My Own Koan Needs An Answer...
Conquer the angry man by love.
Conquer the ill-natured man by goodness.
Conquer the miser with generosity.
Conquer the liar with truth.
The Dhammapada
How do you conquer the complacent?
--Virgil
Continuation of the A-Z's of Me:
M - My favorite Sport/s: to watch – Boxing
N - Number of relationships you've had: A lady never reveals, thank you very much!
O - One wish you have: That I'll eventually get to see Italy.
posted by contemplator at Wednesday, November 29, 2006
19 Comments:
I think complacency is probably conquered by regret at which point it's probably too late. You can goad people into action but not concern.
Inspiration is the best way.
The government seems to rely on fear or tanks depending on whether it's internal or external.
I'm going with Sam on this one. I hadn't thought about it, but regret is probably the "right answer.
Some people just can't be assed into being inspired.
So you're basically saying the uninspirational (fatassed?) rock beats the inspirational force more often than not? That's not very inspirational is it. :'(
When you encounter complacency in others you wish to shift, inspiration is the solution rather than cattle prods, or giving up in disgust and waiting for them to wallow in their own misery to maybe choose differently if circumstances ever happen to repeat.
A negative reaction to a negative behaviour is working under the theory that two wrongs make a right. (ignoring the normal retaliation apologetics that is used in)
Some people can't be assed doing anything with all this talk of regret. ;-)
Someone needs a cuddle. (OK it's me, but I was looking at you when I said it - you do too.)
Motivation out of complacency is entirely self-driven. There isn't anything I personally could do to inspire someone, in my opinion. That person would be inspired because of some connection they made mentally.
But from a pragmatic point of view, which has caused the most change: regret or inspiration?
If that's not inspiration honey, then what is? Sure you can lead by example and true inspiration does come from within, but why do you feel you cannot provide inspiration?
I was vaguely hoping you'd be a few of my muses. Calliope and Erato at the very least. ;)
Also, are you saying you need to miss an opportunity or two before wanting to take one?
Conquer the angry man by love.
Conquer the ill-natured man by goodness.
Conquer the miser with generosity.
Conquer the liar with truth.
The Dhammapada
*********Grrrrr it ate my fucking reply so I have to retype it from memory and it was fucking awesome. We'll see if I have the patience this time**********
Don't forget that the liar may refuse to acknowledge the truth, no matter how self evident.
The miser may soak up all your generosity, but never learn to give.
The ill-natured man may still hurt inside and lash out, no matter how kind you are.
The angry man may never let go of his obsessions and love in return.
All these things, just like complacency and inspiration are conquered internally. Love, truth, generosity and goodness are simply the paths to follow. You can show the way, but you cannot make them follow, nor should you take it personally if they choose not to. You cannot hold yourself responsible for their shortcomings.
See - meesa notsa justa pretty face-sa. ;)
[[And on it's not a patch on the original. Fuck! Hopefully you see the point though. Damn I put my heart and soul into that.]]
It's not my job to provide inspiration. That is far too much to ask of one human being. Think about it.
Part of the point of this "proverb," if you'd like to call it that, is recognizing that you can only conquer your reaction to a liar, an angry man, etc. etc. And that treatment by such individuals shouldn't spark a return in kind.
However, liars cannot function where only truth is allowed. Angry people cannot remain so when everyone else refuses to be--they either leave or calm down. Both misers and ill-natured men can be shamed silently into better ways of behaving.
I have yet to see a complacent individual motivated through the actions of others. So, I'm still going with regret on this one. If only because the individual would regret that he isn't as motivated as everyone else, perhaps?
And consider my previous question: which has caused more change--inspiration or regret?
Do governments make policy changes based on inspiration or regret, for example?
Oh right. Thanks, I had that backwards. I thought it was about fixing someone else, not about indifference or diffusing the effect of others on you.
Complacency can only impact adversely on you by lack of action when you want action, so complacency is conquered by action. Do what you want, when you want.
(and you never know it may fix the complacent one, be it an excursion or an ultimatum)
Good luck (kick ass) with your things to do. (Referring to the post above, not this one - although.....)
Action without meaning doesn't necessarily disperse complacency. The government "acts" quite a bit. Yet I would say they are still fairly complacent.
Firstly, I assumed your actions would have meaning. (Their complacency, your actions).
Secondly, I'd disagree with your findings with the government. Do you really feel the government is vibrant and dynamic, resourceful and efficient and full of action? Furthermore any action coming from the government seems primarily to be generated by fear. I wouldn't call them complacent. Destructive, selfish, greedy and myopic, but not complacent. Why devote most of your energies to attacking your opposition and selling lies if you are complacent? :)
Are you trying to say that there is only one entity now and as a lying man you have to conquer yourself with the truth?
Sigh. bambi, must everything be an argument with you? You can't assume that actions have any meaning at all. They may simply be REactions. And I'm fairly certain you know I don't believe those things you listed about the government. An alternative view is that they are most certainly complacent about the things that would help the average citizen, and spend most of their time reacting to any potential loss toward self-interest.
I have absolutely no idea what your last sentence means, as it makes no sense to me.
The Great thing about this discussion is that I can't be blamed for it.
That's the G(?)reat thing about the "War" in Iraq too hey.
Oh right - but what you really meant to say was, "...and bambi can."
Well, so glad you're having a good day at last puppy. Pick on the poor defenseless orphan.
:-)
What makes you think that I am a 'puppy'? I got a grey moustache on my snout.
Well that explains the inablity to learn new tricks then. :D
Don't worry, I'll talk slower next time puppy. :)
What tricks would TOU have to teach me?
Whoops! Meant to say "You" not "Tou"
::squirts mad dog with water bottle::
Aaaat! My pets don't go to new Mistresses. Bad dog!
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