Cool

[RisiaSkye]

No, really, I don't think anyone is supposed to get Buddhism. It's all stories like:

A young man journey to the top of a tall mountain to seek the wisdom of a wise old man.

"Wise master," he said, "I have travelled many miles to receive your wise wisdom. Please tell me, how can I reach Nirvana?"

"Young caterpillar," the wise old wise master said, "A butterfly flies free on the western wind, but only a fish may swim in the sea."

I know you made this one up, but it actually DOES make sense, and fits a kind of zen. A master cannot pass on their knowledge, as wisdom is only suited to the one who learns it for themselves. My version of wisdom may bring me to the same place as yours bring you (the path to nirvana), but our ways of expressing, understanding, and learning it will be entirely different. The only true teacher is the self. The only knowledge gained comes from one's own journey.

So there.

 

[Problem Child]

Cool Lit people: Purple Haze, Never (there are others but that's enough for now)

Cool Actors: I agree with Lavy about Ed Norton Jr. Jack nicholson used to be cool, but I'm not so sure anymore. Clint Eastwood is like the king of cool, Steve McQueen and Jimmy Stewart in his serious roles. Ava Gardner was cool.

Dogs that don't bark alot and lick your face for no reason are cool.

Cashiers that say thank you and mean it are cool.

Extra fries with your order that you didn't have to pay for are cool.

Hunter Thompson is cool. That's one guy that really doesn't care what anyone thinks of him.

Kennedy was probably the coolest politician we've had.

Laying on a hammock in your backyard under a shade tree with ice tea is cool.

Denzel Washington is pretty damn cool.

Late sixties/early seventies muscle cars are cool.

 

[Desert Amazon]

 

[Pyper]

I know you made this one up, but it actually DOES make sense, and fits a kind of zen. A master cannot pass on their knowledge, as wisdom is only suited to the one who learns it for themselves. My version of wisdom may bring me to the same place as yours bring you (the path to nirvana), but our ways of expressing, understanding, and learning it will be entirely different. The only true teacher is the self. The only knowledge gained comes from one's own journey.

So there.

You got all this from my story? I always knew I was a zen master reincarnated.

But really, these two I just made up make a hell of a lot more sense than most zen stories. I just can't write that cryptically.

 

[Dillinger]

You got all this from my story? I always knew I was a zen master reincarnated.

But really, these two I just made up make a hell of a lot more sense than most zen stories. I just can't write that cryptically.

Sense? And Sensibility? We don't need no steeeeeenkin sense. Just give me a dollar.

 

[RisiaSkye]

You got all this from my story? I always knew I was a zen master reincarnated.

But really, these two I just made up make a hell of a lot more sense than most zen stories. I just can't write that cryptically.

I've read plenty of koan/koin/qoin/quoin (depending how you like to spell it), and they're cryptic in order to make you puzzle it out for yourself. The only true knowledge comes from your own journey. The only spiritual counsel a master can offer is a clue, an intentionally cryptic reminder that self-realization is the only true path. Thus, your own interpretation is essential. It's meaningless for a master to spell it out, not to mention impossible.

If they told you "don't eat meat on Fridays", for example, how would that help you to understand anything? It's clear and concise, but provides no wisdom. It'd just provide dogmatic rules.

Dogma doesn't make people think. Cryptic messages might.

 

[Dillinger]

This is tough for me... especially for me... because you all know I could inundate this thread with zen koans, parables and more... but...

What is cool?

 

[RisiaSkye]

This is tough for me... especially for me... because you all know I could inundate this thread with zen koans, parables and more... but...

What is cool?

But, just for you, Dill, I should add the germanic spelling (Koan) to the list, don't you think?



How about this:
Zen Koans are cool.

Having to figure out what a seemingly meaningless story might express about the spiritual possibilities of a limitless universe is cool.

 

[Never]

Can I read a real koan?

 

[Dillinger]

How is a koan like a cone?

 

[Never]

They're both open-ended?

 

[Guest]

A glass of water with one ice cube in it.

 

[lavender]

 

[RisiaSkye]

Drinking a beer as you talk to a good friend and marvel at the sky.

And if anyone tells me I'm being too idealistic here, bite my ass.

Nope. Beer is never cool. Sometimes cold, but never cool. I hate that piss. All of it.

And you're being too idealistic here. Really, I just want the chance to bite your ass.

 

[lavender]

Munch

 

[Dillinger]

How is a koan like a cone?

Because they both taste better with sprinkles.

 

[Dillinger]

OK... more coolness...

President-wise I'd have to go with Calvin Coolidge

Car-wise I'd saya 1973 Porsche 911 2.8 RSR

Writer's - James Joyce, Hunter S. Thompson

Actors - Jack Nicholson has always been cool and still is.