Guest Chillin Posted May 23, 2000 Share Posted May 23, 2000 I didn't think anyone would take this so seriously, I'm IMLADIL either your some sort of genius and pull this stuff from the top of your head or you really did some research. Good God some of this stuff is deep! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Imladil Posted May 23, 2000 Share Posted May 23, 2000 Thanks, Chillin. Mysticism and the greater nature of reality in general are a subject of much thought for me. I do a lot of research into the matter, but a lot of it comes from within as well. Normally, I don't talk about this stuff at this forum because the subject branches so readily into religion...and not everyone here wants to open up a debate on religion! On the other hand, we can certainly discuss these questions from the philosophical point of view. The zen koan is an instrument of philosophy as well as spiritual enlightenment, so they can be safely discussed in a secular setting. Besides, they exercise the 'brain muscles.' ...And y'all thought you were here just to talk about video games! ------------------ "Is the state of being realized as important as realizing the state of being?" --Thrustweasel of Earth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Shootist Posted May 23, 2000 Share Posted May 23, 2000 As for the 'drop of water' matter. How big IS a drop? Rain drops even come in different sizes. As far as I can see, no drop of water is capable of doing much by itself. One drop doesn't halt a drought, slake a thirst, make a good shower, or even last very long alone. About the only thing a single drop can do is short out my electric curlers. Nothing great. When united they are perhaps the strongest force on Earth. Perhaps a metaphor for the frailty of the human condition? ------------------ VERY FUNNY SCOTTY, now please beam down my PANTS!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Chillin Posted May 23, 2000 Share Posted May 23, 2000 IMLADIL, about the reflection in the mirror, well I think you have a point. How do we now we're not looking on into some other dimension where we aren't real in the physical state. Or mabey the reflection is our soul and It's taking a look at us, mabey it is our soul and it creates an illusion in our brain to make us believe we are seeing ourselves. If it is just an illusion made by the soul than how do we know what we really look like, our faces could be hideous and we would never know. Mabey our souls can even project this image to other people so we look the same to everyone. Back on that other dimension thing how do we know that we are not the reflection? Just because we can feel and touch things? You all saw the Matrix right? Well they said our senses are just electrical impulses to the brain, it doesn't deside which of those impulses is real it just makes us think they're real. I think that kindof comes close to what your asking. So basicaly we may never know if the image in the mirror is real. This stuff is going to keep me up all night! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Imladil Posted May 23, 2000 Share Posted May 23, 2000 Yow! Disengage mental drive for awhile there, buddy, let things cool down a bit. You're gonna look awful silly if your hair catches on fire... When stuck in a repeating logic loop of the type Chillin describes with the mirror, it can be helpful to smash the mirror. Reality reasserts itself almost immediately. How big can a drop of water be, Shootist? I dunno, how big are the world's oceans, anyway? When I consider the drop of water koan, I find it to be an exploration of form. A drop of water is only a separate drop so long as it remains apart from the 'great drop'...then it ceases to exist as an individual drop when it rejoins the ocean--and yet, that drop of water is not destroyed at all. By considering the relationship between drops and 'great drop' I see reflected a good model of how our physical universe is constantly doing the same thing (albeit on a different scale.) But that's just what I get from it...it should reveal different truths to each individual who considers it deeply enough. Zen elephant joke: Q: "What has a trunk, four legs and floppy ears?" A: "It is not an elephant." ------------------ "Is the state of being realized as important as realizing the state of being?" --Thrustweasel of Earth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Chillin Posted May 24, 2000 Share Posted May 24, 2000 I did all that in the morning before school, I don't know mabey that time when I'm awake, but not quite, is the time when I really think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Master Posted May 24, 2000 Share Posted May 24, 2000 Well, Imladil, could it be an, ummmmmmm, Elephant? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Chillin Posted May 24, 2000 Share Posted May 24, 2000 I guess I'm slow or something but I didn't get IMLADIL's joke. ------------------ I have graced this topic with my artistic writing, you should all be forever thankful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Shootist Posted May 24, 2000 Share Posted May 24, 2000 REFLECTION of an elephant!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Chillin Posted May 24, 2000 Share Posted May 24, 2000 Alright I got it, I got it. Take it easy. Yikes. ------------------ I have graced this topic with my artistic writing, you should all be forever thankful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Imladil Posted May 24, 2000 Share Posted May 24, 2000 One possible answer to the elephant riddle: it could be a rabbit on vacation. Okay, so that wasn't really a koan. I just wanted to keep things loose... For today, I have a real one (Well, as real as my pink little brain comes up with, anyway.) "Does a rainbow have a middle?" <font size=1>Curious note: the half awake or hypnagogic state that Chillin describes is the same state of mind sought by meditation.</font> ------------------ "Is the state of being realized as important as realizing the state of being?" --Thrustweasel of Earth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Chillin Posted May 25, 2000 Share Posted May 25, 2000 Well IMLADIL a rainbow is just light reflecting off of water droplets, and light doesn't have mass(I think) so I'd say a rainbow doesn't have a middle. But if you mean something like can you cut a rainbow in half in the middle then, yes. Here's a practical koan... Why do ion lasers(in rogue squadron) blow up everything instead of disabling it, except for that train. I understand that the TIEs would just fall to the ground like usual, but why don't Turbolasers or AT-STs just stop and be disabled? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Master Posted May 25, 2000 Share Posted May 25, 2000 Well the game programers probably didn't have time to program all that extra stuff, like being able to disable smaller insignificant enemys. And it would confuse the computer anyways, because you would hit the enemy a certain amount of times and that would be the amount of regular fire power you have to shot it regularly. Just my ideas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Shootist Posted May 25, 2000 Share Posted May 25, 2000 That and the fact that BOOMs and FLAMES sell better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Imladil Posted May 25, 2000 Share Posted May 25, 2000 Hmmm...I think that the ion cannon disables just fine; it's just in the AT-ST's nature to blow up, that's all. Q: "Why did the chicken walker cross the road?" A: "Because I was CHASING IT--! C'mere, you little **** dog! I'm a-gonna BLAST ya!" The rainbow koan makes more sense if you've ever tried to find the rainbow's end. How can a thing with no end have a middle? Actually, I tried this one on somebody at work, and they pointed out that if you see a rainbow while you're in the air, it's actually circular...and in that case the rainbow's middle would have to be in the center of the circle--not on the rainbow at all. Interesting thing, the circle. Ever try to draw a perfect circle, freehand? It's almost impossible, but doing so was a mental exercise that was another facet of zen meditation. The artist believed that the condition of his circle was a reflection of his state of mind...and that he could only draw a perfect circle if he was perfectly enlightened. Try it...you may be surprised how hard it is to do! ------------------ "Is the state of being realized as important as realizing the state of being?" --Thrustweasel of Earth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Evil Spock Posted May 25, 2000 Share Posted May 25, 2000 Well, my circle looks like a squashed puppy. What went wrong? ------------------ "Beware the bearded one." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Imladil Posted May 25, 2000 Share Posted May 25, 2000 Nothing went wrong. Since you are an evil Vulcan space pirate from an alternate universe, the squashed puppy state of mind is probably an accurate potrayal of your psyche. My circle doesn't look like a circle at all, but a sphere. Someone explain that to me... ------------------ "Is the state of being realized as important as realizing the state of being?" --Thrustweasel of Earth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Master Posted May 25, 2000 Share Posted May 25, 2000 And who might that be? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Chillin Posted May 25, 2000 Share Posted May 25, 2000 Mine looks pretty close except that it looks slightly more like an oval. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Shootist Posted May 26, 2000 Share Posted May 26, 2000 Mine looks like a hairy egg...with a machette buried in it. ------------------ VERY FUNNY SCOTTY, now please beam down my PANTS!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Chillin Posted May 26, 2000 Share Posted May 26, 2000 SHOOTIST, how many times have you been to an insane asylum? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Master Posted May 26, 2000 Share Posted May 26, 2000 My circle looked like Kason's head exploding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Shootist Posted May 27, 2000 Share Posted May 27, 2000 Just this once...I promise. ------------------ VERY FUNNY SCOTTY, now please beam down my PANTS!!! [This message has been edited by Shootist (edited May 28, 2000).] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Chillin Posted May 28, 2000 Share Posted May 28, 2000 Another question about wierd things on the game that has the same answer as the one about the ion lasers...Why do stormtroopers blow up and how would you be able hear them scream way up in the air? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Master Posted May 29, 2000 Share Posted May 29, 2000 Well, I have a theory of why they blow up. They look like they have some kind of pack on that would explod when shot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.