Table of Contents
“Ignorance (avijjā)” is the enemy
Sakyamuni Buddha taught that ignorance (avijjā), “the choice to ignore that which is uncomfortable in favor of clinging to that which is desired”, is the underlying force which gives rise to and sustains all of the suffering in the world.
He taught that by establishing the habit of mindfully turning towards that which is uncomfortable and striving to see things as they actually are, the inner conflict which gives rise to the suffering can be resolved, enduring inner peace experienced, suffering ended (nibbana), and old age, sickness and death defeated (the deathless).
“That which we need will be found in the place we least want to look.”
Carl Jung
The dragon
“The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggle.”
~Karl Marx
For some, this statement represents an idea that is uncomfortable.
For others, it represents a response to a reality that is uncomfortable.
For all, it represents the enduring discomfort of an unresolved conflict.
It represents a place that many of us “least want to look”.
And yet, our world is coming apart.
And it is our choice to ignore that which is uncomfortable in favor of clinging to that which is desired; it is THIS choice which gives rise to and sustains this unresolved conflict.
It is our choice to refuse to turn towards this dragon with “the resolve to resolve” by searching for the treasure of truth; it is THIS choice which is responsible for the dragon growing large enough to destabilize our societies and threatening to engulf our world in the flames of war.
This dragon cannot be slain by either flight or fight. Avoidance will not shrink the dragon. Violence will not shrink the dragon. Only the courage to turn towards it with the intention to see things as they actually are and the resolve to resolve the conflict will do that.
Millions of men have already been slain in this conflict, and yet the struggle continues, unresolved, because the fire that gives rise to it rages within the hearts of men and manifests as ideas within their minds.
Men are fragile beings. None of us has ever avoided the fate of old age, sickness and death.
Not so with ideas.
Short of extinction, or perhaps a near-extinction return to the dark ages, there is no force on earth that can stop an idea whose time has come.
The question
And there is perhaps no more important idea than the answer to the question:
What force do I allow to guide my movements in this world?
To which God do I give my soul to?
What is my aim?
What is my mission?
Who am I?
The fragile imperfect human who is writing these words is of no importance. What matters is the fire which consumes his soul and the ideas it gives rise to in his mind. The biggest ideas in the history of our species have often taken on the form of personas. These are the ideals cleansed of imperfection which the deepest part of our being feels a deep admiration for and aspires to become.
The persona of “Jesus Christ” represents …
… the idea that “the spirit of genuine care and concern for the wellbeing of others” (aka “God”) is a better choice of master than that of “the unrestrained primal compulsions of the survival machine for genes” (aka “Satan”).
… the idea that all men who pledge allegiance to Almighty God are equal before him.
… the idea that the army of Almighty God will triumph over the army of Satan in battle.
… the idea that every king of every dominance hierarchy will be defeated, forced to kneel before Almighty God and be forever restrained by him.
… the idea that “the zero sum game” of the age of barbarism should give way to “the positive sum game” of the age of civilization and the paradise of heaven should be made manifest.
A big idea whose time has come.
The persona of “Satoshi Nakamoto” represents …
… the idea that human beings exchanging value with each other should be free from the tyrannical parasitism of those seeking to take that which has not been freely offered.
… the idea that the parasitic class of money printers and their corrupt minions should no longer be permitted to impoverish and enslave those who genuinely work to give value to others and provide for their families.
… the idea that those who kneel to the God of wealth, status and power should no longer be allowed to rule the institutions of society and hinder the rate of innovation we need to help each other to survive and thrive.
A big idea whose time has come.
The persona of “Q” represents …
a desperate longing for the arising of the army of God to make war on the greed, the corruption, the depravity, the unbearable evil that is consuming our world; a desperate longing for the arising of the army of Almighty God to save us from this hellish tyranny; to triumph over Satan; to forever imprison him within the depths of hell and to restore and strengthen the moral order that makes civilization possible; the moral order which suppresses the selfish compulsions to gain at the expense of one another; to use each other as tools; to mislead, to deceive, to betray; thus creating the conditions of safety whereby cooperation, collaboration and innovation can flourish for the mutual benefit of all human beings.
“Nothing can stop what is coming.”
A big idea whose time has come.
Who am I? What is my mission?
The persona of “Maitreya Buddha” represents …
1: the idea that the human race has reached a level of development where we will either (1) ascend to a higher level of consciousness or (2) destroy ourselves. Either (1) “the primal compulsions of the survival machine for genes” (aka “Satan”) will be fully restrained in favor of “genuine care and concern for the wellbeing of others” (aka “God”), or (2) we will use the terrible weapons of mass destruction which we have developed to eradicate each other.
2: the idea that, if we succeed in rising above “the zero sum game” and fully embrace “the positive sum game”, the level of cooperation between billions of interconnected minds working together to conquer the common predators which stalk us all – namely, old age, sickness and death – will give rise to an acceleration to the speed of innovation beyond our wildest dreams.
3: the idea that the final enduring victory of good over evil in this world requires an army of good men who have fully extinguished the fires of greed, hate and delusion within.
Why?
Because the fires of greed, hate and delusion blind us to clear seeing, making us vulnerable to manipulation by evil.
Unless the sensory motor brain’s “task negative network” is fully restrained by it’s “task positive network” the mind will remain vulnerable to the temptation of corruption.
The mission
The survival of the species demands the arising of an army of fearless, incorruptible men.
Therefore, the single most important task for each of us who feels the call
1: to end the suffering of the world,
2: to save humanity from self-destruction,
3: to put an end to old age, sickness and death and
4: to bring forth a paradise on this earth,
is to dedicate our lives to the task of attaining and sustaining nibbana.
The total end of suffering.
The total subjugation of “the task negative network” by “the task positive network.”
This is the mission of “the heroic path to nibbana”.
A big idea whose time has come.
“We must be the change we wish to see in the world”.
~Gandhi