You know, I feel I’ve been very fortunate in life and I think I have about the most even temperament of anyone I know. I literally don’t have unhappy days. It would be hard to say I’ve had zero in life, but I think I’m almost weirdly never unhappy, in a way that’s good for productivity but maybe almost inhuman and to be a little bit feared or looked down upon or not thought well of.
In other words, I don’t feel like I suffer (by my definition of suffering, which is mainly about the feeling of pain and discomfort) almost at all, and my current self doesn’t endorse moving toward a state where the little suffering I experience disappears at the expense of no longer feeling pleasure, which you mentioned is a side effect of enlightenment (though again, our definitions of pleasure may differ). Should I nevertheless meditate and try to attain enlightenment? I can imagine several responses from you:
Given my psychology, striving toward awakening might indeed not be worth it, but it is for most other people.
My definition of suffering should be different, and dissolving this other kind of suffering is more important than the kind that I’m referring to.
I am actually suffering even by my own definition, but cannot notice it (analogously to Kaj’s examples about not realizing how hungry he was before he got some food in one of the comment threads here).
There are other benefits to meditation, e.g. gaining a stronger understanding that the self is not separate from the world, training some specific mental skills and becoming better-equipped to deal with possible future suffering (which I definitely don’t claim to be immune to), curing my social awkwardness, etc. These benefits make meditation worth it even if it doesn’t positively influence my happiness levels.
I’m curious about which of these is closest to your actual answer, and also about whether there’s some additional benefit to awakening that I haven’t thought of and didn’t list above.
You seem like you’re doing fine. There are many potentiallyl worthwhile things to do in the world, and sitting quietly with your eyes closed is just one of them.
I have a fairly uncommon psychology, well-described by the following quote by Tyler Cowen:
In other words, I don’t feel like I suffer (by my definition of suffering, which is mainly about the feeling of pain and discomfort) almost at all, and my current self doesn’t endorse moving toward a state where the little suffering I experience disappears at the expense of no longer feeling pleasure, which you mentioned is a side effect of enlightenment (though again, our definitions of pleasure may differ). Should I nevertheless meditate and try to attain enlightenment? I can imagine several responses from you:
Given my psychology, striving toward awakening might indeed not be worth it, but it is for most other people.
My definition of suffering should be different, and dissolving this other kind of suffering is more important than the kind that I’m referring to.
I am actually suffering even by my own definition, but cannot notice it (analogously to Kaj’s examples about not realizing how hungry he was before he got some food in one of the comment threads here).
There are other benefits to meditation, e.g. gaining a stronger understanding that the self is not separate from the world, training some specific mental skills and becoming better-equipped to deal with possible future suffering (which I definitely don’t claim to be immune to), curing my social awkwardness, etc. These benefits make meditation worth it even if it doesn’t positively influence my happiness levels.
I’m curious about which of these is closest to your actual answer, and also about whether there’s some additional benefit to awakening that I haven’t thought of and didn’t list above.
You seem like you’re doing fine. There are many potentiallyl worthwhile things to do in the world, and sitting quietly with your eyes closed is just one of them.