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1.1 The Purpose of Zen Buddhism is to Wake Up

1.1 The Purpose of Zen Buddhism is to Wake Up

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When questioned about why he was the way he was, the Buddha stated “I am awake!” 1 Enlightenment is waking up to the world around you, shedding the illusory symbols we all interpret as reality for true direct experience with life.

Footnotes

  1. Citation missing ↩︎

1.1a Samsara is the Cycle of Suffering Encompassing Birth Death and Rebirth

1.1a Samsara is the Cycle of Suffering Encompassing Birth Death and Rebirth

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Samsara, a Sanskrit word which is often translated to “Wandering”, refers to the cycle of reincarnation in which all living beings find themselves. Samsara is characterized by suffering (duhkha). Buddhists seek nirvana in order to escape the cycle of Samsara.

Footnotes

1.1b Enlightenment is Practicing Zen Mindfulness Constantly

1.1b Enlightenment is Practicing Zen Mindfulness Constantly

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Enlightenment isn’t some special state of mind to achieve. It can be found by expanding Zen practice throughout daily life.

Enlightenment is not some good feeling or some particular state of mind. The state of mind that exists when you sit in the right posture is, itself, enlightenment. -Shunryu Suzuki 1

Footnotes

  1. [[HL-Zen-Mind-Beginners-Mind-Informal-Talks-On-Zen-Meditation-And-Practice]] ↩︎

    1.1b1 Nondualism Brings Enlightenment

    1.1b1 Nondualism Brings Enlightenment

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    Nondualism is the school of thought that asserts that all apparent separations and distinctions are ultimately illusory. In many schools of Buddhism, shifting our understanding and point of view to a nondualistic state represents enlightenment. Zen, specifically, encourages reaching this understanding through direct experience.1 The mind no longer clings to the attachment of a separate self, and recognizes the reality that we are all one.

    1.1b1a As We Destroy Our Environment We Destroy Ourselves

    1.1b1a As We Destroy Our Environment We Destroy Ourselves

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    Just as the common view of dualism creates a separation between body and mind, the common belief is to view humanity as separate from nature. This is evidenced through the common motif of man vs. nature in literature. In fact, humans are one with nature, as the wave is one with the ocean. Thus as we destroy the environment we likewise destroy ourselves. This isn’t just because we are making our environment inhospitable to life, but because we ourselves are inseparable from our environment.

    1.1b2 Dualism Emphasizes Separation Between Mind and Body

    1.1b2 Dualism Emphasizes Separation Between Mind and Body

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    Dualism is the concept that there are unique pairs of opposites within the world that manifest as subject and object, self and other, good and bad, etc. Dualism asserts a separation between the divine and the natural, the mind and the body, the spiritual and the material. Most of western philosophy is dualistic in nature.1

    1.1b3 Physicalism Claims All Existence is Physical

    1.1b3 Physicalism Claims All Existence is Physical

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    Physicalism, often equated with materialism, is a philosophical position which states that all existence is ultimately physical or can be described by the physical. Reductionist Physicalism, in particular, claims that even complex systems can be explained by being broken down into their component physical parts (Non-reductionist Physicalism states that complex systems can be explained via more complex sciences, for example, psychology). Physicalism is contrasted with dualism, which states that there are separate irreducible physical and mental (or spiritual) entities to reality.

    1.1b3a Physicalism Fails to Define the Physical

    1.1b3a Physicalism Fails to Define the Physical

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    Among its many shortcomings, physicalism struggles at its most elemental level: to describe what is physical. Because of quantum mechanics, quantum entanglement, and non-locality, what we think of as physical isn’t clearly defined.1 Two particles separated by a universe can be entangled such that the observation of a state change in one indicates an instantaneous state change in the other. This kind of physics creates a kind of first-person effect where we create the universe as we observe it. Physicality is poorly defined in these scenarios.

    1.1b3b Physicalism Fails to Explain Emotions

    1.1b3b Physicalism Fails to Explain Emotions

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    Physicalism fails to explain emotions. If everything is physical, then where does fear, love, grief, sadness, ecstasy, or any other emotion arise from. There are no physical structures in the brain that account for these emotions, at least not in the sense that we are accustomed to looking for.

    Footnotes

    1.1c We Confuse Symbols for Reality

    1.1c We Confuse Symbols for Reality

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    The disease of the human condition is confusing the world of symbols for the world of reality. We accrue money, which exists only on paper, and physical things, which have limited utility to our happiness. Instead we need to embrace true reality and escape materialism and the world of symbols to understand the physical world and attain spiritual peace.1

    1.2 Buddhist Temples Probably Have So Many Cats Because the Monks Don't Kill Any Mice

    1.2 Buddhist Temples Probably Have So Many Cats Because the Monks Don’t Kill Any Mice

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    Buddhist temples probably have so many cats around because the monks have taken a vow to not harm any living creatures, 1 including mice. Food is a common offering to monks and Buddha, so there is likely an overabundance of mice as well.

    Footnotes

    1. The practice of avoiding harm to any living creatures, intentionally or unintentionally, is rooted in the principle of ahisma, or non-violence. For this same reason, monks in some traditions will sweep the ground in front of them as they walk in order to avoid stepping on any insects. ↩︎

      2.1 Time is a Man-made Concept

      2.1 Time is a Man-made Concept

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      The past and the future are constructs of the human imagination. They exist only in our minds.

      • Opposes: [[2.1a The Past and Present Exist but the Future Does Not]]

      Footnotes

      2.1a The Past and Present Exist but the Future Does Not

      2.1a The Past and Present Exist but the Future Does Not

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      The growing block view of time contends that there is no such thing as the future, since it is undetermined, but that the past and present do exist.1 As the future becomes the present, it is added onto the “growing block” of time, supporting the theory that the universe is growing.2

      3.1 A Zettelkasten is a Catalog of Ideas

      3.1 A Zettelkasten is a Catalog of Ideas

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      A zettelkasten is a unique collection of thoughts, a system for engaging with your ideas in a creative way. It is not meant to be a comprehensive database of summarized information, like a personal wiki. If you find yourself cataloging everything you know within your zettelkasten then you’re doing it wrong.

      Footnotes

      4.1 Laziness Does not Exist

      4.1 Laziness Does not Exist

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      Laziness and procrastination aren’t the result of a poor work ethic, but actually due to executive dysfunction, poor mood management, and a fundamental disconnect between the perception of the future self compared to our present self.12 Procrastination may also be the result of anxiety, especially when the stakes are high.3

      For decades, psychological research has been able to explain procrastination as a functioning problem, not a consequence of laziness. -Devon Price

      4.1a Productive Procrastination Can Improve Productivity

      4.1a Productive Procrastination Can Improve Productivity

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      Productive Procrastination means planning ahead for procrastination and managing it proactively through techniques such as project flipping, active procrastination, and scheduled non-productive time.

      Flip between two projects to prevent focus fatigue.

      • Saul Griffith1
      • See: [[4.1a1 Flipping Between Two or More Projects can Harness Procrastination]] for an explanation of project flipping, which is one technique of productive procrastination.

      Footnotes

      1. Make: The Art of Productive Procrastination ↩︎

        4.1a1 Flipping Between Two or More Projects Can Harness Procrastination

        4.1a1 Flipping Between Two or More Projects Can Harness Procrastination

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        Plan for procrastination by flipping between two or more active projects at any given time. The secondary project(s) should be creative in nature and involve gaining a new skill.1 When you face hurdles being proactive on your main project, switch focus to the secondary project for a while.

        Footnotes

        1. Make: The Art of Productive Procrastination ↩︎

          4.1b Procrastination is due to Lower Executive Function Skills

          4.1b Procrastination is due to Lower Executive Function Skills

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          Procrastination is defined by researchers as voluntarily delaying the starting of a task when the delay is unnecessary and believed to potentially lead to negative outcomes. Children are unable to procrastinate according to this definition because they lack the higher executive function skills necessary to weigh future consequences.

          Footnotes

          4.2 People Change Constantly

          4.2 People Change Constantly

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          It’s untrue that people don’t change. People actually change constantly. This is scientifically true through the concept of neuroplasticity. All aspects of your being change, whether it’s your personality, identity, perceptions, or experience. The true human experience is one that is continuously in flux. We are as much changing as we would like to perceive ourselves as stable.

          4.2a Your Identity is a Moving Average

          4.2a Your Identity is a Moving Average

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          Your identity and ego are continuously in flux, with the “you” that you are being defined as the average of your behaviors, choices, thoughts, ideals, relationships, etc., over any given period of time. It’s possible for other people’s perceptions of your identity to also change over time, as their beliefs about who you are are reinforced or challenged.

          4.2b Your Mood is Always in Motion

          4.2b Your Mood is Always in Motion

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          Because [[4.2 People Change Constantly]], our moods are always in flux, as our moods shift multiple times even within a single day. Our shifting perception of ourselves and our ego can define how we interpret our reality.

          Footnotes

          4.3 Perception of Reality is Influenced by the Ego

          4.3 Perception of Reality is Influenced by the Ego

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          Our ego is constructed from a myriad of influences, from societal norms, past experiences, the constellation of our family experience, and countless other factors. In turn, the ego influences our perception of our reality, insofar as we create a subjective reality by filtering external stimuli through the lens of our constructed reality. This results in a dualistic view of nature, with our self as the object and the outside world as the subject.

          4.3a Stillness of Mind Reveals True Self

          4.3a Stillness of Mind Reveals True Self

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          If we remain still within the swirling of our minds, we begin to see that we are not dependent on our thoughts and feelings to define who we are, meaning we can redefine who we are.

          If we remain settled, when the mind is moving, if you don’t get involved, you start to see, I don’t have to be involved. Habitually dependent on my thoughts and feelings to give me the sense I am me. But when I don’t do that, I can be reborn. That is to say, I am not who I think I am. -James Low1

          4.4 Essentialism Means Excellence Demands Sacrifice

          4.4 Essentialism Means Excellence Demands Sacrifice

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          Essentialism is the philosophy of the disciplined pursuit of less. Essentialists believe that in order to excel at one thing you need to be bad at something else, and so their time and energy is pared down to focusing on only those essential things. 1

          Footnotes

          1. [[HL-Crafting-The-Ultimate-Stoic-Routine-Morning-Rituals#^rw788288153]] ↩︎

          4.4a It is Better to Build on Strengths Than Improve Weaknesses

          4.4a It is Better to Build on Strengths Than Improve Weaknesses

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          You will be more successful, achieve greater things, and be less frustrated if you focus on developing and enhancing strengths rather than trying to improve on weaknesses. 1 This is true in the realms of personal development, organizational strategy, and team management, among elsewhere.

          Footnotes

          1. Clifton, Don. StrengthsFinder 2.0. Gallup Press, 2007. ↩︎

            5.1 The Human Brain is not a Computer

            5.1 The Human Brain is not a Computer

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            The brain is not a computer, it’s more like a transducer, converting patterns of energy into our sensory experience.1 A computer has perfect recall over events. Our memories, in contrast, are constructed as a neural network of various disparate elements.2 Unlike a computer, we are never born with, nor will we develop, algorithms, models, memories, processors, subroutines, etc. Instead, we rely on our inborn reflexes and capacity to learn in order to function.3

            5.1a Computers Can Never Have Consciousness

            5.1a Computers Can Never Have Consciousness

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            Computers are incapable of consciousness, as it is defined by Integrated Information Theory (IIT). Although we may be soon to discover an artificial superintelligence (ASI) that may be more intelligent than humans, it’s impossible for such an intelligence to be sentient and have freewill.

            Intelligence is computable, but consciousness is not.

            • Christof Koch1

            Consciousness is not Turing-compatible. Computers do not, and cannot, possess freewill.2 This is due to the fact that consciousness is defined by a structure rather than a computation.3

            5.1a1 Consciousness is not an Emergent Property of Neurons

            5.1a1 Consciousness is not an Emergent Property of Neurons

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            Unlike wetness, which is emergent property of large concentration of H20 molecules, consciousness isn’t an emergent property of a high concentration of neurons. This is obvious when people who have had damage to the cerebellum, which contains 80% of the neurons in the brain, and yet there is no perceivable loss of consciousness.1 Likewise, people can have their spinal cord severed, resulting in quadriplegia and the loss of 200 million neurons, yet with no loss in consciousness.2 Consciousness doesn’t simply arise out of the complexity afforded by a large number of neurons.3

            5.2 The Brain Evolves by Building on Not Replacing Previous Structures

            5.2 The Brain Evolves by Building on Not Replacing Previous Structures

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            It appears that evolution of the brain

            (T)he evolution of the brain is different from the evolution of the body. In the brain, unlike in most other human organs, later developments do not so much replace earlier ones as add to, and build on top of, them.

            • Iain McGilchrist1

            Footnotes

            1. [[HL-The-Master-And-His-Emissary#^rw806725251]] ↩︎

              6.1 Numbers Are More Likely to Begin with 1 2 or 3

              6.1 Numbers Are More Likely to Begin with 1 2 or 3

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              Benford’s Law is a mathematical phenomenon where there are a higher frequency of numbers that start with 1, 2, and 3 than there are that start with 7, 8, or 9. This phenomenon can be observed in any groups of numbers, from bank account balances, to casualties of war, to baseball statistics. 1

              7.1 The Finer the Measurement the Greater the Distance

              7.1 The Finer the Measurement the Greater the Distance

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              The distance between two points which follow an irregular border, such as a length of a coastline, will increase depending on the detail of the measurement. The finer the resolution, the greater this measurement becomes. The higher the resolution, the greater the complexity and the longer the coastline. Even if you were to stand on the coastline itself, it becomes even more complex the closer you view it, at the atomic and subatomic levels. The coastline itself becomes increasingly longer the more granularly it is measured. This is called the coastline paradox.1

              8.1 Mindful Purpose Means Living with Presence and Intentionality

              8.1 Mindful Purpose Means Living with Presence and Intentionality

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              For some time, I’ve been developing something of a cross between a philosophy, motto, and lifestyle called Mindful Purpose. The purpose of this system is to help one bring focus to what is important while having a direct experience with reality.

              Mindful Purpose has two related, but unique components:

              1. Mindfulness: Being fully present in the moment. This means having a direct experience with reality, and therefore not being consumed by the symbols that we construct our reality from.
              2. Purposefulness: Being purposeful means aligning your actions with your core beliefs. Living with purpose means living according to your ideals.

              The interplay between these two concepts is critical, as living with Mindful Purpose means being purposefully mindful as well as mindfully purposeful.

              8.2 Everyone Lives with Purpose

              8.2 Everyone Lives with Purpose

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              Everyone lives with purpose, whether they realize it or not. Your life’s purpose may be to be there for the friends in your life. Your purpose may be just to survive till tomorrow. Your purpose may be to be the best at your profession that you can possibly be. Even if it feels like life is purposeless, there is some purpose that you fill in the context of your own life, the life of your loved ones, and your community.

              9.0 Teams Need Both Stability and Growth to Succeed

              9.0 Teams Need Both Stability and Growth to Succeed

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              Teams need individuals who are rock-steady in their jobs, stable performers who have been in their roles for a long time and are happy and satisfied fulfilling their role. Additionally, teams need growth-minded individuals who are focused on expanding their responsibilities, growing in their careers and seeking promotions. Teams need both forward drive as well as stability in order to succeed. 1

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