22 replies to this topic

[Xavori]

Greetings students, I am Bhikku Xavori. Today will begin you on your own journey to finding enlightenment within the voice communication of Mechwarrior Online. This is a long and short journey that is both incredibly easy and intolerably difficult. But for the wanderer who endures, it is truly rewarding.

The first lesson is that your emotions are yours to control. I am sure many of you already are dismissing my words with thoughts of "SHUT THE F UP, NOOB!" but I can assure you the veracity of my statement. It has been shown in laboratory experiments to be true by Schacter and Singer (who honestly would never be able to get away with that s**t today since they were injecting people with adrenaline without their knowledge or consent). But you need not believe me now. Simply assume it is true and act in accordance, and eventually, your mind will make it true for you.

This means when you get shot by a teammate or your entire team turns and runs from contact over and over again, and you begin to feel your face flush, your heartbeat increase, and your whole body entire a state of agitation, the emotion you choose to tie into that physiological reaction is yours and yours alone. You can choose the dark path of anger as do children, even fully grown adult children. You can choose laughter which is the path of safety for those who have grokked humor. You can choose to accept that your body's fight or flight response in this instance is without merit as you are neither threatened nor in danger in the real world. This is the path of enlightenment that is zen. Again, this is not an easy choice, nor is it a difficult one. It is merely a choice.

The next step is accepting others unconditionally but without seeing them as a reflection of yourself. This is a far greater challenge than mastering yourself for we are taught from birth that we need to fit in with society, and that society's opinion of us is an honest reflection of true selves. This is why all emo teenagers are wear black and write bad poetry about cutting themselves to "express their individuality." And while the temptation to roll your eyes when you see yet another tribal tattoo around the arm of someone who insists his tats are a way to show he is his own man, remember that negative judgements of others are merely negative judgements of yourself.

In practice, accepting others is not condoning their behavior. It is right and proper to realize that society's values exist for good purpose, and that those who act in anti-social ways are harmful. But there is no value to yourself in dwelling or allowing their behavior to impact you in any way. Instead, simply accept that they are not yet as far along their journey as yourself, and then allow their words and actions to float away into the ether of things that happened. Acceptance is acknowledging an experience or thought without necessarily internalizing it.

You apply this acceptance by hearing the salt of the other pilots and letting it flow past you as water over your own rock. And like water over rocks, as you learn zen, you will lose your rough edges and become smooth and peaceful.

And so concludes today's lesson. In the next lesson, I will begin teaching you tools to aid you on your journey.

[MadcatX]

I might not follow your lessons but I give you credit for actually creating a thread which I think has not been created about 100 times on the exact same subject in the forums.

[man du]

I already walk this path. I call it, "Being Friendly and Encouraging, Even in the Face of Certain Defeat."

Even if we lose, "Good try everyone, we'll gettem next time."

And good on you for writing on this subject. I really think more people would have a more rewarding experience with a little public rage control.

[Narcissistic Martyr]

That's my public face.

But... let's just say I have VOIP on push to talk for a reason...

[Xavori]

Narcissistic Martyr, on 05 March 2016 - 06:47 AM, said:

That's my public face.

But... let's just say I have VOIP on push to talk for a reason...

And I have this:
http://www.amazon.co...t/dp/B00022KIYY

Because Zen is a journey, not a destination

[Mister Blastman]

I've noticed a lot of pacifists and slackers in the game and on comms lately.

[Xavori]

Mister Blastman, on 05 March 2016 - 08:00 AM, said:

I've noticed a lot of pacifists and slackers in the game and on comms lately.

There is a huge difference between pacifism and zen.

Zen doesn't forbid conflict. Conflict is inevitable. It's simply accepting that such conflict need not be emotional or the defining factor in a person's life.

[zeves]

I see more and more people learning over the years, the fact that there arent any trolls here yet shows that people are slowly learning.

[Naglinator]

Just disable VOIP. Mines been off since day one Use TS or type..

[Xavori]

Naglinator, on 05 March 2016 - 11:09 AM, said:

Just disable VOIP. Mines been off since day one Use TS or type..

But that's the thing...you don't need to disable voip. You need only disable your negative reactions to trolls.

And no, that doesn't mean that you don't report them. It just means you don't get emotionally involved with their nonsense as you report them.

[himself]

Get ****ed or get good.

[SplashDown]

MadcatX, on 05 March 2016 - 05:44 AM, said:

I might not follow your lessons but I give you credit for actually creating a thread which I think has not been created about 100 times on the exact same subject in the forums.

LOL

[LordNothing]

what the hell is this emo crap, when i was a teenager we wore black because we liked slayer and we cut ourselves because we wanted their logo on our arms because we were too poor to afford a tattoo. we weren't conformists because none of us did the same drugs.

what the hell is wrong with kids today?

Edited by LordNothing, 05 March 2016 - 12:30 PM.

[jonfett]

LordNothing, on 05 March 2016 - 12:27 PM, said:

what the hell is this emo crap, when i was a teenager we wore black because we liked slayer and we cut ourselves because we wanted their logo on our arms because we were too poor to afford a tattoo. we weren't conformists because none of us did the same drugs.

what the hell is wrong with kids today?

When I was a kid, we had to walk 10 miles up hill, in the snow w/o shoes, through a raging tornado, just to play a game of Battletech.

Get off my lawn!!

[LordNothing]

lol, nerds.

[Nightmare1]

I just mute everybody that talks too much over VOIP and feel so much better afterwards.

[Xavori]

Nightmare1, on 05 March 2016 - 01:48 PM, said:

I just mute everybody that talks too much over VOIP and feel so much better afterwards.

But you're missing out on all the fun you could have had with your friends afterwards...

"You guys won't believe the ****** I had on a team in MWO...."

[HerrRed]

Xavori, on 05 March 2016 - 10:11 AM, said:

There is a huge difference between pacifism and zen.

Zen doesn't forbid conflict. Conflict is inevitable. It's simply accepting that such conflict need not be emotional or the defining factor in a person's life.

Pol Pot was truly a Zen master...

Dark humour aside, I try to be helpful and peaceful. I end up screaming "SERENITY NOW!" a couple of times but that is OK.

[LordBraxton]

LordNothing, on 05 March 2016 - 12:27 PM, said:

what the hell is this emo crap, when i was a teenager we wore black because we liked slayer and we cut ourselves because we wanted their logo on our arms because we were too poor to afford a tattoo. we weren't conformists because none of us did the same drugs.

what the hell is wrong with kids today?

not sure if serious

really, I dont want to comment till I know

[LordNothing]

mom was telling me about when she was a kid, they all wore black because they liked johnny cash and cut themselves to protest the war in vietnam.

yea this is kind of a genetic line that should not exist and why i refuse to breed. i dont want kids that will one day dress in black, listen to a band of autotuned cats and cut themselves to support the free mars government.

Edited by LordNothing, 05 March 2016 - 05:51 PM.