WHAT happens when a computer program is created by a programmer who makes inaccurate assumptions? The program will contain errors —bugs. It won’t function optimally, and it may even crash. Your own mental software works the same way. When your beliefs about reality are inaccurate, you will experience bugs. Occasionally you may crash. Just as a computer program runs on certain hardware, you must work within the confines of your own physical hardware. But if you are experiencing software (not hardware) crashes in your life — such as depression, hopelessness, anger, frustration, apathy, guilt, resentment, shame, or fear — it’s because your code contains bugs. It means you’ve made some inaccurate assumptions. Your “code” consists of your beliefs about reality.
If you want to run a more accurate code (and thereby experience less suffering and pain in your life), then you must develop an accurate understanding of the hardware, the operating system, and the environment in which your code will run. You need to prevent the introduction of coding errors, and whenever you notice errors (which appear as some form of suffering), you must debug them. This means you need to identify the belief that’s causing the suffering and then either delete or rewrite it.
You cannot experience suffering if your beliefs about reality are bug-free, meaning that they contain no inaccuracies. When your code is accurate (even if there isn’t very much of it), you will experience states of peace, wonder, and amazement as your normal daily existence. Your code will not only run smoothly, but it will also be elegant. One of the deepest pleasures in computer programming is the creation of an elegant code. An elegant code is both accurate and efficient in a way that transcends mere logic and begins to cross into the domain of art. It is as close to perfection as computer programs can get.
Similarly, when your beliefs about reality become elegant, you will find that the program of your life takes on an almost unfathomable smoothness. This is the manner in which jnana yoga makes it possible to transcend suffering and experience peace.
Steve Pavlina
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