I didn't mean for my response to spider to be such a train wreck for this thread of conversation. I think the evolution thread was aiming on the right track, and seeing how everyone responded to my last post on it, I feel responsible for reviving the thread if possible.
spider <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Thank you for that. So what are we? Does Buddhism recognize this consciousness? Do Buddhists have souls? Are the souls dependent on DNA and evolution? Is this consciousness just an illusion created by Ego?
We've already pointed out that we are not our bodies, but it is still important to regard the relevance of the body to experience. Another factor other than DNA to consider in physical evolution is gravity. When you pick up a rock, are you lifting the weight of the rock or the weight of the earth? There is only the rock-earth weight because making either one lighter would make the weight lighter. So the body has its weight, and so must the framing of the body be designed in accordance with gravity.
Just like the shape and framing of the body depends on gravity, the sensors of the body are designed to fit in accordance to the physical things they sense. The lens-quality of the eyes to light, the microphone-quality of the shape and inner liquid of the ears, etc. are physical things designed to the specifications of the physical things which they are intended to sense. It's much easier for the design of the body to change to the design of the world around it, just as it's much easier for one to put on sandals than to carpet the world around them.
This says to me that the relevance of the body to experience is that it is a tool of practicality which reflects its purpose in its design through the bounds of physics. Any tool is designed with its purpose in mind beforehand, and the is built to the physical demands of the purpose. Hammers are not made out of glass, and I don't think that lesson was learned the hard way. So what is our purpose if everything that we know and experience is only through this tool of practicality? I think the answer to this lies less in contemplation and more in just learning how to use this tool in the way it was designed. We should try to get a feel for the tool first. When we walk, we should keep in mind and feel gravity, and since our body was designed to work in gravity, we should try to walk the body properly in that premeditated way it was designed by
stepping with the weight on the knees, down through the feet to the center of the earth and up through the back to the head.
If we cannot know our purpose immediately, then the best we can do is to start learning to handle the tool we have been given to do so in the way it was intended. Once we know how to handle this tool, then we will have new perspectives and will be in a better position to judge the tool's potential. When we connect the past thought that went into designing a tool to be able to fit its needs with the present practice of "getting the hang" of handling the tool, then we are fulfilling the purpose of the tool, but for now we need to just learn to get the hang of it. Walking and sitting in accordance with the way our bodies were designed to do so as mentioned above is part of right mindfulness, but to get the best feel for this tool to try to learn to use it properly and see the foresight that went into designing it, practice of the complete eightfold path is key.
Consider that we are already able to practice the eightfold path, that it is our practice in learning this tool to learn RIGHT speech and action instead of learning speech and action in the first place. We are not our tool, but we choose to use it in anyway we decide and it is our skill in using the tool the best way that is deficient and not the tool itself. If one does not know how to use an operational electric drill, it is because of the lack of practice of the man on the drill and has nothing to do with the correct premeditated design of the drill itself. The body is already here, the design that went into it was perfect and took into account what it would be used for. By practicing the eightfold path, we can develop a feel for this tool and put it to use with a skill that approaches the perfection of the design that went into
it.
Right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration.
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