#buddhist psychology

[usunezukoinezu]

''The notion of ignorance or delusion is used in a precise manner by the Buddhists. It is not a lack of intelligence or lack of capability, but rather the effect of the distortions of mind referred to earlier. Delusion is seeing what is impermanent as stable, seeing what is without self as possessing a self, seeing what is unsatisfactory as satisfying, and so forth. Desire is only present in the mind because of our lack of understanding around these fundamental aspects of experience. If we truly accepted that all things change, we would not expect pleasure to continue or pain to be effectively avoided; if we truly understood nonself, we would not become attached to people and things as if they were entities on which our happiness depends; if we could see clearly that there is something unsatisfactory, even in situations where we can cover its trail by pleasure, we might be able to open to what is painful and avoid the double injury of resisting or denying the inevitable. Desire and ignorance are interdependent, and each reinforces the other.''

-Andrew Olendzki, Buddhist Psychology

[thecalminside]

People have a hard time letting go of their suffering. Out of a fear of the unknown, they prefer suffering that is familiar.

-Thich Nhat Hanh

[teledyn]

Unsurprisingly, David K. Reynolds has a very simple website

"If your beliefs don't show in your behavior the beliefs are for show alone. If your beliefs are confined to a holy place they are excuses for indifference elsewhere."

Pools of Lodging for the Moon

[omegaphilosophia]

The Philosophy of Happiness

The philosophy of happiness explores the nature, sources, and significance of happiness in human life. It examines what constitutes true happiness, how it can be achieved, and its role in ethical and meaningful living. Philosophers have approached happiness from various perspectives, including ethical, psychological, and existential viewpoints, leading to diverse understandings of what it means to live a happy life.

Key Themes in the Philosophy of Happiness:

Definitions and Concepts of Happiness:

Eudaimonia (Flourishing): In ancient Greek philosophy, particularly in the works of Aristotle, happiness is often equated with "eudaimonia," which is best translated as flourishing or well-being. Eudaimonia is achieved through living virtuously and fulfilling one's potential, rather than through the pursuit of pleasure alone.

Hedonism: Hedonism defines happiness as the pursuit of pleasure and the avoidance of pain. This view, associated with philosophers like Epicurus, suggests that a happy life is one in which pleasure is maximized and suffering minimized. However, Epicurus emphasized simple pleasures and the avoidance of excess.

Ethical Theories and Happiness:

Utilitarianism: Utilitarian philosophers like Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill argue that the right action is the one that maximizes happiness for the greatest number of people. In this context, happiness is often understood as the presence of pleasure and the absence of pain.

Virtue Ethics: Aristotle’s virtue ethics posits that happiness is achieved by living a life of virtue. Virtuous actions, in accordance with reason, lead to a state of eudaimonia, where individuals live in harmony with their true nature and purpose.

Deontological Ethics: While not focused solely on happiness, deontological ethics, as developed by Immanuel Kant, suggests that true happiness comes from fulfilling one’s moral duties. Kant argues that happiness is not the primary goal of moral action, but living morally can lead to a form of happiness tied to a sense of duty and integrity.

Happiness and the Good Life:

The Role of Reason: In many philosophical traditions, particularly in the works of Plato and Aristotle, happiness is linked to the exercise of reason. A life guided by rational thought and the pursuit of wisdom is seen as the highest form of happiness.

The Balance of Pleasure and Virtue: Philosophers like Aristotle and the Stoics argue that happiness is not merely about pleasure but involves a balance of pleasure with virtue. Happiness is seen as a byproduct of living a virtuous life, rather than an end in itself.

Subjective and Objective Views of Happiness:

Subjective Well-Being: Modern discussions of happiness often focus on subjective well-being, which is the individual's self-assessment of their life satisfaction and emotional state. This perspective emphasizes personal experience and the psychological aspects of happiness.

Objective Well-Being: In contrast, some philosophers argue that happiness should be understood in objective terms, based on factors like health, relationships, and personal achievements. From this view, happiness is not just about how one feels but also about living a life that meets certain standards of well-being.

Happiness in Different Philosophical Traditions:

Stoicism: Stoic philosophers like Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius argue that happiness comes from accepting the things we cannot change and living in accordance with nature. Happiness, in this view, is achieved through self-discipline, rationality, and emotional resilience.

Epicureanism: Epicurus taught that happiness is found in simple pleasures, friendship, and the absence of pain (ataraxia). He distinguished between necessary and unnecessary desires, advocating for a minimalist lifestyle that avoids unnecessary suffering.

Buddhism: In Buddhist philosophy, happiness is understood as a state of inner peace and enlightenment, achieved by overcoming desire and attachment. The Four Noble Truths outline the path to end suffering, which is seen as the key to true happiness.

Existential Perspectives on Happiness:

Sartre and Existential Freedom: Existentialist philosophers like Jean-Paul Sartre argue that happiness is not a predefined state but something that individuals must create for themselves through their choices. Happiness is linked to the authentic exercise of freedom and the responsibility to define one’s own existence.

Camus and the Absurd: Albert Camus, another existentialist, explores the idea that life is inherently absurd and that the search for meaning or happiness can seem futile. However, he argues that one can still find happiness in embracing the absurd and living fully in the face of it.

The Pursuit of Happiness in Modern Thought:

Positive Psychology: In contemporary philosophy and psychology, the study of happiness has expanded with the development of positive psychology. This field focuses on understanding and fostering the factors that contribute to human flourishing, such as positive emotions, relationships, meaning, and accomplishments.

Happiness and Society: Modern philosophers and social theorists explore the relationship between happiness and social conditions, including wealth, inequality, and political systems. Debates continue on how society can be organized to promote the well-being and happiness of its members.

Critiques and Challenges:

Hedonic Treadmill: One critique of the pursuit of happiness is the "hedonic treadmill" effect, where people quickly return to a baseline level of happiness despite changes in their circumstances. This challenges the idea that lasting happiness can be achieved through external factors alone.

The Paradox of Happiness: Some philosophers and psychologists argue that the direct pursuit of happiness can be self-defeating. Focusing too much on becoming happy may lead to anxiety or disappointment, while happiness often arises as a byproduct of other activities, such as meaningful work or relationships.

The philosophy of happiness offers a rich and varied exploration of what it means to live well. It challenges individuals to consider the sources of true happiness, the role of virtue and reason in the good life, and the balance between personal pleasure and ethical living. Whether seen as a subjective state, an objective condition, or a byproduct of living authentically, happiness remains a central concern in philosophical inquiry, reflecting the enduring human quest for fulfillment and well-being.

[cadmar]

What causes a Change

What causes something to change? What makes it to change? What determines a change? What are the underneath factors to make something change? We have the ability to notice changes happening all the time around us. We have the ability to notice the changes occurring within ourselves. But, what really is change? Is it merely a difference between a memory and another event? Or is there something much more deeper? What is really going on?

The only way I look at it is using the example of scratching a lottery ticket. There are choices, but these choices are all concealed by being covered up. You can only make a few guesses and each guess is made by scratching out the covering surface. If you scratched the correct choice, you won. Our ability to notice changes is similar to scratching a lottery guess. Except we are not physically scratching, but another action is used.

To scratch a lottery ticket, certain conditions must be met. The ability to physically scratch the ticket. The ability to understand the rules. The desire to win. All these conditions and there are more others are all formed by the person's history and experiences in life. This is the same for us to having the ability to notice changes.

For us to notice a change, certain conditions are essential for us to have this ability. This comes from growth and development from past experiences. Our past is one long mathematical equation, or one long wave length. When we scratched the lottery ticket, we are adding another ability to this process. We are making the mathematical equation stronger, healthier, and more precise by removing uncertainties and the unknowns.

Basically, when we are scratching the lottery ticket, we are scratching away the concealments caused by our ignorance, our hatred, our fears, and our desires! One by one, little by little. We are then noticing that we are changing as we can see and sense more. We are interacting more with both the outside and inside, together! We can experience more because the world around us is allowing us to scratch deeper to what is truly amazing and wonderful! We are growing, developing, and sensing what is out there and inside of us, both at the same time!

The world outside and the universe inside of us unveils together, reveals together, grows together, and are bound together. This is a dance of participation! An interplay and never a dance of spectators, but an active dance of participating in an amazing universe of wonders and excitement of pure happiness!

This is change. This is us discovering by scratching out the concealments and revealing the change within ourselves and outside of ourselves! The dance of active living! This is an active life! This is a growing life! This is meaning in itself, by itself, and to itself! All within itself! Our interplay with the entire universe!

[compassionmattersmost]

Exploring the Origins of Thought: A Synthesis of Jung, Ramana Maharshi, Kabbalah, and Tibetan Buddhism

In our journey to understand the nature of thoughts and the Self, we find ourselves drawing from the wisdom of various traditions—Jungian psychology, Vedanta as taught by Ramana Maharshi, the mystical insights of Kabbalah, and the profound teachings of Tibetan Buddhism. These perspectives, though rooted in different cultural and philosophical backgrounds, converge in fascinating ways, offering a…

[solacetree]

[kellymagovern]

I've always loved this analogy by Pema Chödrön, about trying to cover the whole world with leather.

[eyeoftheheart]

“Try not to be so analytical that you lose your creative vision, your soul‘s third eye of innate intuition. Open your heart. Be willing to be foolish, even if it means straying from the mainstream agenda and risking ridicule. I think we all sense that the world is ready for us to think outside the box, because that box of limited, conventional, rational thinking is destroying us. (p. 75)”

― Miles Neale, Gradual Awakening: The Tibetan Buddhist Path of Becoming Fully Human

Wisdom Keeper Podcast | Dr. Miles Neale | Instagram | Gradual Path Website |

[sacrificialcrisis]

nice to have a writing project that i dont gaf about being good its just fun

[usunezukoinezu]

''On the cognitive level, we develop a number of learned ideas that interact with one another in various sorts of processing activities. The idea itself becomes a sort of symbol that can be manipulated in the language of mental processing, but as a symbol it is taking its meaning not from careful attention to subtly changing circumstances each moment, but from a fixed or stabilized notion that has been constructed and then relegated to memory. And the same is true on…the level of our attitudes or beliefs. We get in the habit of thinking of ourselves as a particular person with particular views, and we become accustomed to regarding the world in certain ways that have been learned and remembered. All our subsequent experience then unfolds within an often very narrow habitual range that has been defined by these views or beliefs.''

-Andrew Olendzki, Buddhist Psychology

[thecalminside]

To be beautiful means to be yourself.You don't need to be accepted by others. You need to accept yourself.

-Thich Nhat Hanh

[errantabbot]

On Trauma, Adversity, Isolation, and Labels

Every difficult experience in life does not comprise trauma. Things that you don’t like, or even regret also do not comprise trauma in any certain way. Statistically, very few people ever develop psychological trauma, which is a clinical label.

Humans, all of us, are incredibly resilient.

That said, it seems that we suffer most in recent years from isolation and loneliness. We’re quick to apply a litany of labels to ourselves in our search for attention, empathy, and meaning.

The need for these things is real. Humans are, by nature, relational beings and pack creatures. The various manners and forms of life that we have evolved over the past couple of centuries have really belied that reality.

But the solution really isn’t feigning conditions and identities that barely serve to attract even our own attention, and at best merely summon the comraderie of similarly suffering people, looking more to receive than to give empathy and attention.

This is something akin to feeling the acute pangs of hunger and in response labeling yourself a farmer, knowing that farmers ultimately sell to suppliers, stores, and restaurants that might ultimately situate them near edible foodstuff, and who possibly might even serve it to them.

Trauma is a contextual, but indeed rare experience. These experiences utterly go beyond our ability to understand, to make meaning from, and to otherwise integrate into the fabric of our psyche.

Post traumatic responses (what we often allude to when we apply the descriptor of trauma to our experience) are essentially the body’s attempt to work through that lack of understanding, meaning, and integration.

These responses put us time and time again through imaginative iterations of the traumatic experience until we can glean understanding, make meaning, and facilitate integration.

In the actual wake of trauma, various post-experience responses beyond imaginative reliving appear in attempt to stabilize the body and mind in its delicate and exposed space, so as to promote base-line homeostasis until the present traumatizing experience can be worked through, at which time not every experience that slightly resembles it would continue to need to be resisted in full fight or flight activation.

These realities, and certainly not at scale, are simply not what most people are encountering when they flippantly float the label to trauma. We need to stop.

How we define our experience is important, as it ultimately limits our ability to respond to it in congruent ways. And, our bodies and minds are possessed of a real penchant for congruence and continuity.

The medicalizing of sociological experiences like isolation and loneliness is an attempt to subvert vulnerability and personal responsibility. In applying clinical labels to our ordinary experiences, we doff responsibility and ultimately prolong our own suffering, by disabling our own ability to effect change in our lives.

~Sunyananda

[chicagognosis]

Gnostic Commentary on a Buddhist Text:

On a certain day when the Buddha dwelt at Jetavana, a celestial deva (angel, master) came to him in the shape of a Brahman (priest), whose countenance was bright and whose (inner) garments (solar bodies) were white as snow (due to his perfect chastity).

The deva asked the Buddha, "What is the sharpest sword? What is the deadliest poison? What is the fiercest fire? What is the darkest night?"

The Buddha replied, "A word spoken in wrath is the sharpest sword (because it cuts both speaker and hearer); covetousness is the deadliest poison (because poison kills the entire body, not just the mouth that ingests it); hatred is the fiercest fire (the agony of hatred burns without rest); ignorance is the darkest night (lack of gnosis is the deepest suffering)."

The deva asked, "What is the greatest gain? What is the greatest loss? What armor is invulnerable? What is the best weapon?"

The Buddha replied, "The greatest gain is to give to others (this is the law of the Christ); the greatest loss is to receive (Kabbalah) without gratitude (those who receive wisdom and horde it, or who corrupt it, suffer the greatest loss, because the Christ will never incarnate in them). Patience is an invulnerable armor (patience is the secret key to initiation, and with it, one can never be harmed by any ordeal); wisdom (Chokmah, Christ) is the best weapon."

The deva asked, "Who is the most dangerous thief? What is the most precious treasure?"

The Buddha replied, "Unwholesome thought is the most dangerous thief (the mind is our worst enemy); virtue (vir- comes from virility: sexual potency) is the most precious treasure."

The deva asked, "What is attractive? What is unpleasant? What is the most horrible pain? What is the greatest enjoyment?"

The Buddha replied, "Wholesomeness (that which is in accordance with the Law; that is, it is whole in Christ) is attractive; unwholesomeness (that which is contrary to the Law) is unpleasant. A bad conscience is the most tormenting pain (that is, a consciousness trapped in evil deeds); awakening the height of bliss (ecstasy, samadhi, the clear perception of the awakened bodhicitta)."

The deva asked, "What causes ruin in the world? What breaks off friendships? What is the most violent fever? Who is the best physician?"

The Buddha replied, "Ignorance (lack of gnosis / da'ath) causes ruin in the world; envy and selfishness break off friendships; hatred is the most violent fever; the (inner) Buddha is the best physician." (These are the three poisons which are the axle of the wheel of suffering.)

The deva then continued, "Now I have only one doubt to be cleared away: What is it fire cannot burn, nor moisture corrode, nor wind crush down, but is able to benefit the whole world?"

The Buddha replied, "Blessing! Neither fire, nor moisture, nor wind can destroy the blessing of a good deed (right action); and blessings benefit the whole world." (Therefore, learn how to embody right action: the will of the Inner Buddha as performed by his human soul: Tiphereth.)

Hearing these answers, the deva was filled with joy. Bowing down in respect, he dissapeared suddenly from the presence of the Buddha. —The Sharpest Sword

[gen8705]

I have so many plans for this blog.

I plan to do Sunday resets.

Also morning and night routines.

Talking about narcissistic behavior and how to deal with that.

How I moved my life on to digital and what I still work on In pen and paper.

Working out routine and nutrition.

SHADOW WORK.

Buddhism and values and my journey on that.

And more :)

[nicholasandriani]

The Transformative Power of Grieving: Finding Healing Through Storytelling and Presence in the Bardo’s

Twitter Patreon GitHub LinkedIn YouTube Preamble: Confessions I lost my papa recently. And while I never sometimes my father, it was Papa who failed in presence, support, and generosity. Merten Wolfe changed his name to Martin Rankin upon immigrating from a postwar Germany, when America was pregnant with late stage capitalism and MTV still played music videos. We come from a clan of Romani…