Seven Books of the Elephant

標籤: Keen

dear thomas,

you refer to your world domination project as "Rose Cross" (what's your word again?).

i would refer to the tiny common part of our pursuits as PEH - Project Elephant Hunting 掃象行動. is not elephant a national pride of the Indians? (as you know me, i certainly won't mind giving credit to where credit is due.)

as mentioned, my seven milestones i name 大象七書, alluding to the classic phrase of 大方無隅, 大器晚成, 大音希聲, 大象無形.

these books, absolutely interesting to me, i name here for your reference.

1. A Guide for the Perplexed, by E.F. Schumacher
http://www.amazon.com/Guide-Perplexed-E-F-Schumacher/dp/0060906111/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-9252094-4832657?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1194743112&sr=8-1
it is the Big Bang, my precious.

2. The Psychology of Man's Possible Evolution, by P.D. Ouspensky
In Search of the Miraculous, by the way; look at how maniac those seekers are, pursuing those elusive and at times cranky truths - so obsessively that nothing else is real, that the First World War has no more reality than an inexorable besetting dream!

3. the Enneagram books, by Riso & Hudson
pls just don't take them lightly; you don't know what you miss - maybe you just don't like the style of presentation. admittedly they are more for the 5w6 people, which is me, than the 5w4, which is you. well, as a matter of fact, which i told merry as well, i esteem the 5w4 people most highly.

4. those three freely given away practical Buddhist books that i gave you yesterday
again maybe not the read of your kind. i don't expect you will find the other two besides the mahamudra very exciting; there are some unavoidable repetitions, by virtue of the nature of an essay collection; and some apparent cliches, by virtue of the way Buddhists generally speak. the only book of which i expect your indepth reading and critical discussion is the english mahamudra; the chinese books i leave them to their fate - isn't it just the way of all the homely free books laid dust-laden outside the vegetarian house? nevertheless i suggest you to read, in following order, at least: the green book, 耳根圓通法門, 見性與著相之別, and 如何消除貪瞋癡慢疑; the yellow book, 序, written by the pupil for the master, and 乙亥講演錄, where you will find a complete and systematic introduction to Buddhism by somebody who knows what he speaks. these two books finally convinced me into Buddhism.

5. the english mahamudra book
i regard mahamudra, by my way of thinking and expanding my realm of understanding, as the skeleton key to all the mysterious writings (limitting to those that have some truth to convey). i beg you pls read and share with me this highest wisdom.

6. I AM THAT
the more i read the book, the more i adore the man.

7. The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien
and The Hobbit. pls eavesdrop the following heartfelt conversation between Gimli the Dwarf and Legolas the Elf, which succinctly sums up the core idea of the masterpiece:

Tell me, Legolas, why did I come on this Quest? Little did I know where the chief peril lay! Truly Elrond spoke, saying that we could not foresee what we might meet upon our road. Torment in the dark was the danger that I feared, and it did not hold me back. But I would not have come, had I known the danger of light and joy. Now I have taken my worst wound in this parting, even if I were to go this night straight to the Dark Lord. Alas for Gimli son of Gloin!'

'Nay!' said Legolas. 'Alas for us all! And for all that walk the world in these after-days. For such is the way of it: to find and lose, as it seems to those whose boat is on the running stream. But I count you blessed, Gimli son of Gloin: for your loss you suffer of your own free will, and you might have chosen otherwise.'



i have included the last book more because of my feeling. but the theoretical relevance here is rather simple. everybody has his Gollum to master over. these Seven Books of the Elephant are enough, i venture to say, to give a complete course in the mysterious. no need to waste further your time to search elsewhere while i have spent seven years in the searching.

can you pass to me the mysterious phrase that we uncovered yesterday by synchronicity? very memorable indeed.

may the Force be with you.


ever yours,
keen









p.s. the heroes in Star Wars also practice Jhana do you know this fact?