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so... like... why are we all so unhappy? ...humanity, that is?

Don't know most of humanity. The part I know is quite happy or quite ignrant on happiness, you know, living, but not being alive, just wanting to be tomorrow as today.

Since I gave up on TV, I'm a happier person - no more dumb advertising, no more news, no talk-shows. I choose my own information, and I prefer it to be positive - that's why I like science and technology: always successes, always looking and going forward.
No, I'm not ignoring the local and global problems, but look at it like this:
Everyday, you get tons of negative information: wars, crimes, politics, taxes, hollywood stars. Can this happen without influencing me?
My proposal: At least 15% of TV, radio and newspaper news have to be positive (and substantial and newsworthy; some starlet getting married doesn't count in my book).

Another theory of mine: Humanity is unhappy because it chooses to be. (But I also have the suspicion that most of humanity isn't aware of any other choice.)

Just my humble opinion,

Jens

, Brian. Don't think too much even though you are in school.

This world is perfect just as it is.

Of the 32 worlds, this is number 5.

Life is a game: play it
Life is a dream: realize it
Life is a challenge: meet it
Life is love: share it

Jens,

I'm taking a course on the effect of sex and violence in the media on children:

By the time we turn 18, we've seen something like 22,000 penetratory acts. Also, we witness about 100,000 acts of violence before we die. ...nawwww, that wouldn't effect me!!

Yahoo has a nice little category called "Anti Television". I went to this site: http://othello.localaccess.com/hardebeck/ about 2 years ago. Came upon it by accident. 15 minutes later, after going through the material, I decided that I'd never watch television again. And that was that. ..actually, I did watch the innauguration and the impeachment. (and the occasional movie).

I think the media's constant pandering to our animal aggressive and sexual drives keeps us from transcending the animal aspect of ourselves.

We've genetic inclinations for sensory gratification, and then we've got the pain/pleasure associations that we build up through years of experience in our memory.

In my view, Enlightenment or Eternal Bliss is transcending both animal drives and fears that have developed over the course of our lives. Once you transcend the body and ego... you're free. You *truly* have free will.

There are so many ways to articulate this--every culture and every sect and every person explains it differently, yet they are describing the same thing.

But I think that's why life sucks for most of us in a nutshell: Slaves to animal desires of the body and prisoners to our accumluated fears of the ego.

, Brian. Don't think too much even though you are in school.

Yep. "Ask yourself whether you are happy, and you cease to be so." - John Stuart M.

This world is perfect just as it is.

Now that depends on whether you want to be a Stone Buddha or a Living Buddha. True, we can go into our corner of the world and do our own spiritual thang and find bliss. Or we can engage and strive and help.
Professional Buddhist or Missionary?

Of the 32 worlds, this is number 5.

righhhht...lol ...a joke? I hope?

Brian:
[
This world is perfect just as it is.

Now that depends on whether you want to be a Stone Buddha or a Living Buddha. True, we can go into our corner of the world and do our own spiritual thang and find bliss. Or we can engage and strive and help.
Professional Buddhist or Missionary?

WHETHER ONE IS IN ONE'S LITTLE CORNER OR ENGAGING TO HELP DOES NOT AFFECT THE EARTH'S PERFECTION. THE EARTH IS PERFECT REGARDLESS OF WHAT WE DO OR DON'T DO....imho

Of the 32 worlds, this is number 5.

righhhht...lol ...a joke? I hope?

In a mythological sense i was not joking. In the Hindu setup, we're #5. There are many higher levels of worlds, but this level, since it's physical, can bring about the most advancement.
[/B][/QUOTE]

Margaret, I can definately see how believing that the world is perfect as it is can bring you greater happiness and serenity.

WHETHER ONE IS IN ONE'S LITTLE CORNER OR ENGAGING TO HELP DOES NOT AFFECT THE EARTH'S PERFECTION. THE EARTH IS PERFECT REGARDLESS OF WHAT WE DO OR DON'T DO....imho

no need to shout we're all friends here.

To be sure, it's human thinking that makes things good or bad. The world just 'is'.

Sometimes, I feel what is needed is to 'get disturbed' about an injustice, or a travesty, or human suffering, or environmental devastation. From the perspective of the universe, is human suffering or environmental devastation a bad thing? I'd say no, unless the universe is intelligent. As I'm a devout pantheist, I don't subscribe to the whole 'personified god' thing. But that's just me.

In the Hindu setup, we're #5. There are many higher levels of worlds, but this level, since it's physical, can bring about the most advancement.

Surely what matters most--from a larger perspective--is not our own personal happines or spiritual evolution, but how we affect other people. Should our top priority in life be Enlightenment? Or should it be helping other people? It's up to you. Both are among the noblest of endeavors.

This goes back to what I was saying before about pragmatism. How does believing that the world is perfect as it is benefit us? Well, it brings us to greater peace and happiness and serenity. How may it detract from the quality of existence? We may be less inclined to go out in the world and make a difference.

'Stone Buddha' is not a derrogatory term (as far as I know). It simply refers to someone who exists for the sake of existing and perfecting his being. He is happy, truly happy, and is not happiness the meaning of life? So, I'm not criticizing this belief.

Indeed, this is something I've wrestled with myself. The difference that made the difference was this article: http://www.wie.org/j15/robbins.html from the journal entitled, "What is Enlightenment?". Buddhist enthusiasts intervied Anthony Robbins--the Master Pragmatist of our age, and pumped him for his views on enlightenment.

His thoughts? Well, I'll let you read it on your own, because it is absolutely scintillating... I had to read it so very slowly to take in all the nuance and process the subtlety...Actually, there's so much juice here, I must have come back and read it at least six more times. He converted me from 'The world is perfect just as it is' to 'Goddamn it, something needs to be done.'

Also, from the karmic perspective you brought up, if we lose ourselves in benevolence WHILE we dedicate ourselves to aiding others... wouldn't that advance us that much more toward those other levels of existence.. as compared to sitting around cross-legged for god knows how many decades?

From a thinking and emotional perspective, the world is NOT perfect. I'm not anti-bliss. I just say, bliss out WHILE we engage the world.

Just my pragmatic .02 credit units.

Brian,
I used caps b/c i get mixed up when i try to comment the way you do. How do you get your stuff to come up in bold print? If i could figure that out, then i don't need to use caps.

Brian,
What makes the world not perfect? Suffering, disease?

Look at the people who are crippled from an accident like Reeves. These people will often say that they discover that the "me" is still me.

Everything simply is, no question. I only used perfect to bounce it off your negativity, your relative negativity. You sound much better now.

I beliee the world is perfect because it does exactly what it was created to do. It is a defense against who we truly are and as such we see all the problems and chaos is it. We use it as an excuse to not go within because we are afraid that we will find out that we are "perfect, whole, and complete.". There is nothing outside of our own mind so we would have to see the world in terms of how we perceive ourselves. "Projection makes perception" so how we feel about us will determine how we see things. And is television not just a manifestation of all the yuk that is already in us?? It is easier to blame the TV than to see that it's all in us--

I should of added this:
To change the world all you have to do is "change your mind"