Even more

C

The Master replied.

"You have learned much. But also learn this. You think your uncle a fool and I a master. There are those who would say that your uncle was a great man. There are those who would say that I was a fool. How do you decide who you believe is the master, and who is the fool?

"The preacher who speaks of virtuous life, so lofty even he cannot attain it, is no different from your uncle, who taught you to live as a fool even when his words were wise. These men may try to teach a lesson, but they do so without knowing what the true lesson learned will be.

"But a master's mind and body agree on what to teach. And so there truly need not be a lesson, because no words from a master's mouth make a bit of difference in the real lesson the student learns. They may happen to support the lesson, but they are never required."

And with that, the student became enlightened.

A poem

i guess i kinda like Sarah Palin

an absurd, moronic, raving mad woman
held the world at her feet

she may have been wrong, but she climbed and soared nonetheless

respect is due to those who damn the odds and do what they think is right

no matter how idiotically dumb it is

More story

B

The student returns in a few months.

"Master, I have meditated on your words. Yet I still am unsure what I have learned. Until I approached you, my only teacher was my uncle."

"Tell me of your uncle."

"My uncle was a fool. He told me to respect the ladies, but he was a selfish womanizer. He told me to eat healthy food, but he was a glutton himself. He told me to kill animals only for food, but he regaled in killing for sport and throwing the meat in the rubbish. And all I have learned from him, I learned not from his words and only from his lifestyle and behavior."

"So, then, if a fool can teach you so well, then a wise man, who when merely drawing in the sand is mindful of how he expresses his own essential truth, shall truly teach you well. And so you must understand that mind follows body, and body follows mind. What you commit in action is what is real in your heart. If you wish to change your heart, develop your body; if you wish to become stronger, develop your mind."

"Master, then I have learned that there need be no lesson. The teaching done by a teacher is unrelated to the words of the teacher, when the words are not supported by the lifestyle and actions of the teacher. All one must do is observe the actions of a fool to understand how to be a fool, and to observe the actions of a master to understand how to be a master."

A story

A

A young man who was searching for meaning heard of a great Master. He approached the master in public and asked if he could become a student.

The master asked, "Can you meet me at my home at noon tomorrow?" They agreed, and went apart to their business.

At noon the next day the young man found the master in his sand garden. "Master, I have come as you invited, and I am ready for my lesson."

The master looked up and smiled. "Here, sit with me and draw in the sand." And he handed him a stick to draw with.

For a few minutes the student drew in the sand with the master, but in a while he was perplexed. He asked, "Master, how much longer until the lesson?"

The master smiled, dropped his stick, and told the student, "Your lesson has ended for today. Come back when you are ready, and tell me what you have learned."

To be continued...

Not About Atheism For Once.

Ok, I have been away. I have some ideas but as of yet not time to complete. So here's a quickie from me.
We need a few laws passed.
First, beef jerky is really unhealthy, and I am sure the AMA and the ADA would agree, so we outlaw it and the animal we get it from, despite its alternative value.
Also, we make up an irrational argument based on nonsensical bullshit that partnering to raise young has to, HAS TO, be these parts and those parts, and never two of the same, and we arbitrarily demand that of one another.
Despite my least hopes for humanity, I cannot believe any mind is seriously thoughtless and bland enough to embrace this utter travesty. Sadly, here I am not just wrong, but an epic failure.
I really want you to leave a comment. Just say "hi" or "pick up milk" or something. I want to know who reads and maybe why. So you can tell me that too.
Thanks. Real content en route.

The Enigma Of Perception

I'm going to set aside my godless ramblings this time and explore how we see the world around us. We don't think about this enough, but it is maybe the most important thing we can understand.

When we enlarge a photo on a computer we don't get a more detailed view. The image turns grainy at some point. I can shoot houses way off in the distance, and no matter how large I blow it up I will not see what is on the TV through a window. And in the dark room the result is the same, the image fuzzes out and there is a point at which no further detail can be ascertained.

This is an apt paradigm for our senses. Although reality seems smooth, it is actually pretty grainy. As a result, as we examine a thing, we are able to reach a limit at which point we cannot look any closer and see further meaning into the concept. Perhaps it is just too complicated for our minds to contain; perhaps our eyes or ears, aided by the best technology we have, cannot detect any more data from the background noise.

So is this a chicken-and-egg game, or a Russian Doll phenomenon? Is there an essential bottom layer of knowledge that simply lies beyond our perception, or if we had infinite perception would we find that the degree of detail we can tune in to is also infinite?

Either option is mind-blowing, actually. But the two systems imply vastly different sets of game rules.

If reality is finite, if we can arrive at a place where we can shout "Eureka" and show that there is no further to go, that we have broken things down to the point where they are no longer able to be broken down, then science will come to an end, being replaced by engineering based upon these essential rules of life, the universe and everything.

If reality is infinite, if we can never reach that point, then we can never really know anything 100%. Our understanding will always be hobbled by our inability to see more clearly. We will forever rely on estimates, guesses and our gut instincts to accomplish anything.

If we accept that quantum science shows us that the mental and physical realms are interconnected and indistinguishable, the latter argument holds sway. And it's very interesting, and perhaps ironic, that our millenia of scientific pursuit results in the suggestion that science is on an endless journey, and there can be no ETA because there is no place to arrive at.

To me, this stunning understanding is far more awesome than the idea that a watchmaker built this reality. To others, it seems to perfectly explains just why their super-physical deity is so cagey in our reality.

Either way, it makes one fact entirely clear. The quest for information, knowledge or enlightenment cannot be achieved with an expectation that you will ever be finished. As much as we try to apply laws and codes to reality, it is all merely a simple convention to organize chaos, to find a path of apparent sense through all the madness.

In other words, you can't get there from here. But you are journeying anyhow, so pick a route that takes you through interesting territory. The trip is not a waste of time just because we won't reach a final destination.

Filler

Had some things to attend to over the last week so have not updated. Sorry. I will soon. Rest up till then.