Illusion and its cure, knowledge

[TBRS1]

A key principle of Buddhism is that people naturally experience reality, but they do it through experiencing "illusion"

In other words, they see what is there, but misinterpret it.

Example:
Person "A" sits down to eat the breakfast that person "B" makes daily, before "A" has to leave for work.

On this occasion, breakfast isn't ready, and "A" goes to work hungry.

"A" is ticked off because they feel that "B" has let them down, and, by doing that, has shown "A" disrespect.

In this example, their are two main "illusions."

The first illusion is that "B" has let "A" down. This is an illusion because, before "A" came to the table, "B" received a phone call from their mother with bad news, was upset, and didn't make breakfast.

By not realizing this, "A" is the one who let "B" down.

The second illusion in this example is "A's" belief that "A" deserves special respect for merely existing.

In reality, each person begins (hopefully) with a certain degree of respect. After that, a person either adds to, or subtracts from, the respect due to them via their actions.

By assuming that "B" was at fault rather than finding out what happened, "A" ended up deserving less respect.

The "cure" for illusion is to understand, and dispel ignorance. In the above example, the illusion is dispelled as soon as one understands what REALLY happened.

 

[Tuffsy]

You are truly wise Grasshopper! I will try and mend my ways, but I am just soooo selfish.

 

[TBRS1]

You are truly wise Grasshopper! I will try and mend my ways, but I am just soooo selfish.

Well, have fun with that.

 

[lunarious]

I have to think to understand. Is it true you are not supposed to think much and live in the moment?

But Imam, while greatly knowledgeable and maybe he can mentalize, he says Heaven ≠ Knowledge. Knowledge is neither good or bad. There's no illness to cure...

Dunya in Islam approximately = Samsara .... i'm 99% sure people and technology read my mind, i feel it. The world (Dunya) win over me if i attacked them while being Patient. So i will not attack them.

There are people who kill people, i offer Peace through my presence, which may be cocky funny. Hopefully funny.

But I wait, like a mouintain maybe, until Allah release me from my post, like they say. And i may forever stay, unless i get cocky funny

 

[TBRS1]

I have to think to understand. Is it true you are not supposed to think much and live in the moment?

Yes and no.

Meditations that focus on "mindfulness" temporarily require that one separates one's self from "thought" in order to experience, for a moment, what pure perception is - being aware without attaching one's attention to random passing thoughts.

However, Buddhism is considered highly intellectual (Zen Buddhists say TOO intellectual). Most other forms of Buddhist meditation require very careful application of the mind. Mindfulness meditation is a beginning step.

 

[Neonatal RRT]

A key principle of Buddhism is that people naturally experience reality, but they do it through experiencing "illusion"

In other words, they see what is there, but misinterpret it.

Agree. Another way to put it, one may not fully understand the situation because one is blinded from pertinent facts. This is very common situation that can destroy relationships.

A cognitive bias can get in the way of rational thinking. One can "leap" to a false conclusion, or worse, act upon that false conclusion before all the facts of the situation are revealed.

Temperance, patience, and intellectual curiosity must come together. Not over reacting emotionally and then asking clarifying questions in order to fill in the information.

 

[TBRS1]

Agree. Another way to put it, one may not fully understand the situation because one is blinded from pertinent facts. This is very common situation that can destroy relationships.

A cognitive bias can get in the way of rational thinking. One can "leap" to a false conclusion, or worse, act upon that false conclusion before all the facts of the situation are revealed.

Temperance, patience, and intellectual curiosity must come together. Not over reacting emotionally and then asking clarifying questions in order to fill in the information.

Yeah - the cognitive biases, as well as the genetically programmed reactions that lead us to see danger even when it doesn't exist (such as "fear of those unlike me") are all called " forms of illusion" in Buddhism.

Also, our "karma" (our past experiences) frequently cause us to leap to false conclusions. This is also illusion.

In Buddhism, the "eight fold path" is the route to seeing past all this error. It requires a massive investment in self guided thoughtful exploration. This is where one develops the (learnable) mental skills of "temperance, patience, and intellectual curiosity."

What is the Buddhist Eightfold Path? (The 8 Elements) | Mindworks

 

[FilterFreq]

I would go so far as to say that if were were to truly lose that illusion, there's probably more to potentially lose than what most people realize. There are regions in our brain that help us construct a sense of identity and individuality for a reason -- if it weren't for them, humans would likely never do anything cool. Sure, there wouldn't be anything to fight about or to take personally, but we're talking about an extremely boring and sterile existence all around -- eventually, like everything else, people would get tired of it. All 'flow' and no 'ebb', if you will. Sometimes you've got to breathe in.

Even our egos (when moderately balanced) serve way more of a purpose than not. A lot of the assumptions we make are indeed true (as in, "hey, that guy needs to merge lanes, I should move") and having that kind of stuff on command is extremely useful - despite the misunderstandings and problems that spiral out of it.

But, I believe that true, horrific evil exists in the world, which is an entirely different ballgame.

 

[TBRS1]

I would go so far as to say that if were were to truly lose that illusion, there's probably more to potentially lose than what most people realize. There are regions in our brain that help us construct a sense of identity and individuality for a reason -- if it weren't for them, humans would likely never do anything cool. Sure, there wouldn't be anything to fight about or to take personally, but we're talking about an extremely boring and sterile existence all around -- eventually, like everything else, people would get tired of it. All 'flow' and no 'ebb', if you will. Sometimes you've got to breathe in.

Even our egos (when moderately balanced) serve way more of a purpose than not. A lot of the assumptions we make are indeed true (as in, "hey, that guy needs to merge lanes, I should move") and having that kind of stuff on command is extremely useful - despite the misunderstandings and problems that spiral out of it.

But, I believe that true, horrific evil exists in the world, which is an entirely different ballgame.

What you say is true. A life of bla would be a life of bla, and that would be no fun.

Buddha called their path " the middle way", "middle" because it does not require extreme asceticism, nor does it encourage rampant hedonism.

One can (and should) be an individual, a unique entity, who practices Buddhism to improve their life - not give their life up to some illusionary goal.

Ego is important - absolutely! The goal should never be to eliminate the ego. The goal is to get that ego into a healthy state.

In Buddhism, there is nothing that is classified as "evil." Buddhism has a purpose - to reduce the unsatisfying nature of life. So, for this reason, Buddhism classifies actions as:

Wholesome (leading to a reduction of dissatisfaction.
Unwholesome (leading to an increase in dissatisfaction)
Neutral (neither increasing nor decreasing dissatisfaction)