Philosophy about Life | Being a Lotus in the Mud: The Art of Living with Awareness

April 17, 2015

Ideas of ((God)) and Conceptual Imprisonment

Throughout the centuries, people have recognized that there is a fundamental Unifying Principle that is the Source of reality. Accommodating infinite names, from God and Allah, to Dao and Brahman, this Source is understood to be infinite and self-sustaining. However, are we conceptually imprisoned by our idea of this Source? Are our rational abilities of thought powerful enough to conceive of what is First? In this East-West comparative study, I examine thought’s limitations in conceiving the Absolute, and how we can transcend objectified notions of It.

I begin with an examination of thought, semiotic activity, and the problem of ego-mentalism. Descartes’ ontological proofs of Infinite Being are then illustrated to understand why the Absolute is significant. I then transition to authors in Zen to argue that Infinite Being must empty itself to be truly infinite. This recognition can promote interconnectedness and the advancement of global dialogue.

Watch my lecture on YouTube:

March 24, 2014

Ethics and Interdependence – The Shift from /I==It/ to ((I==Thou))

With the plurality of worldviews, religions, philosophies, and interpretive frameworks easily accessible through technology, it is clear that we need to reexamine our position on ethics in relation to the present, global age. It seems that many people have taken a relativistic stance on ethics, perhaps primarily due to the fact that being able to Dialogue across worldviews and frameworks is not a common skill, and therefore few know how to coherently integrate and understand multiple perspectives, particularly where religion is invovled.

What I would like for us to examine together is whether we can have secular ethics based on the common ground of experience, without relying on any religious, philosophical, or abstract metaphysical proposition. Let us start completely clear, with no motive to prove one idea over another or arrive at any particular conclusion.

Ethics is not an isolated abstract idea, but occurs in relationship. Life is constituted of relationships: to people, nature, objects, ideas, images, thoughts, emotions, and so on. As Krishnamurti says, “to be is to be related.” Ethics, therefore, is the conduct we embody within these roles and relationships.

So, if we are to examine the way in which we conduct ourselves in relationship, a natural starting point would be to first observe who is the self that is in these relationships. If we consider the image we have of ourselves, what is it that we find? Is it not the accumulation of memories, conditionings, and knowledge about ourselves? This is not according to the philosophy of someone else or of the author; you can see this for yourself if there is curiosity to inquire, without forcing oneself to arrive at an answer. If the image we have of ourselves is the collection of memories and details about ourselves, is this not a definition? This is an attempt to define ourselves.

However, to define oneself involves cutting oneself off from everything that one is not, or at least, it appears that there is a separation. If I want to define myself, to wear all kinds of religious, political, national, economic, racial, ethnic labels, do I not need to create a gap between that which is ‘me’ and that which is not ‘me’? If I call myself a Catholic or a Buddhist, or a Democrat or a Republican, doesn’t this separate myself from all others who are not wearing the same label? It is this process of separation that is the cause of conflict and violence. We are not saying that politics, or religion, or some other thing is the cause of problems. The real troublemaker is the habit of our mind to buy into the illusion of definition, of separation.

In order to define something, one needs to separate oneself from the thing one is trying to describe. Definition requires some thing is singled out in an attempt to classify it. But this process involves objectifying that which is on the screen of awareness, thereby creating a distinction between the observer and the observed. This division causes further conflict, however, we shall not go into detail of that at the present time, but if one is interested, Jiddu Krishnamurti has much to say on that subject.

In other words, we are using a mental software that is programmed to objectify all experience and life in an attempt to classify and analyze it. We can call this an /I==It/ way of minding. Of course this has its use, but we have been conditioned to apply this to all aspects of our life, particularly our psychological life, and this creates much suffering and mental anguish. When something is seen as separate from us, as an ‘other,’ and something lesser, do we not mistreat, misuse, or act against it? If one looks at this habit of mind closely, one will realize that it is when we objectify, that we cause harm to others. Thus, this /I==It/ technology of mind is destructive in our relationships.

When we become aware and understand this process, that is the very action needed to ((rehabilitate)) the mind. In the understanding that the image of ourselves, definitions, and the objectifying nature of our /mind/ is an illusion brought on by thought and conditioning, we begin to develop a sense that all things are interconnected. To break that /cycle/ not through force or discipline but by awareness, sensitivity, and understanding, we ((See)) Life and Reality as undivided from ourselves. Is this not echoed throughout our wisdom teachings from across the ages? To love one another as oneself…is this not one of the crux of the teachings of many of our great teachers?

By breaking this conceptual prison through awareness, understanding, and curiosity to look at ourselves, we shift from an /I==It/ technology to an ((I==Thou)) technology of mind. Such a ((transformation)) is to see the Sacredness of all Life, of all Reality. In that way, how could we possibly even think of harming another? When you are aware that you are the world and the world is you, one directly perceives that to cause harm to another is to cause suffering to oneself. To make the leap from /I==It/ to ((I==Thou)) is to affect the entire web of relationships.

If one inquires into what real relationship is very seriously, one will find that one’s individual consciousness is in fact, not at all individual! If we know how to look at the anger, frustration, desire, hope, jealously, greed, confusion, uncertainty, insecurity, acquisitiveness, competitiveness, comparison, conflict, loneliness, the craving to become something, the search for something greater, moments of joy, the clinging to those memories of happiness and wanting to repeat it, and so on, within ourselves, we can recognize that this is the ground of the human experience…it is a shared experience common to all humankind. So, when we inquire into these matters, we are really looking into the consciousness of all humankind.

Ethics, therefore, is when ((right relationship)), ((I==Thou)), is one’s being, and it affects all of our relations. One understands, not intellectually, but through one’s heart-and-mind, that any separation between oneself and anything or anyone else is only an illusion of thought. Therein lies the foundation of compassion. That which is unethical comes to be when live from a place of /I==It/, whereby we perpetuate conflict, violence, division, and and so on.

2 Comments

March 6, 2014

((Philosophy)) is a ((Path of Happiness))

Courtesy of http://www.mrroaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/DSC01880-2.jpg

Courtesy of http://wallpaperswide9.blogspot.com/2013/05/lord-buddha-hd-wallpapers.html

I recently saw a play called Philosophy for Gangsters, where it was suggested that philosophy and happiness have nothing to do with each other. After hearing this, I thought for some time about this topic. Does philosophy lead to happiness? Is there a connection?

Philosophy is the “love of Sophia,” meaning wisdom Let us inquire into these two terms. ((Wisdom)) may perhaps best be suggested as understanding the nature of ((Reality)), in other words, seeing the truth of ((what is)) in the moment. Love, not /exclusive/ or /possessive love/, but ((real love)) seems to be a ((total absorption)) with something, such that no /divisions/ or /separateness/ exists between one and the other.

We may not necessarily even be speaking of romantic love, but ((love)) in general. Imagine for example, the martial artist who becomes absorbed in his or her practice, or the athlete that loses his sense of self on the field such that there is just movement, or the musician who is lost in the music. A sense of /self/ disappears, and there is only ((action)). The kind of love which we speak is unconditional; there is no separation between /one/ and the /other/ on any level, but a complete and total ((union)).

((Philosophy)) therefore would mean a ((total absorption and understanding into what is)), i.e., ((the nature of reality)).

Through ((wisdom and love)), we break through the /illusion of separation/. ((Seeing)) that there is no /separation/ is already the flowering of ((love)). Thus, ((wisdom-and-love)), ((truth-and-compassion)), are interconnected and co-arise.

As we said in previous articles, an “I” appears to exist because of memories and sensations. However, if we look closely with sensitivity and awareness, we can see that it is thought that creates a thinker. The narrative we tell ourselves everyday is an illusion, perpetuated by thought in order to preserve a sense of continuity. This separation between the thinker and the thought, the experiencer and the experienced, creates conflict and divisions within us.

Since thought operates only in the past and projects the future, there is a conflict between what should be (according to thought), and what is. This /self/, the /ego/, projects all kinds of labels, categories, divisions, and judgments on reality and experience. As we can never escape from the present, from what is, we lead a double life: experiencing what is, and what we think should be according to our desires, thoughts, conditionings, and memories.

In order to define itself, thought creates labels, judgments, and all kinds of divisions. This causes us to objectify all experience, people, relationships, language, and reality, and view as /other/ anything which does not fit our own definition. The /ego/ operates in an /I—It/ technology of mind. ((Wisdom-and-love)), brought to Life through ((Living Philosophy)), creates a shift from /I—It/ to ((I==Thou)), whereby objectifying habits are dropped, and there is insight in the ((Sacredness)) and ((Interrelatedness)) of all things.

Without any /divisions/ or /separateness/, there is no inward conflict, for conflict can only exist between /one/ and an /other/. Without conflict, there is not only ((clarity)), but ((order)). In this sense, ((order)) is not forced, disciplined, or adherence to some moral law, but is a natural spontaneity that is in itself ((ethical, creative, and harmonious)). For the one who embodies ((love-and-wisdom)), he or she would not even consider /violence/ or /actions/ that would harm others, for they are ((aware)) of the ((interconnectedness of all things)). Order seemingly brings about virtue and goodness then, and these give rise also to harmony. Of course, we must keep in mind that these ((qualities)) such as order, virtue, wisdom, love, etc., do not arise in a linear or cause-and-effect manner, but also ((co-arise)) together, and are ((interrelated)).

Therefore, if there is no /self/ in conflict or that is /divided/, but simply the ((manifestation)) and ((action)) of these ((qualities)), would this not be happiness? For the very /pursuit/ of happiness obstructs its flowering, because there is a pursuer and the pursued. But without that conflict, and just the ((total absorption and flowing into what is)), ((the present moment)), there is bliss.

Thus, ((Philosophy)), not intellectual jargon, debates, and complex theories, but real ((Living Wisdom)) is the key to ((Happiness)) and ((Human Flourishing)). This ((meditative intelligence)), the ((understanding and awareness)) of ((what is)) is ((Living Philosophy)). ((Philosophy)), therefore, is a ((Way of Liberation)). It is not a path “towards” happiness, as that would create a division between the path and a goal, but rather, ((Philosophy)) is a ((Path of Happiness)).

Related Articles:

The Game of Life – Don’t Take it Personally

On the Nature of Happiness

Making the Ordinary Extraordinary

When Life Falls Apart

On Uncertainty

Link to my book – Meditations on Zen and Martial Arts Philosophy

Link to my other essays – http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=1837756

Navigating the Mazeway: Fulfilling our Best Possibilities As Individuals and As a Society, by Tony Parrotto

The Mazeway Project

That Which Is, by Martha Randolph and Elizabeth Campbell

January 29, 2014

When Life Falls Apart

Why do we put up psychological resistance? Is it not because of fear? There is a change of some sort, and we resist this new situation. We judge and evaluate this new circumstance. But judgments are only out of comparison; you can only judge and evaluate a thing in relation to something else, and the measure against which we compare this new situation is the known, which is of the past.

When our primary mode of being is grounded in ego-mentalism, we cling to the past, to the known. As we observed in the article On Conformity, Fear of the Known, and Discussing Matters of Life, there is never fear of the unknown, for how can we fear that which we do not know? There is fear, however, of losing the known, more specifically, the psychological security that comes with attachment to the known.

When we resist, it is a clear sign that our ego, the projected image of an identity constructed from memories and conditionings, is afraid of something. The ego identity naturally clings to the past and to the known because it lives and functions in that. Facing that which it does not know means it will have to die to what it is now in order to change and adapt. So it will resist against the unknown, against death, against anything which endangers the illusion of psychological comfort.

If we pay attention, and are sensitive to these mental habits, we will discover that we are not our ego. We are so much more than this projected, constructed image, but its narrow lens objectifies and constricts even the reality of ourself. By clinging to the past, we don’t fully meet the present, and the future is merely a projection based on the known in accordance with our disposition. Of course, planning for the future has practical applications, but it must be remembered that it is only an image, an idea, and that everything is subject to change. Therefore, it is an expenditure of energy to cling or attach to an idea, a projection.

It is as though the cocoon of the caterpillar is breaking apart because the butterfly fully evolved, but clinging to the past is like the butterfly desperately trying to save the cocoon, despite the cocoon’s imminent destruction. It has the opportunity to break free and fly, but instead, chooses to focus on the danger, the fear, and what it knows. When things fall apart, perhaps consider that they’re actually falling into place.

When you resist, be completely aware of it. Don’t try to convince yourself intellectually, or dismiss the feeling. There is something crucial happening, and forcing or suppressing is self-destructive. Hold that moment of resistance with awareness, as you would hold a delicate flower in your palm. Discover the underlying reasons of why this resistance is there. Is your fear of not accomplishing something, getting a job, being successful, etc., because there is the fear of failure? Do you fear failure because deep down, you fear being nothing, that you did not become something? Society has drilled you to be single-minded on pursuing success, wealthy, famous, and all the rest of it, and if you fail, you feel you are worthless, because you did not become this or that person you were conditioned to idolize. No one can become another! To be your ((true Self)) is the greatest gift you can give to humanity.

If these posts are helpful and interesting, please subscribe, like, and comment on the Dia-blog, and share the articles with others. There are links to share this on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, WordPress, and others below. Many thanks!

Here is a great book by my good friends Martha Randolph and Elizabeth Campbell that discusses spiritual evolution in a clear and simple manner. I highly recommend it, especially to young persons interested in spiritual topics. It is called, That Which Is.

I also recommend reading the book Navigating the Mazeway: Fulfilling our Best Possibilities As Individuals and As a Society, by my good friend and colleague Tony Parrotto. Here is a link to his website, The Mazeway Project.

2 Comments

December 4, 2013

On Uncertainty

Uncertainty is a natural part of life and the human experience. Yet it seems that so many of us cannot stand uncertainty. Most things in our culture either try to guarantee certainty, or distract us from the fact of uncertainty with some form of entertainment. Even religions, belief systems, philosophy, scientists all want to give you certainty about what the world is like, what happens after death, what to do with your life, so that you do not have to face uncertainty. Why this dislike and discomfort of uncertainty?

If we look in ourselves, it would seem most of us are seeking certainty. Certainty in the job market, financially, in relationships, what to do, in our judgments, how to think…we desire to find an established set answer that is permanent, static, and definitive. Desire for certainty, however, is a side effect of our insecurity within and our desire to seek psychological security. When we approach the world with an /ego-mental/ framework, that is, a way of conducting our mind that is polarized, fragmented, and objectifies, we are operating from our conditionings and the past. An /ego-mental/ mind speaks, thinks, judges, reacts, and lives from the past; it projects the past into the present and the future. It is attached and psychologically dependent on our thoughts and memories, and wants to replicate what it knows from the past into the present; it desires certainty in the future based on what it knows from the past.

Our /ego/ sees itself as a self-sustaining, independent entity that is separate from everything else. We have a desire to control everything else according to our own nature and dispositions (based on thought and memory) because at some level, we feel we are inferior, insecure, afraid, and lonely. We feel more comfortable replicating something we already know because of fear of the unknown. So, we seek psychological comfort in trying to control others, experiences, and life itself to conform to our desires. Thus, we become obsessed with control and certainty. Certainty, therefore, is nothing other than our own inclinations that have come to fruition.

Are you following this? Perhaps an example would help. Say I am a recent graduate and want a job, and my peers have found one before me. Now for whatever reason, either pressures from family, my own conditionings, society’s expectations, or something else, I feel inferior to them because I have not yet found something. This makes me insecure about my situation because I too want to find something; I want psychological comfort, a feeling of security through finding employment so that I no longer feel lesser. This leads to frustration, anger, depression, perhaps even to jealously and hatred, because we have no control over our situation. Thus, psychological insecurity leads to my want for certainty and thereby a habit of controlling and shaping our relationships, other people, experiences, and life according to our own disposition; this inevitably breeds frustration, because such a thing is impossible. This example does not reflect my own situation, but I’m sure there are many out there, especially young people, who feel this way. I am trying to demonstrate that if you are open, interested in inquiring into yourself, and giving attention to understanding your own psychological process, that perhaps there is another way to conduct your mind that does not lead down a path of suffering and frustration, despite the situation.

Will learning to watch our fears and reactions, and breaking the mental habits that reinforce the fear of uncertainty give us psychological comfort? So long as we try to find psychological security in something outside of us, whether it’s some form of pleasure or entertainment, meditation, religion, reading, some activity, drugs, alcohol, whatever it is, we remain attached and dependent on something else. This psychological dependency leads to suffering. Once you are certain, you are stuck, static, and have reached a standstill. Meditation, prayer, ritual…all these practices are not about eliminating uncertainty and finding psychological comfort in them, but about learning to be comfortable and live with uncertainty, with what is. We can move into the unknown with openness, acceptance, and a willingness to learn from life’s experiences. We learn to watch and flow with what is, and not escape from it or try to control it. Learning to abide in uncertainty allows us to enjoy each moment, each breath. This doesn’t mean we become lazy, apathetic, or don’t try to change our situation. Rather, we are not attached to any expectation or result, and we focus on the process. We become flexible and fluid, and become aware of how to work with our situation, inwardly and outwardly.

I am not condemning our desire for certainty. We must experience it so that we can observe this mental habit and understand it. The caterpillar must experience being the caterpillar; it must go through the process of making a cocoon and wanting to feel safe and secure. But when it evolves, the very cocoon which has kept it safe for so long must be broken to be free. Our evolution as human beings is similar. We must experience being the /ego-pillar/ so that we can transform into a ((Buddhafly)). That is the journey of our existence.

Related links:

On Psychological Freedom:

https://jasonkunen.wordpress.com/2013/11/20/on-freedom-reaction-vs-response/

On the Problems of our Age, Interconnectedness and Activism:

https://jasonkunen.wordpress.com/2013/11/27/a-call-to-action-on-the-problems-of-our-age-we-are-as-we-mind-interconnectedness/

Pema Chödron’s Book, Comfortable with Uncertainty:

http://www.amazon.com/Comfortable-Uncertainty-Cultivating-Fearlessness-Compassion/dp/1590300785

Global Philosophy, talk by Ashok Gangadean:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODCfj0rV6DY

I also recommend reading the book Navigating the Mazeway: Fulfilling our Best Possibilities As Individuals and As a Society, by my good friend and colleague Tony Parrotto. A link to the book and the his website, The Mazeway Project are below:

The Mazeway Project website: http://mazeway.org

Link to the book, Navigating the Mazeway:

http://www.amazon.com/Navigating-Mazeway-Fulfilling-Possibilities-Individuals/dp/0874260701

Link to my book, Meditations on Zen and Martial Arts Philosophy:

http://www.amazon.com/Meditations-Zen-Martial-Arts-Philosophy/dp/1105797317

6 Comments

November 27, 2013

A Call to ((Action)): On The Problems of our Age – We are as we mind – Interconnectedness

Everywhere we turn nowadays it seems there is another crisis on the horizon, a crumbling of an outdated system, or some other major predicament that we are unsure of how to address. We have incompetent leaders fueled by lust for power, greed, and promoting their own agendas, the gap between the rich and poor continues to increase, the environment continues to be subject to our negligence, more and more families are struggling financially, the majority of companies and entrepreneurs have no coherent or moral vision of ways to use their money to help others, we have a failing economy, an antiquated educational system, a breakdown in meaningful dialogue and communication, an unstable job market, and more conflicts and wars on both a local and a global scale. These are just a few examples of the issues we face today.

These are the great issues of our time, the crises of our era, the problems of our world. But what do we mean when we say phrases like that? Don’t they imply that the problems are somehow “out there”? It suggests, doesn’t it, that we the people are subject to these unfortunate circumstances, and have to learn to survive and cope with such a world, as if we are victims of others’ actions? But are these issues really separate from us? It would be an odd thing, wouldn’t it, to say that these are society’s problems or the world’s problems, yet somehow the world or society does not include myself? Now if everyone were to have this mentality, then what is left? Isn’t society is constituted by the vast network of relationships between you and me, the environment, and our neighbors across the street and across the globe? Therefore, if we wish to solve these issues, the first thing we must address is our own psychological process, for each and every one of us played a role in creating these dilemmas.

I am not blaming or trying to make anyone feel guilty, but we must understand that we are not separate from the world, from these issues. Think, if we are living a life of competition, greed, anger, violence, objectification, apathy, ignorance, envy, hatred, and self-centeredness, could the world be any different? The world is a projection of ourselves; we are as we mind. The way in which we conduct our mind, that is, our way of minding in the world, is the world. So, if we want any hope of creating a coherent and moral vision of how we can creatively respond to these issues, we will have to pay very close attention to the way we are conducting our minds.

Now, if you believe this is our human nature and we cannot change but through another, or you believe we cannot change how we conduct our mind, or you have any answer to this question without truly seeing any of this for yourself, then there is no communication between us. If you wish to live a life of competition, misery, violence, suffering and the rest of it…it is your life, not mine. But for those of us truly interested to see if there is a different way we can conduct our mind, who are open to the possibility that perhaps we can understand our psychological process and thereby change ourselves, then let us inquire together regarding this connection between ourselves and the world.

Firstly, we should recognize the fact that when we attribute the problems of our world to some external factor, we are deferring our responsibility to another. When we do that, we separate ourselves from the problem. This leads to apathy and inaction, because now you believe that someone else is tasked with the mission of solving such problems. We turn to our leaders to solve wars, end poverty, change education, and the like, yet we ourselves in our own lives continue to be violent, greedy, and surrender the responsibility of educating our children to another. First and foremost, we must recognize that we ourselves are responsible for these problems, but instead of feeling guilty and powerless, we must also see that we also have the power to become aware of this way of minding and change it. While this realization may be distressing at first, it is also very empowering.

By ((transforming)) our /ego-centric and self-centered/ mindset and ((evolving)) to a way of ((minding)) that is guided by compassion, love, wisdom, intelligence, understanding, dialogue, and free of fear, we affect the network of relationships around us. This doesn’t mean one goes out to convert others or impose one’s ideas on another, that is still violence. Do you see why it is violent? You cannot accept the way I am living, my views or religion or whatever else, and you believe you are right, that you have the “truth”; so you impose your ideas in an attempt to make me a copier of your beliefs, a second-hand, mechanical human being living on your words. No, the change that happens to others when you are free of fear and transform your way of minding is different. Others feel your presence is safe and loving. If they are at all open and aware, they will begin to feel as though you are different, and it may spark something in them.

If we care at all about these issues, and are serious about being open and changing ourselves to make the world a more peaceful, compassionate place for ourselves and future generations, then we must start with becoming aware of ourselves, our psychological process. For more on this, I recommend reading my previous posts:

On Relationships:

https://jasonkunen.wordpress.com/2013/10/29/on-relationships-encountering-others-in-the-moment/

and On Psychological Freedom:

https://jasonkunen.wordpress.com/2013/11/20/on-freedom-reaction-vs-response/

This awareness of ourselves and our reactions must extend to our relationships with others, not be confined to a cave in the mountains. Society is the vast network of relationships, and how we conduct our mind affects our relationships thereby affecting the society. Therefore, solving the problems in our world means addressing them within ourselves. If we know how to look at the violence, anger, loneliness, suffering, pain, and the rest of it within ourselves, without judging or condemning it, but observing to understand it, then we can begin to understand others and work to solve these great issues. Once we realize that we have a responsibility to humankind, to the planet, and to ourselves, we take the first step towards ((transformation)) through ((Self-knowledge)).

I also recommend reading the book Navigating the Mazeway: Fulfilling our Best Possibilities As Individuals and As a Society, by my good friend and colleague Tony Parrotto. His valuable work and accessible terminology has influenced my own ideas and language. A link to the book and the his website, The Mazeway Project are below:

Link to the Mazeway Project website: http://mazeway.org

Link to the book, Navigating the Mazeway:

http://www.amazon.com/Navigating-Mazeway-Fulfilling-Possibilities-Individuals/dp/0874260701

My teacher, Ashok Gangadean, has also been instrumental in shaping my ideas, and I have included a video of him speaking below. His website is: http://awakeningmind.org

Related links:

Global Philosophy, talk by Ashok Gangadean:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODCfj0rV6DY

Changing Education Paradigms, by Sir Ken Robinson:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U

On Philosophy for Children, by Thomas Jackson:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNX_SvkrzjA

Listen to yourself and find answers, by Jiddu Krishnamurti:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VWnf9OBpQA

On Destiny, Meaning, Purpose and Fear Part 1:

https://jasonkunen.wordpress.com/2013/11/06/on-destiny-meaning-purpose-and-fear-part-1/

Part 2: https://jasonkunen.wordpress.com/2013/11/13/on-destiny-meaning-purpose-and-fear-part-2/

On Education: https://jasonkunen.wordpress.com/2013/10/14/reflection-on-education-10142013/

On Dialogue and Education:

https://jasonkunen.wordpress.com/2013/10/17/reflections-on-dialogue-and-education-10162013/

Link to my book, Meditations on Zen and Martial Arts Philosophy:

http://www.amazon.com/Meditations-Zen-Martial-Arts-Philosophy/dp/1105797317

4 Comments

November 20, 2013

On Freedom (Reaction vs. Response)

Freedom can be discussed at many different levels, but in this inquiry, we shall be discussing the nature of psychological freedom. Now, most people say they want freedom, but what they really want is license, that is, the “freedom” to do whatever they want. Is that really freedom? Let us inquire and see if there is such a thing as psychological freedom.

In my previous posts, we have taken up the fact of conditionings. That is, since our birth we have been conditioned by our parents, schools, religions, politicians, and other influences of society. These conditionings set up parameters for how to think, act, behave, what to like and not like, and how to process experience in our life in order to conform to the same mental patterns of the culture. Now, can such a mind that is operating based on conditioned patterns that one is unaware of be free? For example, if someone hurts your ego, insults you, slashes your pride, what do you do? Many of us would react with some negative remark about the other person perhaps, and some of us would restrain ourselves maybe because we’ve been told to have self-control. We’re not discussing here what is the right or wrong answer, we are simply using this scenario to look at psychological freedom; I’m sure you can think of many other examples. In either of these cases, if one is reacting to the person, based on our patterns of mind we have been conditioned into, is one engaging in this scenario with psychological freedom? Perhaps this is not a very good example, but the point is: if we react, aren’t we being controlled by some initial action? That is the definition of reaction isn’t it? An action that comes about as a result of some initial stimulus.

Therefore, as Jiddu Krishnamurti once said, “there is no freedom in reaction.” And that is how the vast majority of us go through life, just reacting to stimuli, reacting to experiences that come across our path. If one is all the time just reacting to things, we are merely passive victims of our experience. Can such a life really be the extent of living? Is that living? Our conditionings, which define and shape how we function in the world, give us established patterns as to how one ought to judge and react to experiences. But if we’re unconsciously operating from these mental patterns, there is no freedom in our action. In fact, there is no creative action or appropriate response at all, for creative response requires a mind that is not limited or blinded by any conceptual imprisonment. Such a mind encounters experience in the present moment, it sees what is, and does not process experience through the filter of conditionings.

Is this making sense? Let me summarize: Our mental habits, which have been instilled in us since birth, lay out the so-called “appropriate” or “right” way to think about and experience events in our life, whether major or minor. We are inquiring whether there is any psychological freedom in this or if there is such a thing. If we look at examples in our own life, it becomes clear that we are reacting to stimuli happening to us based on these mental habits. And reaction, as we have said, is not free; firstly because it depends on an initial action, and secondly, because it stems from thought, memory, and conditionings, which are based in the past.

In previous posts, I have discussed that we can rehabilitate our mind through non-judgmental awareness and observation of our reactions and fears in order to understand and dissipate our conditionings. Now, many of us will be tempted to ask how; how does one do this? How does it work? The moment you ask the how question, you are no longer interested in understanding or inquiry, you want a method, a system, a practice, something you can depend on to help you so you don’t have to go through the work of finding out or understanding the process yourself; you just want an answer, you’re no longer interested in the question. Either that, or you doubt such a thing is possible without giving it any thought for yourself, so you want someone else to provide you with an answer that you can argue with; in that case, you are no longer interested in inquiry, and communication between us has broken down. This is not a mono-centric debate (or an egologue) between your position and my position and one trying to convince the other of being right. This is an inquiry, a dialogue, which requires openness, attentiveness, curiosity, and interest in understanding.

Jiddu Krishnamurti also said, “there is no such thing as freedom of thought.” Wherefore? Because not only is thought of the past and based on memory, but it is limited to whatever conditioning/framework one is using to process experience. Therefore, our conditionings are a conceptual imprisonment aren’t they? Those patterns of thought came from others, not from ourselves, and if we’re just repeating those words, those actions, those patterns, without any critical inquiry, awareness, or experience of our own, aren’t we just secondhand, mechanical human beings? So what we are discovering here is that if we wish to have psychological freedom, it requires stepping out of our conceptual imprisonment.

Now, if we can in fact become aware of our reactions and conditionings and rehabilitate our mind, would this not lead to psychological freedom? If we can encounter our experiences in the moment, and see what is, without processing it through the filter of our conditioned patterns of mind, we can respond. Response is not reaction. Response is in the moment; it is pure action coherent with what is, and not dependent on an initial stimulus. The event and the action are interconnected, are coterminous. We can encounter the event as it is, rather than the image constructed in our mind based on the past. For more on this, please refer to the post:

On Relationships:

https://jasonkunen.wordpress.com/2013/10/29/on-relationships-encountering-others-in-the-moment/

and you may also be interested in watching my youtube video on Meeting Each Other in the Moment (which was made quite some time ago and by no means professionally done, but it gets the point across – I was still discovering how to use Youtube and speaking to a camera instead of an audience, so be easy on me):

http://youtu.be/ICPS6S9ieQo

Thus, response is creative, as it is not confined by conceptual boundaries. It is like a Zen kōan. Think of the martial artist. If she reacts to an attack, she must think about what to do, and then take action, but it is too late. But if she responds to the opponent, it is like a dance; she flows and takes the appropriate and necessary action to stop the attacker. Therefore, if we are at all interested in psychological freedom, we must become aware of our conditioned habits of mind and our reactions. This awareness will allow us to rehabilitate our mind so that we can live and respond in a creative, attentive, open, presencing manner to everything we experience. We no longer are victims of life’s experiences or sufferings, but become ((R-evolutionary co-creators)) of a new humanity guided by compassion, wisdom, awareness, and understanding.

If you find this or other posts/links here to be helpful, I ask you to please share with others whom you think would be interested. I would very much appreciate your support. Thank you!

Other Links:

About: https://jasonkunen.wordpress.com/about/

Other Posts/Home Page: https://jasonkunen.wordpress.com

Link to my book, Meditations on Zen and Martial Arts Philosophy: http://www.amazon.com/Meditations-Zen-Martial-Arts-Philosophy/dp/1105797317

Link to my (old) youtube channel:

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1WvSC3gztbbKOEkyztw3jw

Link to other essays: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=1837756

6 Comments

November 13, 2013

On Destiny, Meaning, Purpose, and Fear (Part 2)

Click here to read part 1: https://jasonkunen.wordpress.com/2013/11/06/on-destiny-meaning-purpose-and-fear-part-1/

Let us continue our discussion of destiny, meaning, purpose, and fear. We left off saying that when we ask what the purpose of our lives are, we are actually asking for its use. Living beings, however, are changing, flowing, learning, and are not static; they are not objects. The problem is, isn’t it, that we are using a technology of mind (ego-mentalism) that objectifies all experience, including ourselves? In coming to think of ourselves as objects, we therefore try to find out what our function is. But, as we said, something that is alive cannot have a static function or use, but its purpose must also be flowing, a movement that is changing. We then said that if we wish to find out the meaning of our lives we must let go of all the answers we have been given so that we have the clarity and psychological freedom to see for ourselves the reality of what is. So long as we cling to conditionings and the baggage handed down by others, all past memory and knowledge, we remain secondhand mechanical human beings. It therefore takes great awareness and energy to pay attention to our reactions so that we can clearly see our conditionings, fears, desires, and the rest of it. Does this make sense? I hope I haven’t lost you.

We then said that if we observe the experiences of our life, we find that there are certain encounters that seem to repeat themselves in various forms until we have been able to understand our fears and resistance to them, and that when we have true understanding, they no longer repeat. We finished by saying that it seems as though life is a journey of encountering, facing, understanding, and letting go of our fears and becoming aware of our psychological process.

Why is it so important that we encounter and let go of our fear? We’re not talking about running away or escaping from it, pushing it away, pretending its not there, or fighting it. Fear will dissipate with understanding, not through any force your ego uses to face it. Really look, and see. Isn’t our fear interfering in our relationships, not just those we are close to, but with everyone, and with the planet? Do you see all of the distrust and suspicion around you, and even within you? And it’s reflected in our language isn’t it, with sayings like: trust no one, no good deed goes unpunished, better safe than sorry, etc? Fear leads to mistrust, which inevitably leads to closing ourselves off from people. Don’t rely on my words, see it for yourself. How can we be open, caring, and attentive to someone we don’t trust? In fact, we’re not even open or trusting of ourselves! We’re constantly running away from having to face who we really are. That is why so many of us cannot stand being alone; we have to face ourselves as we are, but since we’re so full of judgment and guilt and cannot accept who we are, we run away from it. The experience of being alone has many negative connotations nowadays, unfortunately. So, if we cannot be open, trusting, understanding, and attentive to ourselves, how could we possibly be any of that with another? In this case, it is clear that our relationships, and communication among us, breaks down.

In understanding ourselves, we naturally become more compassionate towards others. If we are full of fear, we spend our time and energy seeking our own psychological comfort and making up for our insecurities; this leads to a self-centered attitude. Don’t judge yourself for it, or say that I shouldn’t be this or that. All these religions, philosophies, self-help books, gurus keep saying don’t be self-centered, help others. But how can we help others in any significant way if we are full of fear?

Become aware of your conditionings, understand your fears. Observe your relationships. Letting go of our fears allows us to be open and trusting. In coming to understand our psychological process through encountering fear, our self-centered orientation begins to dissolve. We begin to see that we are profoundly interconnected with all things, not as a theory, but as a fact. We become more and more open and trusting to others, and to what is. We become less and less steeped in objectifying others, and become more compassionate and attentive. Why? It is the recognition that others are full of fear, envy, sadness, loneliness, mistrust, longing, violence, anger, and the rest of it. This, in turn, is projected into the world. Having understood our own psychological process, we see that we are the world. We are as we mind. What goes on in the world is a projection of what we are and what we do. We are what is. Seeing this for yourself, not intellectually or as a theory, but experiencing it for oneself…that is the journey.

Now, some of you who are reading this might say, “He didn’t mention anything about purpose, or meaning, or destiny.” And others might say, “why didn’t you just say the answer from the beginning? Why this roundabout method?” So what if I or somebody else told you your meaning or your destiny? How would those words, that knowledge, help you? You would take it and go on your way, once again believing and repeating somebody else’s ideas. You can read all kinds of books. And how many of them tell you purpose is to return to wholeness, to God, to Allah, to Emptiness, to be in union with the Dao, or whichever name you like to use? But how long have those answers been around, and have they really changed people? Has humanity psychologically matured with those answers? It is important to see this, to experience and understand it for yourself. If you are psychologically mature, then you can see the immense power behind the words and wisdom of these books. Otherwise, we just go on repeating answers, memorizing words, which doesn’t help us understand ourselves. So first and foremost, see for yourself what is.

Links to previous posts, essays, and my book:

On Relationships:

https://jasonkunen.wordpress.com/2013/10/29/on-relationships-encountering-others-in-the-moment/

On Happiness:

https://jasonkunen.wordpress.com/2013/10/24/on-the-nature-of-happiness/

On Boredom:

https://jasonkunen.wordpress.com/2013/10/22/on-boredom-102213/

On Dialogue and Education:

https://jasonkunen.wordpress.com/2013/10/17/reflections-on-dialogue-and-education-10162013/

On Education:

https://jasonkunen.wordpress.com/2013/10/14/reflection-on-education-10142013/

Link to my book, Meditations on Zen and Martial Arts Philosophy:

http://www.amazon.com/Meditations-Zen-Martial-Arts-Philosophy/dp/1105797317

Link to my youtube channel:

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1WvSC3gztbbKOEkyztw3jw

Link to other essays:

http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=1837756

About:

https://jasonkunen.wordpress.com/about/

6 Comments

November 6, 2013

On Destiny, Meaning, Purpose, and Fear (Part 1)

What are we really asking when we talk about meaning and purpose and destiny? If we really look deeply at these terms it would appear that we’re really asking about functionality, that is, the purpose of a thing. For those of you who are familiar with Ludwig Wittgenstein, the German philosopher, this idea resonates with his idea that when we ask for the meaning of the term we’re really asking for it’s use. Therefore, what we are really asking when we ask about our meaning or our purpose, is actually what is our use; what purpose do we serve? Living beings, however, that are changing and learning, are not objects created for such specific instances, as objects to be used in this or that situation. Beings are not the same as tools in a toolbox, where each item is an object that has a particular function. Objects are static, beings are flowing.

Before we can seriously consider this question regarding the meaning of our lives, we must first understand why this question arises at all. Having an answer with no real understanding is not intelligence. But that is what has been happening worldwide for centuries. We are given all sorts of answers, from the priests, teachers, politicians, parents, and society, that we begin to rely on their words. Their so-called answers become the foundation of our life, and we live according to others’ words. Our life becomes mechanical, because we go on repeating answers and beliefs we have been given but never thought about. We are living according to a reality someone else has promised us. If we see this, then we can really begin to understand why we feel so empty inside. We realize the illusion of it all, and start asking questions like what is my purpose, why am I here, who am I? This is vital, because it is when we feel groundless that we can see the situation without all this baggage we have been carrying. If we ask these questions from a ego-mental standpoint (defined here as a standpoint of objectification wherein all experience and testimony is filtered through our own lens created by accumulated biases, prejudices, opinions, beliefs, memories, and conditionings thereby creating the illusion of a permanent self), our inquiry will be distorted. So long as you carry all that baggage with you, you will only find a projection of what you hope to find, not actually what is.

Therefore, to deeply inquire into these questions without distorting your search requires one to move against the patterns of society, which takes tremendous courage and awareness. The society since you were born has been saying who you should be, what you should do, what to believe in, and so on, and if you want to find the truth, you will have to reject any ready-made answers they give you. Some of their answers might sound appealing or ideal, but if you don’t find an answer for yourself and always depend on another’s answer, you will never have psychological freedom. So here is the problem: the answers and conditioning that society has imposed no longer satisfies us, and we seek to find some other way; but, there is fear because one must go against the whole movement of society. Thus, we are stuck in a kind of purgatory. We don’t wish to move back, because that would mean accepting beliefs and answers that are not coherent with our experience, and we don’t want to move forward because the fear of standing alone against this movement. Therefore, we find ourselves in a groundless, nihilistic state and full of fear. Nihilism is nothing but the rejection of society’s patterns and conditionings, and the fear to stand alone and inquire for oneself what is beyond that. This is an important step to finding out what is beyond all the conditionings, because we must first realize that we are stuck within these ego-mental patterns before we can understand how to be free. However, the fear which holds one back from exploring the depths of our being, our psychological process, stems from our conditionings, and so even when we reach this point, we are still falling back into these same mental patterns.

But let us return to this question regarding the purpose of life. As we go through our lives, we encounter all kinds of experiences and emotions: boredom, anger, sadness, loneliness, happiness, fear, lust, and all the rest of it. It would seem to me that people desire happiness and wish to avoid pain.

You can read my post “On the Nature of Happiness” here: https://jasonkunen.wordpress.com/2013/10/24/on-the-nature-of-happiness/

However, in wanting to pursue pleasure and avoid pain, fear arises doesn’t it? It is our sense of self, the “I”, the ego, the sense of “me” which is really just a collection of memories and conditionings that just appears to persist through time, that has this fear. It wants its own separate space because it believes itself to be self-sustaining, thereby cutting itself off from what is. There is not only fear of that pain, but also fear of losing pleasure, fear of not reaching pleasure at all, and this fear, in turn, leads to anger and suffering when our hopes, desires, and dreams don’t come to fruition. And isn’t it the case that certain experiences that cause fear and resistance in ourselves repeat, but when we open up to them and we eliminate that fear, that we no longer encounter those experiences? It would seem then that whenever we encounter fear and resistance in our psyche, there is clearly a lesson that must be learned so that we can assimilate that experience into our psychological process and be free of that fear. Wouldn’t that imply then that life is a journey of accepting, facing, and letting go of the fears and resistance, and understanding our psychological process? This is, in essence, learning to lose fear of what is.

Link to Part 2:

https://jasonkunen.wordpress.com/2013/11/13/on-destiny-meaning-purpose-and-fear-part-2/

Links to previous posts, essays, and my book:

On Relationships:

https://jasonkunen.wordpress.com/2013/10/29/on-relationships-encountering-others-in-the-moment/

On Happiness:

https://jasonkunen.wordpress.com/2013/10/24/on-the-nature-of-happiness/

On Boredom:

https://jasonkunen.wordpress.com/2013/10/22/on-boredom-102213/

On Dialogue and Education:

https://jasonkunen.wordpress.com/2013/10/17/reflections-on-dialogue-and-education-10162013/

On Education:

https://jasonkunen.wordpress.com/2013/10/14/reflection-on-education-10142013/

Link to my book, Meditations on Zen and Martial Arts Philosophy:

http://www.amazon.com/Meditations-Zen-Martial-Arts-Philosophy/dp/1105797317

Link to my youtube channel:

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1WvSC3gztbbKOEkyztw3jw

Link to other essays:

http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=1837756

8 Comments

October 29, 2013

On Relationships (Encountering Others in the Moment)

When you meet someone, it is important to ask: who are you really meeting? That is, when you an encounter another, your parents, your children, your friend, your partner, your neighbor, who is it that you are really meeting? Are you meeting that person as they are, or are you meeting something else? Please, do not answer according to your tradition which is someone else’s ideas, or some new age philosophy given to you about being the present which you have never experienced, but really observe this question and let us examine it together.

What is our first reaction when we meet another, whether someone close to us or a stranger? It is typical that we bring forward thoughts that categorize and label this person. We call to mind all of the knowledge we have of this person, or if they are strangers, we think of various prejudices and stereotypes to fit him into our mental framework. In other words, we judge this person. These judgments may even be unconscious; our conditioned habits may create these judgments. These judgments are based on thoughts of the past, on memory. Therefore, what has happened is that through memory, we have judgments of others, thereby creating an image of the person. If we have such an image of the person, are we actually meeting the person as they are? Are we even really meeting that person? Please examine and observe this for yourself; the author cannot do it for you.

Clearly, the knowledge we have of the person, this image created from past experience, has a purpose. Without it, the person would always be a stranger; it would be like having amnesia. We can use this knowledge to interact with another in a deeper way. However, rather than using the knowledge when it is needed, we become stuck in a pattern in which we encounter others solely through this image that acts as a filter. Because we are psychologically insecure, we seek permanency in all things; this applies to these images of others as well. In other words, we believe that image to be the actual person. That image, since it is based on the past, is static and unchanging. Nothing is permanent, and everything is always changing. Think back to when someone you know did something unexpected. Why did their actions surprise you? Isn’t it because it went against the image you had of them? Their action was perhaps contradictory to what you thought they could or would do based on past memories, and it becomes clear that the image you had of them is no longer accurate, so you now have to create a new image.

So, if we meet people with this image, which we said acts as a filter from seeing the person as they actually are, aren’t we encountering them with half-truth and half-lie? Physically we might be present, our image of the person may correspond to the person in front of us (unless we easily confuse our acquaintances), but psychologically we are not totally there. Instead of using the image to help us interact with the person, we are interacting with the image.

I find Miranda Fricker’s book, Epistemic Injustice: The Power of Ethics and Knowing to be a good book on some specific details of this subject. I also talk about encountering other in the present in my book, Meditations on Zen and Martial Arts Philosophy, available at lulu.com and amazon.com as listed below:

Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Meditations-Zen-Martial-Arts-Philosophy/dp/1105797317

Lulu.com: http://www.lulu.com/us/en/shop/jason-kunen/meditations-on-zen-and-martial-arts-philosophy/paperback/product-20178964.html

Understanding that this is how we typically meet people, we can then ask, is there any way to interact with the person fully? Can we encounter another without this image that distorts our experience and dialogue with them? It is not enough to get rid of the image, because what is to stop a new image from being produced in our mind and falling into the same pattern? These judgments are created from past memories, but judging itself in this way arises from our mental framework. Our judgments that hold on to stereotypes, prejudices, labels, traditions, religious values, and all the rest are rooted in our conditioning. We are brought up and conditioned in a certain way, to think, interact, categorize, label, judge, and believe, in a certain way. This is where these judgments come about.

Therefore, if we can become aware of our conditioning, we can understand how we judge others and what framework we are using to do so. In this way, we release our attachment to this framework, these judgments, and these images. It is not that we are incapable of creating images of the person (again, it’s not some kind of amnesia we’re talking about), but the image no longer obstructs our ability to meet another in the present moment. We see the person as they are, without a filter. This allows us to understand them in a deeper way, and we realize they are not a static object, but a living, changing being.

Though I made it some time ago, I have a short youtube video speaking on this subject below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICPS6S9ieQo

Links to other posts, essays, youtube channel, and my book:

On Destiny, Meaning, Purpose, and Fear (Part 1):

https://jasonkunen.wordpress.com/2013/11/06/on-destiny-meaning-purpose-and-fear-part-1/

On Destiny, Meaning, Purpose and Fear (Part 2):

https://jasonkunen.wordpress.com/2013/11/13/on-destiny-meaning-purpose-and-fear-part-2/

On Happiness:

https://jasonkunen.wordpress.com/2013/10/24/on-the-nature-of-happiness/

On Boredom:

https://jasonkunen.wordpress.com/2013/10/22/on-boredom-102213/

On Dialogue and Education: