Philosophy

The Six Realms of Existence And One Little Dog

by
Bhavacakra via Wikimedia commons
Bhavacakra via Wikimedia commons

Theres a concept in Tibetan Buddhism (and I think used in other Buddhist traditions) called the Wheel Of Life.  It’s a great mandala, showing the cycles of the world, clutched in the hands of Yama, lord of death.  It’s a vast, symbolic work that you could spend ages analyzing as it represents the sources of suffering, the nature of living beings, and the liberation off the wheel.

Most notable – and famous – are the various realms of existence portrayed on the wheel.  The lore states that there are six realms one can be born in:

Devas – The gods.  Beings who enjoy bliss and pleasure and power.  However, Devas do age and die, and their happiness often means they don’t develop wisdom or compassion.

Asuras – The Angry Gods, sometimes translated as “Titans”.  They conted with the Devas.  Powerful, fierce, and forceful they’re also jealous and paranoid.

Humans – That’s us.  We’re usually ignorant, but also are in a balanced world and state where we can learn wisdom, compassion, and get off the Wheel via enlightenment.  We’ve got anger and bliss and so forth, but it’s not overwhelming or crippling.

Animals – The realm of creatures of instinct.  Animals tend to prefer sameness, indulge desire, and often lack humor.

Hungry Ghosts – The realm of addiction.  Hungry Ghosts are mournful spirits haunting various desolate parts of the world, seeking to consume things they desire and unable to enjoy them.  Scary-looking, they’re rather pathetic creatures.

Hell Beings – The realm of fear and anger.  Hell beings are born to torment in this horrible realm.

Metaphysically it’s an interesting cosmology, but it can also be viewed as metaphorical – that these are different psychological states we can experience.  I’ve seen the psychological model talked about by a number of people, such as Mark Epstein and Pema Chodron; it’s really fascinating.

Read more

Violence, Cynicism, and False Maturity

by

Several times in my life I’ve encountered people who seemed honestly stunned or dismissive of the idea of avoiding violent confrontation in political, military, and even personal spheres.  There seemed to be something that didn’t register to them that the best solution was not always the one with the highest body count, the most blood, and the greatest number of smoking craters.  The idea that a less or no-violent solution may produce better results seemed alien to them, weak, or even laughable.

Of course most of the people I knew like this grew up.  When I look at our “3Ps” (politicians, preachers, and pundists) that are most popular, I’m seeing a lot of people who didn’t grow up.  Oddly, they posture themselves as the mature ones.

Similarly, in politics, in media, in punditry, it seems that nothing is too cynical, too dark, too nihilistic not to propose.  The more cynical the view the better, is the rule it seems, and thus we have people who denounce many if not a majority of their own countrypeople as evil, or contemptable.   We see it in media that vies to be the bloodiest, darkest view of people imaginable because it’s “true” – in short, it’s what we want to think.  Cynicism is seen as maturity.

Violence and cynicism (often mixed with sarcasm, which drags down sarcasm’s good name) are postulated as being mature.

Stepping back for a moment, these are two traits that very much are not mature.  To engage in violence for no good reason is a mark of pathology.  To be in a race to hate the most things is insanity.  Yet, it is considered mature.

It is considered, in short, realistic.  Upon reflection it’s certainly not realistic since it’s basically having highly predetermined and unchangable worldviews.  But it’s pitched as “realism.”

Realism is about cause and effect, true maturity and understanding, goals and achieving them, people and working with them.  We’ve traded real maturity for a kind of regressed adolescence of violent fantasies (of course those having the fantasies assume they’ll be untouched) and dark speculations (which of course justify the dark fantasies).

Next time you look at Congress, or our media, ask yourself how much is maturity and how much is faux maturity.

Then at that point, you may need to drink.  But do so in a mature manner.

– Steven Savage

Steven Savage is a Geek 2.0 writer, speaker, blogger, and job coach.  He blogs on careers at http://www.fantopro.com/, nerd and geek culture at http://www.nerdcaliber.com/, and does a site of creative tools at http://www.seventhsanctum.com/. He can be reached at https://www.stevensavage.com/.

Why The System Fails

by

There are people who build The System.

There are people who maintain The System.

There are people who operate The System.

The people who operate The System rarely know how it’s built or how it’s maintained, or even what it’s for.  They may not care.

It is easy for those who operate The System to use it for great gain and benefit.  It does not mean they understand it.

In time, maintenance is not thought of because it appears to be running well.  Those who maintain must adjust and it is hard.

In time, building is not thought of as new wonders appear all the time and problems beyond the moment are not imagined.  Those who build must strive mightily or merely repeat themselves to survive.

In time, The System breaks down.

Those who run The System are startled.

Those who maintained The System are angry.

Those who built The System curse everyone’s stupidities.

Everyone grabs for what they can as the walls crash down.  History gets another chapter where we point at people’s ignorance and feel superior to them.

– Steven Savage

Steven Savage is a Geek 2.0 writer, speaker, blogger, and job coach.  He blogs on careers at http://www.fantopro.com/, nerd and geek culture at http://www.nerdcaliber.com/, and does a site of creative tools at http://www.seventhsanctum.com/. He can be reached at https://www.stevensavage.com/.