Carl Abbott

He Who Conquers Self

The details of Buddha’s Four Noble Truths (p.604) vary somewhat depending on the source. I recently dug up the source for the most succinct and useful version that I found in Thailand long ago. At that time, I had a problem with how the Third Noble Truth was stated and so I changed a few […]

Democracy as Myth

All social species need their ‘alpha-male’ for governance even if that’s the queen of a beehive. Being a more complex than bees, human governance is multi-layered and hierarchical to varying degrees. Indeed, the more sophisticated the culture/civilization, the more layers—the more hierarchical. Conversely, our ancestor hunter-gatherers had few, if any, layers — no courts, parliaments, […]

So, You Want Enlightenment, Eh?

There are two phases of enlightenment. One is a sudden flash of knowing, the Zen Satori, as the Japanese call it. I suppose most people experience a degree of this at least sometime in their life. I mean, one’s bastion of belief is bound to crack a bit and let in the light of darkness […]

When Is Attachment Good?

The Tao Te Ching hints that at least some attachment is always good. As chapter 1 allows, Always allow yourself to have desires in order to observe its manifestations. It helps to consider how desire and attachment relate. I consider desire to be like the glue of attachment. Although beneath it all lays the foundation—need […]

Let Sleeping Dogs Lie

I often mention the benefit of watching out for similarity. The more literal translation of chapter 56 puts it this way, Knowing doesn’t speak; speaking doesn’t know. Subdue its sharpness, untie its tangles, Soften its brightness, be the same as dust, This is called profound sameness. Focusing on differences, while often stimulating, is not as […]

The Story Trumps Truth

Viewing life impartially is one of the least stimulating yet most pleasing experiences I know. Biased views, on the other hand, are chock full of emotional tension, highs and lows, loves and hates —exciting yet stressful! Likewise, a good story is exciting, where as plain truth is often boring. While this is evident, Correlations (1) […]

Water in Mind

This morning’s early light and hazy sky brought back memories of arriving at Bokor Hillstation Casino in Cambodia. Light has a nostalgic effect on me as music has for many people. It must be genetic for my mother was also that way. Merely looking up into the sky can transport me back to primordial times, […]

Why God?

Why God? I have not heard this question asked much… if at all. Debate focuses mostly on whose God is true, the nature of God, or does God even exist. I suppose asking “Why do we believe in God” is a zoological inquiry of sorts. That is the place to begin… After all, we are […]

Playing With Dolls

I’ve been amused for years by society’s attempts to blame culture for things that are obviously biological. This is the old nature vs. nurture debate. Naturally, I could never convince others that nature was at least 50% responsible by reasoned debate alone. I suppose those who blame nurture and culture most vociferously, do so because […]

Belief in Nothing is Dangerous

YouTube [Tucson: Descent Into Madness] for the 60 Minutes documentary about a shooting in Arizona. It offers insight into what drives a person to such violence. The perpetrator was Jared Loughner. Excerpts from an interview of two of Jared’s friends are at the end of this post. What caught my attention was when his friends […]

Illusions, Everywhere I Think

I was thinking today about how readily we accept the reality of optical illusions over reasoning illusions. Certainly, the optical illusions are easier to spot. I imagine reason based illusions are not easy to notice because we have such deep-seated faith in what we think. Why do we trust our thinking sixth sense so deeply? […]

Wandering Mind Is Unhappy Mind

Google [Many unhappy returns for wandering minds] for research that supports watchfulness, as I call it. Left-brain science and right-brain Taoist thought are my two best resources for avoiding the Dunning–Kruger effect (p.144). Together they offer points of view from opposite ends of the awareness spectrum. Each balances the other. Alone, either one can mislead. […]