#corecore, Buddhist philosophy, death, and better way to live

Wow! Some title! This title was what I jotted down laying in bed at 2am. It made sense to my brain then as the most token dense way of conveying what I meant. But it probably only makes sense to me, so the rest of the tokens in this article will illuminate something beautiful that I've realized over the past few years. The coolest thing is that it'll all make sense!

#corecore: Breaking out of Level-1

For those who are chronically online like me (ahem, on TikTok), #corecore might be something you've seen. For those who haven't heard of this trend/concept/philosophical movement, I'll defer to this article:

Corecore is an aesthetic trend on TikTok that derives its name from an ironic use of the -core suffix. In the modern internet age, the -core suffix is used to describe shared ideas of culture, genres, or aesthetics and groups them all into one set category — think cottagecore or goblincore (which in turn come from the music genre hardcore, and the tendency of new hardcore-related subgenres to use -core as a suffix, as in "emo-core"). So through its name, corecore makes itself sound like the antithesis of genre itself; its content can be anything and its creators can use any type of media to convey a central premise. On the corecore page on Know Your Meme(opens in a new tab), the site states that the trend "plays on the -core suffix by making a 'core' out of the collective consciousness of all 'cores.'"

Ok, so that probably wasn't super helpful. GPT's summary isn't much better.

To me #corecore represents our collective consciousness breaking out of "level-1" -> the cycle of memes and trends. On this "level-1", a reaction to a TikTok is never more complex than: "haha/ew that's a funny/obnoxious dance/meme I love/hate this trend" or "I love/hate listening to [wannabe philosopher] talk about masculinity/climate change/VC investing". These are level-1 reactions because you are emotionally dragged with the current of whatever is being presented to you. TikTok's is inherently an activity devoid of free-will. All you can do is face the endless barrage of content and become tied to whichever emotional response the algorithm whipsaws you towards. Corecore gives me hope because it shows that even as a collective, we can break free into Level-2. This wondrous Level-2 is realm where our we separate our Level-1 emotional state from the content in front of us. We simply observe, analyze, and draw beauty from what we are experiencing. We don't get jerked around by the emotional current, we float a layer above the water, watching the patterns underneath us.

Reaching Level-2: The Buddhist conception of pain and experience

Naively, one could stop reading and think, "Wow, what a great realization these Tiktokers have made here in the year 2023!" The great thing is that this #corecore Level-2 is simply a rediscovery of fundamental truths that many smart people, in particular Buddhists, have come to realize. (By the way, I'm sure that Buddhists aren't the only ones to have come up with this beautiful realization, but this Buddhist way of thinking is the one that I'm most familiar with). The crux of the matter is this: Buddhists reach Level-2 by viewing sensation, physical and emotional, as something detached from the core of themselves.

The following article came up when I searched "buddhist conception of pain" on google, and I think it perfectly conveys the point:

Physical pain, the Buddha taught, is like being shot with one arrow. The person who does not resist physical pain feels only that arrow. However, the average person who experiences pain also adds a layer of emotional suffering. Anguishing over pain is like being shot with a second arrow.

Although we commonly experience physical pain as a single phenomenon, it is actually composed of distinct elements that include the sensation itself and an aversive element we call suffering. Not only does aversion create suffering—the second arrow—it’s increasingly clear that a person’s attitude can affect the first arrow, the pain sensations themselves.

The beauty of reaching Level-2 is that you begin to observe pain, annoyance, or boredom just as you would view a puffy cloud flying overhead. Instead of viewing pain as "AHHHHH 😖 BAD BAD 😡" just view it as: pain.

I've striven to embody this attitude towards all experiences in life, and it's been a remarkable way for me to reframe tough times, either when I'm in physical pain or when something doesn't go my way. The purest way to convey the beauty of this approach is to simply look at negative sensation through the lens of:

Isn't it genuinely incredible that I am alive and conscious to experience such an interesting sensation?

Yes, this requires some baseline level of amazement with the existence of life and consciousness, but come on, isn't life and consciousness incredible?

The fear of death and a better* way to live

This section was the hardest for me to write. For my entire life I've been extremely scared of death. And to be clear, that hasn't changed, nor have I had some psylocibin level revelation that has allowed me to cope any better. This fear manifests itself in my hypochondria, general anxiety about dangerous things, and probably some other stuff that I'm not here to self-psychologize (?) over.

Anyway, if you're in a similar boat, I've found that thinking about death through this #corecore Buddhist Level-2 lens helps. Death is never in the present moment, so who cares.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHwLSZbdGJg

On a less serious sense, try experiencing music, art, and food through this Level-2 lens. Something tastes bitter and your "Level-1" reaction is that it's "weird"? Cool — How crazy and amazing is it that you got to experience that sensation?

Music sounding a bit "odd" for your taste? How crazy and amazing is it that sound waves can interact with your brain and make you feel something?

Epilogue

#corecore gives me hope that even in our most TikTok-addicted, media frenzy, internet fueled mania, we have still managed to discover the same ideals that Buddhists sitting on misty peaceful mountain tops figured out thousands of years ago.