About 2500 years ago Buddha said “Happy is he who overcomes his ego”. He also said suffering is an inherent part of existence and the cause of suffering is the desire for pleasure and attachment to worldly assets etc. To reduce suffering, detachment from the world and reducing the ego is crucial.
Many people are covertly unhappy, engage them long enough and the tale follows. Media junkies are perhaps unhappier as the news remain gloomy. Media headlines regularly reflect the subterfuge of a select few. Around 500 years ago Michel De Montaigne a philosopher stated that “fame and tranquility can never be bedfellows”. Tranquility depends on the detachment from the opinion of others and if we seek fame which is glory in the eyes of others, we cannot achieve detachment.
Politicians, religious leaders, celebrities and the wealthy monopolize the media with desire for glory.
Sadly, constant seeking of fame, wealth and praise is news. This wicked agenda consumes the media narrative to which the rest of us are exposed and subjected. Consider the influence that most of us ascribe to people like President Donald Trump, the Kardashians, Jacob Zuma and Priests who rape kids. Now consider the benefits we gain from the same people versus what they cost the rest of us.
Example, 60% of known species that went extinct happened in the past 50 years. Yet, Republicans who govern the most powerful and dangerous nation on earth including Pres. Donald Trump has no problem with hunting limited wild animals. The same folk pulled out of the Paris Climate Accord as fires, storms and droughts ravage the planet on a record level.
Also the Kardashian has made no meaningful contribution to humanity yet somehow enjoy global coverage. When folk idolize “celebs” who add no real value, what can we expect in the future?
Similarly, how did Jacob Zuma a deceitful man rise to the presidency? Could voters not grasp his deceit? Zuma had 20 kids from numerous women yet millions held him worthy of leadership, why?
How stupid must the rest of us be to allow the world to be ruled by the likes of Donald Trump and Jacob Zuma and influenced by the Kardashians? What have we learnt from Buddha about misery?
Cllr Yagyah Adams
Cape Muslim Congress