The Power of Proverb

[CircadianFilmGroup]

My 12-year old sister gave me a calendar this Christmas.

I know - sounds like a lousy gift. On the contrary.

She had forgotten to peel the pricetag off the back, and I noticed she had purchased it at her church's annual "world market". It had been published and printed in Nairobi and Kenya, respectively. She has a great heart, my sister, and her shrewdness as a consumer is uncommon for her age... she makes me very proud.

But I digress. The calendar is titled "African Wisdom for Life", and imparts one African proverb daily. Some are what I call "fortune cookie", others true "dharma": All possess what I call "telluric wisdom" - pragmatic, earthy advice that has been crushed beneath the Industrial Revolution's steamroller with Freud at the wheel. I propose, therefore, to replant these seeds in its wake.

I would like to suggest a thread, or Forum, in which we might post daily proverbs limited to two, three lines at most. "Brevity is the soul of wit", as Hamlet said.

Please reply to this thread if you support this suggestion!

DB

PS: "Be a neighbour to a human being and not to a fence." - Kenyan Proverb

[Profpat]

I think that is a great idea DB, and since it is your idea you should start the thread. I know I have many to offer from the TAO and Upanishads and Einstein and many many more.

BTW welcome to the Toequest Forum. I'm looking forwrd to your thread.

In fact let me be the first:

"... Knowing that knowing is unknowable is true perfection. " Chuang Tzu

[mkirkpatrick]

My 12-year old sister gave me a calendar this Christmas.

I know - sounds like a lousy gift. On the contrary.

She had forgotten to peel the pricetag off the back, and I noticed she had purchased it at her church's annual "world market". It had been published and printed in Nairobi and Kenya, respectively. She has a great heart, my sister, and her shrewdness as a consumer is uncommon for her age... she makes me very proud.

But I digress. The calendar is titled "African Wisdom for Life", and imparts one African proverb daily. Some are what I call "fortune cookie", others true "dharma": All possess what I call "telluric wisdom" - pragmatic, earthy advice that has been crushed beneath the Industrial Revolution's steamroller with Freud at the wheel. I propose, therefore, to replant these seeds in its wake.

I would like to suggest a thread, or Forum, in which we might post daily proverbs limited to two, three lines at most. "Brevity is the soul of wit", as Hamlet said.

Please reply to this thread if you support this suggestion!

DB

PS: "Be a neighbour to a human being and not to a fence." - Kenyan Proverb

Welcome CFG to the forum,greetings from the UK to you,If we were each being ourselves
where would you fit in?(me,circa,16.40 today.)

regards michael,

[CircadianFilmGroup]

"... Knowing that knowing is unknowable is true perfection. " Chuang Tzu

Socrates: "I know nothing except the fact of my ignorance".

Not a proverb exactly, though a reflection of the indisputable and fundamental unity of Western and Eastern philosophy, that only in this - the "Information Age" - begins to become clear to us.

This fantastic phenomenon we have been born into - the meeting of West and East - is, I believe, the fundamental reason for the appearance of forums such as this one. They are a response to incredible new challenges we now face, such as the political-economic paradigm of "free world trade" (I leave it to you to whether or not this has been truly achieved yet).

His Holiness Tenzin Gyatzo, the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet, has had a remarkable life embracing the West (in all its modernity). His "Ethics for The New Millenium" and "The Art of Happiness" are must-reads for all who are concerned with the more philosophical implications of the TOE. On the other side of the coin is the late British philosopher Alan Watts, whose earnest exploration of Eastern thought (most particularly Zen Buddhism) pulled mystic experience out from seams of paradox within Western "subject-object" metaphysics.

The Dalai Lama and Watts, representing the latter days of the 20th Century, have passed the torch to us, and it is us who will determine whether their visions of a West-East harmony can be truly and meaningfully carried out.

This thread encourages the collection of proverbial wisdom from both Western and Eastern schools of thought. Welcome all.

DB

The [TOE] that can be told is not the eternal [TOE];
The name that can be named is not the eternal name.
'Nothingness' is the beginning of heaven and earth.
'Oneness' is the mother of everythings.

[N0B0DY]

"... Knowing that knowing is unknowable is true perfection. " Chuang Tzu

I think this one above is priceless, perfect. It might go well with, "Unless you link yourself to true emptiness, you will never understand the way of peace." - O Sensei

I know nothing, therefore the universe knows everything. - Nobody, from the West.

[Profpat]

I think the universe knows you're pretty bright Nobody for knowing you know nothing.

DB: I'm hopeful for globalization which includes free trade throughout. China and Russia had the borders closed too long, and we need to share our global wisdom and talents and resources so we the people of the world will all benefit.

I believe the economics of the future will not be managing scarce resources but one of distributing abundance.

My quote for this post comes from Uncle Albert:

Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity,
and I'm not sure about the former.

Albert Einstein

Best to all,

Pat

[N0B0DY]

I think the universe knows you're pretty bright Nobody for knowing you know nothing.

Oh, I don't know about that, Pat, but thank you.

I'm curious of the source for the Einstein quote, do you have it off hand so I don't have to look it up?

[Profpat]

( http://www.famousquotes.me/einstein_albert/10.htm )

One of my favorite quotes is from Sgt. Schultz of HOGANS HEROS:

" I KNOW NOTHING "

[Profpat]

OOPS try:
( http://www.famousquotes.me.uk/einstein_albert/10.htm )

[Profpat]

An even better site is:
( http://www.quotationspage.com/quotes/Albert_Einstein/ )