“A fish can’t whistle and neither can I.†Coming from a wise mind, such a statement might mean, “I have certain limitations, and I know what they are.†There can be lots of things wrong with blindly trying to do what you aren’t designed for. Fish don’t live in trees, and birds don’t spend too much time underwater if they can help it.
Once you face and understand your limitations, you can work with them instead of having them work against you and get in your way, which is what they do when you ignore them, whether you realize it or not. And then you will find that, in many cases, your limitations can be your strengths.
Hi tentative. I will start with “Is there a void?” In my view of life there is; but I see it as a fact of life rather than a philosophical concept. I think I discribed the void very well in a post at the bottom of page one. One of your posts is immediately before it and your next one is on page 3 so if you are someone that usually jumps in at the last post you will have missed mine. If you did miss it, reading it now will help you to see how close I believe we are to discovering we are on common ground.
I believe our misunderstanding of the void is only one of connotation. To philosophers, “void” evokes visions of a cave, a black hole, an abyss, an everlasting emptiness, utter meaningless and so on. To a simple carpenter the void is just a missing fact. We ask the last why and we find there is no verbal answer now, nor has there ever been one, nor will there ever be one. In moments of extreme optimism I see the void as an ingeneous divine motivating device. Is there a simpler or more effective way of motivating us to reach out to the limits of our mental capacities than leaving out the reason why?
Our problem is that one of the ways we continue to react to this missing fact, the void, is the way we react to all other missing facts. We create a theory that we attempt to force into the void and then try to live accordingly. Not only can these theories not fill the void, they are variously restrictive and generate a measure of conflict.
The solution I suggest is to be ourselves because we are “perfectly fine just the the way (we) are”. We just need to reach out to the limits of our capacities, to others and to God. If we engage in this natural activity we may, as I said in my previous post, experience why. Or as you said we may discover “(we) are, (or being is) the reason why”.
If you read my post at the bottom of page one you will know I discribed the void as a white emptiness. As I tried to explain to Sara in a past post, if she wants to imagine flowers, grasses, butterflies and life in general appearing around my rose as she reaches out to the limits of her capacities, to others and to God, that is alright with me. I tend to keep my images as simple as possible.
[i]When alive, the body is supple, yielding.
In death, the body becomes hard, unyielding.
Living plants are flexible,
In death, they become dry and brittle.
Therefore, stubborn people are disciples of death, but Flexible people are disciples of life.
In the same way,
Inflexible soldiers cannot win (a victory).
And the hardest trees are readiest for an axe to chop them down
Tough guys sink to the bottom, while Flexible people rise to the top.[/i]
I wasn’t overly concerned about your understanding, it was plain to see. I have been a bit sensitive about the connotations given words of late, and even though it’s all semantics, void too easily evokes ‘nothingness’, as in nothing. Very few are capable of seeing the potentiality within that word. Does the word mu fit here?
Oh… Mu ---->Shooo. hmmm. I was going to write about the void too because what is more awful than nothingness - AND - what is more peaceful than nothingness.
Death. Horrible? Or Nirvana.
Quiet. Lonely? Or gloriously relaxing.
Empty mind. Ignorant? Or are you simply meditating.
I am not sure what you mean by the VOID. Funny that that word also means to excrete bodily wastes. An uncomfortable thought, but if we held all that in even for a day if might be a scary or explosive thought. I am all about voiding in every sense of the above. My attitude? I could be dead by this afternoon - I might as well see the VOID as the one half full… or is that the glass half full? Or, I am sorry… was that the MU?
Thanks a lot tent… I am off to google AGAIN. Just keeping up around here is a damn chore
Hi tentative, I have been sensitive to the connotations of words all my life. I probably began developing that sensitivity while still in the womb as my mother sat in church. While living with her for the last five years I have discovered my mother never understood what they were saying either. Years ago I came to the conclusion that the less we know about life the more complicated the language we use to describe it. That’s what started me off. I was trained to teach but I decided I would not begin until I could describe what’s happening in the simplest words possible to a student who asked me “why?” I think “void” and “spirit” are the only two words in my ‘language’ that risk creating flights in all directions. However, they are common words and I define them precisely so with restraint, they work.
I am sorry, I am not familiar with the word “mu”. You will have to explain.
Hmm, Apologies. I went Zen on you. Rather than attempting to explain and appear as some sort of knowing expert, I’ll suggest looking at: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W%C3%BA_(negative
One of my favorite stories is about a Zen master explaining that life is without purpose. His explanation was, “We don’t say at 9:00PM I dropped fart, it just happens.”
“(The Tao) produces (all things) and nourishes them; it produces
them and does not claim them as its own; it does all, and yet does not
boast of it; it presides over all, and yet does not control them.
This is what is called ‘The mysterious Quality’ (of the Tao).”
Tao te Ching
May I ask you a question? If Tao isn’t a religion how can we discuss it without sounding like it IS one. Can one be a Taoist and a Catholic (for example?) Tao is said “to produce all things and nourish all things” - now that could sound like blasphemy to a practicing Jew or Christian considering God made the heaven and the earth - at least in my memory of Genesis. So do Taoists believe in God? Tao presides over all - that sounds like a GOD to me with just a different face. And - LA - is this what you meant by the mystery?
Are Taoists also atheists? Or am I taking this too literally? Do Taoists believe in reincarnation? In a heaven? In any afterlife?
I plan on being on step 18 1/2 by the end of this page.
Tao is that which cannot be named. Lao Tse called it Tao. (The Holy Bible calls it the Word)
Taosim is the religion of those seeking to attaing Tao through observing Tao in nature. There are many lineages and methods within Taoism, I suppose like the different denominations in Christianity or the different lineages in Buddhism.
Taoism might talk of the verse;
Ever desiring one can see the manifestations
Ever desireless one can see the mystery
Much like Christianity’s teaching of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. The tree of knowledge of good and evil represent the manifestations. God forbid Adam and Eve to eat of the fruit, in essence because if we follow our desire we will gain knowledge of good and evil (duality - manifestations) and if we restrain ourselves from our desire we will know eternal life (the Mystery).
Tao is not the religion and neither is the Word. Taoism has become the religion just as Christianity has etc…
hmmm. I was going to write about the void too because what is more awful than nothingness - AND - what is more peaceful than nothingness.
Years ago I came to the conclusion that the less we know about life the more complicated the language we use to describe it. That’s what started me off. I was trained to teach but I decided I would not begin until I could describe what’s happening in the simplest words possible to a student who asked me “why?” I think “void” and “spirit” are the only two words in my ‘language’ that risk creating flights in all directions. However, they are common words and I define them precisely so with restraint, they work.
