“Don’t recall. Let go of what has passed. Don’t imagine. Let go of what may come. Don’t think. Let go of what is happening now. Don’t examine. Don’t try to figure anything out. Don’t control. Don’t try to make anything happen. Rest. Relax, right now, and rest.” -Tilopa
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Mmh. I don't think cloaking it in scientific language is a clear-cut victory, either. A lot of these ideas *are* mystical or existential. Why lie?
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Not necessarily scientific language - that often produces disastrous results that end up backfiring (see plethora of quantum woo on the market). Just more practical language that is in harmony with a scientific understanding (ala Wright or Harris).
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Problem is that Buddhists are, ironically, too attached to Buddhism, and any attempt to employ skillful means is considered heresy.
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It's almost as if declaring yourself a Buddhist is about as authentic and useful as, say, declaring yourself a Christian. ;)
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Indeed, almost! Hence my username.
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There are most likely ways to introduce the theory behind it in an entirely different way that would achieve the same practical result (i.e. getting people to awakening), while making it more intuitive than mystical language, which may be more effective in other cultures.
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The problem is the attempt to rationalize mystical or existential questions in scientific language. "Here's a scientific explanation for unobservable, difficult-to-replicate phenomena. I am not an idiot."
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As totally distinct from the attempt to scientifically investigate meditators, meditation, enlightenment et al, which is producing very interesting results (and non-results).
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I despise both the scientistic need to "legitimate" everything through the language of science, and the far worse destruction of scientific rigor through unfalsifiable claims, made on "scientific" grounds.
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Oh I totally agree. But if that's what needs to be done to get people to engage and potentially gain experiential understanding, then I'm willing to let it slide (within reason, obviously).
End of conversation
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