this post was submitted on 31 Oct 2024
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It's easy for religious figures to be depicted as tranquil. They are often all-knowing, and if not, have faith in something all-knowing. They can blindly believe that everything will be fine, even if right now things look bad.
Because sky-daddy will take care of things.
The more I know, the less fucking tranquil I am.
Well, yes.
But by all-knowing, I meant the kind of view an omniscient god would have, accompanied by complete control of the universe.
Essentially, religious figures typically get to exist, knowing for sure that everything is going and will go according to plan.
It's EASY to be tranquil, then. Even easier if you're just a human, who genuinely believes such an entity exists.
This is nothing to do with actual tranquility (in the sense of passaddhi), which is basically the opposite of everything you are describing.
You don't cultivate tranquility by not knowing "not caring" about worldly factors; you cultivate tranquililty by abandoning the five hindrances (covetousness, ill-will, sloth, agitation, and compulsive questioning).
The Upanisa Sutta says that tranquillity comes from rapture and leads to happiness (the Samaññaphala Sutta repeats this). The precondition for tranquility is rapture, not "not caring about the state of the world".
Tranquility is a mind that maintains a spacious calm in the face of adverse conditions. It's nothing like what you're saying.
Your view is harmful because you're saying that someone without tranquility (with covetousness, ill-will, sloth, agitation, and compulsive questioning, without rapture), will be better equipped to deal with worldly problems, but the exact opposite is true: tranquility creates the space to deal with worldly problems more effectively. It's harmful to advocate for hindrances because you claim that means people "care" more.
We are using different definitions of the word.
You explain what your definition is, which affects mine (being the dictionary defintion) in no way whatsoever. We have nothing to discuss.
What you describe I would call stoicism, competence, composure or equanimity.
Most simply, level-headedness.
But not tranquility. Tranquility, by definition, being a state free of turmoil, cannot be maintained, if dealing with turmoil.
Right, but it can and should be maintained while dealing with tumultuous events.
Stoicism, competence, composure, equanimity or level-headedness, can be.
Tranquility, not being a quality of the human mind, but rather a feeling or state of being, cannot be. The dictionary definition of tranquil (free from disturbance) is mutually exclusive with a mind that is actively dealing with concerns of any kind. Because then you are not free of disturbance, are you?
You can remain calm and in control, but if there is force of any kind that you must interact with in any way, you cannot be tranquil.
Can you get there by ignoring any current troubles for a moment, simply not thinking about them for a minute? Yes, but that's still temporary.
What you are claiming, is like saying silence is the ability to ignore noise.
Or that silence can be "maintained" at a concert. That by refusing to let the music make you dance, you might prevent it being played.
Can you still plug your ears? Sure. But you can't listen, while doing that.