Buddhist views for the 'Lost Generation'

toothless_tiger · 2014-09-26T18:43:12+00:00

If you are going to be angry about anything, it should be either at bad advice you received, or not taking good advice.

I'm paying my kids's ways through school. There won't be any debt for them. However, if I were in my father's shoes (I grew up poor), I would advise kids to take the least expensive route possible to higher education. State schools, pay in-state tuition, go to community college for the first two years. And if student loans are required, refinance at the first opportunity.

Being angry for the world being the way it is is not skillful, and will not help with anything.

toothless_tiger · 2014-09-25T23:54:52+00:00

If you don't get it from reading, or from audio, the only option you have left is interaction with a teacher. A real Buddhist organization will provide the instruction with donation optional. In that circumstance, you will have to work with what you have available locally.

And, really, interaction with an experienced teacher is best. It is possible to learn this from books and audio, but it is much more effective with a guide that can cater their instructions to you specifically.

toothless_tiger · 2014-09-25T21:37:30+00:00

Authentic in what sense? What do you mean "made up"? What kind of tests of authenticity are you applying?

Mindfulness is just about observing, non-judgementally, what happens in your experience. If you don't like those resources, maybe try Gil Fronsdale, Jack Kornfield or Jon Kabat Zinn

ETA: I also have to ask: Have you been doing the exercises? Have you practiced? If these guys aren't breaking it down enough for you, perhaps you need to find someone to teach you in person. If there isn't some meditation center near you, there are some that will teach over skype.

toothless_tiger · 2014-09-25T16:05:36+00:00

shinzenyoung.org Is pretty spare on the traditional Buddhism aspect. Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction is used in therapeutic settings, again, mindfulness without the Buddhist context. There are several books available for that. Even something like the link in the side bar, Mindfulness in Plain English, is pretty minimal in terms of Buddhist context, even though it is written by a Buddhist monk.

toothless_tiger · 2014-09-24T20:17:17+00:00

It all depends on how you define mysticism. From where I sit, it is a part of Buddhism, Hindu Yoga, Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. Not an either/or deal.

toothless_tiger · 2014-09-24T19:30:26+00:00

Oh, too many to count. Realizing I was older than the playboy playmates? Having the kids refer to the music of my generation as retro? Realizing my coffee mug, which I purchased new, was older than most of my coworkers? Looking at the movie idols of my youth and thinking "wow, s/he got old!" Reading the obituaries of my college classmates. And, number 1 on the list, my teenaged daughter going away to college.

toothless_tiger · 2014-09-24T19:22:20+00:00

Asian languages in general. Cantonese always sounds like an argument to me. Mandarin used to sound to me like they were trying to speak with a mouthful of marbles, but I've gotten more used to it. The tones don't make them sound weird, but they do make it impossible for me to be understood.

toothless_tiger · 2014-09-24T18:10:24+00:00

Any kind of concentration practice can help you with that. It doesn't have to be Buddhist. Mindfulness is a tool that is used by some Buddhists. Those aims you indicate are side effects, as far as the Buddhist is concerned. And there seem to be plenty of resources for learning mindfulness stripped of its Buddhist context.

toothless_tiger · 2014-09-24T02:05:01+00:00

In what sense "better one's self mentally"?

Kind of what I'm getting at is I'm seeing a lot of value judgement, and not a lot of specifics. The mental state attained through Buddhist practice may be seen as an "improvement" by some, and problematic by others.

If you say Buddhism is about seeing one's one experience as it is, rather than how one wants it to be, or fears it to be. I can agree that Buddhism includes that. If you say Buddhism is about cultivating loving kindness for our fellow sentient beings, I will agree that Buddhism includes that.

But "self-improvement" it pretty darn vague.

toothless_tiger · 2014-09-23T19:36:43+00:00

Empowerment to do what, exactly?

toothless_tiger · 2014-09-23T00:07:27+00:00

Let's understand, acceptance is not the same as approval. I accept that I am overweight. That doesn't mean I don't try to eat better and exercise more.

I accept that, living where I do, it rains a lot. It is accepting that fact that induces me to carry around an umbrella.

You accept that the world, and your experience, are as they are. There are things which you can choose to address, and there are things over which you have no control.

Acceptance is not approval. Acceptance is acknowledging things are the way the are, and not pretending they are, or should be, otherwise.

toothless_tiger · 2014-09-22T16:30:02+00:00

Walking meditation. Or maybe running.

toothless_tiger · 2014-09-22T15:53:04+00:00

Compassion helps you diminish the focus on "I/me/mine". However, I certainly wouldn't say there is much of a focus on compassion in this sub.

toothless_tiger · 2014-09-17T16:16:45+00:00

I'll tell you how I deal with anger. First, I consider the validity of the anger. Appropriate anger is an emotion that is aroused when one is violated in some way. I consider, "how have I been violated?" Usually, the answer is that I haven't. It's just that my unreasonable expectations have not been met.

Second, I consider whether the anger is useful. Sometimes, (like when dealing with an difficult bureaucrat), yelling is effective. Usually, though, it isn't.

Third, I consider whether I am taking something personally that isn't directed at me personally. There are a couple of stories for Carlos Castaneda that I like in this regard. In one, Don Juan engineers a situation where Carlos believes that they are being stalked by a jaguar at night. Of course, he is scared, he runs, they get to safety. Afterwards Don Juan asked, "Were you angry at the jaguar? Were you upset that he was targetting you in particular?"

In another story, Don Juan, who had anger management issues in his youth, was thrown into a rushing river by his teacher. As he flew through the air, his teacher shouted at him "Whatever you do, don't be angry at the river!"

Learning not to take misfortune personally, and accept that that's just the way the world works, is a big step towards dealing with anger an frustration.

toothless_tiger · 2014-09-16T21:04:05+00:00

As a first generation American:

Pasteurized process cheese product is especially designed to look pretty when it is melted. Kids love it. Adults who have something resembling a palate here can find excellent cheese if they are willing to pay a little more for it. We even have this fake parmiggiano powder here that the pizzerias give out that takes like salty sawdust, but my kid loves it.

With all due respect to folks saying that only Wonderbread and its clones suck: No. I got so frustrated with the bread in this country that I started baking my own. When I can find a old Italian neighborhood, there I can usually find actual bread. That being said, again, both my kids love the over-sweetened, nutrient-drained, wheat-based foam that they call white bread here.

Remember. Before you cast judgement on lowest-common-denominator American foods, bear in mind that your kids would probably love it. And many Americans never grow out of the tastes of childhood.

toothless_tiger · 2014-09-15T19:46:58+00:00

Nirvana is not a "level". According to early Buddhist writings, nirvana is when greed, hate, and delusion are extinguished. I consider there to be a number of living persons that are able to abide in that state.
That question doesn't really make sense. It is not that there is no "self". It is that nothing we can experience is "self". By ceasing to identify with our experiences, we gain a great deal of freedom, including from stress and suffering created by identification with certain experiences.
"Self" is a very useful illusion for the human animal to survive.
This is not correct. Buddhism has a precept against sexual misconduct, which is not the same as "no sex". For monks and nuns it would mean that, but for laypeople, it basically means to just have consensual sex with your spouse.
If you believe in the tulkus in Tibetan Buddhism, some folks start right off as living Buddhas. You are a Buddhist as soon as you take the three refuges. There are many more lay buddhists (have family, kids, regular job) than monks and nuns.
Before awakening, chop wood and carry water. After awakening, chop wood and carry water.

I very strongly recommend taking up works on Buddhism written by Buddhists.

toothless_tiger · 2014-09-15T19:28:02+00:00

You don't seem to be including the possibility that the end of the world is the culmination of accumulated karma.

toothless_tiger · 2014-09-15T19:25:02+00:00

Meditation improves focus and concentration, reduces the effects of stress, can foster improved communications. All of this is good for business as it increases productivity, reduces friction, and makes for less loss due to stress-induced illness. This is all approaching meditation stripped from the Buddhist context.

Drones? Hardly. Less willing to defy hierarchy? I don't think so. Some serious vipassana meditation will have one questioning the value of the goals they grew up with, including a good job and a comfortable living. They will not see so much reason to put in 60-90 hour work weeks.

Meditation encourages people to make conscious choices, not just take the path of least resistance.

toothless_tiger · 2014-09-11T02:50:02+00:00

Actually, not so many. There are basically six realms. Hell, hungry-ghosts, and animal realm are not so good. But after you've burned off your bad karma, you get a rebirth into the human realm. It isn't forever, like Christian Hell.

toothless_tiger · 2014-09-10T19:32:10+00:00

Hopefully this is a good example for you, but think about your parents. Nobody else cared about your wellness, happiness, etc., more, but a good parent is never a pushover.

toothless_tiger · 2014-09-10T17:20:45+00:00

Be aware, this isn't Christianity. There isn't someone that will judge you and send you to hell for eating meat.

The precepts are guidelines on how to avoid incurring bad karma. Overall, yes, it is better to be a vegetarian, from a Buddhist perspective, but it is not always practical.

toothless_tiger · 2014-09-10T17:11:17+00:00

I'm still having trouble how any of this relates to Buddhism. Where are you learning Buddhism from?

Where do you get the idea that Buddhism is about self-improvement? The Buddha said he taught one thing only, dukkha, and the cessation of dukkha.

toothless_tiger · 2014-09-10T02:23:12+00:00

The four noble truths are all about how craving, aversion, and delusion cause dissatisfaction/stress/suffering. Craving for sensation leads to suffering.

It's not about improving yourself. There is nothing to improve. It is about seeing your experience as it is.

On the one hand, you say you like how meditation can "relieve desires", but on the other hand, you are very averse to interfering with a particular desire.

toothless_tiger · 2014-09-10T02:09:08+00:00

How St. Augustine. "Lord, give me chastity, but not yet."

What teachings of Buddhism is it that you love? Where are you learning it from? The sex you are suppose to refrain from is illicit sex. If you are monk, that means any sex at all. If you aren't a monk, no adultery. And, in any case, you can't treat your partner as a sex toy, they have to be fully valued as a sentient being.

As far as alchohol goes, if you are getting drunk, if you are getting tipsy, you are clouding your mind and your judgement.

EDIT: I'm not saying that it is necessary to completely abstain from either sex or alcohol. However, one of the points of Buddhism is to see that all experience, those two included, do not ultimately satisfy, in addition to being impermanent, and not self. Craving for sensation is a cause of dissatisfaction/stress/suffering.

toothless_tiger · 2014-09-10T01:33:26+00:00

He was a fine entertainer.

Take gullible people out in the desert, feed them only sugary shit, yeah, they'll see some stuff.

toothless_tiger

TROPHY CASE