[Phantasm]

Watched a documentary about Buddha the other night (BBC, Bettany Hughes). Found it inspiring so dug out my old copy of the Dhammapada.

One of his core teachings was that desire is the root of all suffering.

On this site acceptance is an idea often referred to as important in recovery. It occurred to me that these things are the same. "Want nothing," is the same as accepting.

Just a thought.

 

[Broken]

I've always found Buddhism interesting. My favourite quote is "the foot feels the foot when it feels the ground"... although unfortunately this is one of those fake buddha quotes lolll.

But basically its a good summary that we never experience anything outside the boundary of our body. Thoughts, memories, senses are all within these walls. So setting up any conflict with anything AT ALL in life, is cutting off your nose to spite your face... in a quite literal sense. I think DP for some is that internal conflict with the symptoms... for myself there is more to it

I sometimes romanticise that if I had enough time I could meditate for thousands of hours and cure my DPD... who knows

 

[Abe89]

I am a Buddhist. I was born into it. In the very beginning after understanding I had DP and there is no cure, listening to translations of buddhist discourses (called Suttas in buddhism) really inspired to me move forward and do right by myself and other people of my family.

The website where I found these readings of suttas is still around. https://www.suttareadings.net/audio/

The discourses are read by buddhist scholars and teachers in a way that inspires spirituality.

The discourses are interesting in a literature point of view as well.

 

[ThoughtOnFire]

First thing that happened to me once dissociation started was that I immediately looked into Eastern Spirituality + Meditation.

It's good to revisit those roots with new/deeper/different perspectives.

 

[forestx5]

Herman Hesse wrote Siddartha. The central message that Siddhartha learns is that experience, rather than avoiding certain things in the "real world", leads to understanding;

rather than desires and belongings being a distraction, they are as important to our perception of the world as all other actions and thought.

Siddartha fulfilled his desires en-route to spiritual nirvana, proving that there is more than one way to skin Buddha's cat.

 

[Phantasm]

Herman Hesse wrote Siddartha. The central message that Siddhartha learns is that experience, rather than avoiding certain things in the "real world", leads to understanding;

rather than desires and belongings being a distraction, they are as important to our perception of the world as all other actions and thought.

Siddartha fulfilled his desires en-route to spiritual nirvana, proving that there is more than one way to skin Buddha's cat.

I've read a couple of books by Herman Hesse, Steppenwolf and The Glass Bead Game, and got a sense of his idea of Buddhism, but he was a novelist.

This is from the Dhammapada:

And yet it is not good conduct

That helps you upon the way

Nor ritual, nor book learning,

Nor withdrawal into the self,

Nor deep meditations.

None of these things confers mastery or joy.

O seeker!

Rely on nothing

Until you want nothing.

 

[Broken]

Nice, I love Buddhist quotes. One of my favourites that I learnt about was Bassui. His was more Zen and focused on the self (perhaps a trigger warning should come with his quotes lol):

At work, at rest, never stop trying to realize who it is that hears.
Even though your questioning becomes almost unconscious,
you won't find the one who hears, and all your efforts will come to naught.
Yet sounds can be heard, so question yourself to an even profounder level.
At last every vestige of self-awareness will disappear and
you will feel like a cloudless sky.
Within yourself you will find no "I," nor will you discover anyone who hears.
This Mind is like the void, yet it hasn't a single spot that can be called empty.
This state is often mistaken for Self-realization.
But continue to ask yourself even more intensely, "Now who is it that hears?"

-- Zen Master Bassui

 

[Abe89]

Nice, I love Buddhist quotes. One of my favourites that I learnt about was Bassui. His was more Zen and focused on the self (perhaps a trigger warning should come with his quotes lol):

But continue to ask yourself even more intensely, "Now who is it that hears?"

-- Zen Master Bassui

haha..definitely should be a warning "EXISTENTIAL TRIGGER"

 

[Abe89]

This is from the Dhammapada:

And yet it is not good conduct

That helps you upon the way

Nor ritual, nor book learning,

Nor withdrawal into the self,

Nor deep meditations.

None of these things confers mastery or joy.

O seeker!

Rely on nothing

Until you want nothing.

I often listen to a reading of the Dhammapada, but I haven't been able to fully memorize it yet.
I tried to find the chapter and verse of the above, it's from Chapter 19 (The Just), Verse 271-272.
https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/dhp/dhp.19.budd.html

I like the Chapter 12 (The Self), it's very practical.
https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/dhp/dhp.12.budd.html

"166. Let one not neglect one's own welfare for the sake of another, however great. Clearly understanding one's own welfare, let one be intent upon the good."

 

[Phantasm]

Is it the tradition to memorize it, Abe? I know hindus memorize the Vedas.

The introduction in my copy says it was originally written down in Sri Lanka, where you live

I think I read it's the first written record of his teachings.

 

[Phantasm]

I'm the type of idiot who hears "What is the sound of one hand clapping?" and starts slapping his fingers into his palm. Are any of you too?

Lol, yep, I've done that one before!

Now you mention them, I think Koans could be said to be about acceptance too, as they are intended as unanswerable questions that you set the mind to until eventually you realize there is no answer and let go to things as they are.

I've also been thinking about detachment and acceptance. Attachment starts in the mind - with thoughts, memories and imaginings. Dp is often linked with obsession, even described directly sometimes as a kind of pure O, where grasping at and clinging to these seems to cause a blockage, whereas non-attachment seems to allow for smoother processing.

 

[Laurany152]

In the last few years I've been exploring spirituality and so forth. I was raised strict fire and brimstone Christianity (Baptist) in the hills of Appalachia, in eastern, Ky. So everyone there existed in a bubble and thought the same way as everyone else. When I married and moved away I sort of shed that way of thought. I still believe in God but I believe the Budda or maybe even the Hindu way of teachings were closer to what spiritual growth really is. In my experience Christianity and religion itself is man made and there is so much more to be learned regarding God separate from "the Church" I never felt at home in my upbringing regarding faith and I always felt there was something more out there. So I believe in Spirituality rather than a religion. if that makes sense. I always feel like I'm not making sense to anyone. Probably because no one ever really "got" me when I told people how I felt. So it was like a breath of fresh air when I moved away from the hills and began my own search for God.