MJD’s Comments (group member since Aug 18, 2018)

MJD’s comments from the Secular Sangha: A Secular Buddhist Group group.

Unconscious Self-Delusion:

This book touches on the concept of unconscious self-delusion a bit. For those interested in reading more on the subject I recommend the book The Elephant in the Brain.

Free Will:

This book touches on the concept of free will a bit. For those interested in reading more on the subject I recommend the book Free Will by Sam Harris.

Use this thread to discuss More Than Happiness: Buddhist and Stoic Wisdom for a Sceptical Age by Antonia Macaro.

Great Schopenhauer video:

I think that the following video sums up Schopenhauer's comprehensive philosophy very well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3VAi...

Reading volume 2 and want to say that it's a lot easier to read than volume 1. He seems to take a more conversational tone in the second volume.

Reading volume 2 and want to say that it's a lot easier to read than volume 1. He seems to take a more conversational tone in the second volume.

Question:

Does anyone practice loving-kindness/metta meditation, like the kind mentioned in such group books as Mindfulness in Plain English and 10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found Self-Help That Actually Works?

I'll be honest and say that I currently don't do it, and I wanted to see if anyone has any advice about starting such a practice.

John wrote: "Piyangie wrote: The knowledge we gain through reading the Buddhist concepts which are put to practice through meditation allow us to achieve a permanent sense of calmness and composure in ourselves..."

Glad to hear it.

Volume 1 review:

Just got done with volume 1. For members of this group I would highly recommend books 3 and 4 of volume 1.

Book 3 deals with his view of the value of art, and I think that a lot of what he says lines up well with mindfulness meditation.

Book 4 deals with his views on the value of equanimity and loving-kindness.

John wrote: "MJD wrote: "Vol 1 Book 3 has the following text that I think lines up well with a goal to meditation:

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https://www.gutenberg.org/f..."

It is very interesting reading Schopenhauer in that he uses Western philosophy (mainly Kant and Plato) to reach conclusions that are usually brought up exclusively in Eastern philosophy (note: he does appear to have been aware of some Hindu and Buddhist thought, but he seems to just point Eastern thought as a way to legitimatize what he developed from Western thought).

Piyangie wrote: "While what I have said above makes our daily lives happy and content, the ultimatum of Buddhist philosophy is to attain the mental state of "Nibbana" by understanding the impermanence of the "self"..."

Well said.

Vol 1 Book 3 has the following text that I think lines up well with a goal to meditation:

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https://www.gutenberg.org/files/38427...


"If, raised by the power of the mind, a man relinquishes the
common way of looking at things, gives up tracing, under the
guidance of the forms of the principle of sufficient reason, their
relations to each other, the final goal of which is always a
relation to his own will; if he thus ceases to consider the where,
the when, the why, and the whither of things, and looks simply
and solely at the what; if, further, he does not allow abstract
thought, the concepts of the reason, to take possession of his
consciousness, but, instead of all this, gives the whole power of
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his mind to perception, sinks himself entirely in this, and lets his
whole consciousness be filled with the quiet contemplation of
the natural object actually present, whether a landscape, a tree,
a mountain, a building, or whatever it may be; inasmuch as he
loses himself in this object (to use a pregnant German idiom),
i.e., forgets even his individuality, his will, and only continues
to exist as the pure subject, the clear mirror of the object, so
that it is as if the object alone were there, without any one to
perceive it, and he can no longer separate the perceiver from
the perception, but both have become one, because the whole
consciousness is filled and occupied with one single sensuous
picture; if thus the object has to such an extent passed out of
all relation to something outside it, and the subject out of all
relation to the will, then that which is so known is no longer the
particular thing as such; but it is the Idea, the eternal form, the
immediate objectivity of the will at this grade; and, therefore,
he who is sunk in this perception is no longer individual, for
in such perception the individual has lost himself; but he is
pure, will-less, painless, timeless subject of knowledge."

John wrote: "An interesting thing in The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching: Transforming Suffering into Peace, Joy, and Liberation, in the chapter on Right View...

"Because of mindfulness, when some..."

I think that it certainly is "a goal", and I have encountered some people who claim that it is "the goal."

I think a good companion read to this would be The Basis of Morality by Arthur Schopenhauer, which is a great defense of compassion in the face of ethical systems like Kant's that downplay and even outright argue against compassion.

I came across the following defense of using myth and allegory to convey truth in Religion, a Dialogue, Etc.: The Essays of Arthur Schopenhauer by Arthur Schopenhauer, which I think sums up a central point of this book well: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/10833...

"... truth, which is inexpressible except by means of myth and
allegory, is like water, which can be carried about only in
vessels; a philosopher who insists on obtaining it pure is like a
man who breaks the jug in order to get the water by itself."

I'm currently taking a break from The World as Will and Representation, Volume 1, because he kept on referencing his other works - even the ones he wrote after this book - as if the reader should know their content (note: he achieved this time-travel affect by re-writing parts of this book late in life).

Given that, I've decided to marathon all his other work before returning to his central work (I do want to point out, though, that I see this detour as more than worth it since I really enjoy his writing).

John wrote: "The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching: Transforming Suffering into Peace, Joy, and Liberation by Thich Nhat Hanh

After finishing I'll try to get to more of the suggested t..."

I've always enjoyed the writings of Thich Nhat Hanh, but I have not read that particular book. If you could, I would be interested in reading a review by you after you are done.

I found the following video straightforward and clear for how to practice zazen:

"How to Meditate - Beginners Introduction to Zazen"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDJ_w...

I like these two essays on tea preparation:

"A Nice Cup of Tea"
By George Orwell
http://www.booksatoz.com/witsend/tea/...

"How To Make a Decent Cup of Tea:
Ignore Yoko Ono and John Lennon, and heed George Orwell’s tea-making advice."
By CHRISTOPHER HITCHENS
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2...

I found the following video interesting, in which it defends monastic values from a secular perspective:

"HISTORY OF IDEAS - Monasticism" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtU5h...