--- In [email protected], "ED" <seacrofter001@...> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> Deep-seated cultural memes, imbued into our minds in childhood, are
> almost impossible to detect and erase, the realization of Buddha Nature
> notwithstanding.
>
> --ED
>
> Hi ED. Yes. And not only cultural conditioning, but genetic predisposition as
> well. As a Buddhist, I regard all of this as being
karmic. However, on a practical level, although much of this can never be seen
directly, we can be aware of the conditioned volitional impulse
(samskara)approx. half a second after it activates. I refer you to Dr. Benjamin
Libet on this. In that half-second, we have the capability of vetoing the
conditioned volitional impulse. This isn't so much Free-Will as it is
Free-Won't. If we veto negative impulses, after they percolate into awareness,
often enough, then the impulse will die-out from lack of reinforcement.
Conversely, if after vetoing the negative samskara, we substitute a positive
alternative, our brains will re-wire themselves in that direction. This is the
scientific basis of The Eightfold Path. Its not an independant agent
(which is an illusion) initiating actions as a First Cause, but rather a
feed-back loop. IMO.
Steve
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