On Second Thoughts...

[poliphilo]

...I'm unhappy with my version of the fourth truth. It contains too much interpretation. In the original Buddha is recommending the Eightfold Way- by which he means "right thinking", "right action" etc- without defining what he means by "right".

So here's a second version:

1  Life is hard

2  Because we're always wanting things.

3  Stop wanting things.

4  Lead a good life.

Comments

[akirlu.livejournal.com]

4. Drop dead from lack of nourishment.

[akirlu.livejournal.com]

Or, "It's wanting that keeps us alive." --Paola Franco, Dangerous Beauty

And I think that's quite true. It's also wanting that makes human accomplishment possible. The creative impulse is all about wanting to make tangible this powerful, compelling image or melody or idea that itches like blinding white tsunami-wave light crashing in your head, demanding to be noticed. It's wanting equal treatment, self-governance, the right to vote, decent living conditions for people around you or far away, and wanting those things badly, that make for social change. Yes, wanting makes life hard. Who says life was meant to be easy? Who says easy is good?

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

And that's true too.

Can views that contradict one another both be true? I think they can.