Last night was marked by my doing some reading for Intro to Buddhism, and listening to music. Though this may sound like a completely unspectacular way to spend a Friday night, two things came out of it that I would like to share.
The first, about Nirvana:
I was reading a very detailed description of how the Buddha attained Nirvana. At the same time, I kept hearing my prof's voice in my head, saying that the word Nirvana means "to go extinct."
And suddenly it hit me.
I've always been fascinated by the similarities and differences between Hinduism and Buddhism. Last night, one of the main differences finally sank in: Where Hinduism tries to use Vedic dharma to balance out one's karma, Buddhism tries, in single moment, to annihilate karma itself.
This realization delighted me.
The second this is about music. I wrote this in my paper journal, but I want to write it out for all to see:
You often hear the results of the survey that concluded that "x% of women prefer chocolate to sex."
Clearly, these women are either crazy of have terrible lovers. I can't understand how someone might feel this way.
But if the survey question were to compare sex and music, I think I might need to pause and think about it.
I don't know if other people have these same reactions to music as I do - I've never heard anyone else talk about it. But it seems unlikely that only I should be treated to this delightful element of human experience.
I often wish I could watch myself when I'm listening to music, alone in my room with my headphones on. I clutch my chest, cover and uncover my face, gasp, moan, mouth the words...
Chocolate, once on the tongue, is static. It does nothing different from moment to moment. [physics analogy edited out]
Music is by far more comparable to a lover. At each session you discover something new, or discover something old as if it were new. At each session there are things you know will happen (a certain note, a certain technique), and the knowledge of their imminence creates a delicious anticipation. And in the moment before it happens, you hold your breath.
Like a lover, music washes over you in waves with tsunami-like intensity. It beats on you with power, energy, with the essence of life itself. It envelops your body and assaults your soul with a single word: Yes!
And afterwards, you are happy.