My Little Book of Philosophy

I (attempt to) refrain from pushing any philosophical beliefs on to people who do not ask. However, I believe if anyone has cared enough to visit this link they may be interested. Below is a very short and unedited manuscript of my thoughts.

It is important to not ignore the subconscious for so long that it becomes entirely too painful to listen to. The purpose of a lie is usually that if I can convince others to believe me, then the lie in some sense becomes truth and I can finally convince myself to believe it. However, those who believe it believe it because they do not care whether it is true or not. The few people whose opinion one should care about will see right through the lie and lose all respect for the liar. The words of a philosopher are rather unimportant, they only serve as a rough map into his mind. The words that a philosopher writes are often at a lower level of abstraction than his thoughts. Once this is understood, one realizes the importance in studying the philosophers themselves rather than another person's interpretation of their words. Everyone experiences Zen, all the time. It truly is the ‘everyday mind’, acting without thinking, yet the moment one becomes aware of their Zen state they lose it. This represents the ultimate challenge – letting the mind work like the rest of the body so that the conscious and subconscious become indistinguishable. In this state no thinking is done, so thoughts arise. On the contrary, when devoid of good thoughts, one may sit down to think. Speaking of the Tao, Lao Tzu said this: “I do not know its name; I call it Tao If forced to give it a name, I shall call it Great” I too do not know what to call it, but I will explain it as this: When faced with certain death, perhaps alone on a sinking ship in far waters, many would scream and panic, but the man of it (the Tao) is calm. To be clear, it is not that he pretends not to fear in the name of courage or for the sake of others, nor is he a hero. In the moment of certain death, he makes no attempt at action. That is because he has long ago accepted that he will depart from this earth and has since been ready for his final day. It is with this mind that a man walks through life knowing the greatness of it and accepts misfortune with a contented heart. The ego always finds a way to control, even if it means letting one think he is in control. Philosophical beauty lies in what can not be accomplished through brute force. Show respect to the abused and their goodness will be revealed for the wicked to see. Show respect to the wicked and their goodness will be revealed for themselves to see. Limiting oneself to weakness takes more strength than attempting to conquer the world. Thus, weak men seek strength and power, While strong men seek nothing. Lao Tzu said: “Do you want to improve the world? I do not think it can be done” The laws of physics tell us that each action is balanced by an opposite reaction. Thus, it is that Lao Tzu is correct. So, materials may be moved and reshaped, but nothing is added nor subtracted. Can this be true of a human action? The man of Tao certainly believes so. The Tao is like a line representing a natural path. When we stray from the natural path The Tao is lost Forcing one’s way off the path In attempt to seek more One will be returned to the path When he finds less When a good person makes enemies He takes on the form of his enemy