Typically, when we reason about what actions we should or should not perform, at the base of that reasoning is something of the form “X is intrinsically bad.” Now, I’d always associated “X is intrinsically bad” with some sort of statement like “X induces a mental state that feels wrong.” Do I have access to this line of reasoning as a meditator?
Concretely, if someone asked me why I would go to a dentist if my teeth were rotting, I would have to reply that I do so because I care about my health or maybe because unhealthiness is intrinsically bad. And if they asked me why I care about my health, I cannot answer except to point to the fact the that it does not feel good to me, in my head. But from what I understand, the enlightened cannot say this, because they feel that everything is good to them, in their heads.
In fact, the later part of your response makes me feel that the enlightened cannot provide any reasons for their actions at all.
Concretely, if someone asked me why I would go to a dentist if my teeth were rotting, I would have to reply that I do so because I care about my health or maybe because unhealthiness is intrinsically bad. And if they asked me why I care about my health, I cannot answer except to point to the fact the that it does not feel good to me, in my head. But from what I understand, the enlightened cannot say this, because they feel that everything is good to them, in their heads.
Even to the enlightened, experiences with positive valence still feel like they have positive valence; experiences with negative valence still feel like they have negative valence. (Well, there are accounts which disagree with this and claim that perpetual positive experience is possible, but I am skeptical of those.) One can still prefer states with positive valence, and say that “they just feel good to me”—one is just okay with the possibility of not always getting them.
I realize that this is hard to imagine if you haven’t actually experienced it. An analogy that’s kind of close might be if you were offered a choice between two foods that you were almost indifferent over, but just slightly preferred option B. Given the choice, you ask to have B, but if you were given A instead, you wouldn’t feel any less happy for it. At least, you could let go of your disappointment very quickly.
Typically, when we reason about what actions we should or should not perform, at the base of that reasoning is something of the form “X is intrinsically bad.” Now, I’d always associated “X is intrinsically bad” with some sort of statement like “X induces a mental state that feels wrong.” Do I have access to this line of reasoning as a meditator?
Concretely, if someone asked me why I would go to a dentist if my teeth were rotting, I would have to reply that I do so because I care about my health or maybe because unhealthiness is intrinsically bad. And if they asked me why I care about my health, I cannot answer except to point to the fact the that it does not feel good to me, in my head. But from what I understand, the enlightened cannot say this, because they feel that everything is good to them, in their heads.
In fact, the later part of your response makes me feel that the enlightened cannot provide any reasons for their actions at all.
Even to the enlightened, experiences with positive valence still feel like they have positive valence; experiences with negative valence still feel like they have negative valence. (Well, there are accounts which disagree with this and claim that perpetual positive experience is possible, but I am skeptical of those.) One can still prefer states with positive valence, and say that “they just feel good to me”—one is just okay with the possibility of not always getting them.
I realize that this is hard to imagine if you haven’t actually experienced it. An analogy that’s kind of close might be if you were offered a choice between two foods that you were almost indifferent over, but just slightly preferred option B. Given the choice, you ask to have B, but if you were given A instead, you wouldn’t feel any less happy for it. At least, you could let go of your disappointment very quickly.