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Of stillness and death, Of motion and life

TheMadFool August 24, 2019 at 04:58 7425 views 15 comments
This'll probably come out as poorly thought out but anyway here goes...

If you look at a lot of Eastern philosophies (Indian, Japanese, Chinese, etc.) you notice that one theme that stands out is calming the mind which is expressed quite often as stillness - to not think or more correctly not be distracted by what such philosophies consider as mental garbage. This probably arises from Buddhism and its various versions in the east. Personally I do think there's merit in such practice as I've seen many gurus and lamas in a very "peaceful" state of mind.

However, ever notice animal behavior? Very recently I saw a tiny praying mantis and as I approached it it sensed my presence and immediately froze. It stopped moving completely. This is, if I'm correct, death mimicry. Dead or lifeless things don't move. This is clearly a tactic to escape becoming a meal but the message that it conveys is stillness spells death or lifelessnes.

I'm puzzled by this contrast - on one hand we have spiritual gurus telling us to still our minds and on the other hand we have these tiny, presumably unthinking, animals teaching us that to sit motionless, whether physically or mentally, is to be dead.

Of course there are distinctions to be made e.g. meditation, the principal mode of calming the mind, is not simply shutting down your thoughts and mimicking a rock but what is interesting is it's close to being one, a rock.

Comments

Comments (15)

khaled August 24, 2019 at 05:13 #319715
Well those same gurus also speak of ego death when you’ve been still enough for long enough so maybe the concepts aren’t that far apart
TheMadFool August 24, 2019 at 05:55 #319727
Quoting khaled
Well those same gurus also speak of ego death when you’ve been still enough for long enough so maybe the concepts aren’t that far apart


Are these gurus onto something important or are they psychiatric patients employing some Freudian defense mechanism to escape the hard facts of life?
Shamshir August 24, 2019 at 06:46 #319736
Have you ever contemplated the phrase 'Rest in Peace'?
I like sushi August 24, 2019 at 06:52 #319738
Reply to TheMadFool Well observed. Extrapolate and reveal the hidden danger of the Buddhist radicals.

Nihilists and Buddhists have a lot in common ;)
fresco August 24, 2019 at 06:54 #319739
Insect 'stillness' is nothing to do with mind 'stillness'. The first foils predaters, like frogs, whose perceptual mechanism is only attuned to moving prey. The second is a meditation technique aimed at 'being in the moment'.
Now there is an argument that what we call 'self' will dissipate 'in the moment' in the sense that its conditioned values are suspended. This could he thought of as 'death of self', but this has little to do with 'immobily'...more to do with merging with the 'holistic flux'. And the phrase 'born again' which Christians might use in the aftermath their interpretation of such 'emergence' (aka by Christians 'ephiphany') reifies the usage of 'death' as an associated aspect of the process.
khaled August 24, 2019 at 06:55 #319740
Reply to TheMadFool I don’t know and I don’t care enough to find out.
Wayfarer August 24, 2019 at 08:49 #319761
Suzuki-roshi, in his well-known book Zen Mind Beginners' Mind, indeed says that the practice of zazen is to sit perfectly still, but completely alert, like a frog waiting for a fly to appear.

But if zazen is misinterpreted as trying to suppress thought, then indeed that is criticized as a misunderstanding of the practice.
Possibility August 24, 2019 at 10:12 #319766
Quoting TheMadFool
However, ever notice animal behavior? Very recently I saw a tiny praying mantis and as I approached it it sensed my presence and immediately froze. It stopped moving completely. This is, if I'm correct, death mimicry. Dead or lifeless things don't move. This is clearly a tactic to escape becoming a meal but the message that it conveys is stillness spells death or lifelessnes.


The mantis’ alternative would have been to move contra to its environment, which attracts attention for obvious reasons. Most predators’ eyesight is not as keen as yours. A fish moves in a school and other animals in a herd for the same reason - attracting undue attention has its risks. What message you receive from their stillness/movement is likely unintended. You make your own correlations.

The way I see it, calming the mind or mindfulness is a similar process of becoming attuned to one’s environment, rather than out of step with it. When we are distracted by ‘mental garbage’, we’re out of step with the moment itself, and can bring unrelated thoughts, emotions and experiences to bear on our interactions with the world. This can be unintentionally damaging.
Metaphysician Undercover August 24, 2019 at 10:47 #319770
Quoting TheMadFool
Very recently I saw a tiny praying mantis and as I approached it it sensed my presence and immediately froze. It stopped moving completely. This is, if I'm correct, death mimicry. Dead or lifeless things don't move.


Quoting Wayfarer
Suzuki-roshi, in his well-known book Zen Mind Beginners' Mind, indeed says that the practice of zazen is to sit perfectly still, but completely alert, like a frog waiting for a fly to appear.


There is a difference between being still to avoid being preyed upon, and being still in order to prey, but neither involves an inactive mind. Both, I see as an exercising of will.
TheMadFool August 25, 2019 at 07:51 #320077
Quoting Metaphysician Undercover
There is a difference between being still to avoid being preyed upon, and being still in order to prey, but neither involves an inactive mind. Both, I see as an exercising of will.


What you're saying is that the mind has to be active. Why then the emphasis on stillness?
TheMadFool August 25, 2019 at 07:54 #320079
Quoting Possibility
The mantis’ alternative would have been to move contra to its environment, which attracts attention for obvious reasons. Most predators’ eyesight is not as keen as yours. A fish moves in a school and other animals in a herd for the same reason - attracting undue attention has its risks. What message you receive from their stillness/movement is likely unintended. You make your own correlations.

The way I see it, calming the mind or mindfulness is a similar process of becoming attuned to one’s environment, rather than out of step with it. When we are distracted by ‘mental garbage’, we’re out of step with the moment itself, and can bring unrelated thoughts, emotions and experiences to bear on our interactions with the world. This can be unintentionally damaging.


I guess you're right. People buy different stuff from the same market.

I don't think there's a real contradiction in it. After all one must first calm oneself so that we can direct our attention into productive areas.
TheMadFool August 25, 2019 at 07:57 #320081
Quoting Shamshir
Rest in Peace


Death. Hmmmmmm
TheMadFool August 25, 2019 at 07:57 #320082
Quoting Wayfarer
Suzuki-roshi, in his well-known book Zen Mind Beginners' Mind, indeed says that the practice of zazen is to sit perfectly still, but completely alert, like a frog waiting for a fly to appear.

But if zazen is misinterpreted as trying to suppress thought, then indeed that is criticized as a misunderstanding of the practice.


The mind must be active
Shamshir August 25, 2019 at 08:20 #320087
Quoting TheMadFool
Death. Hmmmmmm

Quoting TheMadFool
The mind must be active

Must it? Is it incapable of rest, stasis and even death?
Metaphysician Undercover August 25, 2019 at 10:46 #320100
Quoting TheMadFool
Why then the emphasis on stillness?


As I said, it's an exercise of will power.