• Sirdar Ikbal Ali Shah. "The General Principles of Sufism". From Sufi Thought and Action. Idries Shah, ed. London: Octagon, 1990 thanx, Tiassa Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
Thanks for that tiassa. thats a big weight off my mind. :bugeye: Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
You'd think so wouldnt' you? You'd think so, wouldn't you, P_ete? But you're wrong. thanx, Tiassa Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
So...if things are not what they seem, than that phrase is not what is seems, and what it seems to be is a whole mess of stuff.....but since it seems to be a whole paradox it isn't a paradox...but it seems as if it's not a paradox because it is a paradox because it doesn't seem to be what it seems to be?! *brains splatter on walls* Darn you to heck, Tiassa! Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
Interesting, isn't it. I think that this single fact is a key issue for everyone. It is so fundamental and troubling that it is rarely discussed. I found a wonderful truth quoted the other day that demonstrates the point "Fanaticism is always a sign of repressed doubt." (Dune the Butlerian Jihad) Taken in context we all become fanatical at some point. Theistic / atheistic, objectivist / subjectivist, deterministic / Indeterministic, empiricist / rationalist, materialist /idealist, etc... That we cling to our central beliefs so fanatically belies the doubt we all have. ~Raithere
A paradox ... Is that like two doctors that have contradictory qualities. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! From the Tao Te Ching Mitchell translation 78. Nothing in the world is as soft and yielding as water. Yet for dissolving the hard and inflexible, nothing can surpass it. The soft overcomes the hard; the gentle overcomes the rigid. Everyone knows this is true, but few can put it into practice. Therefore the Master remains serene in the midst of sorrow. Evil cannot enter his heart. Because he has given up helping, he is people's greatest help. True words seem paradoxical.
No, no, no! So far none of you have a clue what you're talking about. You are WRONG. (bzzzt! Thank you for playing.) --Tiassa Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
Re: No, no, no! First Response: What you mean to say is that none of us has a clue as to what you are talking about. Second Response: Isn't that the point? Third Response: Of course things are not what they seem, things are what they are. ~Raithere P.S. I always found it odd that people expect there to be a 'correct' answer to a koan. (edited to add third response and post script)
Re: No, no, no! Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Oh yeah? Where's the runner's up prize then? I want my loser prize! Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! j/k Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! I am wrong. I am not wrong. You are not wrong. But you are wrong. Is this what you meant? Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Maybe by "things", Tiassa meant physical objects? Which would be completely correct, because things as we see them are different in everyone's eyes...
Oh well you can't win them all. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Although this might be regarded as a clueless comment and set myself up for further comment on my cluelessness, I will throw caution to the wind and state that (IMO) "A Psalm Of Life" is a great poem by Longfellow. I also enjoy the poetry of Rumi.
Various ... Raithere First question? Does the second response pertain to the first response or the assertion that things are not what they seem. If it pertains to the first point, yes, you win a prize. EvilPoet Rumi is quite compelling. BlueSoulRobot I believe such speculations can be fun. And I do not object to them. While there is, technically, no wrong answer in the grand scheme of life, I must maintain my position here that you're wrong. In General I'll go ahead and escalate it a little wit two clues: • Yes, I'm enjoying this tremendously. • I'm wondering how long before someone actually figures it out. It will happen, eventually. thanx, Tiassa Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Edit to fix tags.
Most excellent Good outlook, Walker. I shan't argue. (I am obliged, having advised other people, however, to advise you that, while I appreciate the concept and even agree with it, it is wrong in the sense that it is irrelevant.) thanx, Tiassa Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
Wow ... damn Walker Almost worth giving the grand prize for that one. Good show. thanx, Tiassa Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
Re: Various ... Actually, it was in response to your reply "So far none of you have a clue what you're talking about." ~Raithere
You're almost there, Raithere Wow, it's heating up. Two people getting close. There is an essential question to be considered as well: Why? thanx, Tiassa Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
"You cannot see the back of your own head, no matter how intently you stare into the mirror or how quickly you turn around. Even the most clear-sighted have blind spots. These places to which we ourselves are blind are often astonishingly visible to others. The sword of self-knowledge, the ability to see oneself clearly, spans the abyss of ignorance. Below its stretched length blaze the swirling fires of ego while fogs of delusion and self- deception flow from every side." -Essential Sufism "A donkey with a load of holy books is still a donkey." -Traditional (Essential Sufism)
So it should be why things are not the way they seem? ...Because we're dumb animals? .....Because we don't smoke enough weed? ........Because we are so caught up in our own little realities inside our head that should we ever come up for air our minds would explode at the idea of enlightenment? ..........Because what we see is what we get, and what we get is limited by our blindness caused by the fact that we are trapped within our own minds?
No, Tiassa sorry but you are wrong. This question need not be considered. In fact, no question needs considering for things are not what they seem. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
