Answer to ForbiddenKnowledge22

One Buddhist teacher that I respect once said:

"If it shouldn't be it wouldn't be."

When I look at the Universe and try to come with a conclusion about all of this, I am inevitably influenced by my emotional state, my current mind set. It's is very hard not to be biased and be completely rational and sensible about all this. Our heart, our being works like a veil, a lens, through which we judge the Universe.

A lot of times if I feel depressed, incomplete, dissatisfied, I tend to go towards the Stoic and Buddhist way, because I want relief from suffering, from that sense of lacking. If I'm going through a phase when things go my way then everything seems to make sense and everything is alright, then a sense of hope is present and I feel energised and confident. In these times I tend to disregard Buddhist teachings. But this doesn't last long and I go back to that sense of lack.

I am doing the best I know according to my available tools, knowledge, time, energy available etc. I also like to experiment with ideas and think about this stuff, even though most of my ideas can very well be misguided, incomplete, tainted by my present mind state.

Things are what they are and nothing is wrong or right. Our notion of justice, fair and unfair, right or wrong is a complete human construction based on impulses, drives and strategies that evolution came up with in order to optimise the survival chances of our species. Nature/Universe doesn’t care about our suffering and predicament. We are completely by ourselves and alone. It’s up to us to make the best of this ride and come up with ways to minimise suffering at the individual and collective levels.

Our thirst, our striving led us to this moment. And right now I am able to exchange ideas through the Internet with a complete stranger and hopefully come out of this exchange of ideas with something new. This struggle and thirst brings about novelty. Novelty leads to advancement, innovation and creation of new systems that can bring conditions that suit our needs hence minimise dissatisfaction and suffering. Is this a bad thing? I don’t think so. Humanity, collectively, is doing what it is supposed to be doing. The experiment is going well it seems, according to what Nature demands. Of course there are problems and obstacles. There always were and there always will be. But what is the major goal? When will we stop? Why all this? Maybe there is no goal. It’s just a ride. I don’t know...

Now at the individual level things get a bit different. I will speak for myself here. Due to perhaps my genetic makeup, social conditioning, past experiences etc. I’ve never been the sort of person that participates in this game we’re playing in a way that brings me contentment. It has always been a struggle. I’ve read Jordan Peterson's book “12 Rules for Life”. In it he speaks about the “Dominance Hierarchy”. I’ve never been able to, as a male, successfully participate and establish myself in that Hierarchy and I frequently resent those that have been able to. But this resentment does not go unchecked in my mind and I do not allow it to taint my judgements so much. Except if I am completely overwhelmed in my bad days. So what sort of conclusion can I get from this? What is relevant for me? Can I bring about some form of relief? Can I replace the basic drives I’ve been programmed with for something that minimises my sense of lack? Can I reprogram myself? Can I still be happy or at least achieve some level of well being? This is the question that Buddhism seeks to answer I believe. The most important Buddhist teaching is not weather if reality is real or not. Buddha’s first teaching was: The 4 Noble Truths: There is suffering/dissatisfaction. The source of this suffering is attachment to this “thirst” or “desire”. There is the cessation of suffering. There is a path that leads to the cessation of suffering.

This is relevant because for those that have not been able to play the game successfully. For those that for a variety of reasons are not comfortably established in the Dominance Hierarchy, this brings hope for relief, release and freedom. It does for those that have not been able to find their place in this game and it also does for those that have become disenchanted from the game and seek meaning.

Now this thing the teaching points towards to is not exclusively Buddhist. Other philosophies have managed to describe this path like Stoicism for example, Taoism etc. We can even find some pieces of this in other religions like Christianity, Islam etc.

Enlightenment is not about reaching some kind of Godhood. In my perspective it’s simply about liberation from this sense of lacking. It’s about understanding the human predicament and gracefully accept it, accept the pain of it and coming to terms with our Universe, forgive it and let go of all the resentment we have towards it and everything within it. Something I have not been able to do. As I write this I can almost feel the freedom behind such release as if I was stuck in a dark room but could hear and smell the fresh breeze outside and the sound of it shacking the leaves and the fields. This makes my heart move and I feel like crying but I don’t as if some form of knot is blocking my throat.

The mechanism we know as ego is very important here. I believe the ego exists because it provides a way for Nature to make sure we follow it’s program. Ego is like the Nature’s ambassador in our minds. It makes sure we strive and engage with the Dominance Hierarchy so we can become a contributor to the human project. Ego also seems to provide us a sense of separateness and individuality. Now I don’t think the Ego is a bad thing. I believe that we should strive to build healthy balanced egos. An ego that grew up in an environment with Love, support and understanding and also opportunities to overcome obstacles and struggles will allow the person to engage positively and constructively in the world. Problem is society does not teach this and we are left to chance I believe and damaged egos are commonplace.

For those who seek relief from suffering and liberation from the program, the Ego represents kind of like the gate keeper. It’s something that must be dealt with when one seeks freedom from the grasp of Nature. When we confront the Ego we are actually confronting Nature and millions of years of evolution. It can be overwhelming. I believe this is described a lot in so many different traditions. I remember for example some alchemical, medieval and even some shamanic traditions that mention a battle between the hero and the Dragon / Serpent. It is also something that has to do with death and the fear of death. The fear of death is like a weapon that the ego uses to keep it’s dominance over us: fear of death and the sensation that without the ego we are doomed, leading us to believe that we need the ego to survive. I think that in order to go forward towards that freedom the fear of death is also an obstacle.

Liberation is a deliverance to death, a letting go. It does not have to be nihilistic. It’s not about suppression, denying and killing the ego. But the difference is so subtle and I know this idea attracts so much people who out of resentment seek to annihilate themselves and seek revenge upon the world by denying it. The correct path is actually more about surrendering to that which is. There seems to be something within ourselves that aid us in the process as well. Is it the Soul? The heart? Consciousness? Love? God? I don’t know. But I know that when the heart opens it’s so much easier to let go. Things just flow in a way that I don’t even seem to claim that it is me doing it.

I cannot claim to be free. But I think I understand the process. I experienced states of freedom before. I have experienced them using psychedelics. But I have also experienced them without psychedelics. The ego seems to just turn off. It’s an amazing sensation and it brings so much relief. But it does not last of course. Is there another way? Becoming friends with the Ego, negotiate with it? Perhaps leading a life where we fulfil our role in this world according to what Nature demands of us, and at the same time being fully aware of ourselves, our limitations, our shortcomings and forgive ourselves, being aware of impermanence and not allowing ourselves to become too attached to things? I think it is possible and it is not easy.

What do you think?