Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Samantha Thomas on June 10, 2012 at 8:19pm

Buddhism is aptly called "the religion of no religion" and by extension one could say the Buddha or Buddha-nature is the god of no god. Meditation, a practice that has no purpose — religious or otherwise — is a method through which one can experience transcendence. Properly practiced, there is no goal, no place to go, no right experience to have. You experience what you experience, and you get whatever you guess. Some say to focus the mind, but rather it is an unfocusing of the mind (or focusing on Nothing). At the very least, it is restful.

Forgive the apophatic nature of this response. It is easier to describe meditation (in the Hīnyāna Buddhist tradition, which is distinct from so-called transcendental" meditation or the Hindu practice) by saying what it is not. What it is, on the other hand, is impossible to describe. If one finds enlightenment, and to be clear, to the degree one intends or seeks enlightenment, one cannot find it, it is not an insight into heaven or nirvana or gods or goddesses. It is insight into oneSelf and one's life.

Personally, I am as Atheist as anyone can be, and as a philosopher, I find Buddhist thought and practice useful. I am not a Buddhist, nor do I have anything to say about the more ritualized forms of Mahayana Buddhism, such as Tibetan or Pure Land, that include the veneration of Boddhisatvas. My work in philosophy is informed as much by Hīnyāna thought and early Mahāyāna writings, particularly those attributed to Nagarjuna on śūnyatā (emptiness) and anātman (no-self), as it is by my Continental European predecessors.

And by the way, everything is subjective!

Permalink Reply by Samantha Thomas on June 10, 2012 at 10:36pm

Ideas are always already fossils. Ideas are relics of the past, and the mind carries more baggage than the Queen's footmen. If the mind is quieted, and the voice in Your head*, which is the voice of the past, stops intruding on the silence, You never know what may show up in that clearing. I invite You to try it.

You write like Jazz, dear Michele, and You spell like Picasso painted. Nevertheless, I enjoy what You write.

* if You hear a voice saying,"What voice in my head? I don't have a voice in my head!", that's the voice of which I write.

Permalink Reply by Neil Thompson on June 11, 2012 at 3:30am

I'm not sure I understand what you're trying to say. If you want to understand meditation, I think you would be best advised to find a good teacher.  Having found that teacher, you may need to make a leap of faith - not in anything intangible but to trust the teacher and go where they take you.  No gods required and you may find the reward worth having.  I detect an element of impatience in your post, perhaps it would be better to focus more on what is enjoyable your life and less on what, for the time being, you cannot have.

I can't believe how much I sound like some tacky astrologer but as a lifelong atheist and sometime successful meditator, that is the best way I can put it.

Permalink Reply by Kelly Christopher Phelps on June 11, 2012 at 2:39pm

We shouldn't let the bullshit upset us, just let it go.  I know how you feel, I let it get to me.