Drone Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 Yes so in away your hiding from reality, like you say you have less suffering yet you don't have any control over real life matters like the recession. I don't mind playing games but I have to have a chance of winning Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaliRichard Posted October 3, 2012 Author Share Posted October 3, 2012 Yes so in away your hiding from reality, like you say you have less suffering yet you don't have any control over real life matters like the recession. I don't mind playing games but I have to have a chance of winning Quite the opposite, it's embracing reality. We don't have any control over events in life but it's the very realization of this which reduces the suffering. According to Buddhism the very act of trying to control events you have no influence over cause you to suffer, because you are in a perpetual state of dissapointment. Accepting events for what they are allows you to deal with them in a much more lucid way, and the more lucid, or aware of the nature of this lack of control you are the less you suffer. It's not about 'giving in' it's about acceptance, Buddhism is not about playing to win, it's about not getting caught up in the outcome whether you win or lose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drone Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 We do have control over events in life, people are just told they haven't This is why people protest and try and get things changed It seems to me Buddhism is about rolling over and going along with whatever happens I need to look into it more though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaliRichard Posted October 3, 2012 Author Share Posted October 3, 2012 We do have control over events in life, people are just told they haven't This is why people protest and try and get things changed It seems to me Buddhism is about rolling over and going along with whatever happens I need to look into it more though Let me give you a very real (and personal) example. My Dad is dying of cancer, he has only months to live, he's always been active, he's never smoked, but he is going to die. Now if I had control over what happens to us in life, or if my Dad had control, we would stop him dying (or at the very least the process from which is dying). I can assure you we cannot control the events that happen to us. We can make choices, we can choose to go right, or left, or vote for X, or protest against Y, we can seek to influence until we're blue in the face (sometimes such influence is 'successful', sometimes it isn't) but we can't control the events in our life, we can, if you take the Taoist view, 'go with it', but that is far different from having control. I'm glad you are so sure that you can control the events around you, because I can promise you if you can you are the first person I have ever met who has that ability. I just hope you realise this isn't the case before life bites you on the bum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drone Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 Let me give you a very real (and personal) example. My Dad is dying of cancer, he has only months to live, he's always been active, he's never smoked, but he is going to die. Now if I had control over what happens to us in life, or if my Dad had control, we would stop him dying (or at the very least the process from which is dying). I can assure you we cannot control the events that happen to us. We can make choices, we can choose to go right, or left, or vote for X, or protest against Y, we can seek to influence until we're blue in the face (sometimes such influence is 'successful', sometimes it isn't) but we can't control the events in our life, we can, if you take the Taoist view, 'go with it', but that is far different from having control. I'm glad you are so sure that you can control the events around you, because I can promise you if you can you are the first person I have ever met who has that ability. I just hope you realise this isn't the case before life bites you on the bum. I said we can control events in our lives, i was not stating every event, you seem to have based your statement on the only thing we don't control Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaliRichard Posted October 3, 2012 Author Share Posted October 3, 2012 I said we can control events in our lives, i was not stating every event, you seem to have based your statement on the only thing we don't control I used examples of voting and protesting (the same example you used) too, and as I said we can influence those things but not 'control' them. You may wish to protest against X political policy, you may even have a thousand, or ten thousand others that wish to join you. But the desire to change something is not the same as the ability to change it. Just because you do protest doesn't mean that you can control the outcome of that protest. Even the simplest event isn't within our 'control'. I've just played a tune on my guitar, I have the ability and the knowledge to facilitate doing so but a string could snap at any time, I can influence what happens around me (as I said before, that influence may or may not yield the result I desire) but I cannot control it. I can take reasonable care of my strings to try to avoid one of them snapping but if one is going to go it will go regardless of how much preperation or desire I have to the contrary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drone Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 The desire to change it is just that you want to but you can have the ability to change things, you can, not everything but you definitely can control certain situations I was generally just asking about Buddhism and was not trying to contradict you, just wanted to put my opinion across and see how you could answer it, that was all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaliRichard Posted October 3, 2012 Author Share Posted October 3, 2012 The desire to change it is just that you want to but you can have the ability to change things, you can, not everything but you definitely can control certain situations I was generally just asking about Buddhism and was not trying to contradict you, just wanted to put my opinion across and see how you could answer it, that was all I know, I didn't take as you trying to contradict me I'm not offended, I just disagree, I think what we're talking about may be two slightly different things. I agree that we have the ability to change things, if not there would be no need to practice Buddhism for me, if I couldn't change my situation following the teachings would be pointless. But I never said we didn't have the ability to change things, I said we don't have the ability to control them, and they are two very different things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drone Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 Well, I disagree on the last bit but hey its my opinion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaliRichard Posted October 3, 2012 Author Share Posted October 3, 2012 Well, I disagree on the last bit but hey its my opinion Indeed it is, and I'm not saying your wrong for having it, I just don't agree Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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