Comments for The Short Version

Comment on Let’s Get Real by The Search for Ultimate Truth and Certainty | The Short Version

The Search for Ultimate Truth and Certainty | The Short Version — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 04:03:01 +0000

[...] Buddhists seem unique in offering freedom from fear in our ordinary lives. Although some segments of Buddhism have hedged their bets with the prospect of nirvana, enlightenment, awakening, etc., in some future life, sometimes even in another place—the “Pure Land”—the dominant emphasis has been on freedom from anguish right here, at any moment. The means of achieving this freedom have varied over the centuries, and in elaborating on these means, Buddhists have often created the kinds of absolute truths common to more deist religions. Useful ideas have become dogma. One of the more prominent of these is the idea of impermanence, which I’ve written about before. [...]

Comment on The Uncertainty of Life and Love by The Search for Ultimate Truth and Certainty | The Short Version

The Search for Ultimate Truth and Certainty | The Short Version — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 03:59:09 +0000

[...] be scary, especially if you imagine a future in which terrible things happen. As I’ve mentioned before, imagination is both a curse and a gift, and the same is true of memory: we remember bad things, [...]

Comment on Meditation, Smiling, Mood Control, and Relationships by Meditation Books

Meditation Books — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 19:00:44 +0000

Very interesting and very good point…. all the best and keep writing.

Comment on The Guessing Game: Our Unavoidable Ignorance by Needless Suffering and the Illusion of Responsibility | The Short Version

Needless Suffering and the Illusion of Responsibility | The Short Version — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 04:08:24 +0000

[...] an earlier post: “I would like to keep the level of my ignorance clearly in mind. I would like to remember that [...]

Comment on The Mission: Happiness for Everyone by Needless Suffering and the Illusion of Responsibility | The Short Version

Needless Suffering and the Illusion of Responsibility | The Short Version — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 04:05:42 +0000

[...] and my verbalizations are just attempts to make sense of the emotions. Naturally, my “interpreter” is going to come up with something that makes me look good within my personal frame of [...]

Comment on Who is Laughing at Whom? by Needless Suffering and the Illusion of Responsibility | The Short Version

Needless Suffering and the Illusion of Responsibility | The Short Version — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 04:03:06 +0000

[...] I have to pretend to take them seriously in order to keep the social machinery operating smoothly, and at the same time, I have to pretend to take myself seriously. If I were to start laughing at myself the way I do when I’m alone, they would want to know what’s funny, especially if we’re in a hospital room where someone may be dying. (More about laughter: “Who Is Laughing at Whom?”) [...]

Comment on Zen Buddhism, Psychoanalysis, Science, and the Self by normbear

normbear — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 06:05:10 +0000

Thanks for the comment, Sari. It sounds like your loss has been turned into profit. You have come through a process that everyone encounters sooner or later, and have become a more complex, more interesting person; one with more to offer, more to share. Yours is an example I’m sure others will find helpful.

Thanks again.

Comment on Zen Buddhism, Psychoanalysis, Science, and the Self by Sari

Sari — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 05:23:30 +0000

I really loved this submission. I think mourning for many people can spiral into a preoccupation with a narrative of sadness. Though healing and cathartic, mourning can feel perplexing…Why did I lose XYZ? I have experienced a significant amount of mourning early in my life… (I am 31). I have come to accept that the loss was inevitable and unpreventable so I can only react naturally and move forward. I just recently let go of my narrative of grief, sadness, despair and decided to reframe it as a life experience that enables me to compassionately relate to others.

Fantastic blog!

Comment on Limitations and Possibilities of Consciousness by eve lurie

eve lurie — Mon, 18 May 2009 07:01:48 +0000

This is an amazing idea. It brings together a lot of ideas we have been reading and thinking about into a perfect conclusion. The title should be: We can’t see the world as it really is; no capacity. The human body just doesn’t have the tools. And, the picture at the bottom is amazing!

Comment on Who Are You? Consciousness and the Limits of Self-Awareness by The Mission: Happiness for Everyone | The Short Version

The Mission: Happiness for Everyone | The Short Version — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 00:01:03 +0000

[...] of Michael, a couple of posts ago, I wrote about an article in the March 2009 Discover magazine, which included comments by Gazzaniga and [...]