Sorry I stopped reading after the first page.
Have to admit, I have a tendency toward nihilism so at first I connected with TripSitter (I studied all this back when I was in my late teens to early 20s and have more or less forgot all about it), but as I read
@Foreigner ’s replies I realised.... there’s a lot there that’s good too. I mean, I don’t believe in God but I connect with what you’re saying- the mind-body experience (illusion) is.... there. Saying it’s “real” is possibly an oxymoron cos isn’t that contradictory? But I know what you mean.
I don’t know why TripSitter is being... “defensive” for lack of a better term... telling
@Foreigner to leave the thread and making some rude remarks...
Like I get you guys are at odds but maybe both try to be more open minded and flexible about each other’s POV rather than get defensive about it.
Thanks for the input
@Foreigner, I think you may be right that his psychedelic use is what you’re picking up on. The feeling you’re getting from his posts is like dissociation (which obviously is present with psychedelics). It’s a dangerous path when going down Buddhism so you’re probably right to be wary of that. Like mental health practitioners often encourage eastern philosophy in therapy, but acknowledge that dissociation is a negative side effect for some. I’ve gone through my psychedelics phase and I actually do suffer from dissociative disorder so I feel relatively confident about saying that.
A good read! If TripSitter discussed instead of argued. The multipost monologuing is not my favourite either. I prefer coherent dialogue like Foreigner.
For the record... I’m a bit of an eclectic anarchist.... I read everything from all schools but only hold onto things that make sense/makes sense to me/makes sense in this time (one of my fave books is “Buddhism without Beliefs” a short popular book but talks about how obviously the Buddha and his teachings started in a time and context where Gods and dieties were a commonly held belief which is not so much regarded anymore, and other such examples..). So you both have things that interest my mind.
So on that note, this is where I always end up... how much emphasis should we be putting on ‘this life’ as an illusion? I get caught between thinking “nothing is real or matters” (like I said I have a tendency towards existential nihilism) BUT acknowledge that one cannot “exist” without at least acting as if everything IS real and matters otherwise what would motivate anyone to keep living? We would ignore hunger and die or fear and get hit by a car crossing the road because we didn’t look both ways because nothing is real or matters right? So how do you factor that into “reality is an illusion”. I know this is delving more into normative ethics now- how should one live if reality is indeed an illusion, but that is congruent with life and living? More so looking at you
@Foreigner