13 Questions

It's no good if we slander eachothers' arguments because we don't like eachothers' teachers / religious backgrounds etc.

I'd like to start a conversation about how each of us see reality. I hope that everyone can answer these questions with an honest, vulnerable heart with the aim of understanding eachother better rather than 'winning the r/zen game'

I use the terms 'delusional' and 'rational' in these questions; based on your background you can feel free to interpret these words as 'enlightened'/'not' or 'on the right path'/'not' etc.

1. Suppose you are in pain or have an exciting event coming up. Is it more delusional to 'look forward to the future' and thus not be present, or to focus entirely on the moment and thus experience less pleasure?
2. Is fear of death delusional or rational?
3. Is it rational to strive towards 'fulfilling your wildest dreams' or is this a cause for suffering, with ambivalence towards the course of your life being the cure?
4. If a person is happier or calmer than you, does this imply they are wiser?
5. If a person is truly, deeply certain about something, does this imply they are right?
6. Assuming that suffering and delusion are intricately connected as implied by most eastern traditions, is suffering brought about by empathy also due to delusion?
7. With no authority or logical structure of ethics to speak of in zen, how does one go about determining whether actions are good or bad?
8. Can historical events be said to be 'catastrophic' in a moral sense, or has everything always been just as it should be?
9. What is selfishness? Is it more honest/dishonest or more rational/delusional than selflessness? Is there an 'optimal path' between the two extremes?
10. What is more important in verifying claims: the testimony of others or your own lived experience?
11. Can decisions and arguments from emotion compete with rational thought?
12. Humans have certain properties that make them behave differently from other animals. Are these properties vices, virtues or otherwise? Does following the path mean cultivating the animal mind or the post-animal mind? promoting communication between the two minds? or unlocking a mysterious 'third mind'?
13. What is the relationship between perception and reality?

Submitted March 19, 2018 at 08:16PM by jeowy http://ift.tt/2FWPPG7