Dear Tommy:

You are welcome. And thank you for all your posts (one is from Oct 2014). This morning, I re-arranged your sentences and slightly edited some of them because when I do that, I am better able to process information. Producing my own version of your/ another’s writing results in one with which I completely agree. Here it is:

Look at a car, it is really just a bunch of parts all put together. As it is together, we call it a car. A person is just a bunch of parts all put together to function as a person. The person exists because all the parts are functioning together. Once the parts die, the person no longer exists. Any living thing is made of aggregates and will fall apart in time to their basic components. Neither matter nor energy is created nor destroyed. Only transformed. Energy and Matter (except for man-made synthetics such as plastic), return to continue the cycle of life and death.

The three universal truths of Buddha are Suffering, Impermanence, and No self. Related to No Self: this person with this feedback loop of perceptions and thoughts will die. Let go of untrue ideas and thoughts such as the world is evil because painful, random things happen. Things just happen. Random actions are not evil. Things done with purpose can be good or evil: if a person hurts another, then this can be evil, if a person helps another in their time of need, then this can be good.

How does one eliminate suffering? I tried to not care (but it was not the way to eliminate my suffering). Caring is what being human is about, love is a real force. Let go- not of caring- but of wants and desires. My mother passed away recently. The desire for her to keep living and stay around causes suffering. Let go of wants and desires, let in caring and love.

Feelings can get in the way of good judgement. So, just cool things off, and find the truth about your present situation.

* I hope to read more and more from you, and if doing what I did in this post bothers you in any way, please let me know.

anita

Dear Tommy:

I hope that you understand that I re-wrote your posts not because your writing was not good enough. I rewrote them because it helped me make your writing my own, and in so doing, to absorb it better. I often rewrite members’ posts for the same reason, which makes my posts long, sometimes very long. Also, I was motivated to post the re-writing here, vs rewriting it privately, because it may help others on this public forum.

I like: “And, I hope it keeps its sense or meaning as well” – an excellent point. I kept thinking thoughts regarding the re-write yesterday, and I want to keep thinking these thoughts today and every day: to intentionally and attentionally practice the lessening of wanting things to be different than they are, to lessen wanting anything, to want less.

Anytime you would like to share about your practice, on this thread, or as you reply to members, and/ or on your own thread, if you choose to start one, I will be interested to read. Interested, not wanting.

anita

• This reply was modified 2 years, 11 months ago by .

All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost. – Tolkien

The art of detachment, darkness is light and the still point, dance

🙂