The meaning of it all

Richard Feynman, The Meaning of it all

• To Everyman is given the key to the gates of heaven. The same key opens the gates of hell.

• The laws of science are guessed laws. Good till proven wrong by more precise experiments.  The scientific mind tries to prove himself wrong as quickly as possible.

• It is better to say something and not be sure than not to say anything at all.

• Freedom to doubt is important in sciences and in other fields.  Admitting that we do not know and maintaining perpetually the attitude that we do not know the direction necessarily to go permit a possibility of alteration, of thinking, of new contributions and new discoveries for the problem of developing a way to do what we want ultimately, even when we do not know what we want.

• There is a tendency to use what can be measured as a criterion

• Reporting should be done properly to reflect the subject, as explained by the person being interviewed.

Go Not to the Temple

Slow Dance

Slow Dance
By David L. Weatherford

Have you ever watched kids on a merry-go-round?
Or listened to the rain slapping on the ground?
Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight?
Or gazed at the sun into the fading night?
You better slow down.
Don't dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won't last.

Do you run through each day on the fly?
When you ask "How are you?"
Do you hear the reply?
When the day is done
Do you lie in your bed,
With the next hundred chores
Running through your head?
You'd better slow down
Don't dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won't last.

Ever told your child, we'll do it tomorrow?
And in your haste, not see his sorrow?
Ever lost touch,
Let a good friendship die
Cause you never had time, to call and say "Hi"?
You'd better slow down.
Don't dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won't last.

When you run so fast to get somewhere
You miss half the fun of getting there.
When you worry and hurry through your day,
It is like an unopened gift....
Thrown away.
Life is not a race.
Do take it slower
Hear the music
Before the song is over.

Image and conflict -- Krishnamurthi

“It is easy to smile at people outside your own home. It is so easy to take care of the people that you don’t know well. It is difficult to be thoughtful and kind and to smile and be loving to your own in the house day after day, especially when we are tired and in a bad temper or bad mood. We all have these moments and that is the time that Christ comes to us in a distressing disguise.”

“It is one thing to say I am a sinner, but let someone else say that about me and then I feel it – I am up in arms. If I am falsely accused I may suffer, whereas if correction be founded on even a small reality – something in me having deserved it – then often it hurts more. We must be happy that our faults are known as they are.”

Both above from Mother Theresa

It is interesting to me because they are consistent with Krisnamurthi’s view on conflicts.

It is easy to smile at people you don’t know because you do not have an image of the person. To someone you know, you have already formed an image – and that you are expecting that image to be consistent. But the image is not the person. So inconsistency is almost guaranteed.

If I am falsely accused I may suffer – that is again due to the image. My image of myself is being challenged by someone else, who has a different image of me. I feel hurt because I sense that the image I have is not me, and that it is painful to change that image because it introduces uncertainty.

The Five Silences -- Mother Theresa

Silence is the beautiful fruit of prayer.

We must learn not only the silence of the mouth

but also the silence of the heart,

of the eyes,

of the ears

and of the mind.

Maxims of Warren Buffet

Spending: If you buy things you don't need, you'll soon sell things you
need.

Savings: Don't save what is left after spending; spend what is left
after saving.

Hard work: All hard work brings profit; but mere talk leads only to
poverty.

Laziness: A sleeping lobster is carried away by the water current.

Earnings: Never depend on a single source of income.

Borrowings: The borrower becomes the lender's slave.

Accounting: It's no use carrying an umbrella, if your shoes are leaking.

Auditing: Beware of little expenses; a small leak can sink a large ship.

Risk-taking: Never test the depth of the river with both feet.

Investment: Don't put all your eggs in one basket.

Mindful Living

Mindfulness -- quality and power of mind that is aware of what's happening but without judgement and without interference

Imagine a beautiful snow mountain behind a lake. The water in the lake perfectly calm, like a mirror, reflecting the mountain. One can not tell which is the real mountain. You are there, watching the mountain and the lake. But you leave no trace of being there. There is no breathing, no foot prints, no shadow.

Buddhist teachings

We are always responsible for our conscious choices

We should always put ourselves in the other person's place

All beings are worthy of respect

We should regard those wh point out our faults as if they were pointing out treasure

There are NO higher purposes that excuse breaking the basic precepts of ethical behaviour

The Art of Power -- Thich Ngat Hanh

5 cravings --wealth, fame, sex, fancy food, lots of sleep

5 true powers -- faith, diligence, mindfulness, concentration, insight

Faith -- confidence and trust

Diligence -- stop negative emotions from manifesting; replacing negative; invite good seeds; nourish good seeds

Mindfulness -- energy of being aware of what is in the present; the capacity to reckonize things as they are (eg. seating, walking, do them with 100% focus).

Concentration and insight -- mindfulness will lead to concentration and concentration will lead to insight.


Buddha on Being Happy --
1. bad things, don't do
2. good things, try to do
3. try to purify, subdue your mind

The River -- Thich Nhat Hanh

This is my summarized version of the short essay, The River, by Thich Nhat Hanh


Once there was a beautiful river. She was happy.

One day, she noticed clouds floating in the sky. She loved the clouds and wished to possess one. She chased the clouds but could not reach them as they were high in the sky.

A strong wind came one day and blew all the clouds away. The sky was empty. The river was sad as she was used to chasing after clouds. She wanted to die as there was nothing for her now.

One night, she looked deeply into herself and suddenly realized that clouds were made of water and that she herself was water.

The next morning, she saw the blue sky for the first time. She had never noticed it as she was only interested in the clouds.

That afternoon the clouds returned. She said hello to them. When the clouds wanted to go away, she said goodbye. She now no longer wanted to possess them.

That evening she opened herself to the sky and received the image of a full moon.

She realized that everything beautiful is already there. There is nothing to chase after.

Just do it

I always wondered why somebody did not do something about that,

then I realized I was somebody.


-- Lily Tomlin

Benjamin Graham -- words of wisdom

“I want to say that at least half of all the pleasures that I have enjoyed in life have come from the world of the mind, from things of beauty and culture in literature and in art. All this is offered to everybody, virtually free of charge, except for the interest to start and the relatively slight effort to appreciate the riches spread out before you …. take that initial interest, if possible: make that continued effort. Once you have found it – the life of culture – never let it go.”

Benjamin Graham, at his 80^th birthday party, La Jolla, California

See Me Beautiful -- author unknown

see me beautiful; see me beautiful

look for the best in me

it's what i really am; all I want to be

it may take some time; it may be hard to find

but,

see me beautiful; see me beautiful

each and every day

could you take a chance; could you find a way

to see me shining through

in everything I do

and see me beautiful