On Mon, 19 Jul 1999 08:14:08 GMT, okamuraNO at SPAMapexmail.com (Okamura)
wrote:
>On Mon, 19 Jul 1999 03:36:41 GMT, flannel at mindless.com (Flannel)
>wrote:
>>>>For the record since my last splurge at this NG I have changed
>>>classification albeit not changed that much philosopohically. I now
>>>class myself as a Philosophical Taoist.
>>>>Your heretic!! or is it apostate? Well, we won't burn you at the
>>stake till we sort out which one you are. (Darn red tape!)
>>I haven't actually changed that much, just found that my perspective
>is more specifically "classified" (eck!) as a Taoist.
>>Although it was a joke and all it would be tantamount to agnostic
>herecy to go after me for it. Hehe.
Darn the technicallities!!!!
<snip>
>The second major book of Taoism, "The Chuang-tzu" (or Zhuang-zi) is my
>favourite. It is genuinely poetic (with some of the more elaborate
>metaphors I have ever seen) and much much longer than the TTC. I
>enjoyed reading parts of it and realised that some of my attitudes
>(esp. re: morality, illusion of reality, not take life too seriously
>and accept nothing as written in stone etc.). I wrote an essay as part
>of a course at Uni and basically aced it, which is good as it was
>stuff I actually believed and all :)
>>If you want a link, Okamura can provide. Here is probably one of the
>cuter lines from it:
A link would be appreciated greatly.
>>"Once upon a time, I, Zhuang Zhou, dreamt I was a butterfly,
>fluttering hither and thither, to all intents and purposes a
>butterfly. I was conscious only of my happiness as a butterfly,
>unaware that I was Chou. Soon I awaked, and there I was, veritably
>myself again. Now I do not know whether I was then a man dreaming I
>was a butterfly, or whether I am now a butterfly, dreaming I am a
>man."
After a while, alot of stuff just starts blending together in my head
and starts getting put in the wrong folders. I've seen that excerpt
numerous times and have always associated it with Zen. It would never
have occurred to me to associate it with taoism. Don't know why.
<snip>
>"...and Flannel, at the age of 80 after a long cosideration suddenly
>came to the conclusion, 'I EXIST!!".
Flannel's famous last words, "Eureka!"
<snip>
>What you should answer then is "I am a Gennuralistic". It eliminates
>the chance of the less intelligent response and prevents
>preconceptions.
That sounds very logical and effective. However, the problem is that
I really, really, really enjoy saying, "I am an agnostic." I find the
sound of it, aethestically (I know I mispelled that one very brutally)
pleasing.
Flannel
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I have a deep distrust of anyone who is not insecure.
Roger A. Bird
