I would like to know what the Buddhists suggest for those who are on the autistic spectrum, and thus will in all probability never be able to fulfill their requirements for a "good" and "happy" human being.
If this is punishment for a past life, it isn't a very funny one.
(Part of me is strongly considering stepping down and letting someone else take over, but I suspect that is just another one of those moments of egotism I've been known to have, rather than an actual act of mercy)
Well, at least on my own understanding of karma - "kamma" in the Buddha's language, and about reincarnation...
It's often misunderstood as karma being - 'you do bad things, and bad things happen to you; if you do good things, then good things happen to you', which is an misunderstanding/over-simplification that doesn't actually aid understanding of karmic law.
Rather, it's more simple, natural law of causation. For every action, there is a reaction. For every thing that happens, it causes a myriad of effects that we can only begin to imagine unless we really think about it. Chaos theory. For reincarnation, let's stray away from a physical death and birth, for the self is not simply this shell of a body.
Who we are... is not the same as who we were 10 years ago. Who we were a year ago is not the same as who we are now. A week ago, you were a different person. Your emotions, thoughts, feelings, all different than a day, an hour, a split second ago.
Who we are has changed. That idea of who we are has died, and been reborn. If we are angry, or very sad, or desiring that which we cannot have, that sense of self has been reborn in a type of mental hell. We are grasping, attached to an idea that isn't quite right and we can't change it. It consumes us - and if we let those emotions linger, we become what the Thais call a "hungry ghost". When we are happy, it is as though we are in heaven. We have all we could possibly want at the moment. But moments change, and the sense of self dies and is reborn anew. Say that we have lived in such a way that our ego and bad desires have gone, then we find Enlightenment - the true understanding and happiness, is a state of non-being where the self has ceased to exist. Nirvana means literally "a flame that has gone out". And we all can achieve Enlightenment while still physically alive, as the Buddha did. Not all of us can achieve Enlightenment now or even in this physical lifetime, but we can train and start training our minds to become happier, to act in such a way that we don't bring ourselves suffering or cause those around us to suffer - but instead bring happiness where ever we go. It's practical. It's worth doing even if you don't consider yourself "buddhist". That doesn't matter.
So in regards to the autistic spectrum, no - it is not a punishment for a physical past life, but rather the result of vast genetic and environmental causes, and in particular the union of one's parents.
I have known some autistics, among other people that have suffered horribly, go on to live full and quite happy lives, although some are not completely independent (who is?). How do they manage? Well, they live and learn. It's a process.
When someone asked the Buddha repeatedly what the essence of Buddhism was - The Buddha said thus - "Always do good, never do bad, purify the mind."
Control your thoughts, feelings, emotions, and mind. Don't let them control you. Buddhism isn't about labels. All it is about is suffering: understanding suffering exists, that it comes from bad desires, clinging, attachments, that there is a path out of suffering, and following that path - Concerning the human condition. That's all that we, as humans, can know.
Go on to find your own happiness.
I think part of the problem is that it's an echo-chamber on the internet. If people are busy happily living their lives, you won't hear about it much on here and various forums, Vector.
So in regards to phenomenology, it's not that any of you have done or experienced any less than I have, but it's the difference in how we understand our experiences. There are those that have experienced far more than I and have entirely different outlooks still filled with hate and constant anger- and that written diarrhea I posted earlier was just a small fraction of some of the things that I have done. Look at life as a constant learning, growing process worth spending time with the right people for - and then the way to happiness and understanding won't be so far away. I'm still learning as well.
Oh and... never truly too late to begin living the way you want to live even if you can't have everything that you want.
you just have to make it happen. Think it. Do it. That's what I learned from the bald-headed children.
I go out to teach, I always get taught.
EDIT: The foundation of Buddhism is meditation. Learning concentration and mindfulness: of ourselves, our bodies, our thoughts, of others, of our surrounding environment, and most importantly - breathing.
When we get angry, we're told to take a deep breath in before we punch someone. When we're in intense pain- such as childbirth, we're taught to keep breathing. Remember to focus on the breath in situations where you do not feel like you are in control until you can take control. Do that and you'll find things easier. I can promise you that.
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Topic: Chill and Relaxed Progressive Irritation and Annoyance Thread (Read 876600 times)