Some Wisdom

[Abbe Osram]

"Where shall I find a worthy master when I get back to my country?"
"There isn´t a single moment when you are without one."
The disciple was confused.
"Simply watching your reaction to everything-a bird, a leaf, a tear, a smile-
makes everything your master."
------------------------------


The master told of the time he spotted a boy fishing in the river.
"Hello! Nice day for fishing!" he said to the boy.
"Yes," came the reply.
After a while the Master said, "Why aren´t you in school today?"
"Well, sir, like you said, it´s a nice day for fishing."
----------------------------------


Then the master told of a man who was hired by a researcher,
taken to a backyard, and given an axe.
"Do you see that log lying there? Well, I want you to go through the motions
of chopping it - only you must use the reverse side of the axe, not the blade.
You´ll get a hundred dollars an hour for that."
The man thought the researcher was crazy, but the pay seemed excellent, so he started to work.
Two hours later he told the researcher that he was quitting.
"What´s the matter? Don´t you like the pay you´re getting? I´ll double your
wages!"
"No, thank you," said the man. "The pay is fine. But when I chop wood, I´ve got to see the chips fly!"
-----------------------------------------


A disciple once asked the Master how he could enter the Path.
"Do you hear the murmur of that stream as it passes by the monastry?"
"Yes."
"That is an excellent way to enter the Path."
----------------------------------------

The disciples were sitting on the bank of a river.
"If I fall off this bank, will I drown?" one of them asked.
"No," said the Master. "It isn´t falling in that causes you to drown, it´s staying in."


from the book Awakening by Anthony de Mello

have fun
cheers
Abbe

 

[stovie]

The master told of the time he spotted a boy fishing in the river.
"Hello! Nice day for fishing!" he said to the boy.
"Yes," came the reply.
After a while the Master said, "Why aren´t you in school today?"
"Well, sir, like you said, it´s a nice day for fishing."
---------------------------------
from the book Awakening by Anthony de Mello

have fun
cheers
Abbe

That appeals to my philosophy on work....

 

[BobFromHolland]

thanks abbe,

That's nice friday evening inspiration.

I never seemed to get beyond the 'you can shake whatever much you like, but the last drop will always hit your pants' kinda stuff.

Have a nice weekend!
Bob

 

[Celt_Ginger]

Wise words indeed. thanks for sharing them with us, Ohh, and have a happy st Patricks day.

 

[Abbe Osram]

To illustrate his oft - repeated axiom, "You see things as you are, not as they are," the Master would tell of an eighty-one-year-old friend who came to the monastery all wet and muddy.

"It´s that creek a mile away from here," he said. "I used to be able to jump right across in the old days. But nowadays I always land in the middle. I just hadn´t noticed that the creek has been getting wider."

To which the Master himself added, "Nowadays I realize, each time I bend, that the ground is farther away than it used to be when I was young."

from Anthony de Mello in "Awakening"

 

[mark a.]

I must be missing the point here. Why are these "words of wisdom", and not just fairly meangless twaddle?

 

[Abbe Osram]

I must be missing the point here. Why are these "words of wisdom", and not just fairly meangless twaddle?

"There is one thing that even God cannot do," said the Master to a disciple who feared to give offense.

"What?"

"He cannot please everyone," said the Master.

// Abbe

 

[Seagull]

Ceeg

 

[KIMBOKO]

I must be missing the point here. Why are these "words of wisdom", and not just fairly meangless twaddle?

Because as you say "you have missed the point".

 

[mark a.]

Perhaps someone could explain it, then. I'm not aiming to be pleased, I'm just aiming to understand what Anthony de Mello is trying to achieve.

 

[Abbe Osram]

He wants nothing! Its more what you take out of it!
cheers
Abbe

 

[mark a.]

I give up...

 

[Hawkeye The Noo]

I give up...

These sayings are a recent invention, they are a cocktail of Buddhism BCE 500 and western Existentialism, last century. They sound good but are about as definite in meaning as a tabloid horoscope, you can take out of it what you want. The aim of existentialism is diffusion of the absolute. Most people today live by this philosophy and do not know its roots or symptoms. For example when talking about religion or politics it is politically correct to say what you believe is up to you, it is important to find your own path; but is this correct or even logical. you are saying in one way or another; my law is there is no law, or my truth is there is no truth. The result is you leave people doggy paddling grasping for absolutes. Lore wisdom and story telling are an invaluable part of bushcraft. I prefer it when there is a truth to be learned like in the didactic poetry that was on the forum earlier about fire burning properties. However just because all that is passed off as lore or wisdom can be twaddle does not mean you should abandon the attempt to find it; throwing the baby out with the bath water. There is a lot of good lore out there for the taking; just try to be discerning. This is in no way an absolute criticism of the stuff Abbe put up as I have not read this book. It is just a post to say just as you are discerning about what wood you put on your fire be discerning about the thoughts you place in your head.

Here is a quote but do you know where it comes from:

"as Iron sharpens Iron so does one man sharpen another."

Hope this post sharpens your thoughts.

Jamie

 

[Kirruth]

It's a classic zen Buddhist technique to use humour (or abruptness, such as the blow from a stick) to bring the attention of the mind back to the present.
As Hawkeye says, these are not really zen stories (which would not mention God for example, nor would they encourage fishing). But they made me smile anyway.

 

[KIMBOKO]

Its difficult to explain. But reading Eckhart Tolle - "The power of now" or Anthony de Mello "Awakening" would be a good start. Its about living in the present, living in the Now, awakening, total consiousness, total awareness, waking up, viewing life without ego, seeing the reality of life and the things about you. Then there are also religious terms for it like God centered, at one with the world/god, nivarna, the void, heaven.

 

[Hawkeye The Noo]

Its difficult to explain. But reading Eckhart Tolle - "The power of now" or Anthony de Mello "Awakening" would be a good start. Its about living in the present, living in the Now, awakening, total consiousness, total awareness, waking up, viewing life without ego, seeing the reality of life and the things about you. Then there are also religious terms for it like God centered, at one with the world/god, nivarna, the void, heaven.

It is impossible to view life without the ego, that is a flaw in Buddhism; it is best to kill your ego by taking the rip out of it, laugh at yourself. the ego cannot then get in the way. The Scots are great at self depreciating humour, we laugh at ourselves and that is why the Scots are loved so much when we go abroad. Maybe that is why Scots make such good trackers( Ian Maxwell, Tom Brown Me lol.), the ego does not get in the way, we have laughed it out of the party. After all you can humble yourself but others can only humiliate you. So humble yourself before others get the chance to humiliate you and remember if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, quacks like a duck it is a duck.

Jamie

 

[KIMBOKO]

Which might also explain the high proportion of Scots in the Elite forces.

 

[jamesdevine]

A book I have found interesting it Tom Brown's book Awakening Spirits. People have their opinions about him but I found this book very useful.

James

 

[falling rain]

Its difficult to explain. But reading Eckhart Tolle - "The power of now" or Anthony de Mello "Awakening" would be a good start. Its about living in the present, living in the Now, awakening, total consiousness, total awareness, waking up, viewing life without ego, seeing the reality of life and the things about you. Then there are also religious terms for it like God centered, at one with the world/god, nivarna, the void, heaven.

I said Captain....... I said What?
Hand me some of what you've got in that hip flask !!!

 

[Infragreen]

You might look towards Greenland.

It is old custom to be self-depreciatory, even to the point of ragging on your spouse. "Oh, a lazy and inept woman as I is just lucky to be married to a husband who can only bring back the poorest pelts and meats. That way there's nothing for me to mess up."
Nice way to say "I have what I need, but don't expect much".
Nice in an Inuit way.

A young vicar bought a bicycle from Denmark by postal order. There were no roads in his village. When asked where he would ride it, he answered "Imaqa!"
Imaqa=Maybe/You'll never know.
During a severe cold spell, he rode it onto the ice in the bay outside the village.

A hunter crashed with his sleigh and got hurt bad. His arm broke.
His friends rushed in and asked him why he was laughing.
"Look! It's funny! It never bent THAT way before!"

Infy

-"But the strawberries were SO sweet!"