Interesting point, and I will follow up on the book. I would see the argument as about the modern tendency to live in the past and the future all the time, whereas it seems clear that our distant ancestors at least, lived much more in the present moment. And living in that present moment, of course, is an objective of meditation schools everywhere.
Interesting point, and I will follow up on the book. I would see the argument as about the modern tendency to live in the past and the future all the time, whereas it seems clear that our distant ancestors at least, lived much more in the present moment. And living in that present moment, of course, is an objective of meditation schools everywhere.
The remarkable feature of Buddha teaching is itтАЩs presented as a system of education, not supplication. Dhamma, not dogma. Stripped of its metaphysical elements itтАЩs quite simple to understand. Of course, losing oneтАЩs grip on тАЬselfтАЭ is a step toward greater contentment.
Mr PollardтАЩs comment and your reply reminds me of points made by Yuval Noah Harari in тАЬSapiensтАЭ. He argued that for hunter gatherer societies, though life was certainly tenuous, it was likely also more satisfying, and required depth of practical knowledge about the world to survive. This is confirmed by my experiences traveling where life is truly not тАЬeasyтАЭ, i.e. outside of the western world. People learn there are many more things, and types to eat than can be found at a supermarket. TheyтАЩll harvest stuff walking down an alleyway, know that a termite mound is a fine snack, and bee larvae is as tasty as honey. Almost anything that crawls in or under a tree is food. Many тАЬweedsтАЭ are tonics; others not to eat. Such folks become expert naturalists.
As a Chef, I had to learn, and keep an open mind about what constitutes gastronomical indulgence, the opportunities available, but my western incubation was and still is nvrtheless limiting. I had to travel off the beaten paths to learn. This helps explain how Anthony Bourdain became so popular. He was traveling places tourists donтАЩt go, and describing stuff that was revelatory to the western audience.
One of my rules for travel is if the U.S. Dept of State says donтАЩt go, then go, And keeping in mind the words of Murakami, тАЬif you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinkingтАЭ, this applies to travel quite the same.
That makes sense. Trying to figure out how/why our species 'went rogue', I've been exploring a hypothesis (based on Julian Jaynes' work) about the evolution of the complex human brain, and whether our current behaviour is the result of an evolutionary misstep: https://howtosavetheworld.ca/2023/11/11/the-entanglement-hypothesis-revisited/ Might be further down the rabbit hole than you'd care to go however. Cheers.
Interesting point, and I will follow up on the book. I would see the argument as about the modern tendency to live in the past and the future all the time, whereas it seems clear that our distant ancestors at least, lived much more in the present moment. And living in that present moment, of course, is an objective of meditation schools everywhere.
The remarkable feature of Buddha teaching is itтАЩs presented as a system of education, not supplication. Dhamma, not dogma. Stripped of its metaphysical elements itтАЩs quite simple to understand. Of course, losing oneтАЩs grip on тАЬselfтАЭ is a step toward greater contentment.
Mr PollardтАЩs comment and your reply reminds me of points made by Yuval Noah Harari in тАЬSapiensтАЭ. He argued that for hunter gatherer societies, though life was certainly tenuous, it was likely also more satisfying, and required depth of practical knowledge about the world to survive. This is confirmed by my experiences traveling where life is truly not тАЬeasyтАЭ, i.e. outside of the western world. People learn there are many more things, and types to eat than can be found at a supermarket. TheyтАЩll harvest stuff walking down an alleyway, know that a termite mound is a fine snack, and bee larvae is as tasty as honey. Almost anything that crawls in or under a tree is food. Many тАЬweedsтАЭ are tonics; others not to eat. Such folks become expert naturalists.
As a Chef, I had to learn, and keep an open mind about what constitutes gastronomical indulgence, the opportunities available, but my western incubation was and still is nvrtheless limiting. I had to travel off the beaten paths to learn. This helps explain how Anthony Bourdain became so popular. He was traveling places tourists donтАЩt go, and describing stuff that was revelatory to the western audience.
One of my rules for travel is if the U.S. Dept of State says donтАЩt go, then go, And keeping in mind the words of Murakami, тАЬif you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinkingтАЭ, this applies to travel quite the same.
That makes sense. Trying to figure out how/why our species 'went rogue', I've been exploring a hypothesis (based on Julian Jaynes' work) about the evolution of the complex human brain, and whether our current behaviour is the result of an evolutionary misstep: https://howtosavetheworld.ca/2023/11/11/the-entanglement-hypothesis-revisited/ Might be further down the rabbit hole than you'd care to go however. Cheers.
Yes, I've mentioned Jaynes a number of times in these essays. I think he's on to something, but I'm not sure what.