/lit/ - Literature

>>16013330
Zen is probably the most compatible school of thought with your line of thinking. A fundamental realization of the Mahayana school is that trying to avoid desire is a desire in itself. So, what do you do then? The simple answer is that there's no such thing as a human being with no desires, no matter how much detachment you practice. There is no existence without suffering. It is an inevitable part of life. But if there is no suffering, then there is no joy either. You cannot have one without the other, thus joy and suffering are the same thing. Since there is no way to escape it, the only thing to do is to accept it for what it is. You carry on as you always do, but you see the buddha nature in your actions. A zen master is not easily seen, because how can you spot the difference between someone doing ordinary things for ordinary reasons, and someone doing ordinary things for pious reasons?

What Zen concerns itself isn't to avoid suffering, but to avoid having a sticky mind. Mindfulness puts you in the present to avoid dwelling on negative or painful memories. Neither is Zen incompatible with seeking mastery with something. Zen mastery is to be in accord with your unconscious mind, to be able to do an action with complete naturalness, with no premeditation or conscious thought. It was a famous practice among samurai in particular, who sought sword zen and archery zen.

I would also like to point out that suffering doesn't automatically equal progress or results. Many people suffer for reasons completely beyond their control, no matter how hard they try to change it. This does not mean you shouldn't try, but that you should accept the results of what happens. We live in an era where it's very easy to have desires, but to never fulfill them.