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Joan Sheski
What Does Optimistic Realism Mean?
posted 9/21/07 by Joan Sheski
I'm in a class studying Buddhist logic, which ponders whether or not anything is real, and if all is in the mind, what about other minds. One 5th century Buddhist actually wrote a chapter called "The Problem of other Minds." He solved this problem by the optimistic mind-realism idea that each mind is a little part of one great mind. Knowing others, then, is to expand our consciousnesses and reduce our isolation. So in this spirit of optimistic realism, I am very glad of everyone I know, and glad to be in the same mind-neighborhood with everyone. I think religions follow the same pattern. Each one is a part, like a puzzle piece, of one entireity. Ultimate optimism might be the idea that understanding them helps to integrate them harmoniously, just as all of us understanding each other does. Namaste.
