The sweet delights of philosophy

Why are we here?  What are we supposed to do?  With regard to the meaning of life; we were issued a body, but what happened to the book of instructions?  One possibility is that no one really knows the answer.  If that is the case (for the sake of argument, let’s say it is) then religions are bogus.  They all took the words of some wise person in history and manipulated the stories for political purposes.  They show us the  truth but “…through a glass, darkly…”  What if you are supposed to completely disregard the opinions of others and just go with your own experience?  Let’s try it.   So what do I know?

1)      I am conscious for most of the day.

2)     Even though I identify with my body and feel its sensations, I feel that I am somehow not the body; at least not ONLY the body. I witness it.

3)     The ‘I’ that feels seems to be composed of a stream of thoughts.  If I’m able to stand still for a moment I can actually feel the thoughts streaming by.  They seem to have a volition of their own and are, in some sense, not me.

4)     When I dream, my experience flows differently.  However, the impression of being a witness exists in dreams in a similar way.

5)     There seems to be a state between waking and dreaming wherein I am not conscious; although I evidently continue to exist.

6)     Even while I sleep the external world can continue to act on me so I conclude that there actually IS an objective world.

7)     Modern science has shown that we do not understand that world and that it is definitely NOT adequately described by what my senses tell me.

8)     Like other human beings I am pre-occupied with my relationship with others.  I care about what happens to them.  I care about what they think of me.  Even though I occupy a separate body I am not unmoved by the feelings of others.  On a good day, we call this ‘Love’.

9)     I can insulate myself from others, but this generally feels bad.  If I join with others there is more frequently a good feeling - a feeling of connection.

10)                        There are recorded instances of shared experience between individuals: connections with loved ones, crowd behaviour, contact with spirits, religious ecstasy, telepathy, accurate hunches, etc…

11)                        Here’s an intriguing thought experiment?  What if all life on the planet is actually one being?  A billion years ago (or something like that) it must have started as one being – the first living entity.  Maybe it just took so many forms that now each part has just forgotten its actual reality.  Deep within ourselves we are never quite satisfied.  We long to return home.

12)                        When the Buddha ‘awakened’ he knew something which changed the world. So he told us the 4 noble truths. Don't just believe them.  Test them out.

·       Ultimately, existence is suffering. 

·      This suffering is caused by desire and aversion.

·      The end to desire and aversion is the end of suffering.

·      You can experience this by following the 8 fold path.

You can’t easily refute these truths.  But you can live them.

13)                        Meditation is part of that path.  Here’s another intriguing thought experiment.  What would it be like to spend a whole day resting in total non-attachment to everything.  Just one day.  It doesn’t mean things cease to be beautiful, or cease to be painful.  It means to notice and accept what comes with no resorting to grasping or aversion.

14)                        Certainly I can practise this: just allow the breath to come in and go out without looking away and without requiring anything. If I have s desire, or if I have a fear, I can just observe it with equal vision – no pushing or pulling.

15)                        I think this is a good idea.  At 65 years of age I have never lost the notion of ‘something is missing’.  Even though I have had wishes fulfilled and gathered the trappings of worldly success I know this.  The heart becomes full, but always gets hungry again.  Know this.  It all goes on within a context that is called – emptiness.

16)                        Here’s another ‘What if?”  What if it really doesn’t matter what happens?  Yes, follow your dreams and make your life extraordinary….and then…. I mean, of course it matters in a relative sense, but what if the true value lies beyond the opposites of good and bad?  What if, at the deepest level, there is no separate self that lives and dies?  What if we are all one and the same being?  What if our true task is to wake up?