Saturday, August 17, 2019

Enlightenment

I'm re-reading Bob Wright's Why Buddhism Is True and listening to Dan Harris' 10% Happier podcast with Bob.

To me, enlightenment would entail fully internalizing that all there is is matter and energy. Just physics. I know this is true intellectually, but I don't live my life as such. My mind doesn't act with that fundamental understanding.

If I could fully, truly internalize that simple fact, the consequences would be enormous*. Really realizing, for example, that there is no free will - we are all just damaged biological robots - would be incredibly profound. 

It took me many years to not get angry every time something like a computer malfunctioned. In the absolute happiest time in my life, I still swore at my computer. I still sometimes get upset when technology malfunctions, let alone people.

If I could fundamentally recognize that everything in the universe as simply the interaction of matter and energy, I would be liberated. I would, I think, have achieved as much enlightenment as possible.

Wish me luck.   ;-)


*This isn't to say I wouldn't still try to reduce suffering. Even though it is just the product of the interactions of matter and energy, Suffering Is Bad. I think it is possible (and desirable) to distance myself from, say, my chronic back pain (although it is hard to imagine being sanguine about a Crohn's attack). But that wouldn't change the fact that it is Good to reduce suffering.

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