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  • Unknown's avatar

    hardie karges 3:41 am on June 23, 2024 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , depression, , , , , , , ,   

    Buddhism: Dealing with Dukkha, Suffering…  

    Depression and sadness are not the same thing. Still Buddhism can help with both. Dukkha, suffering, is a very broad concept, as all the modern reinterpretations prove. Still, it all comes down to unhappiness, as the modern Sanskrit (and Hindi and Nepali) words confirm: दुःखी, dukhi, nothing about stress, dissatisfaction, or my favorite word ‘bummer’: haha. Thank you, Google Translate. But if you think you’re clinically, i.e. chemically, depressed, always sad, you might want to get a clinical diagnosis, and solution, in addition to anything that Buddhism might be able to do for you. 

    Because what Buddhism can do best for you is to make you feel better about your current condition, seeing it as impermanent, as it certainly is, and even unreal, as it also arguably is. More importantly, it can help you realize that many of these conditions are the result of your own kileshas, errors, defilements, or shortcomings (not sins), in particular the defilement of avarice, or craving, or attachment to the passing show of superficial satisfactions of consumption, lust, and hatred.  

    These are problems with solutions, though, specifically training your mind to find its satisfactions elsewhere. Once you’ve found satisfaction in kindness and compassion, after all, why would you want to return to the crude contrivances of drunkenness, braggadocio, and one-upmanship? If you’re like me, then you probably wouldn’t. Subtle satisfactions that ease the sufferings of others can also have the added benefit of easing your own suffering, later if not sooner. We’re all in this together. 

     
    • jmoran66's avatar

      jmoran66 4:52 am on June 23, 2024 Permalink | Reply

      Another great post. I read it several times in succession, then went back to it again later.

      • hardie karges's avatar

        hardie karges 5:17 am on June 23, 2024 Permalink | Reply

        Thank you…

  • Unknown's avatar

    hardie karges 12:29 pm on January 26, 2020 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , depression, , , , , uppadana,   

    Buddhism and that Special Flavor of Sadness… 

    Plato not Prozac. Buddha not Benzedrine. In other words, don’t go running for the medicine cabinet every time you feel a little sad, or bored. Life is not about getting all charged up, whether looking for thrills, or looking for bliss. Life is about being aware, not much more and not much less. So if you’re feeling a little down in the dumps today, or just can’t seem to pump it up any how any way, I can’t recommend experiments of the chemical sort, unless it’s the last resort, and you’re the experimental sort. Because the results don’t always work out well. Pills are not always equivalent to thrills, and thrills are not what they used to be, better for kids in playgrounds, than adults in real lives. (Unless you have serious clinical depression, of course, and then you should get thyself to a doctor, post haste, and follow his instructions to the letter, because they are the masters of experiment, and can save you some time and trouble). But depression and sadness are two different things, and boredom is even more insidious. Boredom may be a call to action, true enough, but that action is best when more than the zen koan: what is the sound of one pill popping? This is a Western disease, and American, especially, home to amusement parks and extreme sports, daredevil stuntmen and short short shorts. We know what we want and we want it now. The only problem is that once gratified that sensation, there will always be another, and another, and another. This is the main realization of the Buddha: craving, ‘uppadana’, closely related to ‘tanha’, thirst, and the need for constant needs. This is a vicious circle, of course, and the best way to nip it in the bud is to gain control over yourself, to whatever extent that is possible. And this is the essence of Buddhist ‘practice’, the control that you gain, primarily by meditation. But self-control can still fall short, especially if you have a history of chemical imbalances. Buddhism always reverts to causes, and even if 90% of those are ‘mental’ and ‘impermanent’, some of them are more intrinsic to this particular manifestation of our transitory physical dimension, and are best dealt with in that way. Sometimes you have to treat symptoms first, worry about ultimate causes later…

     
    • The Night Wytch's avatar

      Alexia Adder 9:09 pm on January 26, 2020 Permalink | Reply

      That is the only way to survive. For myself, it isn’t just awareness but the idea that chaos or loss of control [self] =/= fun for me. I find joy in experiences and ideas, even if I disagree. I like to be intellectually stimulated, I got bored if I am not. To do this I try to learn more, talk to people, get their perspectives… there’s always a subjectivity aspect to life even if one is part of a culture, unique ideas and opinions may or not be born from a combination of experiences and cultures.

      One thing I love science and always philosophize and think about it. But science is only about the objective which can get one only insofar, there are subjective areas science can never cover. Most rational people are blind to the subjective part of living and reality, putting too much “faith” in the objective.

      Real harmony is finding the balance between both views, and not seeing the mutual exclusives. Instead knowing that both perspectives have their place. This is the Middle Path.

      • hardie karges's avatar

        hardie karges 10:19 pm on January 26, 2020 Permalink | Reply

        I’m a big fan of science, actually right now trying to put together a Facebook group for a more science-oriented Buddhism, stay tuned. Thanks for your comments…

      • hardie karges's avatar

        hardie karges 5:39 pm on January 27, 2020 Permalink | Reply

        Here you go, just got the group page up, so it’s pretty empty, but if you want to discuss anything, then doing it there might make it a little less lonely! Basically the idea is to discuss the possibilities of a modernized Buddhism without the burdens of rebirth, past lives and karma. But we can discuss anything, hope to C U there: https://www.facebook.com/groups/196544654825092/

        • The Night Wytch's avatar

          Alexia Adder 5:55 pm on January 27, 2020 Permalink

          Thank you so much! This will help me and others a lot.

        • hardie karges's avatar

          hardie karges 5:59 pm on January 27, 2020 Permalink

          You’re welcome! C U there!

    • Robert@69's avatar

      Robert@69 10:27 pm on January 28, 2020 Permalink | Reply

      Nice read hardie. to paraphrase I read you to say that the american disease is wanting instant or damn near instant gratification, and the problem with this wanting is that it’s never sated and we end up in the cycles of craving and thirst. – agreed. but isn’t the wanting to be in control just another form of craving/thirst? And is gaining control over ? the essence of Buddhist practice? It isn’t for me.

    • hardie karges's avatar

      hardie karges 11:00 pm on January 28, 2020 Permalink | Reply

      SELF-control, yes, and self-control only, which for a Buddhist is only natural, since no permanent self is even acknowledged. I know it sounds a bit draconian from an American perspective, point of the post, but it works, it really does, with meditation, non-confrontation (don’t ‘take the bait’), etc., and it all starts with the breath (maybe). No, it’s the opposite of craving, really, purely non-grasping, the power of inaction. It isn’t a subject that gets written up in Buddhism, really, but I’ve discussed it with Asian monks, and it’s often acknowledged that yes, that’s the deal. Think about it. It can be very satisfying, actually, foregoing the white noise of sometimes mindless action. Thanks for your comments…

  • Unknown's avatar

    hardie karges 5:45 am on June 17, 2018 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , depression, , , , , ,   

    Beyond Buddhism: and the meaning of life is… 

    img_1773The opposite of death, of course, whatever that is, no more no less, the two like dancing partners choreographed to perfection, or life partners resigned to the fact. There is no other option, no matter how much the creators of cryogenics would wish it, or however much the authors of science fiction might fantasize. You can only delay the inevitable; every doctor will admit that, but still we spend every last cent to prolong our lives another minute or two for the sake of science, for the sake of the impenetrable sadness…

    And these same doctors think that the cure for suicide is better anti-depression drugs, as if all happiness is chemical and all meaning is logical, as if we were born with a seventy-year contract to fulfill, and any less would put us in breach. But yes, we are in breach, we are always in breach, that slashed gap between the open sores of our bodies and the unrealized expectations we had in mind, the slashed gap of duality. Maybe we should invent some new drugs to enhance our false expectations? No, we’ve got enough of those already… (More …)

     
  • Unknown's avatar

    hardie karges 7:35 am on May 8, 2016 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , depression,   

    Getting Religion, Losing Depression—Motivational Mix and Match… 

    IMG_1660

    Buddhist Temple in Laos

    Depression is very over-rated, in my opinion, which means that I don’t much believe in it, and not for lack of trying—and crying.  It’s too easy.  It’s a cop-out, unless you ARE truly depressed, of course, in some clinically measurable way, i.e. most likely chemical (but that’s never been proven).  Unhappiness, while not simple, is simply not depression, even when one is ‘minor’ and the other ‘major’.  There’s a qualitative difference IMHO.

    ‘Unhappiness’ means you need to make some changes in your life, not in your prescription—motivational therapy optional.  That is not always easy, of course, and may involve some compromises you never imagined making.  Fortunately, in this transient age, impermanence is currency, and you can always go back to from where you came.  Keep that bizniz card in your pocket and an open door to your back.  (More …)

     
  • Unknown's avatar

    hardie karges 5:35 pm on June 20, 2014 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: depression,   

    Great Depression? Now there’s an oxymoron… 

    Depression and sadness are not the same thing. That’s a common misconception (and don’t get me started on disappointments). If there is a reason for your depression, then that’s probably not depression. That’s sadness. But if you’re sad all the time, then that may very well be depression. Drugs can treat depression, but they’re not advisable as a treatment for sadness, especially if they have names like ‘Mendocino Mangle’ or ‘Humboldt Happy’. That’s for treating something else. The best treatment for sadness is to make positive changes in your life. No, I’m not a doctor, and no, I don’t play one on TV, BUT… I’m writing this screenplay, you see, thinking Antonio Banderas for the aging Latino hottie doc…

     
  • Unknown's avatar

    hardie karges 9:52 am on December 26, 2012 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , depression, , holidays, ,   

    Tis’ the Season… to Avoid Depression: FA LA LA 2U2 

    I have my own Christmas traditions, developed over decades and continents, usually wherever I happen to find myself on the blessed day, either for lack of imagination or some rogue inspiration, none of which places can usually be considered ‘home,’ as the concept seems to have largely eluded me over the years.  If stuck at ‘home,’ I find that the day can even make me extremely depressed if I don’t deal with it pro-actively, because even though I’m extremely put off by the commercialism of Christmas, that doesn’t mean that I can entirely dismiss it.  I know; I’ve tried. (More …)

     

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