Caitlin Candee
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My understanding is that eternalism presupposes some permanence, some eternal soul, some unchanging self. I do believe in some sort of ultimate, universal goodness. Something bigger than ourselves, some common sentience. Like the metaphor, my consciousness is a drop of water, waiting to rejoin the ocean. Is that the same as eternalism? Is the difference in the individuality of it?
My understanding is that nihilism thinks ‘this is all there is’, or that nothing exists unless it can be seen or experienced or proven. Which honestly seems scary to live in to me… the idea that this is all there is, that reality is constrained by what the human brain can conceive. There’s such a loneliness in that. Somehow this feels like teenager years and existential dread to me.
My understanding of the ‘middle way’ is that things are interdependent and changing. Not being eternalistic means things aren’t independent, as then they wouldn’t be affected by other things, they wouldn’t change. Not be nihilistic means things are real, things matter.
I am still working on defining in my own brain, they both sound simple and make my head spin!
The distinction between supporting discovery and teaching feels important to me. Where ‘teaching’ requires an expertise or a mastery within the teacher, ‘supporting discovery’ allows the wisdom and magic to live in the practice. There’s freedom in that, because it loosens the grip on insecurity and ego about a lack of mastery (about a thing that I’m not clear can be ‘mastered’) and allows for curiosity and exploration to be engaged in together.
I’m thinking more about the importance of the container for discovery. It should have a start, it should have a structure, it should have an end. It should be a place of openness and wisdom and rigor. The container allows for the curious exploration to take place.Hi, all!
I’m Caitlin. I’m originally from the Bay Area, California, but live in Washington DC now. I’ve been practicing/studying for about 10 years now, mostly in the Tibetan and insight traditions.
I’m excited to be participating and looking forward to practicing with you all <3
My email is cscandee@gmail.com.
Caitlin