[Steve9]

At the end of his book, If You Meet Buddha on the Road, Kill Him!, Sheldon Kopp offers ‘A Partial Register of the 927 Eternal Truths’, 43 items in total.

1. This is it.
2. There are no hidden meanings.
3. You can't get there from here, and besides there is no place to go.
4. We are already dying, and we'll be dead a long time.
5. Nothing lasts!
6. There is no way of getting all you want.
7. You can't have anything unless you let go of it.
8. You only get to keep what you give away.
9. There is no particular reason why you lost out on some things.
10. The world is not necessarily just. Being good often does not pay off and there's no compensation for misfortune.
11. You have the responsibility to do your best nonetheless.
12. It's a random universe to which we bring meaning.
13. You really don't control anything.
14. You can't make anyone love you.
15. No one is any stronger or any weaker than anyone else.
16. Everyone is, in his own way, vulnerable.
17. There are no great men.
18. If you have a hero, look again; you have diminished yourself in some way.
19. Everyone lies, cheats, pretends. (yes, you too, and most certainly myself.)
20. All evil is potentially vitality in need of transformation.
21. All of you is worth something if you will only own it.
22. Progress is an illusion.
23. Evil can be displaced but never eradicated, as all solutions breed new problems.
24. Yet it is necessary to keep struggling toward solution.
25. Childhood is a nightmare.
26. But it is so very hard to be an on-your-own, take-care-of-yourself-cause-there-is-no-one-else-to-do-it-for-you grown-up.
27. Each of us is ultimately alone.
28. The most important things each man must do for himself.
29. Love is not enough, but it sure helps.
30. We have only ourselves, and one another. That may not be much, but that's all there is.
31. How strange, that so often, it all seems worth it.
32. We must live within the ambiguity of partial freedom, partial power, and partial knowledge.
33. All important decisions must be made on the basis of insufficient data.
34. Yet we are responsible for everything we do.
35. No excuses will be accepted.
36. You can run, but you can't hide.
37. It is most important to run out of scapegoats.
38. We must learn the power of living with our helplessness.
39. The only victory lies is in surrender to oneself.
40. All of the significant battles are waged within the self.
41. You are free to do whatever you like. You need only face the consequences.
42. What do you know for sure...anyway?
43. Learn to forgive yourself, again and again and again and again.

[Foolsgo1d]

I've read 6 threads on here tonight and they've all been weird. Whats this one about?

[L M McCoy]

[Steve9]

(04-16-2014 06:52 PM)Foolsgo1d Wrote:  

I've read 6 threads on here tonight and they've all been weird. Whats this one about?

The book is about looking deeply within ourselves, accepting our limitations, our attributes, and everything in between. We are the experts in the journey of our own lives.

The most important things that each man must learn no one else can teach him.

I was interested to see what people thought about the list.

[Veloce]

I'd say the majority of those points are very valid, but not all of them.

I believe in heroes and leaders. I accept that everyone is flawed including my heroes, but there are certainly individuals that rise above the crowd and are a great influence to others. There will always exist the dichotomy of the hero vs. the common man. There will never be a time in our future where every man is great.

If you don't see heroes in others, how can you expect to be one yourself? I pride myself on my leadership qualities and I know others look up to me. If I didn't believe in separating myself from the crowd, how could I maintain this position?

I understand the thinking behind "there are no great men" but that statement in itself is false. I understand we should all be great men, but that's not reality. That's philosophy and motivational thought.

There ARE great men, and when there AREN'T great men, the world suffers. Yes, the great men are vulnerable and flawed and human. The only humans that genuinely find someone infallible is a child looking up to its parent. And this idea that noone is stronger or weaker than anyone else is horseshit that self-righteous progressive socialists spew. Go tell that to someone that's a quadripelegic or has leukemia. Some people get dealt a shitty hand in life. Everyone has shit to complain about, but for some people it's a terminal illness or a physically abusive childhood, for others it's not getting that pony for their 16th birthday. Individual suffering is relative and subjective, which is why it's crucial for everyone to travel and expand their experiences as much as possible to appreciate just how fucking sweet we have it.

But I do agree on the points regarding being completely alone and self-sufficient. Very important lessons.

[kinjutsu]

I like the list.

It strips away all the hallmark card bs blue pill people say.

[freewheeler]

18. If you have a hero, look again; you have diminished yourself in some way.

This one stood out to me. For some reason we seem to have a propensity to deify individuals, defer to others or form certain belief structures (ex. religion) in which we give away our power in some way, most likely due to the need to believe in something greater than us and to cope with the imminent reality of death.

Overall it is a pretty sombre but realistic list.

Thanks for sharing it.

You might like Prometheus Rising by Robert Anton Wilson while you're on an introspection trip. I'm reading it right now.

[RockHard]

(04-16-2014 07:30 PM)freewheeler Wrote:  

18. If you have a hero, look again; you have diminished yourself in some way.

I like Gregory "Pappy" Boyington's better: "Show me a hero, and I'll prove he's a bum. "

[Thomas the Rhymer]

If you meet Roosh on the road, approach his date.

If you meet Gmanifesto on the road, steal his pocket square.

If you meet Thedude on the road, complain about his food.

If you meet soup on the road, invite him to church.

If you meet Samseau on the road, tell him that you're 84% white, 12% mongolian and 4% black.

If you meet Screwston on the road, drill a hole in his row boat.

If you meet Christian Mcqueen on the road, tell him you're not impressed.

If you meet Tuthmosis on the road, give him your poker face.

If you meet Cardguy on the road, give him a hug, the brother clearly needs one

If you meet Beyond Borders on the road, steal his Cambodian beer.

If you meet MikeCF on the road, tell him that real men don't take testosterone injections.

If you meet Sourcecode on the road, tear up his map.

If you meet El Mechanico on the road, you'd better run in the other direction before he steals your cutlass supreme.

[strengthstudent]

Seems like a great book, going to read it next. I was just battling with self-acceptance. I don't consider myself very handsome but I train, take care of myself and dress well -- what else can you do? Despite all this, had this whiny little bitch moment last night where I was self-conscious of my looks. I have fucked/dated/met beautiful girls and never had a negative comment from chicks, still, it is so hard to accept yourself and just say: "this is the way I am, what can you do".

[Handsome Creepy Eel]

Quote:

If you meet El Mechanico on the road, you'd better run in the other direction before he steals your cutlass supreme.

[Veloce]

(04-17-2014 12:02 AM)Thomas the Rhymer Wrote:  

If you meet Thedude on the road, complain about his food.