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Pastimes : What is the meaning of life?

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To: Jon K. who wrote (10)9/20/1999 4:14:00 PM
From: Raybert  Read Replies (1) of 141
 
<<you are not a psycho, are you?>>

Nah, I was kind of where you are some many years back. I took a few courses in Oriental Philosophy and did a lot of reading in the area as well. The "if you meet the Budda on the road...Kill Him!" reference is actually the title of a book written by a clinical psychologist ( I forget the name). It's a western treatment of the 'enlightenment' idea that you find in Zen, a part of Buddhism, and other eastern philosophies. In a nutshell, the message here is that what you seek cannot be taught. It must be learned. Going onto SI, or anywhere, and asking for the meaning of life is a useless effort. The answers you get will be the answers that work for someone else, they won't work for you. You may think they will work for you, but that is deception. That is why the Buddhist masters warn that 'if you meet someone who you think is the Budda on the road, he is an imposter, you must kill him'

(Politically correct disclaimer here, for all you kids with sawed off shotguns under your coat -- I'm talking figuratively here, this is not a real, actual, blast 'em up thing like on Quake or whatever. It's just a mental rejection of someone else's faux godliness. Now, back to my preceding rant.)

The Hitchhikers Guide is just sci-fi farce, but the story line supports the notion that it is useless to spend a great deal of time and effort seeking the answer to "Life, the Universe, and everything" from an external source. The answer that was given was '42'.

Don't waste a lot of time looking for insight there. My own take, and this is my take, so don't expect it to work for you, ( ..and now, heeeerrreee's.... the Budda!) is just 'lighten up' and do what you do. If it seems like it's time to sit on your butt and watch the sun set, then get at it. Enjoyment is not the goal, results are not the goal, but if you enjoy it and if you get results well that's great too.

You are unique and you occupy a unique place in the scheme of things. You're the only Dad you kids have, or your the only person working the french fryer this shift, or whatever, it doesn't have to be drudgery, make the most/best of your place. The rest will come to you .

Best of luck..
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