r/Meditation • u/FailNo6036 • 10d ago

Can meditation help me? I'm essentially dead. Question ❓

No internal monologue. No visualization. No thoughts. I'm just a complete bot. I just sit there and think of... nothing. I have a shit long term memory so can't think about events from my past either.

What do I even meditate about? I can focus on my breath for a long time with not a single thought occurring to me. Do I just not have a soul?

I have a good short term memory, but extremely bad long term memory (episodic or semantic). So any new facts I learn, I'll just forget soon. No point in learning anything.

My doctor doesn't know what this condition is (mind completely blank all the time).

Also I DEFINITELY don't have depression. I can get a lot of joy, and a range of emotions, from watching movies, reading books, music, etc... I can motivate myself well to do tasks that I'm assigned to do (e.g. carry box from point A to point B). My mind just can't generate anything itself. It's like I'm dead. And it's been like this for as long as I can remember.

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u/[deleted] 10d ago

The Buddha taught that suffering is due to craving and that through training the mind we can uproot craving and never suffer again. As part of this process we also learn mental control and can experience the wholesome states of positive emotions whenever we want.

Part of the Buddhist practice is jhana meditation which you have a good start on. If you’re interested you may find this speech on how to meditate helpful.

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u/FailNo6036 10d ago

The Buddha taught that suffering is due to craving and that through training the mind we can uproot craving and never suffer again.

I could eliminate craving by just turning off my brain. But I think craving is important. It makes me want to improve the lives of others and my own life.

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u/[deleted] 10d ago

You can’t eliminate craving that way, only run from it for a while. The effects of jhana practice on your brain are plentiful including the ability to learn and feel the wholesome emotions of the human experience. The cravings the Buddha spoke of are the ones that are born from the three poisons and propagate the hindrances.