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Originally Posted by mercuryrising  I agree with you that the mind and the symbolic interface we identify with is limited. Here comes the "butt". But, the mind is part of experience and existence. To reach an authentic state of non-duality, it would have to include duality and not repel from it. If I go back far enough, I am just being. I see the rise and fall of causality, the inter-dependent co-arising of form, as the rise and fall of my breath. I am also a very limited, mortal human being with a particular persona and limited understanding of the world
Philosophy today is almost strictly sophistry. It is a game of semantics. Philosophy originally was a way of life, akin to that of the yoga masters from the same time period. I always wanted to be a philosopher and not a scholar of philosophy, which is why I chose not to get a degree in the subject.
I've often felt that Westerners have over-looked some real gems in their culture for the more readily available Eastern versions of the same things The parallels between Stoicism and Buddhism are unbelievable, for example. |
By the way, I was very intrigued with Stoicism when I read about it. But I couldn't find much out there on it, as it is no longer being used as an approach to life by anyone. Also, I always loved Mr. Spock, who to me embodies Stoicism.
Hey what can I say -- the philosophy that has meant the most to me is perhaps best embodied by TV characters from my youth. . . .(So now you know -- I'm a closet trekkie
-- my secret is out of the bag.)
Blessings from Belle,
