đ~ A drunken leaf carried by a breeze so cool; why the hell am I such a sentimental fool?
âDeath in loveâ - Chema Gil
Im dominant not dominating. What is the difference? Respect.
Games I Like:
I should probably mention what kind of games I prefer. Its not common for me to play, but when I do, I mostly like to play Love Mode. My favourite way is to have a lot of cheesy, funny, yet at the same time incredibly hot dirty talk. If we donât have a smile etched into our faces we need to be more creative! :P
My Game Style:
Recently realised the DOM/SUB/SWITCH descriptions donât really fit me. Im pretty much vanilla. I prefer to take the lead, but not the same way as a DOM would. More in the style of how a dancer would guide their partner across the dance floor: one moment a gentle push, than in another a quick jank.
Talking:
If ya wanna just talk I am all for it! Talking to cool people is the main reason Im here. The sex thing is only a side-quest. So ask me any question! If my answer isnât helpful, at least its ganna be entertaining. đ
Also my humble opinion:
Cheesy dirty talk > trash talk
âThe Fall of Icarusâ - RenĂŠ Milot
No planned ceremonies
What is this?
I open a public game on Erofight, while I preform a tea ceremony IRL.
You can join me, say hi, listen to relaxing music,
ask your non horny questions and just let go of lifeâs angst. Just spend time with us and talk about something fun and relaxing. We constantly teach and learn new things from each other, there is no reason to be shy!
How long will it last?
Between 1-3h, but it depends on how fast my tea leafs lose flavour.
I thank you all for joining me week to week :D
Even Friedrich Nietzsche said it
âI would really allow myself to order the ranks of philosophers according to the rank of their laughter - right up to those who are capable of golden laughter.â
Lets laugh and laugh, and laugh some more :D
âPandoraâ - Chema Gil
âAncient philosophy proposed to mankind an art of living. By contrast modern philosophy appears above all as the construction of a technical jargon reserved for specialistsâ
Pierre Hadot - Philosophy as a Way of Life
âIt is the greatest good for a person to discuss virtue every day and those other things about which you hear me conversing and testing myself and others, for the unexamined life is not worth living.â
- Socrates
This all to be said, Philosophy arenât just silly words, but they are an attempt to help people live a better life. A belief that doesn't end the suffering of the mind, is just as useless as medicine that doesnât aid the bodies illnesses.
It is wise to learn, for it isnât the study of humanity, but it is the study of oneself. The greatest philosopher is one who doesn't only think, but lives in serenity.
âTo take flight every day! At least for a few moments, which may be brief, as long as it is intense. A âspiritual exerciseâ every day - either alone, or in the company of someone who also wishes to better themselves. Spiritual exercises. Step out of duration⌠try to get rid of your addictions, vanities, and the itch for talk about your own name, which sometimes burns you like a chronic disease. Avoid backbiting. Get rid of pity and hatred. Love all human beings. Become eternal by transcending yourself.â
Georges Friedmann - La Puissance et la Sagesse
âMuse Kissesâ - Oleg Shuplyak
The best way to learn anything is to search for it yourself. If you are interested in a topic, you will enjoy exploring the topics itself. I want to help out with some recourses that will make this search more simple and rewarding. I hope you all will find the same joy from these topics as have I!
One of the best and most detailed videos on the topic. You can get a good idea what all the greek philosophies were about and study the one you find most helpful/interesting:
https://youtu.be/kdkWyxMIBR0
Must read:
-The meditations of Marcus Auelius:
Marcusâ (emperor of Rome) personal âdiaryâ with the sole porpoise of being a good person and fulfilling his duties well. Even though he was the most powerful person in the world, his first concern was to be an example of being good. âIt stares you in the face. No role is so well suited to philosophy as the one you happen to be in right now.â
This book is easy to read casually and is full of profound wisdom.
-Manual of Epictetus:
A very short book (only around 14 pages), but a must read!
âIts not the misfortune that hurst the people, but there negative persecution of it.â
Its no secret that Taoism is my favourite philosophy, so I have a great deal of recommendations on this topic.
Videos:
Quick start:
https://youtu.be/tLAZvESoVgI
Introducing to the idea:
https://youtu.be/fTPxh6Sn_gI
Talking about Zhuangzi:
https://youtu.be/KumY4dthQ4k
Allan watts short lecture:
https://youtu.be/Ql4wGGTDapA
Must reads:
Tao Te Ching:
This is the core book of the philosophy. Its a short book consisting of 81 chapters, each chapter no longer than a page or 2.
(Audio book: https://youtu.be/t109UFLSQhk )
Zhuangzi:
One of my favourite books that is wise, confusing and funny all at the same time. This is the book that made me fall in love with philosophy!
(Audio book: https://youtu.be/pCQYEeHlXOY ) (Easy to read Zhuangzi inspired book: https://terebess.hu/zen/sengai.html )
Zen is simple, yet canât be understood. While I will give resources about Zen, know they will not lead you to it. It may show you the way to Zen, but it will not teach you Zen. If you want to understand Zen, than donât even bother looking at Zen. I really shouldnât give any recommendations in Zen, for you will learn just as much from a leaf of tea than of a great zen classic, however I know you wouldnât find me too helpful if I did so. (But in heart I know sharing will not help you either :p )
Allan Watts book (Zen in the arts): https://youtu.be/s9HZUZltfYE
Zen Koans: https://youtu.be/g12vq_J762A
Simple casual philosophy:
https://youtube.com/@Einzelganger
More detailed philosophy (+ a lot of Carl Jungs ideas):
https://youtube.com/@Eternalised
Religions and their philosophies:
https://youtube.com/@LetsTalkReligion
When people think I am smart, I act dumb.
When people think I am dumb, I act smart.
Now then, am I smart or am I dumb?
You could say I am smart, for I act dumb.
MaybeâŚ
You could also say I am dumb, for I act smart.
Having a good reputation is horrible,
when it exceeds who you are.
Having a bad reputation is crushing, when you are better than it.
Good-Bad
They are chains.
Having a reputation means you can be wrangled.
Having means owning.
Owning means being able to lose it.
Lose your reputation and live with the way,
Lose yourself, and achieve true virtue.
âThe Lament for Icarusâ - Herbert James Draper
âThanks be to Blessed Nature,
Who has made necessary things easy to obtain,
And made things difficult to obtain unnecessaryâ
âIt is impossible to live a pleasant life without living wisely, well and justly, and it is impossible to live wisely, well and justly without living a pleasant life.â
-Epicureanist sayings
The inside is realer than the outside,
For the inside can change the outside,
But the outside canât change the inside.
What do I mean?
Problemâs donât exist. We make them up.
Pleasures donât exist. We make them up.
When we make them up, they come into existence.
MeaningâŚ
ăă ăSuffering, Pain, Loneliness, Sorrowăăăă
ăăă Cheer, Pleasure, Excitement, Peace
ă ăăăăă Are âHome-Madeâ
Change your mindâŚ
And the world will march to the beat of your drums.
âFallen Angelâ - Andreas Birath
âIf someone put you in chains and put you in the custody of some random passerby, you would be angry. But if you give control of your mind to any random person who curses you, leaving you flustered, shouldnât you be ashamed of that?â
-Epictetus, Enchiridon, 28
âWhat goes on in other peopleâs consciousness is, as such, a matter of indifference to us; and in time we get really indifferent to it, when we come to see how superficial and futile are most peopleâs thoughts, how narrow their ideas, how mean their sentiments, how pervers their opinions, and how much error is there in all of us. When we experience what depreciation a man will speak of his fellow, when he is not obligated to fear him, or thinks that what he says will not come to his ears.
And if ever we had the opportunity to see how good-people are met with nothing but slight from others around them, we shall understand that to lay great value upon what other people say is giving them too much power.â
âSisyphus Sleepingâ - Michael Bergt
âThe Master said, He does not mind not being in office; all he minds about is whether he has qualities to entitle him to office. He does not mind failing to get recognition; he is too busy doing the things that entitle him to recognitionâ
-Confucius, The Analects
Why do we pay soo much attention to holding up a status? Holding up what others will think about us?
I say we should throw it all away! It is poison for our serenity.
Donât work towards seeming virtues, work towards being virtues!
âWaste no more time arguing what a good man should be. Be one.â
-Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
Arenât these words freeing? Donât ignore others neglect out of spite, ignore them with the goal of improvement.
âI have a huge tree which people call the Stink Tree. The trunk is swollen and gnarled, impossible to align with any level or ruler. The branches are twisted and bent, impossible to align to any T-square or carpenterâs arc. Even if it were growing right in the road, a carpenter would not give it so much as a second glance. And your words are similarly big but useless, which is why they are rejected by everyone who hears them.
You have this big tree, and you worry that itâs useless. Why not plant it in our homeland of not-even-anything, the vast wilds of open nowhere? Then you could loaf and wander there, doing lots of nothing there at its side, and take yourself a nap, far-flung and unfettered, there beneath it. It will never be cut down by ax or saw. Nothing will harm it. Since it has nothing for which it can be used, what could entrap or afflict it?â
Pay no attention when others look down at you.
All that matters is what you do.
âThe whole world could praise Song Rongzi and it wouldnât make him exert himself; the whole world could condemn him and it wouldnât make him mope. He drew a clear line between the internal and the external, and recognised the boundaries of true glory and disgrace.â
What is your true glory? Is it the applause of others? You will see that the applause is only a sound.
True disgrace? Is it when people despair you?
You know what true glory and disgrace is. Follow it, donât follow the âman-made-messâ
The quotes are from the Zhuangzi
âZhuangzi Contemplates Waterfallâ - Unknown
âSure there is darkness everywhere,
And I have seen my share,
But that is not where I live my life.
In fact, the opposite is true,
I am not wondering around, suffering in despair.
I am having fun!
I am laughing, I am joking, I am clowning around making fun of everything and everyone, Especially of myself.
Iâm an easy target to poke fun at, and Iâm good with that, because sure⌠Life is tough.
But it gets a lot easier when you are laughing at it.
So,
Despite the suffering,
In fact:
To spite the suffering,
ă ă ă To spite the hardships,
ă ă ă ă ă ă To spite the challenges,
Laugh at them all.
They canât stand it when you do,
And they all get easier.
Yes, laugh at them allâŚ
Laughter wins.â
Jocko Willink - Discipline Equals Freedom
Look at the past not to judge, but to learn.
Look at the present not to suffer, but to live.
Look at the future not to fear, but to work towards.
âOrpheus Leading Eurydice from the Underworldâ - Jean-Baptiste-Camille
âEveryone under heaven calls my way great,
And unlike anything else.
ă ă It is great only because
It is unlike anything else.
ă ă If it were like anything else
It would stretch and become thin.
I have three treasures
To maintain and conserve:
- The first is compassion.
- The second is frugality.
- The third is not presuming to be first under heaven.
Compassion leads to courage.
Frugality allows generosity.
Not presuming to be first creates a lasting instrument.
ă ă Nowdays,
People reject compassion
- But want to be brave,
Reject frugality,
- But want to be generous,
Reject humility
- And want to come first.
This is death.
Compassion:
- Attack with it and win.
- Defend with it and stand firm.
The Sage aids and protects
- Through compassion.â
Lao-Tzu - Tao Te Ching
ć°´ä¸ć 役ďźä¸ć
äşş
(ShuÎzhong lßèyÎng, yč lÝrÊn)
Glimpse in the water, a traveler.
éťçśçčéďźĺä¸ĺ¤Š
(MòrĂĄnzhe mĂĄng xiĂŠ, yòu yitiÄn)
Suddenly wearing sandals, its an other day.
-Haiku Poems
âMisunderstood Medusaâ - Alix Ge
Times I resisted becoming the degenerate Dom:IX
Times when I became the degenerate Dom (Doesn't matters if the other player asked for it, it still counts): ||
I got to keep my serenity⌠I hate it when people call me kind or nice or good. I am not kind or nice or good personâŚbut im really trying to be one. A good person is good by nature, Im someone who just is trying to be good. Why in gods name am I writing this, hidden on a porn site in a philosophical profile bio? I know no-one will read it. Why am I writing it like if there is an audience? I really am the man from the underground arenât I? I guess Dostoevsky was right, those types of papers do exist. How many other underground people must be out there? At least we can find comfort in knowing we are miserable togetherâŚ
My liver is unhealthy, so let it deteriorate more?
At least I will never stop trying⌠that must be worth something? If I do more good than bad⌠it wont make me a good person, it will only make me less shitty. Control perhaps? Keeping myself in control could work. But I seen already that a wall will crumble eventually. Then what? Ok than how about discussing virtue every day, just as I already do? If I do it for long enough won't it change my way of thinking? That has proven useful so far⌠but those undesirable elements of me remain⌠pushed deep⌠waiting until someone asks me to pull them out. Abstinence? Staying away from people who pull it out of me? Perhaps, but they may find me by accident. Ok what if I try to stay away from people who bring it out of me, and if they would find me, ill use my self control to stay away, even if it will hurt my ego. Hurt my ego? Have I really fallen this deep? My ego⌠what a fucking joke. Take it, take it all⌠fuck knows I had enough of it! And than⌠to continue discussing virtue, and to strive towards it, to think of it, to work towards it, continue my mental exercises⌠I will never become good⌠but at least I may not be⌠forget it, its been enough of your crybaby self pity⌠use your freedom to choose what to do
The unachievable goal of true virtue⌠isnât that the greatest gift we have been ever given? We can never achieve perfect virtue but the quest towards itâŚ. The North Star that will guide you through life, and yet you will never reach it⌠the greatest gift is that I will never become good⌠but I can always become a bit better
âFor the person who believes that something is by nature good or bad is constantly upset. When we donât possess the things that seem to be good, we think we are being tormented by things that are by nature bad, and we chases after the things we supposes to be good.
Then when we get there, we fall into still more torment because of the irrational and immoderate exultation, and fearing change, we do absolutely everything in order to not lose the thing that seems to us good.
But the person who takes no position as to what is by nature good or bad neither avoids nor pursues intensely, achieving serenity.â
Sexus Empiricus, Outlines of Pyrrhonism
âA long time ago, a poor farmer lost a horse, and all the neighbours came around and said:
âWell thatâs too bad.â
The farmer said: âMaybe.â
Shortly after, the horse returned bringing another horse with him, and all the neighbours came around and said,:
âWell thatâs good fortune,â
The farmer said: âMaybe.â
The next day, the farmerâs son was trying to tame the new horse and fell, breaking his leg, and all the neighbours came around and said:
âwell thatâs too bad,â
The farmer said: âMaybe.â
Shortly after, the emperor declared war on a neighbouring nation and ordered all able-bodied men to come fightâmany died or were badly injured, but the farmerâs son was unable to fight and was spared due to his injury. All the neighbours came around and said,:
âWell thatâs good fortuneâ
The farmer said: âMaybe.â â
If you suffer misfortune, how do you know it isnât, in reality, a blessing? Fortune and Misfortune arenât fix concepts, meaning only the perceiver gives them meaning. Enjoy âgood-luckâ; and if âbad-luckâ would find you remember that Luck is a coin with two sides. You can choose to see the positive of it.
Lady Luck grants fortune to anyone :p
âDiogenes and Alexanderâ - Gandolfi
Alexander: I am Alexander the great king.
Diogenes: I am Diogenes the dog.
Alexander: What have you done to be called a dog?
Diogenes: I fawn on those who give me anything, I yelp at those who refuse, and I set my teeth in rascals.
Alexander: I have heard of your wast wisdom, how can I help your cause? I grant you one wish.
Diogenes: Move a little to the right, you are blocking my sun.
Alexander: If I were not Alexander, then I should wish to be Diogenes.
Diogenes: If I were not Diogenes, then I should still wish to be Diogenes.
âDoes not a good person consider every day a festival? And a very splendid one, to be sure, if we are virtuous.
For the world is the most sacred and divine of temples, and the most fitting for the gods. We are introduced into it by birth to be a spectator: not of artificial, immobile statues, but of the perceptible images of intelligible essencesâŚ
Such as the sun, the moon, the starts, the rivers whose water always flows afresh, and the earth, which sends forth food for plants and animals alike.
A life which is a perfect revelation, and an initiation into these mysteries, should be filled with tranquillity and joy.â
Plutarch - On Tranquillity of Mind
â Buddha, Confucius and Laozi as the 'Three Vinegar Tasters'â - Unknown
Buddha, Confucius and Lao-Tzu decided to make wine. After some time, they examined their first batch and noticed it wasnât wine, but it spoiled into vinegar.
The Buddha smelled it, and shouted:
âThis smells horrible! It is misery, pain, and suffering! It is not worth drinking!â
Confucius looked at the vinegar and said:
âHow could I say something about it before I have gave it a taste?â
He dipped his finger into the vinegar and tasted it. His face tensed up and started coughing, spitting and said:
âBuddha you are right! I agree with you! Vinegar is misery, pain and suffering! Not worth tasting it no more! We must try making wine again, but this time lets do a better job!â
Lau-Tzu quietly tasted the vinegar, and his face moved into shock than delight. With a big smile he said:
âWow that is an interesting taste! It has a strong sourness to it, with an aftertaste that dominates the mind!â
Than Lau-Tzu filled his bottle with it and started going home.
The Buddha and Confucius shouted after him:
âWhy are you taking that disgusting liquid home?â
Lau-Tzu shouted back:
âIt will make a fine ingredient in my kitchen, or perhaps a useful tool to scare off the wolfs.â
Being humbleâŚ.
It isnât a virtue!
Being humble,
Is having clarity.
What do I mean?
There is no such thing as a self made man.
There is no such thing as an original thought.
How could we be self made?
Werenât we thought everything we know?
Werenât our actions influenced by the past?
You may cry: âBut I choose to work towardsâŚâ
And who thought you to value the thing you do?
Who thought you to be the person you are?
Who thought you to think the way you think?
Only fools answer themselves.
We are interconnected,
We are reflections of the information around us.
Thoughts and ideas are infectious.
Being humble isnât a virtue,
It is just seeing reality.
The bare minimum.
It is clarity.
The Great Theatre and Stadium collapsing,
People at home should only try relaxing.
â Postcard of Alligator in Top Hat and Bow Tieâ - Unknown
One bright day in a tropical swamp, a large turtle was perched on an old cypress stump, looking like a bump on a log. A frog was just about to move within the reach of the turtle, who planned to eat him. Suddenly an alligator broke the waterâs surface and gobbled up the frog.
âThat was my frog!â shouted the turtle.
The alligator grunted and said, âHow can anything be yours, turtle, if you sit around like a bump on a log and wait for things to come to you? You have to go after things in this world. After all, itâs a jungle out here.â
The turtle replied, âHow can I go after things? Iâm just a turtle.â
âSure,â said the alligator, âyouâre a turtle, but you donât have to remain a turtle. I was once a turtle just like you, but I became an alligator.â
âHow can that be?â questioned the turtle.
âWell, Iâll tell you,â said the alligator. âYou see, turtles and alligators are both reptiles. So I decided I could be any kind of reptile I wanted to be.â
âBut,â said the turtle, âthere is a difference between turtles and alligators.â
âNo, not necessarily so,â replied the alligator. âWe both have four legs, a big mouth, hard armour on our backs, claws, and a tail.â
âThatâs true,â said the turtle. âBut how did you change into an alligator?â
âIt didnât happen right away,â explained the alligator. âI had to follow a plan. First, I had to think like an alligator. Then, I began to walk like an alligator. Next, I learned to talk like an alligator. I even learned to swim like an alligator. And most of all, I learned everything an alligator should know.â
âBut,â asked the turtle, âwhat did other turtles think of this?â
âWell, at first, some of them made fun of me,â replied the alligator. âBut I didnât mind. I knew that someday Iâd be an alligator and they would be surprised. And one day it happened.â
âWhat happened?â asked the turtle.
âI began to look like an alligator. My tail began to grow longer. My big shell began to soften and stretch out from my head to my tail. My legs suddenly grew longer, and my head and brain grew bigger. And here I am today, an alligator among alligators.â
âWow!â cried the turtle. âThis is fantastic. Could I become an alligator?â
âOf course you can, if you are willing to work at it,â replied the alligator.
âOh, Iâm willing to work at it,â insisted the turtle.
âVery well,â said the alligator. And with that, the big gator swished its big tail and knocked the turtle from the cypress stump and into the water. The turtle was stunned for a moment, splashing and trying to keep its head above water.
Finally, after catching some air, the turtle cried out, âWhy did you do that?â
âNow,â said the alligator, âyou have taken the first step toward becoming what you want to be. You are no longer a bump on a log waiting for things to come to you.â
âBut what if I donât become an alligatorâwhat will happen to me?â cried the turtle.
âHey, listen here,â replied the alligator. âNot everybody can become an alligator. But who knows, you might become a very well-respected lizard! Go for it!â
âThe gatekeeper in the capital city of Sung became such an expert mourner after his father's death, and so emaciated himself with fasts and austerities, that he was promoted to high rank in order that he might serve as a model of ritual observance.
As a result of this, his imitators so deprived themselves that half of them died. The others were not promoted.
Where can I find a person who has forgotten words? They are the one I want to talk to.â
-Zhuangzi
âOcean of Bliss 3â - AwaKenToo
âThere was a man who was so disturbed by the sight of his own shadow and so displeased with his own footsteps that he determined to get rid of both. The method he hit upon was to run away from them.
So he got up and ran. But every time he put his foot down there was another step, while his shadow kept up with him without the slightest difficulty.
He attributed his failure to the fact that he was not running fast enough. So he ran faster and faster, without stopping, until he finally dropped dead.
He failed to realise that if he merely stepped into the shade, his shadow would vanish, and if he sat down and stayed still, there would be no more footsteps.â
-Zhuangzi
âHumans like to make roads and to create, that is a fact beyond dispute. But why do we have such a passionate love for destruction and chaos also?
May not be that we love chaos and destructionâŚ
because we are instinctively afraid of attaining our object and completing the edifice we are constructing?
Who knows⌠we perhaps only love that edifice from a distance, and we are by no means in love with it at close quarters; perhaps we only love building it, but we don't want to live in it⌠In fact, we are comical creatures; there seems to be a kind of jester in us allâŚâ
Dostoevsky - Notes from Underground
We seem hellbent on achieving all our worldly fantasies, vein desires and blissful dreams⌠Laser focused on the end goal⌠with no real passion besides the passion to âgrindâ and to suffer for the final reward. And when we get it⌠when we reach that thought that has been dominating our minds, from a few hours to even years⌠what is there left? A short lived chemical reward in the brain, that fades in days.
Perhaps it isn't what we truly wanted? What do you truly want? To be always happy? To live forever? To be contempt?
Follow that desire to its end⌠follow it in your mind, see where it will lead you.
Is it really what you want? A life without problems?
If there would be no problems we would loose the pleasure of complaining, or if we pride ourselves as someone who doesnât complain, we loose the reason to pride ourselves.
Arenât we humans unpredictable? If everything would be perfect, if our lives would be endless bliss⌠would we rebel against it? Wouldnât we smash it all to peaces so we have something to put together again? Putting together the puzzles is where the pleasure comes from.
Than what am I suggesting?
Learn to love what you do. How cliche you think.
Let me explain myself before laying such judgements on my scrambled mind.
When doing something you really enjoy, you get focused on it, you get completely sucked into it⌠as if hypnotised by the action⌠in a trance.
You have experienced this, there is no reason to deny it!
When learning to play an instrument, at first you have to pay close attention to what you are doing, but soon enough⌠you forget it all, and the song almost plays itself. Or when you get engulfed in your work, you look up and realise you have been doing it for hours without realising you even exist.
We can call this state of mind âflowâ, or what I prefer, âEffortless actionâ.
Effortless action is when we get into it soo deeply that we lose ourself in it, we forget our petty minds and become the action. We become the process, and our skills are elevated. A clean mind.
This is what I propose: Instead of worrying about our ego driven flimsy ideas like pride, reputation, fame, success, glory, status, etc⌠We do actions for simply doing the action.
- The action is the goal,
- The action is the reward,
- The action it self, is where the âtime well spentâ is found!
âStaĹczykâ - Jan Matejko
Neglected steep of tea you are all alone.
Neglected steep of tea where has your master gone?
Here you sit calm and patiently,
You are the symbol of true decency.
Tea as a gift from the gods,â¨
How wonderful you are?
â¨Tea as a gift from the godsâŚâ¨
Healing my helpless scars.
You bring me soo much comfort,â¨
You aided me when I have suffered.
As an elegant swallow you land in my cup,â¨
Those screeching notes you always interrupt.
Fill my shell with the purest form of bliss,â¨
As a gentle embrace of a lovers kiss.
I have a hard time trying to express them in wordsâŚ
Drinking tea⌠truly something magical.
Seeing the gloom and the sorrow of the world⌠and than after drinking this elixir it all turns to bliss.
My mind stop focusing on the negative, and start seeking the positive. Finding the positive in the most dire of situations
There is a famous Chinese poem about drinking tea called The Seven Bowls of Tea -by Lu Tong describing how it feels to drink 7 bowls of tea
To sum it up
The first bowl quenched his thirst
After the second bowl he was no longer lonely
After the third he felt enlightened and inspired to write
After the fourth he felt all negative sensations leaving his body
The fifth purified his flesh and bones
After the sixth he could almost hear the immortals calling him
The poem ends by Lu Tong writing he dosent dare to drink the seventh bowl, fearing he would grow wings and fly away, a soft wind lifting him to the sky as a celestial being.
It seems like its a poetic exaggeration⌠but it⌠tea is truly magical
âMists of Oolongâ - Omar Rayyan
âTzu-chang asked what a knight must be like if he is to be called âinfluentialâ. The Master said, That depends on what you mean by âinfluentialâ.
Tzu-chang replied saying, If employed by the state, certain to win fame, if employed by a Ruling Family, certain to win fame.
The Master said, That describes being famous, it does not describe being influential.
In order to be influential a person must be by nature straightforward and a lover if right. He must examine otherâs words and observe their expressions, and bear in mind the necessity of deferring to others. Such a one, whether employed by the State or by a Ruling Family, will certainly be âinfluentialâ.
Whereas the person who wins fame may merely have obtained, by his outward airs, a reputation for Goodness which his conduct quite belies.
Anyone who makes his claims with sufficient self-assurance is certain to win fame in a State, certain to win fame in a Familyâ
Confucius- The Analects
âI have seen the beauty of good, and the ugliness of evil, and have recognized that the wrongdoer has a nature related to my own.â
âYou donât have to turn this into something. It doesnât have to upset you. Things canât shape our decisions by themselves.â
âTo live a good life: We have the potential for it. If we learn to be indifferent to what makes no difference.â
âWhen you wake up in the morning, tell yourself: the people I deal with today will be meddling, ungrateful, arrogant, dishonest, jealous, and surly.
They are like this because they cannot tell good from evil.â
âMan is shaped not by events but the meaning he gives them.â
Marcus Aurelius - Meditations
To allow the bad to be bad without hurting youâŚ
Truly it is the most difficult thing we can do, but it is a necessity! We have a limited freedom, we didn't ask to be born, to have bad things happen to us in the past-present- or future. We have very little influence over Fate. But there is one thing we have complete control over. How do we look at it, and the freedom to choose how to respond.
I find myself writing these words again:
âGrant me the serenity to accept the things
I cannot change,
Courage to change the things I can,
And wisdom to know the difference.â
To be indifferent to things we cant change, to be skilled enough to change what we can, and be wise enough to know when to act and when to lay low.
Choose not to take it personally, choose to make a conscious effort to see it in a more positive light,
choose to not be harmed by it!
âItâs unfortunate that this has happened. No. Itâs fortunate that this has happened and Iâve remained unharmed by it.â
Marcus Aurelius - Meditations
People can take away everything from you⌠people may ruin me. Go ahead!
My food, my water, my possessions, my hobbies,
My pets, my friends, the people I love,
My eyes, my ears, my memories,
My arms, my legs, my genitalia,
My head, my skin, my flesh, my bone.
Take them all! Rob me blind!
You will never take this away from me!
You will never take away my ability to choose to stay unharmed!
âWood ducksâ - Robert Hautman
1,
Albert Einstein said there are only 2 things in the universe that are infinite.
The universeâŚ
And the human stupidity.
And there is a reasonable doubt if the universe is actually infinite.
2,
Blessed is he,
Who finds happiness
In his own foolishness.
For than he will always be Happy!
3,
Be here now,
Be somewhere else later.
Is that so complicated?
4,
Accept misfortune as a Blessing.
Do not wish for perfect health
Or a life without problems.
OtherwiseâŚ
What would you talk about?
5,
Breath inâŚ
Breath outâŚ
Breath inâŚ
Breathe outâŚ
If you forget this,
Attaining enlightenment will be
The last of your problems.
6,
The Buddha, when he was sitting under the holy tree
Made a strong resolution.
âUntil only my skin and bones remain, until my blood and flesh dry up and wither away
I will not get up from this meditation seat
Until I have attained full enlightenment!â
So we should do the same⌠but before that⌠perhaps lets drink an other cup of tea
"Mumonkan Case 14: Nanchuan's Cat" - Sengai Gibon
When monks from the eastern and western Sangha Halls began arguing over a kitten, Wellspring-South Mountain held it up and said:
âAlright, here is the deal; if someone can put Zen itself wholly into words, the kitten lives; if not, itâs dead.â
No one answered, so Master Wellspring chopped the kitten in two.
The head monk was away, but that night he returned, and Wellspring told him what happened.
The head monk took off his sandal and balanced it on his head and walked out.
Wellspring called after him:
âIf youâd been here, you would have saved the kitten!â
No-gateâs comment:
Put it wholly into words, Zen itself, right now. What on earth did the head monk mean⌠putting a straw sandal on his head like that? You here before me in this sangha: if you can conjure a hinge-phrase, youâll understand Wellspring-South Mountainâs act was hardly empty. If you cannot, you live in mortal danger.
Gathaâs comment:
If heâd been there, the old Master,
He would have turned things upside down,
Stealing the knife away, leaving
Wellspring-South begging for his life.
If you ask me what is Zen and you are a guy, I would slap your face.
If you ask me what is Zen and you are a girl, I would smack your ass.
"Destruction" - Thomas Cole
With each dot my mind stiffens, than loosens.
An anxiety shows up, just for me to cut it down.
Fear shows up, just for me to butcher it.
Are they what caused me soo much discomfort?
Let them come to me, all the unpleasantries.
Just as livestock in the slaughterhouseâŚ
They come arrogant and well fed,
Yet they leave trembling and in pieces.
Have I been terrified by mere livestock?
I was a fool werenât I?
I am a fool arenât IâŚ
Again these words eco in my mind;
They stand firm and tall above my confusion.
Just how a mountain peak cuts the clouds in half,
They cut away any sorrow:
âGrant me the serenity to accept the things
I cannot change,
Courage to change the things I can,
And wisdom to know the difference.â
Imagine you are dead.
See yourself being buried.
See your body decomposingâŚ
Now!
You are still alive.
Make sure you will be a smiling corpse.
A man started to climb a high, steep mountain when a snake asked the man to carry him along.
âBut youâre a snake,â the man said.
The snake smiled. âDonât worry. I wonât bite you.â
After days of arduous climbing, the man reached the mountain summit, whereupon the poisonous snake bit him. As he lay dying, the man cried out:
âYou said you wouldnât bite me!â
His reptilian hitchhiker looked at him and said:
âHa! You knew I was a snake when you picked me up.â
Fool me once⌠alright
Fool me twice⌠shame on you
Fool me trice⌠shame on me
âWandererâ - Caspar David Friedrichâs
âRemember that you must behave in life as at a dinner party.
Is anything brought around to you? Put out your hand and take your share with moderation.
Does it pass by you? Donât stop it.
Is it not yet come? Donât stretch your desire towards it, but wait till it reaches you.
Do this with regard to children, to a wife, to public posts, to riches, and you will eventually be a worthy partner of the feasts of the gods. And if you donât even take the things which are set before you, but are able even to reject them, then you will not only be a partner at the feasts of the gods, but also of their empire.â
-Epictetus
âIt is not the man who has too little, but the man who craves more, that is poor. â
-Seneca
âTrue happiness is to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence upon the future, not to amuse ourselves with either hopes or fears but to rest satisfied with what we have, which is sufficient, for he that is so wants nothing. The greatest blessings of mankind are within us and within our reach. A wise man is content with his lot, whatever it may be, without wishing for what he has not.â
-Seneca
âDo not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.â
-Epicurus
This all to say:
The purpose of wealth is to realise wealth isnât wealth.
What is more valuable?
Pleasure or a peaceful mind?
Desire or satisfaction?
Ambition or aspiration?
What is pleasure compared to having contentment?
Satisfaction is the absence of desire.
Ambition is wanting more.
Aspiration is wanting to be more.
Your value isnât your material, but your spiritual⌠the person who you are is your true gift to others.
What would you rather have?
A happy, peaceful and calm mind, but have little possessions
A sad, stressful and muddled mind, but have much possessions
I know I know⌠But we can use material possessions to achieve happiness! - you protest.
But hear me outâŚ
Only to a limit.
They bring pleasure⌠but not a lasting happiness.
Think about all the wonderful experiences you had⌠look around your house at all the items you once were soo excited about, and now donât even look at.
Are we really happier than people 300 years ago? We live longer, in better living conditions and during the safest area of history!
And yet⌠we seem to be more miserable than ever before.
We have done a great job at improving our physical life, but we have been neglecting our mental needsâŚ
What am I proposing?
Let go of your unnatural cravings.
If you have the opportunity to delight in pleasure, than do so. But donât chase it.
Learn to feel satisfied with what is⌠even if it isnât the best.
You can choose to live in contentment.
Will this mean you will never feel sorrow? Of course not, but this way you wonât be torturing yourself with what you donât have.
Again⌠I am a broken record⌠but these words once again come to help:
âGrant me the serenity to accept the things â¨I cannot change,
â¨Courage to change the things I can,
â¨And wisdom to know the difference.â
âThe Satisfied Winemakerâ - Celestial Images
âDonât demand that things happen as you wish, but wish that they happen as they do happen, and you will go on wellâ
Epictetus - Enchiridion, 8
Amor Fati means âLove of Fateâ and it is an important concept in Stoic philosophy. To love what happens to us and accept it as FateâŚ
To enjoy the fortune we get and to look at hardships as a maturing process.
I know the thought that may be circling your mind:
âI donât believe in Fate, I donât believe what happened, happens for a reason.â
To this argument I bring my own stance! Is believing in Fate have a noticeable upside? Does believing in it have negatives?
Lets look at an example:
Imagine yourself going in to work. Your boss tells you that this will be your last day working at the company. How should you react?
Get angry? Sad? Make a fuss? Pity yourself?
Or perhaps you should accept it as:
âThe way it should beâ
While walking home that day, you donât have to rush, you donât have to worry about waking up in time tomorrow and who knows what great opportunities this may given you?
You decide to walk to the lake to relax and reflect on what you must do⌠and as you sit on a bench, a wonderful person comes up to you and introduces themselves. You get on together soo well, that you decide to ask them out. You think:
âHehe⌠it must have been Fate for our meetingâ
Amor Fati⌠the belief that everything will turn out as they should, natural, and alright.
You may still argue with me:
âAlright this is good and all⌠but how should I believe in Fate if I donât believe in Fate?â
Gaslight yourself⌠yes, trick yourself. Make a conscious effort to see the things that happened, happen, and will happen as absolutely necessary to your life. You may look back at something horrible in your past and say:
âWhile that was hell⌠because I went through it I am the person who I am today⌠Im free.
Now, does this mean just give up everything you are doing and let Fate do as she may?
Of course not! This present moment is the most important part of your life! You should work, strive for virtue and be joyful. But when misfortune arises, accept it as a blessing in disguise.
Everyone suffers, but the people who look at pain as a necessity and a way to improve⌠they will become not only stronger in body and mind, but most importantly, they will be at peace⌠they will have Serenity
I am starting to feel like a fool writing these words almost every post but⌠they truly are the wisest words I have yet to find:
âGrant me the serenity to accept the things â¨I cannot change,
â¨Courage to change the things I can,
â¨And wisdom to know the difference.â
Life is like a bowl. It breaks constantly and you have to fix it. Sometimes things arenât even broken, we just have to change the way we treat them.
But often things do break, and we may feel overwhelmed and helpless, but know this:
Sometimes things have to fall apart, for you to be able to put them back together in a better way.
Kintsugi, the art of repair. Kintsugi literally translates to âbind with goldâ. It is a special repair technique Zen philosophers devised. When they break their ceramics, they carefully pick the pieces up, sit with them for a little bit, and then get to work, repairing it with lacquer and a luxurious golden powder. They do not try to hide the scars, for they are what bring the beauty of the repaired object. For the broken lines shine the most wonderfully, and they give the pottery its distinct beauty!
Perfection, is a great thing to strive for, but know that you will never achieve it. Try to get as close as possible, but donât waste your present moment just because you arenât there.
đThere is life in every breath, and bliss in every moment
These arenât only empty words, they hide a deep truth in themselves.
While the pain we go through feels cruel, you must remember, it is forming you into the person you will become. And so, repair your own scars with gold, wear them with pride, and shine in the golden sun-rays just as my own Gaiwan pierces my eyes with its pure glamour.
My own Gaiwan named âStefâ
There used to be a painter who everyone agreed to be incredibly greedy. He was well skilled, but he always demanded his payment upfront and argued with his costumers to get more money than they offered.
A wealthy woman hearing about the greedy painter, wanted to test the extent of his greed, and so contacted him.
When the painter asked how much he would be paid, the woman said:
âWhatever you believe your art be worth, my only demand is that you do your work in front of me, so I can watch.â
The painter agreed, and so, she paid him handsomely.
After the greedy painter finished his work, the woman said:
âWhat an awful job! Your art may be beautiful, but the way you make it is horribly dull⌠you donât smile or even have fun!â
âIf you pay double my highest rate Ill smile and have fun.â -Said the painter
The woman agreed, and the artist went back to painting, laughing, smiling and making jokes.
âYou must be the greediest man on the whole plante! You truly are the worst artist I have ever encountered! Leave my house and never return!â -Shouted the woman.
A year later, word spread of a Zen Master who has gifted all the money he ever made from painting, to his home village, which was destroyed years ago.
After the Zen Master Painter helped rebuild the village, he never picked up a paintbrush ever again.
To even have a conversation of which is better, we have to understand what is the difference between them. They seek similar, but they are completely different.
So, to explain the difference, I will use my great Friend-in-Virtueâs definition:
âHappiness is a state of mind while pleasure is a state of body.â
Which one should we chase? I say, a healthy balance of both, but a strong emphasis on happiness. Why?
Because what is needed, is easy to attain;
And what pains us is simple to bear.
You would be surprised how little we actually need⌠A good life, is something that is possible for us all. You just have to have the courage to accept the present as it is, and the willingness to follow what brings you happiness. Again, happiness and pleasure isnât the same thing. Happiness should be the main goal for us all, while pleasure should only stay as a side quest. A life of virtue is a life of satisfaction.
âJacob Wrestling with the Angelâ - Leloir
The most terrifying though, is that a happy life isnât a given thing. It is not a guarantee. So why do you hate me? I sing only the truth, so you ignore me. When I exaggerate you listen, but when I lie you believe? âWhy doesnât he love meâ I ask again and again. Do I really have to put on the crown of the fool to be seen by you? Why do you despise me? Why do you whisper sweetness in my ears, a promise of change, just to forget about me the next day. âA friend of mineâ you call me, yet you treat me the same way as a neglectful father their daughter. You truly believe you know all that makes you, you? A blind art critic, a deaf music composer, a mute singer. You are an âI seeâ said by a blind man.
If you want me to leave I will, but not without burning you to the ground. You know the saying:
âA child that is not embraced by the village will burn it down to feel its warmth.â
I am calling you, I know you hear me. Pick up and all will be forgiven. Ignore me and you will go down with that ship of yours that you call âgoodâ.
The person you are now, has already died many times. An ego death is rarely pleasant, for your ego is a living entity and doesnât wish to die.
You are constantly unrevealing by the seems like a worn out coat. However, your ego isnât unconscious about the fact. To the contrary! It knows it better than yourself. Your ego is a living entity, and it has the same survival instincts as any other being. Whenever you change an aspect of yourself, whenever you choose to start a healthy habit or to quite a destructive one; your ego sees the Reaper approaching.
The person you are now, is constantly at risk of being changed, and it will do whatever it can to keep you the same. For your ego is a living entity, and it fears death just as much, as you wish for your serenity.
It will whisper the sweetest facts in your ears, since it knows your most crushing weaknesses. If you are a shy person, it will bombard you with anxiety. If you are a creative person, it will tell you how boring the task at hand will be. Your ego is a living entity, and it will do whatever it can to stay with you for an eternity.
What is there to be done?
The solution is simple, but by no means easy⌠you have to be ferocious! You have to use the egoâs strategy against itself. Whenever you feel a block, a strong force pulling you away from what you damn well know you need to do; that is the time you must explode forward with a bombastic determination. Whatever your past self is resisting the most, is the thing that will cause its death the quickest. Use the resistance as a map, as a compass. Do what you want to do the least, and you will be reborn as the person you crave to be. Your ego is a living entity and once you finally drown it, it shall rise from the ashes as your friend, instead of someone you fight with.
A page in the Codex Seraphinianus - Luigi Serafini
Sit quietly:
The world spins while the Three Fates cut the string.
Run around:
The world stays on a loop, never advancing.
What do I mean?
When you sit quietly, dozens of critters will rush about.
Hedgehogs run across the grass,
Birds hop from branch to branch,
Bees pollinate the flowers.
Stand up to get a closer look and they vanish just as your reflection in a startled lake.
You wish to help the world?
Clear the path.
Put up a feeder.
Plant the lavender.
However, when they come:
Donât guide them across the path.
Donât stand by the feeder.
Donât harvest the lavender.
Guide them across the path and they will find a more dangerous way.
Stand by the feeder and they will never come.
Harvest the lavender and it will be of no use.
Thus I say:
Make the path accessible, but donât own it.
Provide nourishment, but donât take credit.
Plant the seeds, but donât reap the rewards.
He whose law is within himself
Walks in hiddenness.
His acts are not influenced
By approval or disapproval.
He whose law is outside himself
Directs his will to what is
Beyond his control
And seeks
To extend his power
Over objects.
He who walks in hiddenness
Has light to guide him
In all his acts.
He who seeks to extend his control
Is nothing but an operator.
While he thinks he is
Surpassing others,
Others see him merely
Straining, stretching,
To stand on tiptoe.
When he tries to extend his power
Over objects,
Those objects gain control
Of him.
He who is controlled by objects
Loses possession of his inner self:
If he no longer values himself,
How can he value others?
If he no longer values others,
He is abandoned.
He has nothing left!
There is no deadlier weapon than the will!
The sharpest sword
Is not equal to itl
There is no robber so dangerous
As Nature (Yang and Yin).
Yet it is not nature
That does the damage:
It is man's own will!
The Way of Chuang Tzu (Zhuangzi) - Thomas Merton
ËRinzai at WorkË - Sengai Gibon
Rinzai at Work [mentoring his disciples]
"A true man of non-doing,
Surely in indignation!"
Sengai has substituted Zen
master Rinzai's favorite say-
ing "the true man of no-
title" by Lao-tzu's term
"non-doing" (wu-wei). As
"non-doing" is too often
mistaken for doing no
work, or indolence, or pas-
sivity, Sengai demonstrates
here how hard Zen masters
must work, even to the
point of indignation, to
help their fellow beings
open their eyes to the pres-
ence of "the true man of
no-title" in each.
From here: https://terebess.hu/zen/sengai.html
If an expert does not have some problem to vex him,
he is unhappy!
If a philosopher's teaching is never attacked, he pines
away!
If critics have no one on whom to exercise their spite,
they are unhappy.
All such men are prisoners in the world of objects.
He who wants followers, seeks political power.
He who wants reputation, holds an office.
The strong man looks for weights to lift.
The brave man looks for an emergency in which he
can show bravery.
The swordsman wants a battle in which he can swing
his sword.
Men past their prime prefer a dignified retirement,
in which they may seem profound.
Men experienced in law seek difficult cases to extend
the application of laws.
Liturgists and musicians like festivals in which they
parade their ceremonious talents.
The benevolent, the dutiful, are always looking for
chances to display virtue.
Where would the gardener be if there were no more
weeds?
What would become of business without a market of
fools?
Where would the masses be if there were no pretext
for getting jammed together and making noise?
What would become of labor if there were no superfluous objects to be made?
The world tells you:
ËProduce! Get results! Make money! Make friends!
Make changes!
Or you will die of depair!Ë
Those who are caught in the machinery of power take no joy except in activity and change-the whirring of the machine! Whenever an occasion for action presents itself, they are compelled to act; they cannot help themselves. They are inexorably moved, like the machine of which they are a part. Prisoners in the world of objects, they have no choice but to submit to the demands of matter! They are pressed down and crushed by external forces, fashion, the market, events, public opinion. Never in a whole lifetime do they recover their right mind! The active life! What a pity!
The Way of Chuang Tzu (Zhuangzi) - Thomas Merton
When an archer is shooting for nothing
He has all his skill.
If he shoots for a brass buckle
He is already nervous.
If he shoots for a prize of gold
He goes blind
Or sees two targets
He is out of his mind!
His skill has not changed. But the prize
Divides him. He cares.
He thinks more of winning
Than of shooting
And the need to win
Drains him of power.
The Way of Chuang Tzu (Zhuangzi) - Thomas Merton
ËMoriaâ Peter Birkhäuser
The perfect person has 9 cares:
1: In seeing they are careful to see clearly.
2: In hearing they are careful to hear distinctly
3: In their looks they are careful to be kindly
4: In their manner to be respectful
5: Loyal in both their actions and words
6: In their work to be diligent
7: When in doubt they are careful to ask for information
8: When angry they have a care for the consequences
9: When they see a chance for gain, they first carefully think wether the pursuit of it would be constant with the Right Way.
-Master Kâung
Sometimes bad things happen to good people.
I donât know why. Life is not fair.
That is the reality.
Disease and accident donât care if their victim is a âgood personâ.
They have no reason, no justification,
And no mercy.
And even the best person you know can end up in the clutches of evil.
And you cannot stop it.
So. What do you do?
Are you going to get angry? Frustrated?
Are you going to lash out at people?
Who are you going to lash out at?
Are you going to start going down the
Spiral of negativity?
Are you going to let the horrible situation dictate the way you feel and the way you handle it?
Are you going to Fall over?
ăăăăăăăăăFall down?
ăăăăăăăăăăăFall apart?
Or are you going to face this issue with courage and with resolution?
I say: Lead.
Step up. Be the one who people look to.
Absorb the impact - and the negativity.
Draw fire - yes: Draw fire.
Thatâs when a member of a platoon, for tactical reasons, steps into the open to draw enemy fire.
Maybe to give another part of the team a chance to move.
Maybe to distract the enemy.
Maybe to help the platoon locate the enemy.
But thats what I say: Draw fire.
Bring the pain to me.
I can handle it when others cannot.
When bad things are happening,
I will be the one good thing, standing tall, that can be relied upon.
I will bolster those around me.
And the positive attitude will spread.
Jocko Willink - Discipline Equals Freedom
Five Six Seven Eight - Benjamin Heneberry
There are things which one must stay on guard against:
1: In youth before your blood has settled down, stay on guard against lust and pride.
2: Having reached your prime when the blood has finally hardened, stay on guard against anger and greed.
3: Having reached old age when your blood has already started decaying, stay on guard against becoming bitter.
In all stages of life, one must strive to move forward, and to improve in some way. When we say to âbe a good personâ, the moral is implied. However to be a good person, you must become good at personing, if you let me invent that word. You must improve both your moral skills, and your physical skills.
-Inspired by âThe Analectsâ - Confucius
There isnât one right answer. There isnât a one-size-fits-all. The more we learn, and the more information we surround ourselves with, the better life we can choose for ourselves. Philosophy isnât something that should be stressful! Just have fun with it.
đ~A gift isnât the item given; True value isnât something you can steal
đ~ Im on the path to the end of the world, this flower makes it all worth
đ~ There is life in every breath, bliss in every moment
đ~ A tree grows⌠so does my wonder
đ~Leafs flutter in the wind, I am drunkenly bliss
You can keep some notes on this character. You'll be the only one to be able to see this:
