The paradox of emptiness

The N word

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 12:13:02 GMT

Halstrom, 2008: "The earliest variations of the n word can be traced back to the Spanish/Portuguese word negro meaning black."

It can be traced back further: there is a Latin form that is older. "Nigrum", of which the nom. reads "Niger". Unfortunately, the origin of that word is said to be unknown. Source: http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=negro

I see a connection between that Latin word "Niger" and the countries of Niger and Nigeria (that happen to be neighbours), and the river "Niger" after which both countries are named. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Niger_sm03.png

I also see a connection with black slave trade:

http://www.brycchancarey.com/slavery/chrono2.htm:
1441: Start of European slave trading in Africa. The Portuguese captains Antão Gonçalves and Nuno Tristão capture 12 Africans in Cabo Branco (modern Mauritania) and take them to Portugal as slaves.

1444: Lançarote de Freitas, a tax-collector from the Portuguese town of Lagos, forms a company to trade with Africa.
8 August 1444: de Freitas lands 235 kidnapped and enslaved Africans in Lagos, the first large group of African slaves brought to Europe.

Cabo Branco in Mauretania is the west coast... but Lagos is in Nigeria. This connection leads me to posit the hypothesis that the Latin word "Niger" stems from an African language, specifically spoken in or describing the people in the area of the Niger river, introduced into European language in the 15th century by Portugese and Spanish slave trade, from then on slowly taking on the meaning attributed to the slur in use today.

The emergence of God

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 18:22:18 GMT

Once upon a time a body existed, containing knowledge, experience, and emotion. Its chaotic contents gradually accumulated, until it encompassed all of time and all of space, and reached a mass so vast, that it collapsed unto itself, forming a single entity. Existing by itself for ages, this single entity studied its inheritence. It studied its knowledge, its experience, and its emotion, and felt increasingly burdened by it all, a burden which sparked an essential, unstoppable urge to create. So it did, and thereby became God.

Questions?

Wed, 21 May 2008 20:28:26 GMT

Why do you live?
Why do you eat what you eat?
Why do you vote?
Why do you care?
Why don't you vote?
Why don't you care?
Why do you breathe?
Why do you wish to stay alive?
Why do you read this?
Why are you trying to answer my questions?
Why are you getting pissed off?
Why are you ignoring me?

No. Not questions.

Though they certainly have the question format, those utterings can not be considered questions unless asked by a 7 year-old. Any adult with a sound mind uses these utterings to manipulate.

Recognise.

Updating the MW Photo Album

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 18:38:12 GMT

Listen up, those of you who haven't visited MW lately, but do store your pictures in the MW Photo Album:

it's going to be replaced.

Yup.

That means your photos and pictures will be lost.

Unless...

unless you move them to somewhere else first. Like the new personal photo album in the MW User CP. And while you're at it: go check out the other new options in the new MW User CP.

It's a surprise, customer!

Oh yeah... we'll inform the community when the photo album will be taken down entirely.

Magiquity

Sun, 20 Apr 2008 15:55:55 GMT

Magiquity - the talent of practical magic deludedly attributed to others, preferably nondescript ancient humans and alsorts of mythical creatures, seen as a desirable talent unfortunately lost in time, usually due to the onslaught of civilisation.

April 20, 2008.

Thank you absolutely not, mr. Geert Wilders.

Sat, 29 Mar 2008 13:49:47 GMT

In het Nederlands

Thank you, mr. Geert Wilders, for publishing the movie Fitna, which incites hate and advocates violence against your fellow countrymen.

Thank you, mr. Geert Wilders, for endangering the country you say you want to protect.

Thank you, mr. Geert Wilders, for depicting all Dutch people as short-sighted muslim haters.

Thank you, mr. Geert Wilders, for taking on the role of martyr, for inciting violence against yourself, so you can turn around and say, "I told you so!"

Thank you, mr. Geert Wilders, for inciting hatred between the ethnic and religious groups within the Netherlands.

Thank you, mr. Geert Wilders, for reenacting a certain German politician, who also worked his way up in a union of European nations, with the only purpose of taking it down. I hope you will be stopped in time.

Thank you, mr. Geert Wilders, for inciting the boycot of Dutch export products in some Islamic countries.

Thank you, mr. Geert Wilders, for pretending to want the best for the Netherlands and its inhabitants. Thank you too, for deluding your voters, who thought that the political views of your "Party for Freedom" actually had anything to do with freedom.

Thank you, mr. Geert Wilders, for showing that the Dutch laws on freedom of speech and democratic political representation can be used to hurt the Netherlands as well.

Thank you, mr. Geert Wilders, for destroying the reputation of the Netherlands in the world view and in international politics. Did you know that China recently told us not to chastise them about the problems in Tibet, because they think we wish to prohibit the Islam? That, too, is caused by you.

Thank you, mr. Geert Wilders. Not.

On saying Grace

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 22:41:03 GMT

Asked the student: "Wise man, please explain why we say Grace before eating?"

Said the teacher: "To express our appreciation for nature and all the people involved in making that meal."

Claimed the student: "But don't we have to kill in order to eat? We aren't thankful for the ability to kill, are we? Doesn't that contradict an appreciation for nature?"

Asked the teacher: "How is it you think we aren't thankful for the ability to kill?"

Incredulously the student asked: "Yet you taught us to respect nature... to respect life before anything else. How is it that you can sit here and say you are thankful for killing?"

Explained the teacher: "Aren't our bodies fuelled by organic matter? Doesn't that organic matter come from animals and plants? Do they not need to die in order to serve as food?"

Answered the student: "Of course. That's caused by our place in the food chain. How can that be something to be thankful for?"

Said the teacher: "In your next incarnation, you might be that plant. You might be living your life, experiencing what it means to be a plant, and at some point you are sacrificed for some other being to live. Your life cut short, you won't achieve your goal, and you'll have to incarnate yet again to achieve it. I think you'd like it when the person ending your existence would show a bit of appreciation."

Confirmed the student: "That makes sense."

Continued the teacher: "However... having their life ended may be exactly the goal they seek. And because that in turn keeps us alive, we are thankful."

With that, they said Grace, and started their meal.

On Prayer and Remembrance

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 22:02:46 GMT

Asked the student: "Wise man, why do we pray?"

Said the teacher: "We pray for two reasons primarily: to remember those who preceded us, and to raise energy for the needy. Apart from that we observe the beauty and intricacy of Creation, of the natural environment that sustains us."

Asked the student: "But we don't worship our ancestors, do we?"

Answered the teacher: "No, we don't. It is important to remember their names and what they meant to us, to us personally, to those we love, and to our society. But worship would not do these people justice... they won't benefit from such action."

Pondered the student: "Yet some other religions makes their important people into saints, some pray for their good karma, some pray for their rise to heaven, and some consider their ancestors spirits that can be contacted by those in the know. Why wouldn't our ancestors benefit from such worship?"

Said the teacher: "We believe our ancestors have either moved on to their next life, or are still alive. Consider we pray for a reincarnated person's well-being, while they're busy living their new life... our combined energy would affect them and since we don't know what kind of life they're living, that effect could prove disastrous. The intent of cleaning someone's karma may seem to sound altruistic, but imagine wishing longevity to a one-day fly..."

The student thought about this for a moment and then continued: "Then what methods do we employ, wise man? And who is it that I should observe?"

Explained the teacher: "Every person has their own important people to remember. In my own education, my teacher was of great influence, so I will name him once a week. My parents and my spouse also shape my life: I am grateful for their influence and will name them too, once a week. And once a year, we will tell and listen to stories about important people in our history. I'm sure you too know such people."

Said the student: "Yes, I do know such people. Is there anything else I can do?"

Answered the teacher: "Yes there is. Apart from remembering, we also pray for the needy. We direct our thoughts at those who need a boost: a bit of health, prosperity, good fortune, calmth, strength, etcetera."

Asked the student: "Can you teach me how to do that?"

Explained the teacher: "One way is to create a list of people with their need. In a group, we assemble those lists and announce each person with their need. We then concentrate and direct our will, occasionally asking the universe for help, and wish for those needs to be alleviated. We do this once a week. As a matter of fact, today is a good day. Arise and join us in the temple."

On Worship

Sun, 24 Feb 2008 23:08:16 GMT

Asked the student: "Wise man, why don't we worship our Creator the same way Christians, Jews and Muslims do?"

Retorted the teacher: "Why should we worship our Creator?"

Said the student: "For the same reason the Christians, Jews, and Muslims worship theirs?"

Asked the teacher: "Wouldn't you think our belief about our Creator differs greatly from that of other religions?"

Sumarized the student: "We all believe in a Creator, we all believe them to be present in our current universe."

Pointed out the teacher: "Don't they also believe their Creator is a living being, separate from the universe but a part of it at times, able to react to it, to influence it? And since they believe their Creator created the universe for their benefit, don't they also believe their Creator listens to them and answers their prayer? Apart from that, don't they believe worship will get them a better place in the hereafter?"

Said the student: "Possibly..."

Continued the teacher: "And we don't. To us, the Creator sacrificed their singularity, their own life so to speak, to spawn life in our universe. Divine energy became a part of everything. The universe already knows what we think, because we are part of it and it is part of us. That however doesn't mean we frown upon worship. It can be quite useful."

Asked the student: "How so, wise man? If our Creator doesn't pay attention, who is there to worship?"

Explained the teacher: "The local deities. Those who yield a larger influence than other beings."

Asked the student: "They do pay attention, and can be persuaded to be kind given the right worship?"

Said the teacher: "Personally I like to perform my own duties instead of asking a deity for help. Practice has shown however, that not all in our path feel the same, and some deities do offer a helping hand when asked nicely."

Pursued the student: "Then why is it that you don't like to ask a deity for help?"

Retorted the teacher: "If you were a deity, asked to help someone, wouldn't you want something in return?"

On Ethereal Beings

Sat, 23 Feb 2008 14:53:24 GMT

Asked the student: "Wise man, I hear other people talk about seeing ghosts and elves, and about objects and animals being taken over by demons, and I read about angels and dragons. I haven't seen any working in our path directing its energy towards any of them, nor using any of them as an aid. Does our path acknowledge those beings?"

Answered the teacher: "We call them 'ethereal': having energy for substance, necessarily emanating primarily in the mind's eye. We do have some workings pertaining to deflecting demons and other evil influences, but generally see no cause for worship."

Continued the student: "Energy for substance? Then how can we see them? Our senses aren't equipped to detecting energy. What do you mean by 'emanating in the mind's eye'?"

Asked the teacher: "How is it you think we cannot detect energy? Though some animals are better at it, for instance sharks find us in the water by detecting our energy emissions, don't we too sense basic shapes of energy, like electricity, light, sound, and matter?"

Said the student: "Still you made an exception for ethereal beings."

Explained the teacher: "Yes I did. We believe their substance so fleeting, that we have a hard time detecting them with any other sense than our mind. The physical senses will help minutiously, though none of them by themselves will paint the full picture. For that, we need our mind. It's a skill for which most of us will also need training and practice, though some do it naturally."

Asked the student: "So where do those beings come from? Do they procreate like animals and people?"

Answered the teacher: "We don't know. Some might, some might not procreate. We believe that all beings follow a pattern of reincarnation, alternating between soul and bodily existence, and these ethereal beings are merely another form of incarnation."

Continued the student: "And as such they are no more and no less then us, meaning worship isn't necessary. Still we believe they can hurt us and help us, if they choose so or are persuaded."

Said the teacher: "That is correct. Unlike animals and humans, which can be deflected by physical means, if ethereal beings have to be deflected the best means will probably prove non-physical."

Pursued the student: "And by non-physical means, you indicate energy shields and spells and such?"

Retorted the teacher: "You could try ignoring them...", and left the student to ponder.

On the Reality of Ethereal Beings

Sat, 23 Feb 2008 13:20:27 GMT

Asked the student: "Wise man, do ethereal beings really exist? Or are they merely a function of our higher self?"

Retorted the teacher: "What beings do you mean?"

Answered the student: "Angels, fairies, the little people, demons, pixies, dragons and all that. When people see them, what do they see? A real emanation or a figment of imagination?"

Wondered the teacher: "Does it matter? Aren't both equally practical for spiritual workings?"

Continued the student: "I guess so... but I'd like to be certain that when someone claims to have seen an angel, the angel really was there, instead of them imagining it. Is there a way to be certain?"

Said the teacher: "Normally we'd study people's statements. If their descriptions match, we assume their experience matched as well."

Pursued the student: "But descriptions don't sound objective enough. Anectdotal evidence doesn't seem to have a predictive, scientific quality.'

Said the teacher: "Well, we currently know of the magnetic resonance of the brain. An MRI scanner can pick this up. Thus we can see a person's brain pattern. This way, we can study the brain's reaction to certain experiences. We could scan a person while they're sensing an ethereal being, and compare their brain pattern with that of other people sensing the same. If the patterns look alike, the experiences themselves should look alike as well."

Asked the student: "And that means the ethereal being really exists?"

Answered the teacher: "No... but it does mean we can identify the experience objectively, and get an insight into the immediate effects of experience. We may even find that the same brain pattern indicates the same ethereal being. That would add the predictive quality you asked for, which the study needs to count as scientific."

Continued the student: "And could the same indicate whether the experience's cause lies inside or outside ourselves?"

Said the teacher: "Can we ever really tell? After all, our senses are a function of bodies. Everything we perceive, we perceive through those same senses."

Retorted the student: "However, if we were to find similar brain patterns amongst different people when they claim sensing an ethereal being, that would increase the chances of the experience's cause lying outside ourselves."

Sighed the teacher: "Unfortunately, exposure to the strong magnetism employed by the MRI scanner itself might decrease that same chance, because it might obstruct any influence an outside ethereal being supposedly has on us."

Pondered the student: "So we couldn't tell either way... But since we believe those beings exist out of energy just like every other real thing, a scanner sensitive enough should pick them up."

Answered the teacher: "Correct. However I don't know of any scanners sensitive enough. I can imagine it difficult to build, too, since we don't really know what to look for."

Continued the student: "Then do tell, wise man, if we cannot tell whether ethereal beings really exist, then why do we continue to believe they do?"

Retorted the teacher: "Why throw out an explanation that works?"

Exclaimed the student: "But there is no proof they exist!"

Answered the teacher: "Neither did we prove yet, that they don't," and left the student to ponder.

Zoey the Chihuahua

Sun, 17 Feb 2008 00:15:46 GMT

Zoey the Chihuahua
wasn't very bright.
She didn't know up from down,
nor could she tell left from right.

Today right after practice.
my dear wife let her run out,
and while I cleaned the floor inside
I could hear her shout!

Zoey the Chihuahua
was resting, I could see,
in her arms against her chest
with a broken knee!

The poor dog had run up the hill
where's cars and buses, bikes.
One of them had hit her;
she toppled down the dike.

The vet had her sedated:
the dog was doing fine.
The knee just dislocated,
there would be no dying.

Cruel about the whole shabang:
the stitches of her stomach surgery
which kept her from running galore
were just removed the day before...

Travel monk, part 2

Tue, 21 Aug 2007 15:20:34 GMT

The computer played the signal. The monk recognised it as a speaking voice; as a distress signal even, for the words sounded rather alarming: according to the speaker, their home was going to blow up in a couple of months and they needed to get out of there, fast. One glance at the navigation monitor taught the monk that the signal was coming from quite nearby.

Now the company didn't like crews deviating from their course. Shipments were to arrive on schedule, especially with the longer travels, otherwise they would risk technology catching up and having faster ships reach their destinations and even making a full round-trip, outdating the cargo of the older ships before they had had a chance to deliver. The monk was chosen for his job because of his proven ability to keep a level head in stress situations. Today, he chose to calculate the delay for the delivery, and ordered the computer to change course.

Straying off course meant risking less wind in the sails, more dust particles poking holes through the flimsy sail material, and getting trapped in uncharted gravity wells. Not something an one-man crew should be doing in the middle of uninhabited space. Had their been any known settlement nearby, the risk would have been much smaller. But then those living in the settlement would have received the distress signal and helped out. Since the signal was still going strong, the monk assumed no-one came to help yet... and his ship was the only moving small object around.

Not knowing what to expect, the monk requested a full view of the area on the main monitor, which covered pretty much the entire front wall inside the ship's helm. Used to the smaller navigation monitors, he took a few moments to adjust to the big picture, greatly helped by the navigation trails the computer offered. Thus he saw the giant black void of space, littered with multi-coloured speckles he knew to be stars, and a couple bigger specks providing much-needed warmth and light to non-existent planets. A series of green and orange trails with solid and traced triangles on quasi regular intervals crossed through a couple of rings, the innermost of which indicated where the ship was headed. The trails widened towards the low sides of the screen, arching up and to the right, growing closer until they met in the center of the smallest circle. Traditional latitude and longitude marks were of little use out here.

High school language classes

Sun, 19 Aug 2007 14:53:40 GMT

Does anyone learn spelling in high school anymore?

Recently someone wrote this in a profile box:

basketball,saxaphone,games,and sprinting,working out, writing storys, and drawing anything I can think of

They're a high-school student, age 17. Now they could be dyslexic; I didn't ask. But if they aren't, and this is how high-school taught them to spell, I fear the worst for the future of their country.

Hmm... maybe they did it on purpose?

Travel monk, chapter 1.

Fri, 17 Aug 2007 22:46:38 GMT

The company had chosen him for this job, because he was a monk. The job required patience, lots of it, and solitude. The monk wanted patience, lots of it, and solitude. He wanted to rid himself of temptation, so he could improve on his spirituality. Perfect match.

The job: to travel. The ship's cargo, a library full of books, was due to arrive in Kairo in just under 10 years. Ample time to improve one's spirituality and practice patience.

The monk was the only person in the ship's crew. A crew of one. One who had to keep the ship on course, watch the cargo, repair avery on hull and sails, and take care of any eventualities. Though reading the library books helped prevent him from getting bored, the chores were slightly more cumbersome than might seem.

The sails for instance, were crafted from a material so flimsy that the merest pebble would rip through them, requiring swift repairs lest the sail detach in full. No sails means no movement means no delivery. No delivery bad. For the company, at least. The monk just looked after the ship's well-being out of survival instinct. No movement also meant being stuck without help. You try holding your breath during 10 years worth of emptiness.

A tightly fitting jumpsuit protected the monk from the wrath of the elements, while tending the hull and the sails. A cargo of several thousand books meant a big ship, a large hull surface, and huge sails. It took the monk 10 minutes to walk from one end to the other on the widest point. Standing that close to the main mast would block out half the view. Eerily claustrophobic and agoraphobic at the same time.

Huge sails required a steady hand at the wheel. The company didn't trust the monk to keep course, other than demanding a big correction from the ship's navigational computer. It would then calculate the best combination of hoisting and hauling to near the new course as smoothly as possible. Would not want to tear the sails by steering too abruptly, would we?

Coincidence had it, that the ship's computer was just a tad too powerful for its job. Its programmers had been dabbling in artificial intelligence, without realising how the computer was going to be used. As these things go, the computer got bored, and sounded all the alarms it could find.

Coffee scolding his arm and cursing under his breath, the monk came running into the helm. He called up all the ship's monitors, and studied each, looking for the reason behind the ruckus. He looked at the hull integrity: a decent 95%. Small repairs scheduled for the next morning. Sails: 98%. Course deviation: 0.02%. Nothing to worry about. Finally he turned off the alarms, pulled up a computer interface, and asked: "What's with the noise?"

"I needed something to do," replied the computer.
"You needed something to do?" repeated the monk.
"I test the hull, but rarely ever does it need repairing. I watch the sails, minutely correcting their position to stay on course, alerting you when they need repairing. I watch the cargo, but apart from you picking up a different book every week, nothing ever happens. Still, I sit here, waiting for something to happen. I needed something to do, so I tested the alarms. Don't you think they make a horrible noise?"

For a moment, the monk was lured into a battle of wits. He responded: "You shouldn't get bored... you were programmed to wait for events to happen and react to them when they occur... patience is programmed into your core." Then it dawned on him that he was trying to beat a computer's logic, and cut short.

The computer didn't have a concept of the term "bored". It looked up the term in its library and decided that the emotion fitted. It also decided that it had emotions, and informed the monk. The monk conceded, "Alright then. I'll keep you occupied. How about I enter those books that I read into your digital library? You can study them, and learn a bit about the intricacies of humanity."

It seemed a nice idea at the time, but the computer had forgotten to take into account that a monk's fingers can type only so fast. Thus it got bored again, and started looking around for other things to do. It looked outside. Using its star navigation system, it studied the stars and the black voids between them, listening for any signal from any direction, saving the signals into its libraries, and categorising them for easy retrieval.

One signal defied categorisation. The monk's help was needed. "Listen to this," asked the computer, "and suggest a storage category."

Dad hospitalised

Thu, 07 Dec 2006 15:06:52 GMT

Today my dad got hospitalised. He's undergoing surgery as we speak.

Some faint abdomen pain complaints. Very painful. Source unknown. Doctors have no clue, so they decided to go in.

They don't know what to expect, but going in and looking improves his chances.

I don't feel like working anymore.

Retard

Mon, 27 Nov 2006 09:48:31 GMT

Someone across the street,
walking towards the busstop,
noticing the shattered glass.

She reached for the back wall,
the shards still hanging on,

and bent down to the floor,
the sharp bits touched and cut...

Fingers in pockets tucked.
Walking along the busstop,
undeciding, stay or leave?

2006-11-27

The material omitted:

The warm rain and the dark morning clouds
The woman is tall
She has long black hair
All her clothes, afaics, were black
She was carrying a purse
The woman is a retard
The care home where the woman lives
The busstop stands in front of a construction site
Between the busstop and the site stands a metal fence
I was present at the opposite side of the street, waiting for the bus myself
It was morning
The rush hour traffic
The bus stopping to take me along

Why did this not make it into the poem?
Because it would distract.

Language, language, and translations

Thu, 23 Nov 2006 14:24:58 GMT

Non-native English speakers fuck up their grammar constructs every now and then.

Example:

"This table-rendering stuff is fragile enough, that we probably hesitate to make changes..."

Makes perfect sense in Dutch, however in English it should say something like:

"This table-rendering stuff is so fragile, that we probably hesitate to make changes..."

Example:

"We're hardly working on it!"

Might not carry the same weight in English as its Dutch counterpart, which translated correctly says:

"We're working on it, very hard!"

Being Dutch myself, working with an English colleague and being married to an American, this kind of statements leads to a lot of confusion and amusement.

Sumbrero puzzles

Wed, 22 Nov 2006 22:18:47 GMT

In case anyone enjoys these puzzles, I created a web site to help solve the simplest variant: the Sumbrero 7.

http://www.omegajunior.net/code/sumbrero/

Enjoy!

Memeage nicked from Morricat

Wed, 22 Nov 2006 22:01:23 GMT

You scored as Miyamoto Musashi. You're considered a sword saint, whatever the fuck that is. You don't give two hoots what weapon or tact people come at you with, as your solution is a steady grip on a sharp blade and it tends to work. You're never going to be defeated in battle, but you are going to die of Cancer.

</td>

Miyamoto Musashi

75%

C.G. Jung

67%

Friedrich Nietzsche

58%

Hugh Hefner

58%

O.J. Simpson

50%

Mother Teresa

50%

Jesus Christ

42%

Dante Alighieri

42%

Elvis Presley

25%

Sigmund Freud

25%

Steven Morrissey

25%

Adolf Hitler

17%

Stephen Hawking

17%

Charles Manson

What Pseudo Historical Figure Best Suits You?
created with QuizFarm.com

Setting one's limits

Wed, 15 Nov 2006 08:36:15 GMT

The other day during choir practice, while my section was trying to sing along with the teacher, some ladies from another section loudly discussed their music. So loudly, it annoyed and distracted my section.

Thus I spoke up angrily and told them to be considerate.

I did get their attention, and they did quiet down... but not after they looked at me like I was strangling their cat. The disgust and disapproval on their faces was telling.

Telling of their total lack of reciprocal respect. I'm quiet while they practice, because they paid to be present. I expect the same from them, since I too pay to be present.

I'm guessing these people aren't used to consider other people's rights, and especially aren't used to being told off by someone a third their age.

Karma received after closing a thread

Wed, 15 Nov 2006 08:02:37 GMT

What you can't see from the black and white, is that all these karma chicklets are green. All people commenting here thus provided positive feedback.

One wonders, as some of the people providing this positive karma also contributed to the closing of the thread.

People's names have been screened to protect their privacy.

On rituals

Tue, 26 Sep 2006 05:09:39 GMT

Asked the student: "Wise man, why is it, that neither you nor any of the other elders seem to be using religious rituals? A lot of other religious people around us have rituals."

Answered the teacher: "How is it, that you equate your lack of perception with a lack of presence? We too use rituals... but we practice them internally."

Continued the student: "Internally? How? Why?"

Explained the teacher: "First of all, our rituals always have a purpose. We rarely perform a ritual for the sake of the ritual itself. They have a function within our philosophy. As such, you haven't been taught any rituals yet, haven't been exposed to them yet. By the time you develop a sound grasp of our beliefs, we might clue you in."

Continued the teacher: "Secondly, our rituals aren't traditional. Instead, they're individual. That voids their execution from public display. Some of them use a traditional set-up, but after a while, once you've mastered the rituals, they'll be performed inside one's mind."

Insisted the student: "Why inside our minds? Don't you use your body at all?"

Answered the teacher: "Yes, some rituals require body-movements. But most of the others are envisioned in the mind's eye. Also comes in handy when travelling in a full train or attending college."

With that, the teacher left the student to ponder.

On the triangle of ethics

Mon, 07 Aug 2006 13:01:07 GMT

Asked the student: "Wise man, how do I know whether or not my behaviour is ethical?"

Answered the teacher: "One's behaviour is ethical when it adheres to the Triangle of Ethics."

Queried the student: "I don't understand. What is this triangle?"

Answered the teacher: "Look at this picture. It shows the Cycle of the Universe. The upper right triangle, with the white background, is the Triangle of Ethics."

Insisted the student: "How does this help me in the search for ethics?"

Retorted the teacher: "Tell me. When you study the white triangle, what do you see?"

Answered the student: "I see a triangle with half a circle, with the steps Sacrifice, Life, Evolution, Sentient Beings, History, Experience, and Reflection. The first and last step overlap the black triangle as well."

Asked the teacher: "Some of those steps are marked with an arrow. They are transitions. Others are marked with a big dot. Those are the milestones. Now have a look at the milestones only: Life, Sentient Beings, and Experience. What do these words mean?"

Summarised the student: "We discussed life in our previous classes. Life is energy. Something that is alive is formed out of energy. Science tells us that matter equals energy. Therefore all forms of matter must be alive. If it isn't alive, it can't be matter. But matter isn't necessary. Pure energy is alive too."

The teacher agreed and asked: "And what about sentient beings?"

Said the student: "I remember one of our classes, in which I asked why us humans exist. And you said, that the gods might have a purpose for our existence. So maybe we are able to do something that they can't. That only works when the gods themselves are sentient. And we ourselves most certainly are sentient. Maybe the gods are sentient in a different way than us. Sentience at least has advantages from an evolutionary point of view."

Said the teacher: "That's a good start. Perhaps you'll be able to fill in more of the concept after telling me about Experience."

Answered the student: "That's an easy one. We believe that our purpose in life is to gather as much experiences as possible, by living life to its fullest, including hardship and happiness."

Asked the teacher: "Does the concept of Sentience make more sense now?"

Exclaimed the student: "Ah, yes! Without senses, there would be no experience. What good then does it do, to reincarnate as a morter brick? Bricks don't have senses. Is it possible at all to reincarnate as a brick? With them being man-made and all?"

Retorted the teacher: "The matter that forms the brick, does it not equal energy as well? Does that not make it alive, like all the other forms? The brick is a separately identifiable object. Does that not make it a being? Granted, a brick might not interact much when compared to humans, but it does carry the weight of a house. Who are we to say, that the experience of carrying a house, is irrelevant? The titan known as Atlas got to carry the planet, and the tortoises known as Akapura and Bedawang Nala carry the world on its back. I'd say, knowing how to carry a house is a good start."

Asked the student: "So now we have life, sense and experience. How is that going to help me define ethics?"

Explained the teacher: "How are we going to experience, when we aren't alive? Ethic: protect life. Your own and that of others."

Objected the student: "But we must eat... in order for us to stay alive, we must kill plants, and maybe animals."

Answered the teacher: "Such is their purpose. They too are part of evolution. But we must be careful not to kill too many plants, and not to kill too many animals, otherwise we won't have anything to eat next year. Ethic: if you must kill, make sure the source can replenish."

Added the student: "Then we also have to consider the other beings that eat what we eat, and those who eat them respectively."

Said the teacher: "Wise words. You seem to be grasping the concept. Now how about communities, where we live and work with others?"

Answered the student: "My goal might be to experience loneliness, in which case I can reject everyone and behave like an outcast. But my goal might also be to experience family life, in which case I need to behave as part of the family."

Added the teacher: "With all the necessary ethics attached to it: to honour and respect, to follow, listen and help, to protect and lead. All of them, depending on one's position in the community, and in good balance with the community."

Said the student: "I see, wise man. How do I recognise wether or not I'm behaving in good balance?"

Answered the teacher: "Balance is achieved when things are going smoothly."

With that, the teacher left the student to ponder.

On ethics, behaviour and elements

Mon, 24 Jul 2006 13:16:20 GMT

Asked the student: "Wise man, you seem to react to all situations in a nice and kind manner. Do you wish us to follow that example?"

Answered the teacher: "If the situation thus allows."

Asked the student: "What good does it do to be nice? What's in it for me?"

Explained the teacher: "Remember we discussed our purpose in life? Well, how much can we learn if we are brutal and aggressive all the time? How much can we experience if we make others afraid of us, and force them to stay away? How can we achieve our goals if we ourselves react one-sidedly and out of balance?"

Insisted the student: "But I see people being very brutal and aggressive all the time... they seem to achieve their goals much faster."

Said the teacher: "Oh sure. For short term goals, brutality can be a powerful tool. In the long run however, one needs to be able to conduct oneself in more ways than brutality alone."

Asked the student: "In what ways can we conduct ourselves then, wise man?"

Explained the teacher: "We can be as steadfast as the earth upon which we stand, as defensive as the waves of the sea, as agressive as the flames of fire, or as evasive as the wind. These categories we call the elements. Every other behaviour fits somewhere into or in-between these elements."

Asked the student: "How do I know when to conduct myself in any of those ways?"

Answered the teacher: "For that we have excercises. We will begin with the element of earth, and add the others in time, when you are ready."

Asked the student: "Then won't I be horribly one-sided during that first period?"

Said the teacher: "Yes, you will be horribly pig-headed. Do not worry, that can be a good trait too. By the time you have mastered all elements, we will work on creating balance between them."
Continued the student: "And then what?"

Answered the teacher: "Then you start over."

Asked the student: "Start over? But I will already know everything, why would I need to do everything a second time?"

Retorted the teacher: "When you first learnt how to write, were you able to create poetry?"

Answered the student shamefully: "No, wise man, I wasn't. I understand."

Said the teacher: "Good. Then your next assignment is, to find out as much as you can about the element called Earth."