How can we know?

Lhasa rules don't apply here. Click this link, and catch a breath of the fresh air of psychic freedom from Buddhist authority. If you haven't tried breathing outside the sterile domain of orthodoxy, step inside. It'll clear your head and free your mind.
Post Reply
Tara
Site Admin
Posts: 60
Joined: Fri Mar 29, 2019 3:07 am

How can we know?

Post by Tara »

How can we know?

We do not know the workings of our brain, heart, liver, stomach, nerves, muscles. How can we know the nature of our mind, the nature of the universe, the absolute nature of truth, the absolute nature of God? We can't even remember our dreams. Maybe when we die, we don't go to heaven, or hell, but we wander in the realm of dreams, like we do every night. This business of "knowing" seems like a very male game to me. Males always think they "know." They have to be the "confident" ones to traverse the dangers of life for them and their families. They have to pump up their confidence and pretend to "know" so that others will be comforted by their "knowing." They even go so far as to "know" the future. As brave as this all is, it still does not break the barriers to deep and actual "knowing."

It's impossible for us to even determine causes and effects in the natural world, outside the laboratory. When you get sick, why did you get sick? You can't know. It could be one of a hundred, or a thousand things.

The universe is very big, very complicated, and quite unknowable, despite the pride of physicists.

For me, the question is more about how am I going to be comfortable with NOT knowing, especially about the large and "deep" issues. But about the small issues, more on the human level, we can know. We know that people need food, housing, comfort, companionship. We know that life is short, and death can take us any time. We know that positive is better than negative, that clean is better than dirty, and joy is better than suffering.

So instead of going with the things we don't know, how about we go with the simple things we do know? Not big enough for the male ego? The pathetic realm of women? Maybe the pathetic realm of women is not so bad after all. Especially if we want peace.

We could do great things in the realm of peace, I'm just sure of it. If we could be satisfied with the small, knowable things in life.
Post Reply