New Interpretation

I've oft-quoted the Buddhist assertion that "Desire leads to suffering." But just the other night I pondered that my desire doesn't neccessarily lead to my suffering. Sometimes the things we do out of desire can cause suffering in others. I suspect that most Buddhists understand that aspect of the statement naturally, but for me it hit like a ton of bricks. I always took my desire to be the cause of my suffering. I don't know if it's bad that I didn't realize the statement could apply in this way, or good that I do now.

The Dreamside

In the temple of her mind
She has driven it away
This dark and mortal day
Angels calling her to stay

And though her heart falls heavy
There's a spark of light inside
It illuminates her soul
And showers her with light

The right thing?

Well... if this were Star Wars, I'd officially be Obi-wan and not Anakin. So why do I wonder if that's the best thing?

Train yourself to let go of everything you fear to lose...

Why is that so hard to do? Why is it hard to let go of some things? How do we distinguish between mere things we want, and things that we're meant to have? Moreover, is it wrong to want to have something (someone)? We all have desires, but at what point do they become bad? when do they overcome our lives? And if we aren't to aim for our wants, then why do anything? What other motivation can there be to do anything other than our desire to achieve something?

Buddhism says that suffering is caused by desire. Does that mean that desire neccessarily causes suffering? Or simply that if suffering exists, it's because of desire? Is that the break-point? Wanting becomes bad when it causes suffering?

Maybe that is the answer... maybe there's nothing wrong with wanting something, so long as not having it doesn't make you unhappy, or striving to attain it doesn't stress you out.

lol... it's funny how sometimes just typing thoughts out can lead to break-throughs. Who needs a shrink? I have blogger.

Taoism, Wicca, and Role-playing

I wanted to get the title of what I wanted to write about on here so I didn't forget, but I'll actually write it later. Look for it!

* * * *

Okay, first: Role-playing. GOD, am I glad to be doing that again. It's been too long. I was a GM today (the person who runs the game), and I'm not particularly experienced at it, but I think I did well. And I was definitely able to whet everyone's appetite about playing, which is good. And my friend (who is experienced at GMing) is going to start next time, which means I get to take on the role of STURGE, THE DWARVEN FIGHTER! (He's a tank; seriously man, just a beast-and-a-half.) He has a broken horn on his helmet that he tells everyone got damaged in a fight, but in reality he fell down the stairs when he was drunk. HOW AWESOME IS THAT!?!? I've seriously missed the chance to slip away and become something I'm not.

Onto the religous postings. (I'ma be brief, 'cause I think I'm getting sick.) I compared Taoism and Wicca to Jedi and Sith. Now before I have multiple curses cast upon me, hear me out: I'm not saying that one is good, and the other evil. I simply mean how they view "The Force" parallels the views of Jedi and Sith. Taoists believe that there's a certain way that things should be, and they do their best to become attuned to that and to live their lives in accordance with it. There's no struggling, no desire for personal gain. That's very Jedi-like. Witches, however, see the forces of nature as a tool; something they can alter as they (more or less) see fit. I don't even mean selfishly, necessarily (although a witch friend of mine debated casting a spell to make a guy like her). But even if a spell was cast so that a friend had something good happen to them, that's still disregarding the natural flow of things and attempting to bend them to one's will. Very Sith-like. What that means, for me, is that while I don't see Wiccans as evil (I'm friends with more of them than I realize), I feel like power corrupts, and if Wiccans had a sizeable amount of power, they wouldn't hesitate to use it to improve their own existence. I don't see Taoists reacting that way to the same level of power. Just different schools of thinking; let me know what you think.

Tragic Kingdom

Once was a magical place
Over time it was lost
Price increased the cost
Now the fortune
Of the kingdom
Is locked up in its dungeon vaults

The castle floor lies in traps
With coiled wired set back
Decoyed by old cheese
Now the drawbridge
has been lifted
As the millions They drop to their knees

They pay homage to a king
Whose dreams are buried in their minds
His tears are frozen stiff
Icicles drip from his eyes

The cold wind blows as it snows
On those who fight to get in
On heads that are small
Disillusioned
As they enter
They're unaware what's behind castle walls

But now it's written in stone
The king has been overthrown
By jesterly fools
And the power
of the people
Shall come to believe they do rule

They pay homage to a king
Whose dreams are buried in their minds
His tears are frozen stiff
Icicles drip from his eyes

Welcome to the tragic kingdom
Cornfields of popcorn have yet to spring open

Have they lost their heads
Or are they just all blind mice
We've heard all their stories
One too many times

Hypnotized by fireflies that glow in the dark
Midgets that disquise themselves as tiny little dwarfs
The parade that's electrical it serves no real purpose
Just takes up a lot of juice just to impress us

They pay homage to a king
Whose dreams are buried in their minds
His tears are frozen stiff
Icicles drip from his eyes

Welcome to the tragic kingdom

MASH... or a version thereof

My coworker amber taught me a game last night that she used to play when she was a kid growing up in a podunk town; I can't recall if I've ever played it before, but it seemed familiar. Basically, you pick a few categories ("boys," "girls," "places," "what happened," etc) and then you pick 4-5 items (the stranger the better) for each of those categories. Then one person rattles off the numbers 1-4 (or 5) in different orders while the other person writes those orders down next to the different categories. When that's done, you match up all the number 1s, all the 2s, etc, and you have 4-5 different "stories." Here's the examples from last night:

"Amber" has sex with "Chris" doing it "doggie style" in the "dungeon" (that would be the place in our restaurant where beer kegs and other not-often used items are stored; thus-called because there are still chains in the wall in the back from where slaves were beaten). Apparently, one of us "farts", the "owner's son" catches us, and one of us is wearing "socks on our hands."

Those were with amber's categories. Then I took a go at the came...

"Chris" has sex with "Amber" (No coincidence! I think I was fated to be with this hottie...) in her "eye" on "the back of a liger" with a "teletubbie" filming us. "Tom Cruise" catches us, and I unfortunately suffer a "broken penis." And to that, Bobo The Wonder Chimp has nothing to say, he just "flings poop."

Needless to say, we were VERY slow last night. But I thoroughly enjoyed the two hours that I killed in the office playing this game, and I have every intention of subjecting my friends to it the next time I see them (except for those few who I suspect think they're too "mature" for such foolishness).