Survival

I was thinking today why Tibetan Buddhists and Tibetans in general have a philosophy of life where everything physical is both real and unreal simultaneously and where all dreams are both real and unreal simultaneously.

The logic of thinking like this is that one could more easily survive death or scary dreams or visions this way and also it would allow a person not to become overwhelmed completely with just too much happiness or joy in one's waking life or night time or day dreams.

So, one likely would not be as shocked when people died or when people left or be surprised when you have dreams of those who died who are coming back to make contact with you.

This philosophy makes sense from this level as long as it all is a balance. Because the danger of this philosophy would be if someone used it as an escape from dealing with either dreams or physical reality at all.

However, this philosophy in balance might cushion a person from too much overwhelm of death or joy or happiness in a way that was balanced in all ways.

So, this philosophy might contribute to a very long life and prosperity if it was used in balance in one's life.

IN a culture where people generally live above 8000 feet in elevation to about 15,000 feet in elevation you are going to naturally see a lot of death and mayhem and sickness because of quick exits from human bodies from the ongoing stress of high altitudes, brisk weather and trying to make a living at that altitude where only things like Barley or a few other things to eat might grow in a domain of Yaks and snow leopards and huge vultures. So, one can see the logic of this philosophy helping to keep the remaining people alive as long as possible.

Geshe Lobsang Gyatso said most people in Kham where he was from died by 50 to 60 years of age because of the harsh life and weather that high in the Himalayas (he was born in the early 1930s and passed away around 1999 I believe in California. And porters who carried everything where there were no roads at all in the Himalayas in 1985 and 1986 when I was there seldom lived past 40 to 50 if then. They were men at 15 and often married at that age when I was there then too.