TheRoadsMustRoll t1_jasd4ek wrote
>...the attachment to something impermanent and untrue must cause suffering. Jay Garfield
while tangential to the subject of the article this is pure gold. it strikes me as a foundational statement to what we call "cognitive dissonance."
Conditional-Sausage t1_jaurz78 wrote
Interestingly, this is very, very close to parts of the core Buddhist principles, known as the four noble truths. Buddhism also has a lot to say with regards to the illusion of the self (see: Anatman), in that it holds that there is no fixed, unchanging self, but rather a constantly fluctuating combination of five components known as the five aggregates. So any attachment to your ideas of yourself will cause you to suffer, because you will eventually change enough or arrive at the right circumstances to falsify that self-narrative.
TheRoadsMustRoll t1_jawom1q wrote
>Buddhism also has a lot to say with regards to the illusion of the self
agreed.
and i find the reactions to the OP interesting from an allegorical standpoint: when the Buddha was under the tree seeking enlightenment he was constantly beset by jealous gods that didn't want to let him into their realm. they each plied their talents tempting him and challenging him to remain in the material world.
so here's the OP posting a little bit of truth with some Buddhist flavor to it and he is instantly barraged by people claiming that the self is all-important and that he doesn't know what he's talking about and that we shouldn't be trying for anything beyond sheer materialism.
so i guess Kali and Shiva et.al. have gone digital now lol.
cutdownthere t1_javqtk4 wrote
I would say I see parallels to this and islam's concept "dunya".
So_frickin_tasty t1_javzlj0 wrote
Islam incorporates a lot of other religious tenets. This is directly inspired by Buddhism, though typically this focus on mysticism is overlooked (or violently rejected in some cases).
cutdownthere t1_jb0sxj7 wrote
Have you not heard of the sufis?
perldawg t1_javzqeq wrote
Jay Garfield has studied Buddhism for decades, so that certainly aligns
LBGW_experiment t1_jawcwdc wrote
The article constantly references different Buddhist beliefs and the author is Chinese, so...
heskey30 t1_jatqgpt wrote
On the contrary, it's only natural that impermanent beings would be attached to impermanent things and ideas. I think the most mentally healthy people I know don't consider eternity or the impermanence of everything very often.
TheRoadsMustRoll t1_jatszpy wrote
>...it's only natural that impermanent beings would be attached to impermanent things and ideas.
that's true but wasn't germane to what was being quoted.
​
>...the attachment to something impermanent and untrue must cause suffering. Jay Garfield
i.e. i love my car and i have no apologies to make about it. its a material object and it is decaying and it will eventually rust and dissolve and that will make me sad. recognizing in advance that the impermanence of materialism always leads to suffering is what allows me some enlightenment and foresight.
if i were ever interested in something less painful i might consider looking beyond my material world. for a christian that might mean delving into the lessons of the bible or a Buddhist might focus on some meditations. that's the point; to simply be aware of reality.
Doobledorf t1_jatz4vn wrote
Exactly this. It isn't saying "don't be sad that your car will someday not be here." Instead, it's that the sadness you experience will be easier to deal with rather than the sadness caused by the loss AND clinging to what you no longer have.
Bakemono30 t1_jaxex7d wrote
In other words, a shift in perspective. Both are not changing the fact that the car will die, but the fact that one’s perspective towards that event is key to finding oneself.
I may have to look further into this… I feel like my perspectives in my life need some serious retuning. Thank you!
Doobledorf t1_jaxg271 wrote
Of course! I found the idea of "dropping the second arrow" to be really helpful, if you're interested in some reading. I think it's a Buddhist concept?
Bakemono30 t1_jaxg724 wrote
Cool! I will definitely check it out! Thanks again!
CableTrash t1_jautyph wrote
Nah I think about that shit all the time and I’m perfectly menta…… oh wait
Eruptflail t1_javn001 wrote
Ignorance is bliss one might say. I do disagree with the anecdote, though. I think that the people who are the most mentally healthy are those who have done the mental work and have moved past it. They're not going to get hit with an existential crisis when they actually come to terms with their mortality when they hit 35.
People may seem mentally healthy until they suddenly aren't. It's not until you've danced in the void that you're truly healthy.
manjar t1_javzobe wrote
And also natural that this causes suffering. There's lots of suffering.
rupertdeberre t1_javqb61 wrote
The idea of a cognitive dissonance is rooted in the idea of a "self". It's the conflict of two ideas that a "self" holds, and which acts upon a "self" to cause distress or disharmony. If you were to look at this more pluralistically, you might say that these contradictions are products of a world that is systemic (made up of interlinking, pluralistic systems).
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