Is the only option for bliss, ignorance?

[Alexandre]

I'm not saying that people who are blissful are stupid, no, people sometimes misinterpret the term ignorance, so I wanted to make sure that no one would do it.

Ignorance to me, with regard to the state of bliss, means to somehow subconsciously ignore the many inevitable sources of negativity, which always seek to impose on ones peace of mind.

(Love blinds a person? Is this true?)

Can a person be happy(blissfully happy), and still recognize the many faults and problems that exist in their surrounding environment and indeed the world?

[S. Earl Martin]

Alexandre: Short answer yes. I have many problems in my life. I deal with them on a day to day or moment by moment basis, but contentment or bliss comes from within.
I realize that becoming emotional or worrying myself won't solve the problems. I am fully aware of them and therefore am not ignorant, but I take them in a logical and methodical manner. You can see trials in life as a tragedy or a lesson. You can learn from them. Or you can let them grind you down. It is a choice.

Meditation and prayer helps me clear my mind and allows me to focus more clearly. I discribe myself as two different states that are seperate, but connected.
1. One is the DO state. This is the person who goes about my day to day activities. Doing this and that to take care of the tasks to keep my life running.
2. The other is the BE state. I am one with all that surrounds me and in harmony with all I can be in harmony with. Just being. This is the state I am in when meditating or praying. This state allows clairity and purpose.
Both are seperate, but like a coin with to different sides, they are connected.

Love can blind a person. I am a mediator and I have seen a number of times when people are having trouble in relationships it is because they over look the other persons faults and only see what they like. When trouble starts? They switch and only see the faults and forget any good the other person did.

Ignorance is lack of knowledge. You are correct it isn't a measure of over all intellect. 

[Alexandre]

Are you truly blissful?

I don't think that you are, though you might be happy, but not blissful. Perhaps you feel contentment with your life, this is not bliss.

Ignorance can probably be called lack of knowledge, but it is also a refusal to take in knowledge, thereby ignoring knowledge.

Love is the perfect example of bliss, and you made my point. Ignoring faults and all the bad parts, just seeing the good.

Can bliss be attained without ignorance?

[S. Earl Martin]

Again it would depend on how you define what bliss is? I am not in a state of bliss all the time. When I am in meditation and I achieve a state where I am not effected by anything and I am just being it is bliss, but because I have shut out any negative in my life and am just existing. In a way that could be considered "ignorant" of the negative because I have seperated myself from it.

Yes when someone first falls in love it could be considered blissful, but it also could be because of the newness of the relationship and not knowing what is to come. 

[Alexandre]

The way I see it, bliss is that single mindedness or non-mindedness, complete satisfaction in some odd way. Meditation, never tried it. My definition of ignorance does entail ignoring, and meditation seems to require a lot of ignoring.

To be honest, I didn't really think this post through, I just wanted to start up.

[S. Earl Martin]

Actually meditation is not really ignoring, but it allows you to be one with everything physical. It is more like you are not allowing negative things to effect you. It is difficult to put in words. This is actually the first time I have tried. It is something that would have to be experienced to be understood. Peace

[720iD]

There is a difference between ignoring and acceptance. acceptance will lead to peace ignorance will not.

This is why:
Ignorance see's something that is not okay and ignorance is not okay with the thing not being okay. Ignorance is okay with not looking but is not okay with the thing it cannot look at.

Acceptance see's something that is not okay and acceptance is okay with the thing not being okay. Acceptance can look at that which is not okay and be okay with it.

[S. Earl Martin]

72OiD: good answer Thank's

[Alexandre]

Now you might think that you are taking in to account all there is to take in to account, but sometimes you must account for things that go beyond means of acceptance and ignorance, this is when peace is attained, but does it in any way lead to or result in bliss?

Is bliss real, or is it a fantasy of our mind?

[sakoz]

Alexandre:  Buddha and Jesus were "big' on bliss.
"The word "Option" used to mean "choice".  Can you choose either of the alternatives you mention? Such philosophical questions can be 'fun'. I prefer more practical questions. Example;  There's many dental work and surgeries done each day. A percentage of people experience anxiety for days prior to the procedure. The question is; "What do they do to cause themselves anxiety?" Not everyone experiences anxiety prior to such procedures, but enough so that we may try to help them alleviate and even avoid such 'needless' self-inflicted emotions. Whatever they do, we all do in other contexts, not only for dental work and surgeries; so we too can avoid 'needless' emotions that don't serve any purpose but cause emotional suffering/pain.

[S. Earl Martin]

To me bliss is a state of well being. It is beyond happiness. It is not euphoria. It is not even contentment. Although it is similar. Again it would be what you personally consider bliss to be. In my case it is definitely real and it took a number of years to attain. Even now it is not always attainable because of distractions and others things that prevent me from reaching a state of serenity. So you may think what I am attaining is not bliss? I on the other hand believe it is. It is a state of everything and nothing. Where I am one with all that is and I am just me. Or even nothing at all. Peace

[Alexandre]

The very nature of your argument is as uncertain and philosophical as it can be. These matters cannot be decided in the same way as practical matters can be. I accept that you have your perspective, I'll cling to mine.

But it's true. Bliss is a word and therefore up for interpretation. To me: bliss isn't euphoria, but yes it is euphoria. Bliss is the foremost kind of happiness.

Can I choose? Well of course I can choose, by the choices I make(that makes sense, yeah, sure it does). 

[720iD]

The Guest House

This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they are a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice.
meet them at the door laughing and invite them in.

Be grateful for whatever comes.
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.

-- Jelaluddin Rumi,

[S. Earl Martin]

Just as beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Which I see as different people have different standards of what beauty is. Not that only things that are beautiful can see beauty. Which is how I have seen it interpreted before. I would think the same would be true for bliss.

The statement "ignorance is bliss" suggests a standard of what bliss is. An unawareness so it is a lack of concern rather than a state of extreme joy or something like that. So what do we consider bliss to be is the question?