Tuesday, January 30, 2007
The Nature of Suffering
(2)
I actually wish them well (booze does strange things to your mind).
Tonight's supper (compliments of Kootch) is spaghetti. (No sign of The Monster. But recall that I prefer Chinese bean noodles.)
Today is apparently 'Ashura,' a Muslim holy day when faithful Muslim men beat themselves with chains, swords, and knives. I look forward to this day every year. It is a spectator sport with me. I urge them on with, 'Harder, boys, harder!' I love the scenes showing Muslim men clothed in white garments with blood seeping (tap) down from their (tap) bald heads turning their white garments red. I am such a fan of self-flagellation! I love it even more than the running of the bulls in Pamploma.
Self-flagellation is an ancient religious practice based on the idea that God loves to witness the suffering of His creations. Christians practice somewhat the same ritual. Jews seem to console themselves with 'sackcloth and ashes' (being gassed here (tap) RLG about 9 coughs (boom). All three religions value the suffering of their devotees as somehow pleasing to God.
Other religions (Buddhism for example) see human suffering as the human lot: to be human is to suffer. There is no god above to enjoy that suffering. But humans can decrease their personal suffering by becoming aware of the nature of suffering. Buddhists say that human suffering is mostly self-inflicted. They say that when you understand the mechanism of suffering you can escape.
I actually wish them well (booze does strange things to your mind).
Tonight's supper (compliments of Kootch) is spaghetti. (No sign of The Monster. But recall that I prefer Chinese bean noodles.)
Today is apparently 'Ashura,' a Muslim holy day when faithful Muslim men beat themselves with chains, swords, and knives. I look forward to this day every year. It is a spectator sport with me. I urge them on with, 'Harder, boys, harder!' I love the scenes showing Muslim men clothed in white garments with blood seeping (tap) down from their (tap) bald heads turning their white garments red. I am such a fan of self-flagellation! I love it even more than the running of the bulls in Pamploma.
Self-flagellation is an ancient religious practice based on the idea that God loves to witness the suffering of His creations. Christians practice somewhat the same ritual. Jews seem to console themselves with 'sackcloth and ashes' (being gassed here (tap) RLG about 9 coughs (boom). All three religions value the suffering of their devotees as somehow pleasing to God.
Other religions (Buddhism for example) see human suffering as the human lot: to be human is to suffer. There is no god above to enjoy that suffering. But humans can decrease their personal suffering by becoming aware of the nature of suffering. Buddhists say that human suffering is mostly self-inflicted. They say that when you understand the mechanism of suffering you can escape.
