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BS: Words of Wisdom
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Subject: Words of Wisdom From: Little Neophyte Date: 05 Oct 99 - 09:42 PM Two monks on a pilgrimage came to the ford of a river. There they saw a girl dressed in all her finery, obviously not knowing what to do since the river was high and she did not want to spoil her clothes. Without more ado, one of the monks took her on his back, carried her across and put her down on dry ground on the other side. Then the monks continued on their way. But the other monk after an hour started complaining. "Surely it is not right to touch a woman; it is against the commandments to have close contact with women. How could you go against the rules of monks? The monk who had carried the girl walked along silently, but finally he remarked, "I set her down by the river an hour ago, why are you still carrying her?" Irmgard Schloegl, The Wisdom of Zen Masters |
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Subject: RE: Words of Wisdom From: catspaw49 Date: 05 Oct 99 - 10:34 PM Uh, yeah....That,uh...real good Phyte........Sure thing there.....really, uh........well, that'd be about it........umhumm.......eeyeah...... Hey I did read "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" though!!! Spaw - (Could someone help me here? The temptation to throw in a 7000 word Jack Tale at this point is just unbelievable!!!) |
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Subject: RE: Words of Wisdom From: Little Neophyte Date: 05 Oct 99 - 10:48 PM Did I do something wrong Catspaw? |
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Subject: RE: Words of Wisdom From: Neil Lowe Date: 05 Oct 99 - 10:53 PM ....don't let it bother you, li'l phyte.....somethimes it takes a while for the medication to take effect. I liked your words of wisdom...stuff like that is right up my alley. Regards, Neil |
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Subject: RE: Words of Wisdom From: Jeri Date: 05 Oct 99 - 10:53 PM No, LN! You got philosophical (I liked it) and Spaw is still working on trying to say his entire name in one burp. |
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Subject: RE: Words of Wisdom From: catspaw49 Date: 05 Oct 99 - 11:02 PM LMAO....I'm really starting to love you more all the time Phyte!!! My sense of humor takes some getting used to...in my case, insults are the sincerest form of flattery! Spaw |
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Subject: RE: Words of Wisdom From: katlaughing Date: 05 Oct 99 - 11:18 PM A very beautiful and significant story, "daughter dear" and remember what I said about ole 'Spaw; his heart is on the left side, which in all our cases, is the right side, so he is of the same species and quite lovable, once you get used to that biting veneer he uses for aftershave every morning.**BG** luvya'llKat |
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Subject: RE: Words of Wisdom From: Date: 05 Oct 99 - 11:32 PM the wisdom of little neo....applies the "battle of the gargoyle"
why are you still fighting it?
NO ONE....can become a "Joy Robber" unless you permit them access to your treasure. |
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Subject: RE: Words of Wisdom From: JedMarum Date: 06 Oct 99 - 12:09 AM little neophyte - nice words, nice story, lessons we see here sometimes. Jesus made a similar response when he was taken to task for allowing his followers to pick and prepare food from a field they were passing on the Sabbath. |
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Subject: RE: Words of Wisdom From: MAG (inactive) Date: 06 Oct 99 - 05:16 PM How interesting! I just posted a version ofthe same story on Storytell for someone who was looking for stories on the futility of resentment and bitterness. |
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Subject: RE: Words of Wisdom From: annamill Date: 07 Oct 99 - 12:06 PM Catspaw, I'm in the process of reading "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" right now. In between my Clymer manual and Easyrider Electrical. What fun. I'm putting the riser and handlebars on next week(after FSGW) and then I'm going to tackle the Electrics. L'il Neo, I enjoyed the story. Love, annap |
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Subject: RE: Words of Wisdom From: Marion Date: 07 Oct 99 - 12:19 PM Another story I really like (and if anyone knows the source I'd like to know it - I think it's from a Hindu saint from this century, but I can never remember his name). A wise man went down to sit by the river and pray, when he saw a scorpion clinging to the reeds at the bank and struggling to avoid being swept away by the river. The man stretched out his hand to rescue the scorpion, and the scorpion stung him. He tried again, and the scorpion stung him again. Someone who was walking by saw this and said, "Why on earth would you want to save a scorpion? And anyway, it's just going to sting you for your efforts. That's its nature." The wise man simply said, "It's my nature to save." Marion PS To Little Neophyte - glad to have you on board; I'm a vegetarian too. Do you ever go to Vegsource? Its discussion boards (especially Biospirituality) are where I hang out when I'm not here. Marion |
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Subject: RE: Words of Wisdom From: katlaughing Date: 07 Oct 99 - 12:45 PM Hey, Marion, thanks for making that link. I am going to go check it out. This is a particularly rough time for us veggies in Wyo....hunting season. kat |
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Subject: RE: Words of Wisdom From: Little Neophyte Date: 07 Oct 99 - 05:58 PM Marion, I tend to hang out with meat eaters to strengthen my discipline. |
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Subject: RE: Words of Wisdom From: katlaughing Date: 07 Oct 99 - 06:02 PM From Lil Neo to WOS in a matter of days! My, my,.... my work must be done!!! Live long and prosper, young'un and may the force be with you, Wise Old SageWalker!**BG** |
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Subject: RE: Words of Wisdom From: Date: 07 Oct 99 - 06:16 PM I heard it said that wisdom is what you get when you're too old for it to do you any good. It's what the intelligent persons figures out as the result of having done all the wrong things. (Cheer up, wisdom isn't contageous.) |
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Subject: RE: BS: Words of Wisdom From: Amos Date: 24 Mar 07 - 08:05 PM George Carlin's views on Aging (Absolutely Brilliant ) Do you realize that the only time in our lives when we like to get old is when we're kids? If you're less than 10 years old, you're so excited about aging that you think in fractions. "How old are you?" "I'm four and a half!" You're never thirty-six and a half. You're four and a half, going on five! That's the key You get into your teens, now they can't hold you back You jump to the next number, or even a few ahead. "How old are you?" "I'm gonna be 16!" You could be 13, but hey, you're gonna be 16! And then the greatest day of your life . . you become 21. Even the words sound like a ceremony . YOU BECOME 21. YESSSS!!! But then you turn 30 Oooohh, what happened there? Makes you sound like bad milk! He TURNED; we had to throw him out. There's no fun now, you're Just a sour-dumpling. What's wrong? What's changed? You BECOME 21, you TURN 30, then you're PUSHING 40. Whoa! Put on the brakes, it's all slipping away. Before you know it, you REACH 50 and your dreams are gone. But wait!!! You MAKE it to 60. You didn't think you would! So you BECOME 21, TURN 30, PUSH 40, REACH 50 and MAKE it to 60. You've built up so much speed that you HIT 70! After that it's a day-by-day thing; you HIT Wednesday! You get into your 80s and every day is a complete cycle; you HIT lunch; you TURN 4:30; you REACH bedtime And it doesn't end there. Into the 90s, you start going backwards; "I Was JUST 92." Then a strange thing happens. If you make it over 100, you become a little kid again. "I'm 100 and a half!" May you all make it to a healthy 100 and a half!! HOW TO STAY YOUNG 1. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay "them." 2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down. 3. Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the brain idle. "An idle mind is the devil's workshop." And the devil's name is Alzheimer's. 4. Enjoy the simple things. 5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath. 6. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person, who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive. 7. Surround yourself with what you love, whether it's family, pets,keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge. 8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable,improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help. 9. Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county; to a foreign country but NOT to where the guilt is. 10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity. AND ALWAYS REMEMBER: Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. And if you don't send this to at least 8 people - who cares? But do share this with someone. We all need to live life to its fullest each day!! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Words of Wisdom From: The Fooles Troupe Date: 24 Mar 07 - 09:32 PM (Cheer up, wisdom isn't contageous.) Somebody should tell George that... |
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Subject: RE: BS: Words of Wisdom From: katlaughing Date: 25 Mar 07 - 12:22 AM Great post, Amos, thanks! Fools, sure wish someone would tell him! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Words of Wisdom From: Georgiansilver Date: 25 Mar 07 - 08:44 AM Wisdom is something that may rarely be there at the time but is great in retrospect. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Words of Wisdom From: mack/misophist Date: 25 Mar 07 - 09:32 AM One small cavil about the zen storey. In the dozens of times I've seen it, it's always been a huge puddle after a rain storm, not a river. Just thought I'd mention it. Can't have revisionism creeping in on a folk forum. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Words of Wisdom From: autolycus Date: 25 Mar 07 - 04:23 PM Funnily enough a uni lecturer told me that very story this afternoon !!! In his version,it was a river. Maturity is what you do after you've tried everything else. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Words of Wisdom From: Amos Date: 25 Mar 07 - 04:42 PM I've told that tale for years, and it was a muddy village street. Gawd only knows where it originated! A |
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Subject: RE: BS: Words of Wisdom From: Georgiansilver Date: 25 Mar 07 - 05:04 PM Just as people reach full maturity they die so we can never know what it is really like! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Words of Wisdom From: Amos Date: 25 Mar 07 - 06:06 PM Codswallop, sirrah. Maturity is not a point, and if it were a point it would occur before senility and death. A |
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Subject: RE: BS: Words of Wisdom From: autolycus Date: 28 Mar 07 - 02:59 PM A. Eh? No-one (i.e. not-I) said maturity was a point. The quote is implying it's a stage,an arena, even a steady-state. Thus I wallop back your cods,forsooth, sir. I. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Words of Wisdom From: Donuel Date: 28 Mar 07 - 03:08 PM Everyone who reads and or writes here has had their lives saved by people who have risked losing their honor, who have disobeyed orders, who have acted contrary to protocol. These are the people who refused to launch nuclear weapons as commanded. In every case the impetus for launch turned out to be non threatening scenarios like weather satillites or computer malfunctions. Pray that there will be such heros in the future willing to risk all that they were trained to be important and err on the side of caution. They are not traitors, disobedient or losers, they are he silent heros. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Words of Wisdom From: Amos Date: 28 Mar 07 - 03:09 PM AN it be not a point, sir, your proposition of its unknowability is given the lie thereby! SO wallop I both your cods. A |
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Subject: RE: BS: Words of Wisdom From: autolycus Date: 28 Mar 07 - 03:27 PM I know not of any unknowability in my aforementioned quotidien quotation, my lord, and thus your cods,codzooks,remain in your parlour unril (even until) you make your plashy meaning pikestaff-clear. verily I say for the nons that maturity is that stage wherewithall we enter unto in following the exhaustion of all other alleys,sallies,and byways,of which there is such plenitude that most ne'er achieve the headiness of such as maturity;surely vouchsafed for the truly wise amd in no wise for the prolix or the dull. Serves three. (Ah. Wrong thread) And I haven't got the supernal channel wherewith I might partake of the , for want of a better word,achievements, of our national leather (?) strikers and upenderers. Forsooth.'Sooth. 'Sooth. @sooth. And 'sooth. Little does that varlet know that I', a 'sooth-sayer. I. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Words of Wisdom From: Amos Date: 28 Mar 07 - 03:35 PM KINDNESS "It is a bit embarrassing to have been concerned with the human problem all one's life and find at the end that one has no more to offer by way of advice than 'try to be a little kinder.'" Aldous Huxley (1894-1963) British novelist |
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Subject: RE: BS: Words of Wisdom From: Bill D Date: 28 Mar 07 - 03:52 PM "Don't do too good of a job....folks will begin to expect it." Talkin' John, old carpenter (he followed his own advice) "Science, contrary to popular belief, is not a system for moving gradually from uncertainty to certainty, but instead is a way to formally challenge any prevailing theory." Paul Lutus |
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Subject: RE: BS: Words of Wisdom From: autolycus Date: 28 Mar 07 - 03:56 PM To know that you do not know is the beginning of wisdom. Socrates-baby. I. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Words of Wisdom From: GUEST,meself Date: 28 Mar 07 - 04:28 PM Didn't Dick Cheney get mocked, scorned and ridiculed for saying something like that? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Words of Wisdom From: fat B****rd Date: 28 Mar 07 - 04:35 PM The secret of a happy life is to like what you do not to do what you like. From a toilet wall in Grimsby. c. 1966 |
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Subject: RE: BS: Words of Wisdom From: GUEST,meself Date: 28 Mar 07 - 04:37 PM Does that sentence need a comma? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Words of Wisdom From: autolycus Date: 28 Mar 07 - 04:46 PM Either that or there are some pr etty subtle thinkers in Grimsby. And why not. I. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Words of Wisdom From: autolycus Date: 28 Mar 07 - 05:34 PM Dick Cheney may have been mocked,ridiculed,but he wasn't forced to drink hemlock. I |
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Subject: RE: BS: Words of Wisdom From: Mrrzy Date: 28 Mar 07 - 09:52 PM Now THAT's an idea! Pick your fights - save your energy for where it matters. The plural of anecdote is not data. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Words of Wisdom From: GUEST,meself Date: 28 Mar 07 - 10:28 PM Anecdata, then? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Words of Wisdom From: Metchosin Date: 28 Mar 07 - 10:53 PM Just heard this one today and it came at an opportune moment and while it may be familiar to others, if I had heard it before, I needed reminding..... Old Chinese Proverb We cannot prevent the birds of sadness from flying over our heads But we must keep them from building nests in our hair. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Words of Wisdom From: Donuel Date: 29 Mar 07 - 12:56 AM thanks Amos, I will |
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Subject: RE: BS: Words of Wisdom From: Georgiansilver Date: 29 Mar 07 - 02:45 AM Man who take woman to woods up big hill....him not on level. Woman who fly plane upside down...crack up. Man who eat much beans change with wind. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Words of Wisdom From: Mr Fox Date: 29 Mar 07 - 05:27 AM While chain swing, seat will be warm. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Words of Wisdom From: *daylia* Date: 29 Mar 07 - 10:47 AM "I set her down by the river an hour ago, why are you still carrying her?" Hmmm. I've heard different versions of this little story all my life. I appreciate the common sense of course (ie better to live in the present than the past), but something about it always bothered me ie There's nothing wrong with pondering/analysing one's own past behaviour and experiences, then questioning or clarifying same if need be. There's nothing wrong with asking questions, in my book! And self-examination, as well as examination of one's beliefs and traditions is not only healthy but wise. So, no offence to the Masters of Zen, but I say -- human beings have had the mental capacity for honest reflection, analysis, self-examination etc for at least a few millenia by now. So, why are you folks grumbling about it? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Words of Wisdom From: autolycus Date: 29 Mar 07 - 11:15 AM Re the original story, 1. For "why are you still carrying her?2,try substituting, "what's it to you?" and see i how that sits with you. 2. The story may be making a point about how we don't let go of old stuff,which thereby becomes a burden or hindrance,preventing us from fully engaging with the present. I. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Words of Wisdom From: GUEST,ib48 Date: 29 Mar 07 - 12:25 PM OOH ERR MR GRIMSDALE |
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Subject: RE: BS: Words of Wisdom From: GUEST,meself Date: 29 Mar 07 - 12:55 PM daylia: I think you're missing the sexual undercurrent of the story. The initial issue is not simply that the monk broke a rule, but that he put himself in a compromising situation with a woman, and may have been experiencing some un-monkly titillation in the process. The implication of the monk's response to the rebuke is that it is the OTHER monk who clearly has been unduly distracted by un-monkly thoughts. In other words, it is the other monk who is showing evidence of sexual obsession. So the story illustrates a type of hypocrisy. Jesus said the same thing in effect on more than one occasion: "Remove the beam from your own eye before complaining of the mote in the eye of another" (to paraphrase); "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone", etc. This story actually ENCOURAGES self-examination - the message is to examine your own thoughts and motivations before criticizing others. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Words of Wisdom From: *daylia* Date: 29 Mar 07 - 01:35 PM The story may be making a point about how we don't let go of old stuff,which thereby becomes a burden or hindrance,preventing us from fully engaging with the present. Yes, that's the first undercurrent I saw in the story. Also a version of mind your own business, and a rather ambiguous value judgement re shared beliefs, rules, traditions, authority etc and appropriate behaviour and choices regarding same. As to a being a statement re hypocrisy and/or sexual obsession, hmmmm -- methinks thats interesting and methanks you for your thoughts, meself. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Words of Wisdom From: Amos Date: 03 Apr 07 - 04:49 PM SOLITUDE |
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Subject: RE: BS: Words of Wisdom From: polaitaly Date: 04 Apr 07 - 04:45 PM I remember a definition of maturity that I heard somewhere and found very true: "You are an adult when you do the right thing EVEN IF mom has told you so." |
