81–90 of 115 posts
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Your comment reminds me of this Zen story: The Emperor asked Master Gudo, "What happens to a man of enlightenment after death?" "How should I know?" replied Gudo. "Because you are a master," answered the Emperor. "Yes sir," said Gudo, "but not a dead one."
Except there are people who remember their past lives.
I wrote this in response to someone asking about other Stoic writings who, in the interim, deleted their response, so I'll post it as a stand-alone response: I'm an avid reader of Stoic philosophy, to the point I would say it's a central pillar of my life. I would strongly advocate anyone interested in Stoicism not read these recent texts first, or, if I'm honest, really at all. I get that they're trying to making it…
https://enchiridion.tasuki.org Which translation would you recommend?
I've recently started participating in Funeral Honors Details as a Navy Reservist. We fold the flag, present it to the next of kin, play taps, and provide an honorable exit for anybody who has served. It's been the most meaningful part of my 14 years of military service - which included a combat deployment. Simply walking through the cemetery before the service is profound. All that remains of a life time of stories…
My friend's step-father recently passed away. He was a Vietnam era veteran and didn't leave this world with much planning for his passing. The service provided by the volunteers was of huge comfort to my friend and his family, the simple yet meaningful service lent dignity to the end of a situation that didn't have much of it.
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Except there are people who remember their past lives.
There have so far been none who can do that verifiably, though...
I have heard some crazy stories, which if true would be very hard to explain rationally.
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A particularly important read concerning the meaning of life is the book of Ecclesiastes. It tells of Solomon’s great experiment of finding meaning in knowledge, pleasure, wealth, accomplishment, etc.. I am often bewildered by those who pour a great deal of energy in planning for retirement and ignoring the fact that they will soon thereafter be pushing up daisies. Death awaits us all.
I pour a lot into retirement because I don't want my final days to be a time of financial hardship or to be a burden on my children. Today, I can easily move around, feed/wash myself, and but that won't be true forever. Putting money away for later gives me some measure of confidence I'll be able to pay someone to help me when the time comes.
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I pour a lot into retirement because I don't want my final days to be a time of financial hardship or to be a burden on my children. Today, I can easily move around, feed/wash myself, and but that won't be true forever. Putting money away for later gives me some measure of confidence I'll be able to pay someone to help me when the time comes.
Why not kill yourself when you get too old to wash/feed yourself? I'm being serious. I've asked myself that many times and can't find a good reason why not.
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Have you had a chance to read Massimo Pigliucci 's How To Be A Stoic?
I've not, thought I'm somewhat familiar with Massimo through his other work. Would you recommend it?
I strongly recommend Seneca's On the Shortness of Life . It's one of the best books I've read, and at the very top on the subject of Carpe Diem. https://www.amazon.com/Shortness-Life-Penguin-Great-Ideas/dp...
I just read it a few weeks back and was disappointed. His views on life seemed to boil down to something like "make as much wealth as possible, so you can retire as fast as you possibly can, so you can spend all of your time on whatever is meaningful in your life, and by no means ever have any fun." It seemed full of selfish anti-social advice for the extreme curmudgeon. But I also listened to it while on the road, s…
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I was thinking about this today even before this came up! It seems a strange philosophy to adopt for individuals who "disrupt" or who can literally control their digital environments, etc. Fwiw I think people engaging with philosophy is probably a net good.
If you think about someone in a job they hate, ruled by managers and treated as a cog in a machine that makes money for others, it starts to make sense. If you feel helpless in the face of life, then just gritting your teeth and bearing it probably seems appealing. If what you really fear is risk and change in your employment and life, then a philosophy which teaches you to accept the inevitable may attract you. In s…
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He was wrong. When you are alive you have not just "the present moment but also all your future moments to look forward to -- and you have thoughts about what to do in those moments. It's only for the last 'present moment' that what he said holds.
You look to future moments, in the present moment. There is only the present moment. This isn't a philosophical stance - it's actually a subtle point that isn't obvious until pointed out, everything you experience, you experience right now, and never any other time, always now.