“Know Thy Self”

 

The course Know Thy Self from the University of Virginia, presented by Professor Mitch Green will transport you from Platon and Socrates to Buddhist philosophies. You will make a stop at Nietzsche, Descartes, Gilbert Ryle and so on...Here is a brief introduction to the course on the Coursera Platform: “An investigation of the nature and limits of self-knowledge from the viewpoints of philosophy, psychoanalysis, experimental psychology, neuroscience, aesthetics, and Buddhism.  Readings are drawn from classical Western, non-Western, and contemporary sources.”

The professor encourages us to meditate before starting watching our video lectures.

  

The cameraman would slowly shoot a traveling around the campus while we were invited to meditate using the bambou method: inspire, expire gently in several phases. The professor also uses a meditating bowl...

  

Bamboo and meditating bowl...

Coming from Europe and living then in Thailand, a Buddhist country in great majority, I was very enthusiastic about the course.

A few figures you will come across with:

   

Buddha, Socrates and Freud

By the way... Why do you say that? And how do you know?

In class we studied the book of Herrigel: Zen in the Art of Archery. There was a great controversial on Coursera’s forum about this book. The fact is, Herrigel was a Nazi and many students were upset by that fact. However, the videos and the books were optional. It is true that all martial arts in China have a buddhist influence. Archery came to Japan through China. But, Herrigel’s master was not a monk. Personally, I am not quite sure how much zen really influenced his art.

You will find here a few pics from our family life which in a way relate to the course!

 Right: Traditional Japanese Archery Master... Left: My son and the art of archery…

Making one with the universe… The ocean-feeling…

On Buddhism as philosophy... 

The course Know Thy Self is not just about Buddhism, but because I live in Thailand, I chose to say a little something on it with the help of my notes. It is easy to find those same information about Buddhism all over the internet, so I don't think I am infringing any kind of copyright here...
Anyway, I will stick to the very basic. You might know it all already and you might want to search for more advanced material by yourself.

So here it goes...

Buddhism should be considered as a philosophy and not been seen as faith because in Buddhism, NOTHING SHOULD BE ACCEPTED ON FAITH.

(Personal note here... In Thailand, many Thais I interact with are Buddhists. They are also often animists. Some of them accept some views after analyzing events and doing some introspection and some accept it after doing some meditation. But, many of them do base their believes on faith only... It just depends)

But what is philosophy? (from the Greek, "Love of Wisdom)
Philosophy is a set of methods to find answers.
- We need to be clear on what we are assuming
- We need to be clear on what we can count as arguments.
Philosophy is more about the journey than the destination...
To practice philosophy, we should be able to articulate, be clear and ask why questions I deal with are important.

Classical India in a very important place of birth of eastern philosophy.
Buddhism tries to solve suffering.
And what is called nirvana in Buddhism is what you achieve when you move on... It is a liberation from...

So, around 566-400 BC (the exact date is unknowned),  Gautama Buddha, the first Buddha was born. From being healthy, he became Sramana, dedicating his time to contemplation by practicing meditation and yoga.

He worked on three aspects:
- The recollection of his own past life
- The understanding of the general laws of Karma
- Understanding the 4 noble Truths.

After that, he decided to teach others.

What does Buddha mean? It means someone who knows how to stop suffering and teaches how to others... Buddha is a noun, not just a person...

Here are points that some think are true and other prefer to say only belong to the legend:
- Buddha is a prince, son of  King Suddhodana
- He was born from immaculate conception
- He was born without causing pain to his mother (why not... Based on my own experience, I believe it happens as long as the child is born naturally, that the mother is build in a way that she can deliver babies easily and is free of moving like she wants until the delivery...)
- Could walk from birth

It is said that his parents were told that he would become a King or a Buddha, depending on whether or not he will see those sights: an old person, a corpse, a sick person, a ascetic. So, his father made old people, sick people and ascetic leave the palace. The prince married and had a son. But after a procession in the kingdom, Gautama did see those 4 sights and left the palace at once. He left his wife, he left his child.
He wanted to find a way to end suffering. He thought that asceticism was the solution. So, from a life of luxury, he went to a life of extreme asceticism to finally find the third road... The road of awakening. And he became Enlightened.

There are 3 types of suffering:
1. Suffering due to pain
2. Suffering due to impermanence
3. Suffering due to conditions
The question is, according to Buddhism: can we break the cycle of reincarnation not to go like this for ever?

There are 3 poisons which will stop you from attaining Nirvana:
1. Greed
2. Hatred
3. Delusion
... Professor Green says that to entirely get rid of the 3 poisons on a global scale, we need to be in the proper world... To get such a world... Detoxify!

Here is an answer
According to Buddha: following the 8 Noble Paths will end suffering:
1. Adopting the Right View
2. Having the Right Intention
3. Using the Right Speech
4. Acting in the Right Way
5. Having the Right Livelihood
6. Making the Right Effort
7. Having the Right Mindfulness
8. Having the Right Concentration.

What meditation is for:
You need to become AWARE of desired, emotions, wants, wishes to transcend them.
When you meditate, you realize a part of yourself is different from the voice, the chatter of consciousness.
You come to experience this ocean feeling... You are whole with the universe.
You come to think that the Self does not exist.
You come to think that the self is just a collection of different states. And loosing grip of oneself can reduce suffering efficiently....

(Here is a very practical note... One day I even meditated at the dentist and I found it pretty efficient... You might want to try it too!)

NO THY SELF...

So... Do I know myself better now?

The course was nice. And I learned some things. But I had started the process of learning to Know Myself long ago...

In the past I have done extensive researches about my past and my ancestors past. It helped me put things under a new light.
Thanks to my experience as a globe-trotter, I have also learned to change perspectives, to adopt new points of views. I feel I have changed a lot all along my life. Paradoxically, I feel I am in a way now closer to that tiny little girls who had not yet been sculpted by her environment.

I find it very refreshing to meditate.
I love experience the ocean feeling and the feeling of unconditional love you can feel while meditation.
I get many answers and great insights from meditation.

What about you?

My daughter performing what looks like an extreme yoga pose... 

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