Cusswords and Enlightenment

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Dimmesdale
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Cusswords and Enlightenment

Post #1

Post by Dimmesdale »

Would cusswords, even the worst ones (the N and the C word) offend a truly enlightened being? Or would they still be intrinsically bad or something like that? I don't think so.

Cusswords and the negative energy they possess, even when used for expressly malicious purposes, are simply tools of the ego. And the ego simply does its thing in a sense. Can you really condemn an ego? Hatred, abuse, even murder -- all these things are of the ego. The ego does its thing, in other words. It is like a wild predator or a virus -- it is not on the human level, but below it, operating only per the auspices of the human it is attached to and which gives it a manifest reality. Otherwise it is vanity. And how can vanity insult you? Anything that comes from vanity, is also vanity. So it is with cusswords.

Ok, you can't condemn an ego, since it is ultimately an artificial construct with no actual life of its own, but can you condemn the human being who allows it to flourish? I don't think so, either, actually. A human being who allows an ego to flourish, who gives it space to grow, is not fully aware of what he is doing I would say. Only an ignorant person would feed his black wolf rather than his white one. Of course, he may freely choose to do this. But, although I would consider that greatly foolish, I would have to chalk that up as well to either a lack of knowledge again, or a lack of love (character development). Both of which are in large part outside the control of any one person. Of course, we may all grow in knowledge or character development, but that takes time and experience. Good and bad actions by the way, always have an antecedent. No one, for instance, can betray someone else on a dime. There would always be some antecedent of causation I believe, predicting the downfall.

So it is not just cusswords but all bad actions that spring from the ego, and the ego only exists insofar as human weakness prevails. Who is there really to blame or condemn?

The world may condemn as a matter of course. We may lip sync that condemnation out of a need to preserve social policies and whatnot. But personally, I condemn no human being. I see all cusswords, all blasphemies, as simply empty wind -- sound and fury signifying nothing.

Philosophically I believe I know this is true now -- but I don't pretend to exemplify it in my personal life. I still need lots of practice of not taking anything personally. And if someone else is offended, I see that too as something that needs to be remedied one way or another.

A truly enlightened person though, I am convinced, takes offense at nothing.
"If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough." - Albert Einstein

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Miles
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Re: Cusswords and Enlightenment

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Post by Miles »

Dimmesdale wrote: Mon Aug 30, 2021 11:22 pm Would cusswords, even the worst ones (the N and the C word) offend a truly enlightened being? Or would they still be intrinsically bad or something like that? I don't think so.

Cusswords and the negative energy they possess, even when used for expressly malicious purposes, are simply tools of the ego.
Curious. In what way are cuss words significant tools of the ego? I emphasize "significant" because you go on with the ego throughout your thread here as if it had a closer relevance to cuss words than do most other processes we may employ in our interactions with reality.


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Re: Cusswords and Enlightenment

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Post by Dimmesdale »

Miles wrote: Tue Aug 31, 2021 12:42 am
Dimmesdale wrote: Mon Aug 30, 2021 11:22 pm Would cusswords, even the worst ones (the N and the C word) offend a truly enlightened being? Or would they still be intrinsically bad or something like that? I don't think so.

Cusswords and the negative energy they possess, even when used for expressly malicious purposes, are simply tools of the ego.
Curious. In what way are cuss words significant tools of the ego? I emphasize "significant" because you go on with the ego throughout your thread here as if it had a closer relevance to cuss words than do most other processes we may employ in our interactions with reality.


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I'm not sure if I follow. We use cusswords usually out of frustration, or as a means of attacking or hating someone. I guess I'm focused on the latter more - things like hate speech. I argue that for a truly enlightened being, such words of attack, no matter how mean or malicious, are without any power to harm or offend that person. Of course, they may do damage to other people, but for a person who truly no longer takes anything personally, they are totally impotent.

So in that sense, they are merely a vulgarity. Vulgarity by the way, is practically on the level of humor, taken by itself alone, without any value-judgment. It may be a crass form of humor - but that's all it is, to my mind. If you can learn to laugh at all stereotypes, all forms of attack and criticism, then I say you have graduated to the level of a Buddha.
"If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough." - Albert Einstein

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