The first is from the sixth Partriarch of Buddhism, the master was dying and as he lay dying he needed to pick a successor, so he asked his pupils to write a poem, his star pupil wrote:
Our body is the bodhi tree And our mind a mirror bright. Carefully we wipe them hour by hour And let no dust alight.
The cooks second assistant walking by, saw the poem and wrote:
There is no bodhi tree Nor stand of a mirror bright. Since all is void, Where can the dust alight?
The master, on seeing the two poems called the cooks 2nd assistant into the room and appointed him his successor, where he became Buddhisms sixth Patriarch
The second story is from Jitterbug Perfume, where the protagonist Alobar seeks to talk to the Bandaloop Monks, they say to him, "Stone rolls downhill and stops at the first obstacle it encounters, whereas water flows downhill and when it encounters an obstacle it goes around it, singing happily, to study with us you must decide whether you want to be water or stone"
Alobar just stood there looking at them...not saying a word...finally they asked him again, "well...water or stone, which is it to be?"
Alobar responded, "Water babbles to stone but stone doesn't always answer"
Yes I read Jung's book, and yes it made my head hurt, since it took me over ten years just to understand why the master chose the cooks assistant in the first story, and why that poem showed wisdom when the first poem didn't.
Chuck C's book "A New Pair of Glasses" is one of my favorites, I just had a sponsee return my copy to me a few years ago after I loaned it to him nearly 15 years ago
I guess I'm not a very good stone, but You can yank my chain if you like, but what if the chain isn't connected to anything?
-- Edited by LinBabaAgo-go on Sunday 27th of May 2012 05:55:38 PM
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Light a man a fire and he's warm for a night, set a man on fire and he will be warm for the rest of his life
Ahhh yes, the old books ... I liked "Dr. Bob and the Good Old-Timers" a little better than Chuck's Book ... to Me Chuck tended to repeat things frequently ... over and over and over ... BUT I guess as hard headed as I am, I needed to hear things over and again to retain them ... HeeHee ...
Okay, if the anchor you have is missing it's chain, I'll just rock your boat ... I truly feel for you, I just can't reach you ... Ha!
I know, I know, we're in a bowl full of nuts ... and I'm still trying to figure out what kind I am ... I may be a Pee-can ... cause I always gotta pee and am always looking for the can ...
Love Ya and God Bless, Pappy
P.S. I love your 'avatar' by the way ... wish I'd have thought of that first!!!
-- Edited by Pythonpappy on Sunday 27th of May 2012 07:14:09 PM
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'Those who leave everything in God's hand will eventually see God's hand in everything.'
All of our steps were actually written by non-alcoholics in a way, step one was learned from Dr Silkworth, steps 3-9 by a Christian fundamentalist group, Bill learned from a guy named Roland Hazzard that a spiritual awakening was necessary to beat this thing, Roland learned that from a guy named Carl Jung.
Carl knew a thing or two about the human psyche
"There is no coming to consciousness with pain. People will do anything, no matter how absurd, in order to avoid facing their own souls. One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious." Carl Jung
After being sober for some years I went to a therapist, the therapist told me I had two seperate and distinct personalities, one that -really- nice, that strove for goodness and when that failed and the people around me didn't believe that personality, a second personality that said, OK, you want trouble? Watch this.
I told her of my struggles in trying to bury that second personality, how it had caused me so much trouble (my drinking personality) and she said "No Andrew, you -can't- bury that personality, that is where all your power and strength of character is, what you need to learn to do is integrate it and use it in a positive way.
That "persona" was the one alcohol allowed me to develop, it was fearless, today it is part of who I am, I embrace it.
Carl knew what he was talking about
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Light a man a fire and he's warm for a night, set a man on fire and he will be warm for the rest of his life
LinBaba, ... Okay, I got to ask this ... Have you ever read the entire book authored by Carl Jung titled "Modern Man in Search of a Soul" ? ...
That book made my brain hurt ... He, no doubt, knew what he was talking about, but man, to understand most of his writings you'd have to be either a PHd or naturally brilliant ... Okay, maybe I'm just too old or dumb or both, but all I do know is that discovering that there is indeed, a power greater than ourselves AND that power is 'spiritual' is all I needed to know ... Once I put on a 'new pair of glasses', I saw things differently ... and clearly, there is a power greater than me, in control of things I wasn't even aware of ... (Thank you Lord)
Sorry, had to yank your chain a little ... LOL
God Bless, Pappy
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'Those who leave everything in God's hand will eventually see God's hand in everything.'
Some of the best laughs and most humorous times I've ever had have come while listening to other men speak of serious and somber things.
Lin you found my journal which contains the early discoveries also with the help of my counselor at the VA alcoholism center...Bless that man he was soooo helpful and insightful and then he was humble as there were sessions where we traded chairs and he became the patient. That is how it works...being teachable. Dual personalities? I've met twice the number of people in recovery who have entered the rooms. Alcohol warps people...we become "others" while forgetting the original creation. For me the new pair of glasses was discovering perception listening for once not only to my own voice...inner and outer and to the voices of the membership...tools of my Higher Power and to my Higher Power directly. There are many many "others" on the other side of my alcoholic perception who have help me learn to view the picture from different angles...My sponsor was a master at it as was Fulton Sheen, Og Mandino, Jung, Maxwell Maltz and a greater list behind these human beings.
I have listen to your dual personality and found his shoes comfortable at first fit cause they were once mine also just as you open your post with. My dual had a different spelling for my given name...a warp and an "other". My most recent psychologist left me with a work lesson..."You're responsible for what you think". "Which you am I talking about" is now the qualification. My Higher Power once asked me "Who are you" and I asked back "Why do you ask"? and the response was are you that Jerry or this Jerry and I was elated that I could resume the life of the early Jerry and after 3 minutes of elation I wept like a baby because I didn't know anything about him...I had warped the perception with alcohol and alcoholic thinking, behaviors, beliefs and feelings. The new pair of glasses came with instructions...always keep and open mind and confirm your findings with others.
I know today that there is a Higher Power who has and can and will again restore me to and hold me in sanity as long as I continue to be the right "other". It's an active choice and I learned in in recovery.
For everyone in recovery I wish also the physical manifistations of their HP - God. The new pair of glasses allows this to be real and to understand when it is. The Second Step reality for me and my meditation is "God Is" and the Third Step prayer is, "Place me where you want me, then tell me what to do."
Great post and I hope many others respond. Jerry with a "J"
Thanks Guys, glad you guys got it, I was worried I was pitching "into the void"
Jerry F wrote:
Some of the best laughs and most humorous times I've ever had have come while listening to other men speak of serious and somber things.
Lin you found my journal which contains the early discoveries also with the help of my counselor at the VA alcoholism center...Bless that man he was soooo helpful and insightful and then he was humble as there were sessions where we traded chairs and he became the patient. That is how it works...being teachable. Dual personalities? I've met twice the number of people in recovery who have entered the rooms. Alcohol warps people...we become "others" while forgetting the original creation. For me the new pair of glasses was discovering perception listening for once not only to my own voice...inner and outer and to the voices of the membership...tools of my Higher Power and to my Higher Power directly. There are many many "others" on the other side of my alcoholic perception who have help me learn to view the picture from different angles...My sponsor was a master at it as was Fulton Sheen, Og Mandino, Jung, Maxwell Maltz and a greater list behind these human beings.
I have listen to your dual personality and found his shoes comfortable at first fit cause they were once mine also just as you open your post with. My dual had a different spelling for my given name...a warp and an "other". My most recent psychologist left me with a work lesson..."You're responsible for what you think". "Which you am I talking about" is now the qualification. My Higher Power once asked me "Who are you" and I asked back "Why do you ask"? and the response was are you that Jerry or this Jerry and I was elated that I could resume the life of the early Jerry and after 3 minutes of elation I wept like a baby because I didn't know anything about him...I had warped the perception with alcohol and alcoholic thinking, behaviors, beliefs and feelings. The new pair of glasses came with instructions...always keep and open mind and confirm your findings with others.
I know today that there is a Higher Power who has and can and will again restore me to and hold me in sanity as long as I continue to be the right "other". It's an active choice and I learned in in recovery.
For everyone in recovery I wish also the physical manifistations of their HP - God. The new pair of glasses allows this to be real and to understand when it is. The Second Step reality for me and my meditation is "God Is" and the Third Step prayer is, "Place me where you want me, then tell me what to do."
Great post and I hope many others respond. Jerry with a "J"
Jerry...You got it, the bolded part brought tears to my eyes as I remembered my own journey, the discovering the inner me I had kept buried for so very long, my inner geek, and then learning to integrate all the facets of my personality into who I am today because they -all- have something to offer, and itt truly is a journey without end as who I am changes from day to day.
Allowing "what is" "to be" is a full time job, and allowing it to unfold and watching it is better then any movie.
Having people around me I can be 100% honest with that ask the hard question helps with that journey immeasurably, and "I don't know" changes it's meaning and becomes more powerful every day.
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Light a man a fire and he's warm for a night, set a man on fire and he will be warm for the rest of his life
Good Lord Jerry with a "J", ... (Oh my, what we have here is a different kind of nut ... Yipee ... I love this stuff ...)
Okay, new-comers, ... don't let us scare you away, Heehee ... we were, in fact, kinda nuts to start with ...
What you are really seeing is the results of what some of us go through to find ourselves ... Okay, you got me, ...I was a teen in the sixties and the Beatles were the hottest thing since grits ... There was this thing called 'free love' back then and the 'peace' sign and the 'flower child' were common ... Hair got long and the VW 'Bus' got painted with flowers and stuff ... Hippies were on every corner and in every park and 'demonstration' ...
Sorry I lost myself for a minute, .... uh, .... ... ... uh, ... ... ... OH, ... damn ... ... OK, The main 'theme'/'reason' a person left their Mom & Dad back then was to travel the country in "search of who they were" ... We left mom and dad to "find" ourselves ... From this post, I guess we can see that mankind has always tried doing that since we were put here four thousand years ago ... (or whenever) ... and Kudos to those here who think we've finally found something we can hold on to ... 'bout time in my case, LOL ...
Ya gotta' love the journey!!!
Pappy
P.S. ... Can someone tell me what I just said ??? (:{P) ...
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'Those who leave everything in God's hand will eventually see God's hand in everything.'
Hey Linn I stopped by for some 'LITE" reading and as I started I definitely had to turn on the light!!!Thanks everyone 'more is always revealed..........
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Selfishness-self-centeredness! That, we think, is the root of our troubles.
Jerry with a "J"