Being Buddhist with technology...
This entry was to have been the best Buddha Space blog article ever, but unfortunately, due to a technical glitch on Blogger, the original post was lost to the virtual ether. Normally, as articles are written, Blogger automatically saves them as a draft every few minutes, but this didn't happen. Then, when a button marked 'Publish Post' is clicked on, the post is published. This failed to happen as well, instead a message came up stating the action could not be completed. Immediately after this happened, a sinking feeling arose in the heart, and efforts were made to retrieve the lost post. All to no avail.
This is typical of life, isn't it? Things are unreliable, no matter how amazing the technology or natural processes involved, things are born imperfect. To expect otherwise is to cling to a hope that will never cease to disappoint and thereby create more suffering. The wisdom inherent in the Buddhist teachings go way beyond this, but this is a great place to start. We can send probes to explore strange new worlds and...wait, where have I heard that before? Anyway, technology is becoming more and more amazing every day,and we regularly do things that ancient peoples would have considered pure magic: fly, talk to people on the other side of the world, blow up entire cities, and...blog. And yet, all of this uncertain and unreliable.
That this is not the best Buddha Space post ever is a matter of opinion of course, but in this mind at least it's not that great. But these are just thoughts aren't they? Thoughts, whether of food, love, war, football, sex, or Buddhism are uncertain and unreliable too. They are, in fact, empty of any permanency, and as imperfect, ephemeral constructs cannot be relied on to lead us out of suffering, which is the main point of Buddhism. (At least, I think it is - this is just an idea, too, of course!) In meditation and mindfulness practice we can learn to let go of our presuppositions - whether Buddhist in origin or not - and attend to the facts at hand. In this present moment, where do all our thoughts, emotions, and sensations arise? In a human mind, limited and limiting, or in a naked awareness that is unlimited and non-limiting, just purely awake?
6 comments:
I hope that you do mot mind my having listed your blog in my blog list! Should it be an inconvenience, do let me know!
It happened to me once, that is why I write them in Word, first as back-up.
The funny thing is it all still your head...somewhere! Meanwhile, take refuge in Buddha.
It makes me think: even though I love technology for the way it connects us and allows us to do so much; how can we look at what it is preventing us from doing? While I type here, could I be instead at a coffee shop reading Kant :) or simply out walking the river trail in my back yard. What is the cost of all this, frustrations and failures included?
No inconvenience at all, Imola.
Thanks for the link. When I have more time I'll pop a link to 'Off shore' on Buddha Space when I have more time.
I used to write in Word and then decided to be mre Zennish and spontaneous, Was Once. The lesson here is all about impermanency isn't it? Things come and go, but this No-thing that is awake to it all - where does that go?
I'm in a coffee shop now but Kant is nowhere to be seen here, either! Taking a walk by that river sounds nice, Justin; but the Internet is a kind of river too, with our minds merging into one flow in the search for truth...on a good day!
OMG that happens ALL the time and is a WONDERFUL APT reminder to us of impermanence... tho mostly you just want to throw your laptop onto the floor and scream, "impermanence my foot!"
Usually, I just heave a big sigh and get right back down to rewriting it all over again... and it's NEVER EVER as good as it was supposed to be.
OMG? OMB! ;-)
Post a Comment