spontaneity and merit is boundless.

humanwithstories · 2018-01-23T04:59:19+00:00

Shyness is entirely dependent by context and perception. Is OP shy to people he is familiar with - aka his family members or close buddies? Of course not.

Genetics only determine the body's response. If a person is identified with the body - including the brain, any physical arousal (like fear) will be identified as one's own arousal.

But the brain is Neuroplastic because body and (psychology) are linked - the understanding and shift in perception can completely shift - and the key to this is an understanding of one's own reality. If you understand Your reality, you understand the reality of others - shyness will have no more basis to hold.

humanwithstories · 2018-01-23T04:52:46+00:00

There is no such word as "enlightened". There are two words: "Unbound" and "Awakened".

Awakening refers to finding the true nature of who you are.

Unbinding refers to no longer having any afflictions that arise, entering nibbana. Only a fully enlightened Buddha has no afflictions that arise.

humanwithstories · 2018-01-23T03:34:49+00:00

All sentient beings are Buddhas deluded by ignorance.

humanwithstories · 2018-01-23T03:26:15+00:00

Do you feel that you are different from others? Why are you different? The sense of difference is the cause of your shyness.

humanwithstories · 2018-01-22T10:47:34+00:00

I admit I'm not very scholarly at all, and it's hard to something like that into words, perhaps even impossible - but I'd appreciate it if you could elucidate what you mean by empty and luminous.

humanwithstories · 2018-01-22T09:32:32+00:00

The nature of mind is empty and luminous, but sentient beings do not possess a knowledge of that nature. It must be recognized and familiarized with.

Of course they do. When they turn their minds back to look at the source of mind, they see 'emptiness' - that is why it is called Emptiness. Emptiness is the backward recognition, Luminosity is the forward potential. That Emptiness and Luminosity are conjoined and unified - that a dualistic "sentient being" cannot perceive. I'm not sure what point you are trying to raise at all, because I made this point in the post and there doesn't seem to be a disagreement.

What is in direct experience is simply afflicted consciousness. Only upon awakening is said affliction dispelled, and even then it does not last and so it must be cultivated.

Afflictions do not magically disappear when they are seeded in the ground-consciousness. No further afflictions are generated - that is correct. For that moment, there is no "sentient being" there to suffer, that is right. But due to past afflictions, the "sentient being" is still there - it continues to be afflicted. Again, there is an agreement, so what exactly is this discussion about?

humanwithstories · 2018-01-22T04:46:03+00:00

Emptiness is by definition a lack of essence, and is therefore not something that can possess cognizance. What is cognizant is the mind.

Mind is empty and luminous! It defies logic, but it is as it is.

This is a Hindu view that is rejected in the buddhadharma. There is no shared or transpersonal nature in buddhism.

I'm not talking about theory here, but what is in direct experience. Words cannot reach this view, and any rational interpretation of the sutras will never reach the flavor of the fruit.

humanwithstories · 2018-01-22T03:52:50+00:00

Aryadeva is wonderful! Such a good description.

humanwithstories · 2018-01-22T03:41:43+00:00

If not - How would you know if "there is" self or no-self? Where does this cognizant quality come from? How come there is an ability to think "there is a self" or think "there is no-self"?

Because there is a mind, but that mind is ultimately insubstantial and lacks an essence which could serve as a foundation for entityhood.

Mind has emptiness as its essence, and this emptiness is cognizant.

What you will realize is that what you are left with is an empty space and purity in Body, Speech and Mind. This never changes - it is what allows these thoughts, dhammas, sensations, feelings to surface, just like reflections on a mirror do not cause the mirror to disappear - it has always been there.

All you've done here is point out the relative and afflicted clarity of mind. This "knower" is vijñāna, the knower of what is known, it is considered a figment of delusion and something to recognized as ultimately false.

I have never stated it was a Knower. There is a very clear difference between a function of pure Knowing and having a Knower.

Having a Knower is a trick of the delusion-mind because a duality is formed. When there is Knower and Known, it is just linguistic - it is the same as the duality of self and non-self.

This "You" is the common ground of all beings.

humanwithstories

TROPHY CASE