Some Philosophy

Uh oh -- now this gets really dangerous.  Here is some philosophy -- some ideas I find to be true, but you may or may not find to be true.  As I said on a former page, it continually astounds me how people of equally high intelligence and of generally equal backgrounds can come to completely different conclusions about what is true and what is not true.  So, if you like the ideas on this page, cool!  If not, that's okay with me too!  There's plenty of room in this world for many different ideas, as long as we don't start killing each other over them.  (Which seems to be happening a lot lately...)

This page is just for fun -- if you already have your own philosophy that you KNOW is right, then don't worry about it...  Remember -- Angels can fly because they take themselves lightly...

On the Human Condition:

Many many years ago, a very wise person came forth with the amazing proposition that we ought to try being nice to one another, rather than continually hitting each other over the heads with rocks and sticks, and trying to take each other's stuff.

They got mad at him and nailed him to a cross.

Many many years ago, about 600 years before the wise person above came around,  another very wise person came to the following conclusion (a bit more intellectually complex than the thoughts of the wise person above):

1.  The entire human race is pretty messed up, and always running around mad about something and feeling quite inadequate, and hitting each other over the heads with rocks and sticks and other things, and trying to take each other's STUFF, whether that stuff be material or mental or territory (both material and mental territory).

2.  The cause of this mess is an incessant craving for more more more... never being satisfied to live in the present, to be content with what one has, to be grateful to just be alive.  There are too many examples to count of people who obtain more wealth than one can imagine, yet they are still incredibly miserable.  Obviously, the activities of getting more and more doesn't seem to satisfy that craving, and the craving itself is the problem, not any lack of STUFF, whether that stuff be automobiles, gold, "true love", status, degrees, or exciting experiences.

3.  So, obviously, the key to being HAPPY and FULFILLED is not getting more STUFF, but finding a way to eliminate that incessant craving.  (Note that we all need to fulfill our basic needs such as food, clothing, and shelter, but we're talking about the basic fear and desire that remains after these things are taken care of.)

This wise person then went on to elaborate a series of steps to eliminate the craving, but I won't go into that here...  I think the three key points made above must be realized first before other topics are taken up about what causes the craving, the multiple ways that exist to quiet it down or eliminate it, etc. 

Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones summarized the above problem quite succinctly in the late 1960's by singing "You can't always get what you want, but if you try some time, you just might find, you get what you need."  (Not that Mick Jagger was a saint -- even messed up people can come to profound realizations, even if they don't realize it. :)  )  I think he wrote this song, at least in part, for Jimi Hendrix, who had so much stuff that he eventually choked on some stuff one night and died.  God bless you, Jimi -- you were way ahead of your time, although you got confused by some of the stuff.

THE ONE KEY POINT that one must realize in this whole issue is that the VERY EFFORT to quiet craving down comes from the same roots that the craving comes from!  Therefore one has a CRAVING to eliminate CRAVING.  This is what we call in computer science an infinite loop.  It is like trying to wash blood off with blood, or like an eye trying to see itself (without a mirror, of course).  If one looks deeply into this whole issue, this seemingly abstract, intellectually curious, interesting phenomenon is actually a very real problem.  On the other hand, it isn't a problem at all.  It just is.  It is a wheel that just keeps rolling and rolling.  As Jerry Garcia said:

The wheel is turning and you can't slow down

You can't let go and you can't hold on

You can't go back and you can't stand still

If the thunder don't get you then the lightning will.

Reminds me of the feelings I had the last time I had to take a final exam  :) 

And you thought Computer Science was complicated...

Some Profound Thoughts:

You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometime, you just might find, you get what you need.  (Mick Jagger).

It ain't over until it's over.  (Yogi Berra, perhaps the most famous American Yogi ever :) ).

I am what I am, and that's all that I am.  (Popeye)

Before Isaac, Before Abraham, I am (God).

I wouldn't belong to any club that would have me as a member.  (Groucho Marx).

Time flies like an arrow, but fruit flies like a banana.  (Groucho Marx?)

I always go to other people's funerals -- otherwise they won't come to mine.  (Yogi Berra).

Society Lady:  "Oh, what a gala day!"  Groucho Marx:  "A gala day is all I can handle!"

Never argue with an idiot.  An idiot has a lot more practice being an idiot than you do.  (Author unknown, but true).  

People who want to share their religious views with you almost never want you to share yours with them.  (David Barry)

It's getting late early.  (Yogi Berra)

When trouble arises and things look bad, there is always one individual who perceives a solution and is willing to take command. Very often, that individual is crazy.  (David Barry)

When you come to a fork in the road, take it.  (Yogi Berra)

Matter is Energy and Energy is Matter (Albert Einstein, although he expressed this mathematically). 

Matter is about 99.9999% empty space.  (just a fact).   They ain't nuthin really here!  It's just some sort of illusion, I guess.

It's all a dream we dreamed one afternoon.  (Jerry Garcia).

Matter is energy in a pattern, usually a circular pattern -- sort of like a wheel, or wheels within wheels,  but in 3 (or 4 or 5 or more) dimensions.  (Me.)

Thought is energy, usually in a pattern, and usually in a circular pattern (often in a neurotic pattern) (Me.)

Therefore thought is matter.  The more wrapped up and intertwined the thoughts, the heavier the matter (Me.)

What's the matter with you?  (Me.)

Whatza matta witha you?  (Chico Marx).

"                                  "   (Harpo Marx)

There's a sanity clause in our contract. (Groucho Marx.) 

Aw, don't you know there ain't no Sanity Clause? (Chico Marx). 

When I want your opinion, I'll give it to you.  (One of my former bosses).

Questioner:  Are you a God?  Buddha: no.  Questioner:  Are you a man?  Buddha: no.  Questioner: then what are you?  Buddha:  I am awake.

The Bible says that Adam (the first man) fell into a deep sleep.  NOWHERE in the Bible does it say that Adam woke up.

The Emperor of China wanted to have an interview with the first patriarch of Buddhism in China, Bodhi Dharma. 

Emperor:  I have done much for Buddhism in my country -- built temples, funded the monks, encouraged the spread of the Dharma in my country.  What sort of merit will this earn me in Heaven? 

Bodhi Dharma:  None, whatsoever.

Emperor, rather astounded:  WHO ARE YOU to say such a thing to ME?

Bodhi Dharma:  I have no idea!

I believe very firmly in the idea (law) of Karma -- the law of cause and effect.  Isaac Newton expressed it as "for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction".   The Bible expresses it as (quoting Jesus):  "As you sow, so shall you reap".  Another expression of Karmic law in the 1960's was: "What goes around comes around".  Understanding this Universal Law is crucial for forming our attitudes and actions in life, and developing our own morals.  HOWEVER, one must also understand that Karma is mindless.  There is no intelligence in Karma.  Karma is totally reactive.  It is just a machine.  It is our own habit patterns. It is just energy in a pattern.  It is a wheel within a wheel within a wheel that keeps rolling and rolling, not knowing where it is going.  Although we should all cultivate good Karma in our lives, we should also strive to become AWARE of what lies beyond Karma, what lies beyond cause and effect.  And what is that?  Hmmm.... what a beautiful day it is today!  I think I'll go for a walk.

If God is truly infinite, then nothing lies outside of God, and there is no place that God is not.  If you believe in God, and you believe that God is infinite, then why all this dualistic thinking?  

Do you think that you can do a better job than God?  Do you think that you must right wrongs and destroy injustice, because God doesn't seem to be doing this himself?  Was this not Lucifer's big mistake, and the cause of his fall from grace?  (Thinking he could do a better job of things than God.)  

Judge not, lest ye be judged.  (Jesus)

The body is the Bodhi Tree
The mind like a bright mirror standing
Take care to wipe it all the time
and allow no dust to cling            (Shen Hsiu, espousing meditation)

There never was a Bodhi Tree
Nor bright mirror shining
Fundamentally, not one thing exists
So where is the dust to cling?     (Hui Neng, espousing the true Zen spirit)

Or, my interpretation of the above verse:

What #(!_$(#$ Tree?
What @(#)*!$ Mirror?
What in the heck are you talking about?
It's a beautiful day -- let's go for a walk

You can observe a lot by watching (Yogi Berra). 

My Father looked at the incredible chaos in the Universe and concluded there is no God.  I look at the incredible order and
complexity in the Universe and conclude that there has to be a divine intelligence behind it all.  But I can't explain all the bad
stuff, which doesn't make sense to me.

I think a lot of the religious fundamentalists get stuck on the whole issue of 1.  There is a God.  2.  There is bad stuff, but
how do you explain bad stuff if there is a God?  This is quite a dilemma, because if God is good and all-powerful, why
does He allow all the bad stuff to happen?  The fundamentalists and dogmatists have a variety of reasons for the bad stuff:  you don't
believe in so-and-so, Satan is running rampant in the world, it is your karma, you didn't say your prayers right, God gives
you choices and you made the wrong choices, etc. etc.   Personally, after long, intense, deep thought and meditation
on the subject, I can say conclusively that I have no idea why the bad stuff happens.

Have you ever watched a nature show, such as on the Discovery Channel, and come to the sudden realization that just about
every living thing on earth is running around trying to eat every other living thing on earth, usually causing excruciating pain to
that other living thing before it dies?  How did we get to this state?  Why is this so?  Wouldn't we have a far different world
if every creature employed photosynthesis to get its food?  Imagine what it would be like if we did not have to fill our stomachs
at least once a day?  Of course, the scientists and biologists will tell you that it is only the top predators that develop advanced 
brains, so if it wasn't for the mean critters, we wouldn't be who we are.  (Mean critters?)

The future ain't what it used to be.  (Yogi Berra)

It all makes sense, once you understand it.  (One of my former students, on programming.)

Student:  Is this Mike Long's office hour?  Me:  I don't know -- what does his schedule say on the door?  (The schedule is
a grid with the hours of the week marked off indicating where the instructor is.)  Student:  I don't know!  There's nothing
written down for this hour!

Almost everyone has heard the expression  "Deja Vu" -- or the feeling that you have previously experienced something
that is occurring to you in the present. More common for me is the feeling of "Vu Ja de" -- the feeling that I have NEVER
been where I am, and have NEVER experienced anything quite like it.

In the book of Genesis, the Bible says that Cain and Abel were the third and fourth human beings (after Adam and Eve).
The Bible says Cain killed Abel, then took off for the land of Nod, where he took a wife.  Where in the heck did she
come from?

I am the light that is over all things. I am all: from me all came forth, and to me all attained.
Split a piece of wood; I am there.
Lift up the stone, and you will find me there. 
(Jesus, from the disputed Gospel of St. Thomas -- rejected by most organized churches,
 possibly because it would make organized churches useless.)