JohnK wrote: ↑Wed Apr 08, 2020 3:50 pm
Greetings, Bundokji, sorry to hear about your anxiety/dukkha.
At least to some extent , it seems to be related to to your view that your are dealing with neuroses and disorders rather than reasonable requests to avoid rapid spread.
I can certainly see how holding this view would lead to dukkha (vs. seeing such policy as "reasonable measures suggested by health professionals"
You are right. I only recognize the expertise of health professionals in relation to general technical information about the pandemic (i don't assume them to be lying), i don't recognize their authority nor expertise in relation to risk assessment which is linked to a hierarchy of subjective values. The problem is, the bulk of individuals recognize their authority in both aspects, while i recognize it partially, only to the extent of technicality, and i find no reason to take their interpretations of how i should perceive the best way of dealing with the situation as authoritative.
If what is reasonable is that clear, countries would have reacted in a similar manner. Countries have little disagreement about the pandemic itself, but they have different interpretations of what is the best way of dealing with it.
I have a sister who is overly protective of her son which caused him to become neurotic according to my interpretations. I find no reason to interpret her actions as reasonable.
So, one response to that would be to (w/o aversion) just err on the side of caution.
There seems to be no agreement on the degree of caution that strikes the right balance between recognizing the current situation and at the same time functioning sanely for someone who is mortal having had the unfortunate destiny of dealing with other mortals who seem to overvalue their miserable existence which causes more misery in the process.
An such non-alignment can either be a cause of dukkha or not.
Indeed. If even alignment is a cause of dukkha, then at least non-alignment can side with virtue. Here, JIddu Krishnamurti comes to mind:
It is no measure of health to well adjusted to a profoundly sick society
Yes, a lot of stress here -- it would probably be easier to just clean the buttons.
There is an idea. If i catch the virus and infect someone who had to press the elevator buttons after me, then that would mean he/she also did not sanitize the buttons nor his hand after pressing them, so he/she cannot hold me responsible.
To remain consistent: if i catch the virus in the elevator in a similar manner, and if it leads to the sickness and death of myself or a loved one, i would not hold them responsible. I would simply consider this as an inevitable outcome of a sorry state of affairs.
And the Blessed One addressed the bhikkhus, saying: "Behold now, bhikkhus, I exhort you: All compounded things are subject to vanish. Strive with earnestness!"
This was the last word of the Tathagata.