ALL THE MEMBERS OF MY TRIBE ARE LIARS
John Fuller
Think of a self-effacing missionary
Tending the vices of a problem tribe.
He knows the quickest cure for beri-beri
And how to take a bribe.
And so the mind will never say it’s beaten
By primitive disturbance of the liver;
Its logic will prevent its being eaten,
Get it across the river.
But faced with this assured inconsequence
That damns the very method that is used,
It leaves the heart unproselytised and hence
Admits that it’s confused.
I know I’m acting, but I still must act.
I melt to foolishness, and want it ended.
Why it continues is this simple fact:
I’d hate to end it.
For now the jungle moods assert their terms
And there’s no way to check them if they lie:
The mind attempts to solve the thing, but squirms
And knows exactly why.
The world is everything that is the case.
You cannot see it if you are inside it.
That’s why the tortoise always wins the race:
the very terms decide it.
I cannot help it if I am contented
With being discontented that I falter:
That’s why psychology was first invented
So that we needn’t alter.
It is a strange position to be in.
It would be different if I didn’t know
Why the unlikely animal should win,
Which cannibal should row.
You’d think there’d be a way of cutting out
Those self-destructive layers of introspection.
To reach the truth at last without a doubt
Of making the connection.
That’s why the missionary, on his guard,
Is wondering why the cannibal’s so merry,
And why it is so very very hard
To be a missionary.
1)speaking of missionaries, those propagating alleged buddhist insights could be considered as such
ReplyDeletejohn yates, ph.d. - meditation teacher a.k.a. 'culadasa' - has recently released a 33 page document giving his side of the dispute that resulted in him being separated from 'dharma treasure', the retreat center he founded - after reading this i think he was right and the board that fired him was wrong - i was right to have wondered about what really happened, and my questions are answered - the people who opposed him misunderstood the situation, i now believe
In “The mind illuminated: A complete meditation guide integrating Buddhist wisdom and brain science”, Culadasa gives a picture (3 pictures, really – figure 57, pages 411-413) of the changes in worldview he says can be produced by practicing the program of development he delineates. There are a lot of circles and arrows in the illustrations. Here are the captions for the three stages:
p. 411 Three assumptions – that I am a separate Self, that I live in a world of relatively enduring and self-existent “things”, and that my happiness comes from the interactions between my Self and this world of things – are shared throughout the subminds making up the mind-system. They provide the foundation for our sense of meaning and purpose in life.
p. 412 The “true” nature of reality, as revealed through Insight experiences, directly conflicts with all these assumptions: there are no “things”, only process; all we ever really experience are the fabrications of our own minds; the Self I think I am is as impermanent and empty as everything else; the world can never be the source of my happiness. When these truths are realized by the deep unconscious minds, it is severely disruptive.
p. 413 As Insight matures, individual sub-minds reorganize their internal models to accommodate the new information. This transformation brings about a completely new worldview, life takes on a new and deeper meaning and purpose than ever before, and there is a much greater sense of ease, regardless of what may happen.
The thought balloon on page 413 states, “I am not separate. Everything arises and passes away due to causes and conditions. This body and mind are not things, but causal process. Having arisen due to causes and conditions, they are causes and conditions in their turn Ultimate truth is knowable, but not through ideas and concepts. Pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional.”
2)and speaking of pain and suffering, i am now enrolled on the list my medicare advantage provider is keeping of those who want a covid vaccination - they will let me know when it can be arranged
Will vouch. Also, don't forget about the red flashlight. I use when screen-staring becomes wearying. Works in the short- and presumably long-term.
ReplyDeletelines 1 and 6 supra remind me of a comment recently posted at the daily mail website
ReplyDeleteAs long as Biden can walk and talk and sign his name to things that other people have written he can function as President. If he gets to the point where he can't do that then Kamala is ready to step in. Why even bother reading the news? There is nothing we can do about it.
Like Alice Cooper put it in a song:
But you and me ain't no movie stars
What we are is what we are
We share a bed
Some popcorn
And TV, yeah
And that's enough for a workin' man
What I am is what I am
And I tell you, babe
Well that's enough for me