Boredom

A saying of Chinese Buddhism goes, a Boddhisatva avoids the causes

The ordinary person tries to avoid the results.

A Boddhisatva is a Master or a teacher and they are wise in their thoughts and teachings

In this case pointing out how most do not see that what they try to avoid or prevent are symptoms not causes

For example we never give a thought to the word boredom

Boredom was not even a concept before the word was invented around 1760, along with the word "interesting".

The tide of boredom that has risen ever since coincides with the progress of the Industrial Revolution and all the subsequent so called technological advances

Could this be a reason why it has, until recently, been an exclusively Western phenomenon?

The reality that the factory system created was a mass-produced reality

A generic reality of standardized products

Standardized roles

Standardized tasks

And then finally standardized lives.

The more we came to live in that artificial reality


The more separate we became from each other

The more nature became something out there distinct from us

The more community disapeared

Today we apply ever more technology to relieve the boredom that results from our immersion in a world of technology.

We call it entertainment.

Have you ever thought about that word?

To entertain a guest means to bring him into your house

To entertain a thought means to bring it into your mind.

To be entertained means to be brought into the television, the game, the movie.

It means to be removed from your self and the real world.

When a television show does this successfully, we applaud it as entertaining.

Our craving for entertainment points to the impoverishment of our reality.

We find nature wet cold boring

We find community too much trouble

We prefer to sit eight hours a day or so watching TV or playing games

Your chance, become conscious and remove the boredom from your life

While you are at it let go of fear as well