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azakanas · 3 years

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I. Affiliation

This is an Independent Canon divergent Yone rp blog. I have no ties with Riot Games, nor do I claim ownership of the character or game. I simply role play the character I have grown to love and adore for so long. The only things I own on this blog are art I may or may not post unless stated otherwise.

This is my take on Yone. Keep in mind, he can and will hurt your muse if provoked, I won't dull that down. I do not condone his acts. Do not confuse mun with muse. If he is not your cup of tea the unfollow/block button is at the top.

II. Basic Rules

NO GODMODDING! That one is pretty self explanatory and obvious. Just don’t do it. It isn’t fun for anyone.

Tag your content, as i tag mine! ESPECIALLY NSFW!

Don’t send hate/anon hate. You’re just wasting your own time and i simply just ignore and block anyways ^^

Racist, Transphobic, Homphobic, etc. muns are NOT welcome here.

Please cut your posts!

I AM NOT A MEME SOURCE! REBLOG FROM THE SOURCE!

Yes, I interact with OCS but I will not follow everyone.

THIS BLOG IS 18+ meaning no minors. Sorry but I am an adult and at times I do rp and reblog adult content. I also do not want to babysit anyone.

Turning asks into threads are highly encouraged! You don't have to ask!

I have dyslexia and bad anxiety that sometimes trouble reading and understanding and this may come out in my role playing. I try to catch my mistakes before I complete a response but I’m not perfect.

III. Replies

Replies can take a long time as Tumblr is not my main focus. A nudge or poke about our rp is a-ok! I’m so scatterbrained. However, nagging will earn you a block if my warning is ignored.

I usually try to respond to my threads equally, but if I am enjoying a role play thread a lot more I may prioritize it. Do not come at me complaining, I will get to your response when I get time.

Remember, Role Play is a hobby.

IV. Interactions

I am non-selective, this means I interact with anyone and everyone this includes Ocs, & other fandoms. However if your oc has no bio or is just a “big tiddy anime cat girl” I may not interact.

The fandoms I refuse to interact with and block are; mha, homestuck, genshin impact, killing stalking, ybc, mcyt, & danganronpa.

Respect this or leave, experience with those rpcs have made me very uncomfortable. If you like it that is okay, just keep it away from me :)

V. Shipping

I’m a complete shipping whore! Feel free to hit up Yone I ship him with pretty much anything! I love the idea of crack and new ships too. The only things I won’t ship with Yone are underage muses. Gross.

My Yone is bi!

If you're one of those Yasuo/Yone shippers please leave because that's fucking disgusting, please seek help. They are brothers. And I have a zero tolerance policy for it. Those who come to me and try to validate fucking incest get blocked on sight <3

VI. Verses

Be sure to request which Yone you would like or else it default to main! Below are the other verses I have for Yone;

YOUNG

SPIRIT BLOSSOM

BATTLE ACADEMIA

DAWNBRINGER

VII. Tags

For aesthetic reasons in my tags of posts I have special tags from Yone’s actual quotes with special text. More tags can be added any time!

BLOCK THIS TAG TO NOT SEE MY NSFW STUFF! THIS WILL BE HERE UNTIL TUMBLR FIXES ITS SHIT

ᴅᴏɴ ᴏɴ ᴛʜᴇ ꜱᴜᴄᴄᴜʙɪ'ꜱ ᴍᴀꜱᴋ. ( nsfw )

VIII. NSFW

NSFW is welcomed, this can include sexual themes, gore and violence which all will be appropriately tagged. Any smut I might write will be under a read more. Yone will not just jump into sex with you, that’s where ship chemistry comes into play. I will NOT engage in any sexual stuff with muns & muses -18.

Other nsfw regarding violence, Yone can and will hurt you if you provoke him. You have been warned. More in depth violence can be role played upon request, tagged appropriately. I will not control or kill off your muse without permission. I ask you do the same.

IX. FAQ

Why haven’t you responded to our thread?

Many reasons could be why, I am getting to yours, I am simply busy, or i could have dropped it if it was no fun or you gave me nothing to work with. I rarely drop threads though.

Why did you block me?

You might have broken my rules, could have been nagging me about responses constantly when i gave you reason, you attacking my friends, anon hate or just being a dick in general. I get enough salt from playing LOL alone.

Do you use icons?

Yes, all credited on my credits page! You do not have to use icons.

Am I allowed to add social medias you link?

Hell yeah, I’m always looking to make new friends.

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stupidusernamepolicy · 3 years

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Tagged by @shinkimiope thank u <333

1. Why did you choose your url?

I've had it since my deviantart days. I was getting frustrated that all of my ideas for usernames were already taken (I was starting to think the site was bugged lol) so in a fit of anger I typed it just because. It ended up not being taken so I just used it lol

2. Any side blogs?

I have an art sideblog @slavhew because i didn't want to terminally bore people with posting tons of memes in between art

an old gravity falls sideblog I don't use, it's more like an archive now.

Two defunct really old blogs that I should delete but don't want to

A hidden side for "riskier" reblogs which means anything I deem too edgy or explicit for my main lol

3. How long have you been on tumblr?

Joined at the tail end of 2015 to enjoy the Undertale fandom at the time

4. Do you have a queue tag?

I do, it's #q

5. Why did you start your blog in the first place?

I wanted to have fun online again and my old accounts were full of bad memories. I also wanted to have a more direct source for fan content other than just reposts

6. Why did you choose your icon?

I drew it on my phone as a meme for a friend and ended up having it for too long to change it lol. Pyke says you're (I'm) a heretic.

7. Why did you choose your header?

I like fires I thought it was pretty

8. What’s your post with the most notes?

It's probably the meme I made making fun of my instrument when I was frustrated that it couldn't play low tones jdjfmdmf. It's got a thousand-somethign notes now

9. How many mutuals do you have?

Uuu I really don't keep track. Mostly cause I've had everyone around for a long time and we more often than not passively follow eachother djjcjdx

10. How many followers do you have?

661

11. How many people do you follow?

1215

12. Have you ever made a shitpost?

Many times but rarely takes off. My art shitpost on side are a bit more popular jsbfjdf.

13. How much do you use tumblr every day?

My usage rises proportionally to how much I'm procrastinating and how shit i feel. Its a good distraction and to mitigate that I usually put stuff into queue so people don't get a barrage of posts otherwise I'd consistently be hitting post limit

14. Did you have a fight/ argument with other blog once? Who won?

Every so often I feel like causing problems on purpose. Most arguments dont really have a conclusion. One radfem insisting women can't be evil that deactivated by the end of it, someone trying to mobilize the aro community to stop "problematic content" (it was peppered with 'save the children' and stupid arguments. They said "free blocklist in notes" then hid my reply from them because I called them out on their homophobic myopic arguments). Misc other stuff thru the years. C'est la vie.

15. How do you feel about “you need to reblog this” posts?

We are all tired. We all have actual lives and use social media as an escape. If I catch you reblogging more than one of those I'm straight up going to unfollow, I will not have a wall of text guilt tripping me when I can't do anything to help in the first place. Fuck you.

16. Do you like tag games?

I do but I'm forgetful sometimes and it gets buried in my drafts :[

17. Do you like ask games?

I do but due to the nature of my blog even when I reblog them I don't really get any bdbgnnd

18. Which of your mutuals do you think is tumblr famous?

I know for a fact that at least one of them is Tumblr famous in two fandom circles. It's still kinda funny that they follow me on not one but two blogs even after we don't really share those fandoms and I enjoy seeing them on my dash :)

19. Do you have a crush on a mutual?

I don't do crushes but I am very good friends with a few people outside of Tumblr too and I think it shows from how often I tag them ajndkxmckc.

20. Tags?

@lemonykleonella @its-me-ej @mingominnie @mediasploshion @shroomberton and whoever sees it and wants to feel free to say I tagged you, nobody will know >:)

#admin rambles #tag game #long post

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chickenfetus · 7 years

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ALL!!!! (also the gemini sqUAD LOL)

im gonna enjoy a nice cup of water while doing this bc idk a tea (update i didnt drink water at all and now im dying of thirst,, also undercut bc many)

1: Golden mornings or peachy sunsets?

i dont wake up early enough to see the sunrise and when i do i never manage to take pics bc of school so peachy sunsets

2: Sugar cones or waffle cones?

idk what a sugar cone is but i like waffle cones!!! havent eaten ice cream with a cone in forever though,, i rarely eat ice cream now

3: Do you wear scarves often? do you have a favorite?

listen…. its about 33 degrees everyday but even if im in a colder country i dont wear scarves

4: How long do you lay in bed before you finally get up?

this depends?? on how motivated im feeling lmao never more than 10 minutes though because if i lay awake for that long ill just fall back asleep

5: Is there a food you’ve never had but always wanted to try?

i dont think so?? im bad at trying new things especially food

6: What does your umbrella look like?

i dont.. go outside often and whenever i do i take public transport so basically everythings sheltered so i never had a need for umbrellas

7: Do you listen to ASMR?

ive only listened to one everybody please listen to this gift

8: Rain storms or a light drizzle?

both, preferably when im indoors

9: What’s a little thing in life that you love?

hm??????????? my tags lmao

UPDATE: i also really like reading other people’s tags and their rambles that is all

10: Favorite color aesthetic?

does the word aesthetic make this question any different from a normal favourite colour question???? if it doesnt then sky blue

11: Wobbly lines or using a ruler?

in this house we draw lines with no ruler like men (but also because even if i did use a ruler it wouldnt be like… straight idk i cant use rulers

12: Bright colorful living room or neutral cozy living room?

neutral cozy living room but i also love basking in sunlight

13: Do you have any candles? what scents are they?

im not a big fan of heavy smelling products so i dont own any candles

14: Have you ever rode a horse?

i dont think so??????? ive seen horses before though

15: Do you have glasses?

without my glasses i wouldnt be able to read these questions lmao and . .. theyre also a result of watching pokemon too closely to the tv at a young age… its been like 10 years since i got glasses

16: What’s a language you’d like to speak?

japanese i tried speaking it but i got 2 embarrassed to say anything properly while i was in japan (i cant even speak english properly to a friend whyd i think i could speak another language to a stranger beats me)

17: What’s your favorite season and favorite month in that season?

my singaporean no season ass: ? but autumn and november (is this cutting it too close to winter? idk my seasons)

18: Do you have a favorite pair of socks?

hm not really i just wear blue ankle socks a lot but my friend did give me a pair of pokemon and gudetama socks before and i adore those although i lost the gudetama ones in the uk last year she got me another pair whatd i do to deserve her?

19: Favorite Ghibli and/or disney movie

m .. um? big. hero 6??????

20: Disney, Dreamworks, or Pixar?

my dumb ass didnt know they were different

21: What snacks do you usually get at the theater?

i rarely go and watch movies anymore but when i did watch a lot of movies with my friend at the theater we’d get afternoon shows and sneak mcdonalds in lmao

22: What’s an underrated video game/ movie/ show you love and think it needs more recognition?

how about band? day6 i only ever play pokemon + sif + bandori so i cant say much and i rarely watch movies and a show? if its an anime id say the one i mentioned before in my one text post

23: Would you fill your house with plants if you had a green thumb?

not really rip

24; All plants are great but do you have a favorite?

HM mmmmmm there was this one but i forgot the name lmao pass

25: Do you have a favorite type of art style? (eg: soft looking, no to little color, sketches, crisp and clean, minimalist, pixel art etc.)

when im the … audience? what do u call it???? i like seeing all kinda of art styles!!! everyone has their own unique art style and i love it all :o

for ME,, , ive been doing art for 6 years maybe and i still cant do shit

26: What would you do if someone gave you flowers?

i would die straight up die thats such a soft concept i cant imagine myself receiving flowers thats 2 sweet oh my god wtf id combust??? i prefer leaves though is that weird i picked some nice leaves recently and im gonna give those to my friends

27: Do you like nicknames?

giving and having nicknames is my favorite past time

28: Do you still watch shows you watched when you were a kid? even from time to time?

pokemon lmao thank u 4 not ending it…. the animation has only improved and im so proud to have been watching it since the start pokemon is my special thing i love it so much!! an interest that never died down, with an anime that stays super like idk to my preference? i tried watching the new digimon stuff but i just couldnt :^( im glad they made ash stay the main character

29: Do you still like old memes? (tell the truth)

never forget dat boi

30: Favorite Halloween costume you dressed up as? (if you don’t celebrate halloween have you ever cosplayed or would you like to? who did you cosplay as?)

we dont celebrate halloween and i would never cosplay, big shoutout to cosplayers though!!! they put in so much effort and just, respect!!!!!

i dont know if this is an actual memory because i dont remember well but when i was younger i thiNK? i had to dress up as a swan thing i have no clue i dont even remember the performance but i might have had to ?? and dance??? or act i dont remember everythings fuzzy but i dressed up a swan once? in kindergarten ?????

31: Are you a fashionable person?

i have the worst fashion sense and even though jeans are nice once again the weather here doesnt allow me to be as fashionable as i can be

32: Do you like watching holiday movies?

not realyyy??? the jack frost (rip) movie was ncie????

33: Cookies or brownies?

i live 4 chocolate chip cookies but too much is . . not preferable

34: Do you blow in the cold air just to see your breath?

no i hate breathing in & out from my mouth

35: Do you find the crickets chirping outside your window relaxing?

WELL from the great cockroach ordeal last night id probably die bc we live in an apartment building so the only way id be hearing crickets would be if they were in the ROOM

36: Do you like cobblestone streets?

my only knowledge of cobblestone is from minecraft so idk

37: How often do you doodle?

when school was still relevant i would doodle as soon as i picked up a pencil lmao i try not to anymore bc i doodled on my math assignment and forgot to fucking erase it and my math teacher called me out

38: When was the last time you blew bubbles?

a year ago?? i dont remember but i do remember when i was younger id try and blow bubbles at the void deck do yall kno what that is its just a space near the lift lobby anyway i swallowed the soap thing idk u know how ur supposed to blow? well i sucked the soap in yum

39: What’s your favorite random piece of decor in your house and room?

in my room its the bed and in the house its the water bottle that contains water

40: Do you bite your fingernails off or clip them more often?

i………………………… i dont actualy kno how to clip my nails and my mum would kill me if i tried but i dont bite my nails either

41: Any birthmarks?

not that i know of

42: Thoughts on freckles?

ive never actually seen someone with freckles in public before but theyre good stuff i gueess?? i dont actually have an opinion on them? everyone says theyre cute and all but im just ??? not that i hate freckles tho if u have freckles? thats cool!

43: First video game you ever played?

pokemon pearl?? either that or megaman on my ps3 OR the bomb square guy????? idk the game name but.. ya

44: what type of bird do you hear most often outside your door?

i dont know what the bird species are but theyre small black birds not crows idk

45: Do you use gifs/ memes a lot when replying to people?

memes yes gifs no bc im not lame like jen

46: Thoughts on spring?

no comment?? i mean? its nice??????? i guess ??? if we had a spring

47: Ideal temperature outside?

oh boy 20 degrees would be enough for me but its never gotten that low before sunny island’s life

48: Cloudy, partly cloudy, or clear skies?

i like clear skies when its bright! but not too sunny and not too warm!!!!! clouds are nice to look at too though

49: How often do you hear airplanes outside?

yeah we live near an airport i dont think anybody uses????

50: Do you enjoy windy days?

windy days are my SHIT back in school our basketball court was open spaced and whenevr wind blew we could feel it man thats the life right there but i hate windy days when im sitting at home bc it flows the curtains rigth into my face i like the feel of the wind and the smell of fresh air but… curtains in my face? not 2 great so rip i close all the windows lmao

okay thank u so much 4 asking falen i love you and wow this was a lot

#im laughing icb i asked u to ask me thank u for asking #ur a good pal #softshouyous #asks

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nerd-breached-containment · 7 years

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Introductory Post

Heyiou everybody, this is LPS100′s Gaming Blog and this is the post that’s gonna give the proper introduction of this blog! ... Ignoring the fact that this should have been made a few years ago.

If you wish to have a minimal idea of what this blog is about, click Read More (warning: Wall of Text™), but, if you’re a mobile user and the Read More doesn’t show up, clicking on the blog might do it.

However, if you wish to not see/read what this blog is all about, just ignore this post.

Blog Info:

Reason for creation and Naming:

This blog was originally created to seperate all School of Dragons-related post from my main blog, LPS100 (can't tag it for some reason). It later evolved to a game-only blog and even home to my game-related art.

Because it was originally only for School of Dragons-related posts, the name of Rise-of-Nerd was given, mixing the name of another game (that I also played and reblogged posts about) called Rise of Berk and the fact that I used to call myself “nerd” for the funs (nowadays, I call myself an “asshole”... also for the funs).

As for Oct 1st of 2017, I changed my name to Nerd-Breached-Containment, a name based on the horror game SCP: Containment Breach. I was going to change it after Oct 31st but, I grew attached to it because it seemed to make “more sense in context” and because I haven’t played Rise of Berk in years.

General Info:

This blog is a multi-game blog so if you’re following this blog for Game 1-related posts, expect posts from other games too. However, the amount of posts of whatever game-related really depends on the blogs that I follow (a grand example are the cuphead-related posts: Because the people that I follow posts frequently of said related game, cuphead can be very frequent in this blog).

Unlike my main blog however, this blog is NSFW-free; I’ll only reblog really mild nsfw, if the nsfw is around the mediocre level however, that will be reblogged to my NSFW blog, wiener-friendly (+18 Blog).

As mentioned before, this blog contains my artwork under the tag “#lps100 draws” however, don’t expect really cartoony art, my art is a strange mix of cartoony and realistic which there’s a name for that but, quite frankly, as much as I like my own style, I’m not even sure what to call it. You can check it if you want, not that is really eye-catching to begin with in my opinion. In recent time, I’m learning how to draw in a cartoony way due to Cuphead however, my original style still remains within me.

I may occassionally make opinion-based posts but, it’s really rarely plus, my opinions are mostly unpopular ones and I may or may not agree with it anymore (from having a negative opinion ‘bout something to be just passive-neutral about it) however, beware that I can be a very rambly person about some games that I own (BIG case in point: School of Dragons. And, take this to fucking heart).

While I tag my own posts, I have a tendency to forget to tag some posts under certain tags very easily (case in point: spoilerily posts or opinion/rambling-based posts) so, beware because while “#lps100 derps” in my general posting tag, it also contains various untagged stuffs.

You might have also noted that english isn’t my first language, instead, it’s portuguese. So, except a lot of grammar mistakes, however, I don’t mind recieving asks telling me and correcting my grammar, in fact, it helps me a lot.

Also, I swear like a sailor. Take this really close to heart.

Likings:

Mentioned a few posts ago, I have a page with all my likings and fandoms, so, if you want much more info about my likings and fandoms, click here... unless you’re on mobile. If you’re on mobile (or if you don’t want to read another giant wall of text), here’s a sum up of the games that I own and my opinion on them:

Tomb Raider: A game series that I grew up with and my liking for weapons, giant creatures, parkour and action/adventure styled games;

Anniversary - Childhood game and my all-time fave game; Introduced me to the series;

Legend and Underworld - Mediocre for me but, I still have a soft spot for them;

Angel of Darkness - Quite enjoyed it, despite acknowledging its flaws;

2013 - The least liked one, for a couple of reasons (and experiences);

Cuphead in Don’t Deal with the Devil: A run-&-gun indie game that started as something I found interested to a game I can’t help but just loving it and find it quite inspiring. As well as being a game with beautiful ragequits from other people which, in turn, they’ll be the ones laughing when I eventually get my hands on it (given how easily I can rage a well);

Five Nights at Freddy’s: A perfect mix between anthropomorphic animals and horror (two things that I love); Only reblogged to my main blog;

Sister Location - Was quite cool;

FNAF World - Haven’t finished it;

SCP: Containment Breach: A horror game where a shitloads of monsters, each with their different gimmicks, try to kill you while you try to escape from a Foundation Site. That’s my shit;

Own the game but I can be a bg scaredy cat tbh;

Sonic the Hedgehog: Till this day, I still haven’t understood what it did to bring myself to like it, until it hits me: Sonic Mania, Sonic Forces, Sonic X (gave a little introduction to the characters) and then... Sonic Boom being the fucking gift of a show that it is;

Never owned a Sonic game but, I’d love to play one;

Bubsy Bobcat: With the same deal with Angel of Darkness, this is a series that I do like while acknowledging its flaws and problems; However, I rarely reblog posts about it and usually keep the liking to myself;

I never owned any Bubsy game but, as opposed to nearly everyone in the world, I’d play Bubsy 3D;

School of Dragons: Don’t even get me started with this game that makes me feel like all the dragons that I own are an achievement to my life;

Own this fucking shit which gave me more bad memories than good ones, while still being a guilty pleasure;

Inner Jokes:

Throughout my time in this blog, I may have formed 1 or 2 “jokes” (massive quotation marks here) which only I gets them but, I think it’s time to explain them.

And, on an ironic iside, I only have 1 inner joke that is actually an inner joke, the other three are just self-jokes.

Lonely Island/Outcast Island:

It’s the equivalent of saying “alone in my room because no one cares about me” but, in a more comical way without dragging too much attention. While never used in a vent-like way, it’s mostly used in a “no one cares about me” due to the fact that my actual content (pinpoiting at my art and small written posts that I did, not the small memes that I did like the “he’s just standing there menacingly” post) is mostly ignored (except by my friendos) and makes me feel like I’m talking to myself in an isolated island, with no on willing to rescue me;

As time goes one, my art may be getting attention, I still mention this but somewhat connected to self-talking;

“I’m an asshole”:

The overly used trope of calling yourself a failure/loser/ect..., but, instead of being used for venting and such, it’s really for funs and mostly because I can be a dick when it comes to being honest and angry at the same time imo;

Self-talking:

Roughly around 80% of my posts are mostly me writing everything that I think, adding the fact they rarely have any likes, you can safely assume that yes, I am indeed talking and rambling to myself;

Mating Dance:

An actual inner joke between me and my friendo a-n-n-i-m-i-a, so, it would make sense that only us would get it.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask or chat, I’m always open for discussion!

#a 'brief' explaination of what this blog is all about #emphasis on 'BRIEF'#introductory post #introduction post #welcome post #lps100 derps

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afurst · 7 years

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How Should a Buddhist Deal with Discarding Erroneous Beliefs? – Modern Koans

Question:

How Should a Buddhist Deal with Discarding Erroneous Beliefs?

Response:

Humans have developed a couple of pretty neat tools for detecting erroneous beliefs. Logic and standards for evidence are two great examples. But your question gets to the heart of the matter – once you discover you’ve been acting based on erroneous beliefs, what do you do?

I suspect, as always, the answer is “it depends”. It depends on the role the belief has in your world view. Let me give an example of how I’ve recently responded to discovering that I’ve been holding an erroneous belief.

I’m researching and writing a book on the intersection of, artificial intelligence, evolutionary biology, and Buddhism. I have been reading a series of books, including several by Daniel Dennett and Ray Kurzweil. In Dennett’s book Consciousness Explained, he spends quite a bit of time discussing how computers are modeled on human design. Ray Kurzweil even goes so far as to identify brain structures that are analogous to computer functions.

But in my reading, I had come away with a belief that humans are in fact just elaborate computers. This may or may not be a reflection of Dennett’s and Kurzweil’s views, but I had certainly drawn the conclusion. Further, it was a foundational idea for my book.

The Wrecking Ball

But, I recently came across an article by Dr. Robert Epstein titled The Empty Brain. In the article’s subtitle, Dr Epstein lays to waste my assumption. He states:

Your brain does not process information, retrieve knowledge or store memories. In short: your brain is not a computer.

Ouch. My first reaction was resistance. In my first read, I took a highly defensive view of the article. I felt like he was just making contrary assertions, but not providing evidence. He was attacking my view and I would have none of it.

But, in a moment of rare clarity, I decided to set the article to the side and put a link to it on my to do list. I promised myself to give it a second read.

I’m glad I did. About 2 weeks later, I re-read the article. I discovered a much more nuanced view of artificial intelligence especially in the context of my book topic. Let’s just say, my to do list now contains an entry to do more research and take on some rewriting.

That Was Easy

I would put this particular example of discarding an erroneous idea in the “easy” category. While the idea lay at the center of a future book, I was able to learn, change, and adapt. Not only was I saved embarrassment, but it actually advanced my understanding. Hopefully it will lead me to a better book. It was a win for me.

But this particular belief, while important to my book, didn’t have a mind blowing impact on my world view. The closer a belief is to the heart of our worldview, the more resistance we will have to it. By more I mean exponentially more.

But, in these cases, if we somehow accepted that our idea was erroneous, what would change look like.

The question was in the context to Buddhism, so let’s target a Buddhist idea that I think is controversial. It’s an idea that stands at the heart of Buddhist philosophy – reincarnation. This topic is especially important to Mahayana Buddhists, and in particular Pure Land Buddhists of which I am one.

The Pure Land school of Buddhism, holds as its central tenet that if one recites the name of the Buddha (Namo Amitofo or Namo Amida Butsu) with the sincere desire to be reborn into the Pure Land (Sukhavati), Amitabha will meet you at death and take you there. Once reborn in Sukhavati you will achieve liberation in one lifetime.

The closer a belief is to the heart of our worldview, the more resistance we will have to it. By more I… Click To Tweet

Great Doubt

At the core of this teaching is the concept of reincarnation. As a western convert to Buddhism, I have struggled with the idea of reincarnation. I see no evidence for the simplest interpretation of rebirth – i.e. it is me, Andrew Furst, with my beliefs, opinions, and experience who is reborn into another life. I have no memory of past lives; I have strong doubts about phenomenon like past life regression and the Tibetan practice of identifying reincarnated Lamas.

In fact, my Buddhist practice does not involve belief in these particular views on reincarnation. I have found views sympathetic to my disbelief in authors like Stephen Batchelor and even Thich Nhat Hanh. The latter actually interprets the Pure Land teachings in three levels, two of which do not incorporate this simplistic view of reincarnation.

But at the same time, I must concede that in any reading of the Buddhist sutras, from the Tripitaka (the canonical early Theravadan texts) to the Pure Land Sutras (written much later) prominently feature reincarnation. A synonym for enlightenment is freedom from birth and death – i.e. reincarnation. My disbelief in this view of reincarnation may actually make me a Buddhist heretic.

Heresy?

If you’ve got skin in this game, you’re likely feeling a strong inclination for and against my views. Imagine then, if irrefutable evidence was provided that contradicted your view. What would you do? How would you adjust your practice of Buddhism? How would your worldview have to change?

For me accepting a simplistic view of reincarnation would be easier with evidence. But I suspect it would still be a shock. But I feel, like my belief that humans might be computers, I would make the transition. The evidence and my improved understanding would reinforce the change. I suspect whatever change that you would need to make would be similarly straightforward.

I would put this particular example of discarding an idea in the “hard” category.

But I need to point out one significant difference between the easy and hard. In the case of reincarnation, there is no irrefutable evidence.

Not So Easy

When we don’t have evidence, something that can reinforce change, making the transition will be hard; probably impossible. But, if we reflect on the question, this scenario doesn’t apply. That’s because we have no means to decisively determine whether it is erroneous or not.

Ideas, or as the evolutionary biologist and ardent atheist Richard Dawkins calls them, memes, operate very much like genes. The fittest survive. To a certain extent the truth of a statement has a certain bearing on its fitness. The idea that eating mercury is bad, is true and its’ truth contributes to its fitness. These ideas survive and thrive because of their fitness. The human mind is capable of incorporating them with relative ease. It is almost effortless for the human mind to adapt to a fit meme.

But there are other ideas where truth doesn’t add to, or subtract from, the fitness of an idea. A lot of religious ideas fall into this category. Belief in a God being a big one. There is no evidence for a God, but the idea persists. Believers vehemently defend the idea. I believe that this is a function of its fitness. This is a powerfully fit idea. The tenacity with which people defend it is evidence that whether or not it is erroneous, it is terribly difficult to “discard” it.

Truth OR Consequences?

Religion has persisted for millennia, at its foundation are some very fit, but likely untrue, ideas. Discarding them feel impossible.

Let’s return to my problem with reincarnation. There seem to be three possible outcomes in this log jam.

All the Buddhists that believe in a simplistic view of reincarnation are right (probable, but I don’t like it)

All the Buddhists that believe in a simplistic view of reincarnation are wrong (less probable, but not impossible)

There is a nuanced idea of reincarnation that accommodates both of these views (feels probable, and highly possible)

I put my money on option 3.

To answer the original question, How should a Buddhist deal with discarding erroneous beliefs? I feel there is little to do. It’s easy to let go of demonstrably false ideas. Where the challenge is and where the benefit can come is in dealing with difficult ideas and finding transcendence through them.

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Modern Koans is an ongoing series that recognizes that good questions are often more important than their answers.

The riddles of God are more satisfying than the solutions of man. ― G.K. Chesterton

Dialectic Two Step, Modern Koans, Verse Us, Say What?, and Minute Meditations all copyright Andrew Furst

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