---
title: Sayings
date: 2012-06-17
techne: :done
episteme: :believed
---

Thus have I heard. 

1. The Savior said, nothing lasts.[^anicca] If you watch closely, things keep on wobbling away, even really sticky ones.

2. The Savior said, don't identify with things. Those that think they are things, become things.[^anatta]

3. The Savior said, now is good, tomorrow never good enough.

4. The Savior said, don't force it. Things have a way of getting done if you don't try to get them done while getting them done.[^gtd]

5. The Savior said, those who know the Law will follow it.

6. The Savior said, if you try hard, many things become possible.

7. The Savior said, don't wish for things because then you will get exactly what you wished for and it will totally suck and you will look stupid.[^wish] 

8. The Savior said, every strength is a weakness. Be empty, be invincible.

9. The Savior said, fail in interesting ways.

10. The Savior said, go meta.[^meta]

11. The Savior said, justification flows from above to below.

12. The Savior said, never compromise.

13. The Savior said, be concrete about your despair.

14. The Savior said, constrain your mind and truth shall follow.

15. The Savior said, don't be happy.

[^anatta]:
    Try "finding yourself" some time. But don't do a half-assed job and stop with the first thing that comes up. Be thorough. Allow yourself to be genuinely surprised. If it makes sense right away, then it is most definitely wrong.

    A koan. One day, a monk went to the Savior and said, "Holy One, my mind has no peace as yet. Please, put it to rest.". The Savior told him,

    > Huike said, "Your disciple's mind has no peace as yet. Master, please, put it to rest.". Bodhidharma said, "Bring me your mind, and I will put it to  rest.". Huike said, "I have searched for my mind, but I cannot find it.". Bodhidharma said, "I have completely put it to rest for you.".
    
    The monk searched and returned. "Holy One, I have searched for my mind and found it. Please, put it to rest now.".

    Upon hearing this, The Savior left the town and never returned.
    
[^anicca]:
    When you watch yourself watching yourself, you will occasionally catch yourself not watching yourself. Really. Try it. (Unfortunately, it takes a lot of practice to get there. The problem is developing a strong enough concentration and to get rid of many mental filters until you can direct your attention at your own attention. The rest falls into place in no time.)

    You see, even the elementary metaphysics of the universe are too lazy to put in full effort all the time.  But hey, being All There Is can be exhausting sometimes. You'd cut corners, too. 

[^gtd]: 
    Imagine the world being run by the most spiteful of all Demons. Whatever you plan, it will prevent. Whatever you want, it will take away. Whatever you want to avoid, it will force on you. But if you stop making any plans, it can't do anything anymore. The opposite of zero is still zero.

    This is when the Tao can take over. The Tao is a lot nicer than the Demon. So, stop making plans. And imagining demons. What are you, 5?

[^meta]: Including on going meta. You can always go meta.

[^wish]:
    A long time ago, a young monk had a clear vision of The Perfect Life, including a place to live and a girl to be with. Then he moved to that place and met that girl and he was really unhappy. Turned out, he didn't actually like being there and the girl was kinda boring and just as full of fear and uncertainty as the monk, so what good is she, really?
