Quote of The Day 1/30/13

"He who would know the secret of both worlds will find that the secret of them both is Love."

-Farid al-Din Attar

Isn't that nice?  I think it is.   Much time is spent by us humans pondering the "meaning" or "secret" of life.  Turning to science and religion and math and art; it is easy to get bogged down by details and such.  Yet, the simple undeniable truth is that love drives us forward in this life.  And humans should find comfort and solace in this fact.

Farid al-Din Attar (1145-1221) was a Persian poet and hagiographer (biographer of saints and prominent religious leaders).  His works have had a powerful and lasting influence on Sufism, which is the practice and perfection of the internal, mystical aspect of Islam.

Quote of The Day 1/28/13

"Enlightenment is for sissies.  Living ethically and morally is what really matters."

-Brad Warner

Fellow Ohio native Brad Warner is the champion of this line.  An appropriate comment from a punk rock Zen Buddhist priest, and he makes a valid point.  I would agree that living ethically and morally is what truly matters; enlightenment is more of a self absorbed journey.  Ethics and morals are the cardiovascular system of human compassion.  And without compassion we cannot teach and learn, or discover and share.  

Brad Warner (1964) is from the Akron, Ohio area; represent.  He is known for his bass guitar work in the punk rock outfit Dimentia 13, he directed Cleveland's Screaming which documents the punk scene in 1980's Cleveland and Akron areas, and he is a Soto Zen priest.  Warner runs the blog site HardcoreZen.info and can also be found on Twitter.

Quote of The Day 1/26/13

Have much and be confused.

-Tao Te Ching

Here's a nice quick one for you on this beautiful Saturday.  I hope this weekend finds you, dear reader, in great spirits.  

This passage hearkens back to a previous post a few days ago which mentions, "Toss away stuff you don't need in the end."  Said quote can be taken as sound advice while today's quote gives reason for such action.  "Have much and be confused."  Fair enough.  And I agree.  Though my practice of this featured advice could use some serious revision.  Because in reality I truly "have too much."  Too many physical objects compound the space you inhabit and can also provide unwanted distraction.  So take a moment some time, and throw some crap away.  It may do your brain some good.

The Tao Te Ching is a Chinese classic text written somewhere between the 4th and 6th centuries B.C.  Authorship is generally credited to ancient Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu (my boy!) although this subject is still debated by some scholars. 

Quote of The Day 1/24/13

"Kindness is more important than wisdom, and the recognition of this is the beginning of wisdom."

-Theodore Rubin

One reason I enjoy this quote so much is because it gives me cause to re-read it several times.  And the grand wisdom of the passage remains ultimately elusive to me despite my repetitious readings.  Apropos of the subject which Rubin is commenting on.  For if kindness is more important than wisdom, and recognizing this is potentially wise behavior, is it not true that one should avoid trying to become wise and consequentially become wise, that is if becoming wise is a desired result.  Then perhaps you have wasted too much time on becoming wise and forgotten to be kind and all is lost.  

Anyway.

Kindness and wisdom are part of the same train ride.  Only kindness is the track that the wisdom car rides upon.

Theodore Rubin (1923) is an American psychiatrist and author.  He is a former president of The American Institute for Psychoanalysis.

Quote of The Day 1/23/13

"Toss away stuff you don't need in the end,
Know what's important, and know who's your friend."
-Phish, "Theme from The Bottom"

Today's quote is from one of my very favorite music groups Phish.  Though Phish may not be generally heralded for their lyrical content, every now and then a little gem will pop through that resonates deeply, such as this one.  It is another simple creed, as I am wont to appreciate.  

"Toss away stuff you don't need in the end."  I admit, I struggle with this one.  I may not be a hoarder, but I lug around a lot of crap.  Crap that I certainly will not "need in the end".  Now, this portion of the passage is a little ambiguous;  what DO you really need in "the end"?  Surely our concepts of what we need and what "the end" is are constantly shifting in each individual's perception.  So my take on this is that one should merely be cognizant of what necessities are required per any immediate situation.  And, "Know what's important, and know who's your friend," is a pretty obvious little nugget of advice.  Simple but true.  Just what I like.  Though my writing may not suggest such a philosophy with its meandering over-analysis.

Phish.  Well, I would give you a little synopsis on them but I have already begun to do that with my other blog Late To The Party.  So at this point I would like to direct you to another forum for my amateur ramblings.

Late To The Party