32
“Evil must have good to feed upon
and then destroys itself.”
- The Water Margin (Episode 3: ‘Both at last will reach the sea’).
Lin Chung played by Atsuo Nakamura
in the TV series The Water Margin 1973
Seek peace by any means.
War is wrong.
Love, peace, understanding.
American History X
(directed by Tony
Kaye, 1998).
‘Life’s too short to be pissed off
all the time.’
The disharmony in the world is
caused by tension.
If you’re pissed off all the time,
you’re prey to dark and negative, destructive forces.
‘Hate is baggage’ - drop it.
[Note:
At this point in my journal I have drawn a dashed line to mark the time when
Pigsy moved out. The note says simply, ‘Pigsy moved out now’].
"The ancient sages said 'Do not despise the
snake for having no horns, for who is to say it will not become a
dragon?' So may one just man become an army." - Water Margin Intro.
“The axe
forgets; the tree remembers.” - African proverb.
Edmund Blackadder (Rowan Atkinson): My dear life without you is like a broken
pencil...pointless.
- Blackadder (not sure which episode this famous quote is from.
Written by Richard Curtis and Ben Elton, BBC TV).
“Although spiritual nature is
innate, learning to express it suitably and usefully requires worldly
experience and a lot of training. A hard life and hard work have made him
deeper and stronger, and perhaps wiser. This is the case with all people who do
not yield to the negative influences of life and the world.” - Hua Ching Ni (Esoteric Tao The Ching by Hua Ching Ni,
Seven Star Communications Group Inc., CA., U.S., 1992. Last page: ‘About
Hua-Ching Ni,’ p.170).
(And Chung Fu claims to have
maintained positive thought throughout his last life on Earth. He did not yield
to negative forces from outside).
'Not While I'm Eating' by Ian Popjellyfish
Pigsy moved out on Saturday 4
September [2004], at about 12 noon,
before my second year of xingyi started; that is, one year of motivation
[inspired by Mr. Pig] to get into it and keep going.
“Some cause happiness wherever they
go; others whenever they go.” - Oscar Wilde.
“Sin is misdirected energy. Who sins
is more ignorant than wicked.” - Meno Li (My
Guide Says...100 Precepts for a Naughty World by Claire Ross, The
Headquarters Publishing Co. Ltd, London, U.K.).
“We find in others what is in us. If
we always find mud around us, it proves that there is mud somewhere in us.” -
The Mother (Seeds of Light).
“We are always surrounded by the
things of which we think.” - The Mother.
“You must abstain from thinking
about someone when you cannot think well of him.” - The Mother.
"It is possible to commit no
mistakes and still lose. This is not a weakness. That is life." - Captain
Picard (Star Trek: The Next Generation).
“Consider changing some of your
behaviour. This often prompts a reciprocal behavioural change in your boss.” (Steps to Success. Tackle Office Nightmares:
How to Cope with Tricky Situations and People, Bloomsbury, London, U.K.,
2004; quoted in Metro, one of
London’s free papers, 9 May 2005).
Don’t take anything personally: it
is never personal. It’s just their
shit, and it smells.
We should pity, not attack, people
who are aggressive because they end up paying a price for their ignorance.
'Old Man' by Ian Popjellyfish
“Sufferers of narcissistic
personality disorder have an inflated sense of self-importance and can fly into
a rage if they are challenged. They are also exploitative, confrontational and
show a lack of empathy. Those with the disorder are pre-occupied with fantasies
of success, power, brilliance, ideal love and beauty. They yearn to be admired
and believe their problems are unique. The American Psychiatric Association
uses nine ‘official symptoms’ to diagnose NPD, including arrogance. It is not
known what triggers the condition and there is no treatment for it.” (Metro, 2005).
“What the experts say...’People who
take revenge often end up regretting doing so and feel foolish about it
afterwards, so it usually causes more pain than any good feelings,’ says
relationship counsellor Julia Cole of Relate. ‘Plotting revenge suggests you’re
not happy with your life and there’s a lot of truth in the adage that the best
way to ‘get back’ at someone is to live the best life you can.’ However,
Christine Gallagher, author of The Woman’
Book Of Revenge, says that it’s a natural, healthy impulse. ‘It can be the
first step on the road to recovery.” (From one of the free magazines with a
weekend paper I expect).
A ‘This Life’ cartoon by Rick
Brookes from Metro depicts a woman
kneeling on the floor at the side of her bed praying to God: ‘Please can I have
a nice day?’
A ‘Peanuts’ cartoon shows Snoopy
listening to his canary friend rant. Then Woodstock leaves the roof of his
kennel. ‘Boy, I thought he’d never leave,’ thinks Snoopy finally. ‘I have more
to do than sit around and rap with a bird.’
“The master
soul, we repeat is the gentle soul, the wise, loving and compassionate soul,
patient in adversity, who never loses faith in God and the ministering angels
of God. Our last word of advice is simply: Love thy neighbour and love thyself.
Do good to them that hate you. Do good to your own soul, not thinking unduly
about yourself but abiding by wise laws of right loving, right eating, right
thinking. Create as far as you can pure and right conditions in your home and
surroundings. Remember the trials and the difficulties in another person’s life
which may make them irritable and sharp. Turn away wrath by gentleness and
love, remembering that as you feel hurt and irritated, so may your companions
feel too; and until you can feel with the feeling of your companions, you
cannot be a master soul…This master soul is what you will become. So all your
problems and difficulties, though very hard to bear at times, have a meaning
and will prove worthwhile, because it is through enduring them with courage,
faith and trust in the love and wisdom of your Creator that you will go forward
towards that perfect state and the Golden City of God. More than this, you will
be helping the whole of humanity onward to reach that state which has been
called the golden age. ” – White Eagle (The
Light Bringer. The Ray of John and the Age of Intuition, The White Eagle
Publishing Trust, Hants, UK, 2001, p.162-163).
Voice: Stand ready! [Everyone puts a foot forward].
Baldrick (Tony Robinson): I have
a plan, sir.
Blackadder (Rowan Atkinson): Really,
Baldrick? A cunning and subtle one?
Baldrick: Yes, sir.
Blackadder: As
cunning as a fox who's just been appointed Professor of Cunning at Oxford
University?
Baldrick: Yes, sir.
Voice: On the signal, company will advance!
Blackadder: Well,
I'm afraid it'll have to wait. Whatever it was, I'm sure it was better than my
plan to get out of this by pretending to be mad. I mean, who would have noticed
another madman round here? [Whistle blows].
Blackadder: Good
luck, everyone. [Blows his whistle. Everyone yells as they go over the top.
German guns fire before they are even off the ladders. The scene changes to
slow motion, and explosions happen all around them. An echoed piano slowly
plays the Blackadder theme. The smoke and flying earth begins to obscure vision
as the view changes to the battlefield moments later: empty and silent with
barbed wire, guns and bodies strewn across it. A bass drum beats slowly. That
view in turn changes to the same field as it is today: overgrown with grasses
and flowers, peaceful, with chirping birds].
- Blackadder Goes Forth (Series
4, written by Richard Curtis and Ben Elton, BBC TV, 1989).
"If you're of a certain generation, Richard III under a car park turns out to be one of the funniest things ever."
No comments:
Post a Comment