The following is a Chinese Taoist teaching that I have re-written into conventional english for you.**************************
Imagine that there are a pair of doors on your house.
Now imagine that the house is actually your soul.
In your imagination there should now be two doors leading into your life.
Imagine the doors are labeled.
One door is labeled selfishness.
The other door is labeled ignorance.
The ignorant think they already know everything and so they refuse to open the door of ignorance to new ideas and the knowledge of the world. The door of ignorance remains closed and knowledge cannot enter.
The selfish cannot think beyond the border of themselves. Thus they feel no need to open the door of selfishness since nothing of value exists outside themselves.
Closed doors allow no fresh air, life, sunshine, experience or knowledge.
We must open our doors to the world in order to receive the gifts of life. First we must dismiss ignorance and selfishness from our lives.
Selfishness is easier to overcome than ignorance. Solving ignorance involves listening combined with silence.
It is only when the doors of the soul are open that the experience of life can be received.
8 comments:
Very true.
Sometimes it's scary to open the doors...but it always teaches something I need to know. More often than not, it's something I didn't know I needed to know.
Ya know?
Jenn,
That reminds me of Rumsfeld's famous press conference. Where he said there are things we know, things we know we don't know, and things we don't know that we don't know.
Libs made fun of him.
I understood exactly what he meant!
That reminds me of (I think) a Chinese proverb:
He who knows not, and knows not that he knows not, is a fool...shun him.
He who knows not, and knows that he knows not, is willing...teach him.
He who knows, and knows not that he knows, is asleep...awaken him.
He who knows, and knows that he knows, is wise...follow him.
He who is in love with his Ninja Bunny Dentist who only acknowledges his existence as a downpayment for a new Porsche is lonely...he needs to get laid.
Okay, yeah, I improved the proverb with the last bit. It's important to contribute one's wisdom for the benefit of future generations.
Agreed on all.Well done and good luck...should be more fun than a root canal
Mine is simple;
"Two things are infinite: the Universe and Human Stupidity; and I'm not sure about the Universe."
- Albert Einstein
Reach
My friend
I do appreciate your efforts to reach out to your readers in pointed and even occasionally dramatic ways. This is definitely a revealing of your benevolent intentions. I know sometimes it is disappointing when there are reactions that surprise you and other times it is comforting as in the responses and comments you receive here regularly from myself and many others. Please continue your creative process here and as always remember that the path of wisdom is not always an easy one but it is so very worthwhile is it not.
Goodlife my friend
Robert,
I would accuse of mind reading; yet the word 'accuse' seems negative in a way. So I will applaud you instead for your sensitivity and mind reading.
May the Creator Bless You.
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