tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18079728.post3443882506209421670..comments2023-11-02T07:30:03.967-07:00Comments on Cassandra Does Tokyo: Happiest Man in the World...?!?"Cassandra"http://www.blogger.com/profile/17412381249313151515noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18079728.post-11284171421641078562009-01-11T20:53:00.000-08:002009-01-11T20:53:00.000-08:00"People need food. People need a warm place to sle..."People need food. People need a warm place to sleep. People need to avoid freezing. That's the reality out here in the real world. Buddhist talk about "renouncing desire" sounds good but when you wind up having the renounce the desire to eat, it doesn't work."<BR/><BR/>What, you think that wasn't the case 2,500 years ago when Buddhism started? Or for most of the people in Asia for the 2,500 Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18079728.post-73865277239159279922008-12-26T05:04:00.000-08:002008-12-26T05:04:00.000-08:00I have noticed the difference and it is not well d...I have noticed the difference and it is not well described here, but close.<BR/><BR/>The difference is between being content (which can give pleasure) and happy, and it is a very big difference.<BR/><BR/>Being content is about the past the present; being happy is about the future.<BR/><BR/>Consider someone who has just had pleasure from a wonderful meal but knows that he will have difficulty Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18079728.post-46200325114961641412008-12-22T22:19:00.000-08:002008-12-22T22:19:00.000-08:00Both anonymous 754 and Cassandra are right on this...<I>Both anonymous 754 and Cassandra are right on this problem of wealth and happiness. I think it is worth pointing out, to reinforce Anonymous 754</I><BR/><BR/>wealth, is, technically, a lack of want. This comes from the economic definition of capital wealth -- goods that provide services that fulfill our wants and needs.<BR/><BR/>I don't have HDTV nor do I particularly want to upgrade my 1993 Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18079728.post-38014215908074790322008-12-22T19:52:00.000-08:002008-12-22T19:52:00.000-08:00Learn to appreciate what you have, which doesn't m...Learn to appreciate what you have, which doesn't mean you shouldn't work and plan for a better future -- the point being to reduce unnecessary frustration as much as possible. This is the interpretation of Buddism (sp?) that most appeals to me, being the most realistic. I forget the name of the guy who laid it out like this, but he lived in Arizona. Merry Christmas!Luke Leahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11290760894780619646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18079728.post-81697431797678438552008-12-22T10:41:00.000-08:002008-12-22T10:41:00.000-08:00Renouncing desire would mean that those with means...Renouncing desire would mean that those with means would take compassion on those in the streets rather than letting them starve and freeze. That's the Bhuddist goal. <BR/><BR/>It is not about renouncing the necessity of food clothing and shelter. Desire is another matter entirely.donnahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00762690167864156774noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18079728.post-40019459443271995262008-12-22T08:47:00.000-08:002008-12-22T08:47:00.000-08:00Both anonymous 754 and Cassandra are right on this...Both anonymous 754 and Cassandra are right on this problem of wealth and happiness. I think it is worth pointing out, to reinforce Anonymous 754, that most of the world is in fact very poor (unlike most of us readers of this blog). And things are really headed nowhere else: e.g., the U.N. estimates that by 2015, one-third of the human population will live in third world slums (Mike Davis, michael m.https://www.blogger.com/profile/09103163375759286154noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18079728.post-38308628735517611262008-12-22T08:38:00.000-08:002008-12-22T08:38:00.000-08:00anonymous 754your points are well taken, and to be...anonymous 754<BR/><BR/>your points are well taken, and to be fair Mssr Ricard is quick to point out in the interview that "money" "wealth" "material stuff", what have you, DOES elevate happiness - but only up to a certain point. After that the effects negligible. And that level is way below the levels of what we have and experience in the west. He is in any event not advocating asceticism, but "Cassandra"https://www.blogger.com/profile/17412381249313151515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18079728.post-5260800969161766762008-12-22T07:54:00.000-08:002008-12-22T07:54:00.000-08:00Pleasure may not produce happitness, but the rever...Pleasure may not produce happitness, but the reverse unfortunately remains invariably true: pain always produced unhappiness.<BR/><BR/>Easy enough to talk about the Buddhist way of renouncing desire when you lounge in a nice warm carpeted fluorescent-lit office courtesy of your swanky salary as a scientist subsisting on government grants...but when you curl up at night freezing and starving in Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18079728.post-25045875473084762752008-12-22T06:56:00.000-08:002008-12-22T06:56:00.000-08:00Never thought about it, but it seems self-evident....Never thought about it, but it seems self-evident.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18079728.post-79362967733241670382008-12-22T05:16:00.000-08:002008-12-22T05:16:00.000-08:00Ah like me some french fried tater, uh huh.Ah like me some french fried tater, uh huh.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18079728.post-37335180715553668612008-12-22T01:14:00.000-08:002008-12-22T01:14:00.000-08:00There is no greater sin than desire,no greater cur...There is no greater sin than desire,<BR/>no greater curse than discontent,<BR/>no greater misfortune than wanting something for oneself.<BR/>Therefore he who knows that enough is enough<BR/>will always have enough.<BR/><BR/>Tao Te Ching 46Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com