###########################
B
From the perspective of Buddhism, staying calm comes from healing our own anger.
—Mindy Newman, “How to Stay Calm in a Raging World”
###########################
How do we stay calm in a raging world? Most of us think that we need the world around us to change in order for us to change. We think that if the people in our life were more responsive to us or if politicians were thinking about things in the right way or doing the things we wanted we wouldn’t have to be so angry. But from the perspective of Buddhism, staying calm comes from healing our own anger. This is because as long as we’re meeting the world’s rage with our own rage, more rage is guaranteed.
######################
We experience the world through the lens of our own habitual patterns: our cognitive mental patterns, our emotional patterns, and the legacy of all our interactions with other people. If we have intense habit patterns of anger, we become angry that much more easily. Even though we might appear happy or cheerful, it’s like the anger that we have within us all of the time is simmering right below the surface. It can be ignited in an instant—say, if we come across something that we’d rather avoid or that we find frustrating or that is the opposite of how we want things to be.
#######################
You hit at the core division between a scientific view and a spiritual view.
Science: We evolved from a single cell life form into a very complex human. The brain evolved along the way and created consciousness.
Spirituality: Consciousness exists. It is what brings the body and mind into being.
So, does consciousness arise from the brain or does the brain arise from consciousness?
At this point in scientific research we may not have the tools to determine if consciousness continues after death. We can only rely on those who have had profound experiences - like out-of-body experience during near-death moments. Or else, we decide to believe the wealth of knowledge handed down through millenniums from spiritual teachers and Masters.
I personally feel that our body “energy” is connected with that initial, mysterious bang or stir or movement that started this entire creation. I remember learning in science class that energy can’t be destroyed, it can only change forms. That early understanding shaped the way I looked at life and death.
I was with my father when he died. The last thing he said was, “Time doesn’t matter anymore, its so different here.” What was he seeing? Was it merely the brain discharging its electro-magnetic energy? Or something else?
I think the practice of meditation can give us glimpses of a broader consciousness, one that does seem infinite and more real than our daily life. Do we accept that experience? It’s up to us to decide.
b
###########################
No comments:
Post a Comment