A German who escaped just before all the Jews were hoarded into concentration camps in Germany, came to the United States.
His name was Robert Hartman.
His experience with evil uniquely qualified him to set out to deal with the age long question: what is evil, what is good?
He took on himself to define good… the strait and narrow. Many philosophers failed in that: after all the strait and narrow is delineated by the land that encloses it, not by itself…
But he succeeded.
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In this series of Osho talks he examines stories from different ancient cultures. This is an excellent companion to what I teach. Enjoy!
ONCE, WHEN THE HASIDIM WERE SEATED TOGETHER
IN ALL BROTHERLINESS,
PIPE IN HAND, RABBI ISRAEL JOINED THEM.
BECAUSE HE WAS SO FRIENDLY THEY ASKED HIM,
‘TELL US, DEAR RABBI, HOW SHOULD WE SERVE GOD?’
HE WAS SURPRISED AT THE QUESTION,
AND REPLIED, ‘HOW SHOULD I KNOW?’
BUT THEN HE WENT ON TO TELL THEM THIS STORY..
THERE WERE TWO FRIENDS OF THE KING,
AND BOTH WERE PROVED GUILTY OF A CRIME.
SINCE HE LOVED THEM THE KING WANTED TO SHOW THEM MERCY,
BUT HE COULD NOT
You live in a world of your own design… Time to reinvent yourself as someone you can love
Your own design is like a filter you look through. You can’t see the filter, just like you don’t see the window unless you touch it…
A filter is like a pair of glasses…
A filter is also like a pair of glasses… They can be dark tinted, they can be yellow, green… and the world occurs differently with each pair of glasses. You can’t see that it’s the glasses that make the world look the way the world looks to you… unless you can take it off…
But enough is enough… and I am a little flapped… lol.
I can feel the corners of my mouth pointing downward, and I am pouting a little.
I screwed up… I did all the things I tell you not to do… lol…
I alternate between laughing out loud and pouting. Actually quite funny. Not dead.
The funniest part of this story (oops, I haven’t even told you what happened… in a little bit, ok?) the funniest part that this happened right after I watched, for the third time, the episode in the 67 steps where you are warned to double secure yourself against mistakes and the cost.
I was nodding… I heard it from “I already know” and the next thing I know I crashed my windows setup… and bam… all my files are gone.
Some days I have nothing to say. It doesn’t feel like there is anything to say that needs to be said.
Some people never have anything to say and they talk all the time. Others think that they have to first formulate it in their heads to say it, and it never comes together.
Professional thinkers, writers know that “it is hard to be silently brilliant. Lots of thoughts occur wen you open your mouth.”
Thinking is a lot like digging for gold. Someone or something has to hold the dirt, or you can’t get beneath it.
For something worth thinking, something worth saying
“(SELF-)CULTIVATION TAKES AN UNIMAGINABLE TIME (WHILE) ENLIGHTENMENT IN AN INSTANT IS ATTAINED.”
IF THE TRAINING IS EFFICIENT, ENLIGHTENMENT WILL BE ATTAINED IN ONE FINGERSNAP.
IN DAYS GONE BY CH’AN MASTER HUI CHUEH OF LANG YEH MOUNTAIN, HAD A DISCIPLE WHO CALLED ON HIM FOR INSTRUCTION. THE MASTER TAUGHT HER TO EXAMINE INTO THE SENTENCE: “TAKE NO NOTICE.”
SHE FOLLOWED HIS INSTRUCTION STRICTLY WITHOUT BACKSLIDING.
ONE DAY HER HOUSE CAUGHT FIRE, BUT SHE SAID: “TAKE NO NOTICE.”
ANOTHER DAY, HER SON FELL INTO THE WATER AND WHEN A BYSTANDER CALLED HER, SHE
I am reading Richard Dawkins’ The Selfish Gene. The genes that use humans as vehicles, and are only interested in procreation, and not in the life experience of the vehicle.
But, as I have said before, there are 160 intangible capacities, mostly dormant, in the human DNA. The ones that we are going to look at in this article are the capacities (genes) of generosity (altruism) and trust.
Trust and generosity seem to be at odds with the selfishness of the genes… but they don’t have to be.
The crucial decider… is that a word?, is whether the gene of envy is turned on, or
Often (too often!) people write to me telling me that I am not supposed to get angry, not supposed to be stingy, not supposed to be on thing or another… Why? Because enlightened means, according to them, forever joyful, forever happy, and rich, rich, rich.
So, what is the truth about enlightenment? Is there such a thing at all?
The answer depends on who you ask, but whoever you ask: they are speaking from Tree of Knowledge.
Why? Because if you say “I am enlightened” according to scriptures you are lying.
And if you say “I am not enlightened” you don’t know what you are talking about…
Today was my errands day. It is also the only day during the week when I talk to anyone.
And as you know, talking when I have echo, someone who hears me is the most meaningful activity for me.
I did have private clients for massage, and I did it for 16 years… Giving a massage is not meaningful for me. So I picked and chose, and filtered, and screened the people that wanted a massage: If I didn’t feel that there will be a meaningful conversation, that I would be heard, I didn’t take them as a client.
Hey, it’s my life, and my fulfillment is what it is supposed to be organized around.