One of the questions I have had when it comes to enlightenment, and the Buddhist philosophy, is in regards to the idea that it is wrong to kill another living being, an idea which strikes me as so similar to the Christian commandment: “Thou Shalt Not Kill.” The problem that I have with dogmas, and [...]
Posts Tagged ‘control’
The Importance of Motivation
Posted in Life, tagged control, illusion vs. reality, life, reality, responsibility on May 13, 2011 | Comments Off
The importance of motivation—it is interesting to me the difference between doing what is right and good out of fear of punishment or hope of reward—or some other selfish motive—and, on the other hand, doing what is right and good because it is right and good. Now, those who fall into the former category are [...]
Help People Help Themselves
Posted in Life, tagged control, happiness, illusion vs. reality, life, mindfulness, truth on April 8, 2011 | Comments Off
How can we help people help themselves? We can give them information. We can teach them to think for themselves. We can show them a perspective—a way of seeing things—that they did not have/see before. We can teach them to have dignity. We can teach them about illusion vs. reality, to question beliefs and assumptions, [...]
Our Responsibility to Children
Posted in Life, tagged conditioning, control, freedom, love, responsibility on March 31, 2011 | Comments Off
Do we have the right to do what we want to our children, or do we have a responsibility to do what we can for them? We do not have the right to do whatever we want to and with our children. Children are not property, they are not “owned.” I have often pondered whether [...]
Striking Out on Your Own
Posted in Life, tagged control, courage, happiness, illusion, reality on March 19, 2011 | Comments Off
I am excited about striking out on my own, but I’m also a bit scared. Just now, the thought occurred to me that I was sort of hiding in that relationship, hiding from the world, from getting out there and being myself, of living life without fear. What was it about S, or the way [...]
Controlled by Fear
Posted in Life, tagged control, fear on March 8, 2011 | Comments Off
That conversation that I had with T the other night at the bar, where he was, again, admonishing me for not being more like him, that I should “loosen up” and be okay with [doing "bad" things]. I think the idea that we should do anything simply because we do not fear it is stupid. [...]
The Unloaded Gun
Posted in Life, tagged attitude, belief, control, freedom, philosophy, reality, religion on February 8, 2011 | Comments Off
(See “Hypocrisy in Morality” for the first part of this discussion.) Most people have it backwards—morality does not determine motivations and values, values and motivations determine morality. This is why organized religion has it wrong, because it functions on the former—false—principle. And it is why societies which attempt to function based on this backward logic [...]
