Xn3cTs

wrote this circa 2004…

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I think the better version of that witticism is “I’m a vegetarian not because I love animals. It’s because I hate plants.”

The anecdote might have been simply a hyperbole to convey what I think is a very wise teaching: should it ever come to a point when one’s uncompromising principles lead to the possible loss of compassion, better relax and compromise. I think the head-monk ate the meat not so much because he didn’t want to refuse the host but because his fellow-monks were berating the hotel staff.

Likewise, the “animal-loving misanthropist” bit simply referred to the abundant cases of eccentrics who get featured in the media who shun human society and spend millions of dollars for the upkeep of their pet cats/dogs.

I wasn’t all that concerned with vegetarianism per se.

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Tags: Conrad de Quiros, Elizabeth Chionglo, Graham Greene, Masada, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Vegetarianism
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Do you believe in love at first sight?

I do.

Saw this little book “The Alphabet of Grace” by Frederick Buechner in the bargain bin of NBS, bought it (for P50), and fell in love with it. Lent it to someone who, of course, lost it. And then, after some time, I serendipitously found and bought a new one (for P300). It’s about the spiritual experience of, in his own words, “a part-time novelist, Christian, pig.” What caught my attention: the title. What I loved in it: a very human, semi-mystical approach to spirituality.

Am thinking of translating it to Tagalog someday. I tried, and never got past the introduction. Will have to find time, someday.

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Excerpts from “When Fish Talk: A Retrospective” by Pancho Vera Lapuz (in NU107 Rock Awards X Mag):

“… The only thing that doesn’t change is change. Less than a month ago, scientists discovered a black hole in space that emits a tone in the key of B flat. In the key of C, that is the minor 7th note, which could make the C scale Dominant, or Blues, or it could be a chromatic passing tone, Jazz, on its way up to the Major, down to the diminished, or through to the melodic minor. It could even be in its own scale of B flat, indifferent, arrhythmic. No mention of rhythm, just tone. It takes both tone and rhythm to make music, in the standard sense. Maybe tone is all it provides, and it’s up to us to provide beat, time, signature, and meter, up to us to offer the pulse to the eternal dance. Why do we hear it? Why does it move us? Contemporaneous to that, in our lifetime, the planet Mars is the closest it will ever be in orbit to the planet Earth, not in another multibillion million ice ages will it ever be that close again. Furthermore, scientists have also recently spotted an asteroid headed directly toward us, how big is it? How big does it have to be? … That’s the trident visible on our horizon: the black hole in B flat, that’s 1, Mars as close as it will ever get, that’s 2, and the asteroid, headed in our direction makes 3. Self-preservation is the main idea, you’ve got to pick up every stitch, pickle our planet and save it, save ourselves, for the eternal quest ahead, peace on earth, goodwill towards men, survival of the fittest, in search of the dominant gene, the eternal treadmill, the journey, the groove, and the run of things.

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Tags: NU107
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novermber 22, 2003

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To continue with Nietzsche’s criticism of Buddhism:

Nietzsche preferred Judaism over Christianity. He saw Christianity as the full flowering of Jewish resentment (as exemplified by St. Paul, who because he couldn’t observe the Law, turned against the Law…). Likewise, he preferred Hinduism over Buddhism, which he saw as the product of an old, world-and-life-wearied culture/civilization.

Nietzsche looks at Buddhism as a pessimism.

Life is full of suffering. How to end suffering?

End the very source of suffering, life itself. Since suicide was believed to produce more suffering (through karma/reincarnation), this particular option is out of the question.

How is life manifested? Through desire.

You want to end suffering, then desire no more.

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Tags: Buddhism, Desire, Friedrich Nietzsche, Life, Pessimism, spirituality
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reposting… november, 2003.

best regards,

ian

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Nietzsche, Hume and the Buddha

When I first heard of Nietzsche, it was in association with Hitler and the Nazis. I simply dismissed him as a rabid, power-hungry maniac who probably had an unhappy childhood. A classmate in college wrote a paper on this Nietzsche guy and I was silently chuckling on the thought that a comic book idea (“superman”) can be the subject of a scholarly paper.

But when I did get to read him (years later), I was simply won over by this crazy guy! He says provocative things that, when thought about, actually make sense. He’s probably among the few philosophers who doesn’t come across as an insipid intellectual. He’s got style, lots of it. He doesn’t say things just for effect (although sometimes it feels like that). He’s an artist, an artist-philosopher. He’s very passionate and his sincerity comes across. He also has a weird sense of humor. Indeed, he writes with his blood. Indeed, he’s a dynamite.

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Tags: Art, Buddha, Buddhism, Hume, Love, Nietzsche, Philosophy, Power, religion, spirituality, Writing
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Good thing I posted the whole thing in a forum… powtah. Eto, re-posting…

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The Prom(ethean) Knight: Thoughts on the “Dark Knight”
By Michael Ian Lomongo

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In Greek Mythology, Prometheus is the Titan who stole fire from the Gods and was then punished by being chained to the mountains of Caucasus, where a vulture came every knight to feed on his liver. He is cast by different authors either as the benefactor of mankind or as the one responsible for the evils besetting mankind.

Yes, since childhood, we have known Batman as a comic superhero. Perhaps the most plausible among the superheroes, since he has no known superpowers. He’s just an extremely wealthy guy with superb fighting skills. Plus the machinery and gadgets to supplement those skills.

But he is, in fact, a masked vigilante. A “freak.” Even if his intentions are noble, in essence, he operates outside, or at least within the fringes, of society’s laws.

Bruce Wayne himself recognizes this. He too dreams of a Gotham City without Batman. A time when superheroes and masked vigilantes would be unnecessary. A world wherein justice truly works. Where he would simply be Bruce Wayne.

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Tags: Batman, Ethics, Freedom, Movies, Philosophy, Power, Responsibility, The Dark Knight, truth
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Am trying to re-post old posts August of last year which were not backed up.

best regards,

ian

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More Than Words (More Ramblings…)

One of my all-time favorite songs is “More Than Words.” It became a monster hit in 1991 or 1992, spawning a long list of other “unplugged” numbers. The song, written by Nuno Bettencourt and Gary Cherone (of the now disbanded “Extreme,” a funky-metal band similar in style to Red Hot Chili Peppers, with lyrics that usually tackled religious and philosophical issues), had a beautiful melody, wonderful vocal harmony, with only a bare guitar and a bongo drum for its accompaniment. At a time when most songs were overweighed by layers of instrumentation with technological gadgets, synthesizers, etc., it was a breath of fresh air to hear this song that was pure and naked in its beauty, honesty, and simplicity. No gimmicks, just the bare essentials.

It also expressed for me an important lesson that I learned from Karl Marx and the existentialists. Karl Marx says that “Life determines consciousness; not consciousness, life.” Thus, the emphasis on praxis (practice, not as “rehearsal,” but as “actualization”), over and above theory. Of course, the existentialists harp on the call for authenticity.

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Tags: Life, Love, Nietzsche, Philosophy, spirituality
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Felix (d) Culpa (Cat)!

O Felix culpa! (“O Happy Fault!”) – St. Augustine

1. I love filipino komiks! I used to read Wakasan, Aliwan, Tagalog Klasiks, Superstar, Pilipino, and others whose names I forget at the moment. Of course, there was also Liwayway… =)
2. Myth is greater than fact. Fact is just, well, a fact. Boring.
3. That women are considered evil by men is just the fear/fascination they have for mystery/strangeness/otherness. What is strange/other is conveniently reduced to “evil.” But these are the “little men,” the “last men.”
4. As for me, I love women. Ergo, I love evil! Mwahahaha! Nietzsche: “What if truth were a woman?” Then the metaphysicians of old would grow weak and discouraged, their monolithic dick-truth going flabby and limping, sad… But not only is truth a woman (read: truth is a lie), life itself is woman!

felicitous and culpable,
ian

Tags: Evil, Filipino Komiks, Nietzsche, Women
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I read a book on “Soto Zen,” and I encountered the names of Huineng and Shen-hsiu in its presentation of the historical origins of Zen. They were both students of the so-called Fifth Ancestor (Zen Patriarch). Huineng became the successor, the 6th ancestor.

“Shen-hsiu believed that all beings possessed the Buddha nature. However, he regarded delusions (Skt. klesa) as something real, teaching that they must be removed gradually through strenuous efforts. His school of Zen is therefore termed ‘gradual enlightenment through real practice.’ The Zen of Hui-neng, on the other hand, holds that the Buddha Heart, which all beings naturally possess, is an indivisible union of the wisdom of enlightenment and meditation found in religious observances. Illusion and affliction are originally non-existent. Therefore, religious observances cannot be regarded as merely a means to rid oneself of illusion, but must be thought of as a practice of enlightenment, or enlightenment in practice. In Zen we call this ’sudden enlightenment – wonderful practice’ (J. tongomyoshu).”

Anyway, to continue with my rambling:

My research into the meaning of love, of course, led me to the Greek (eros/philia), Christian (eros/agape), and romantic (chivalric/troubadourian) ideas on love. At its core, love (whatever its form/manifestation) involves affirmation or approval or the simple recognition of value/beauty/good. (There is this play “Metamorphoses” that is a collection of Greek myths – based on Ovid’s work of the same title – that we read at Phil. Playhouse. I loved it. It’s very poetic, and I’d say, if executed well, could be a very moving meditation on love, in its various forms. I’d even say that the whole play is a prayer of sorts.)

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Tags: Life, Love, Nietzsche, Philosophy, Psychology, spirituality
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From an autografitti post… November 6, 2008.

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Hi peeps!

Hope you’re all doing fine!

In lieu of writing a clear presentation of what has been preoccupying my mind these days, I will be starting a series of rambling thoughts on certain topics (love, egoism, nietzsche, buddhism, christianity, power, passion, compassion, etc.) that have held me captive for sometime.

The stimulus, of course, is Buddhism and the Vipassana meditation course I just took.

My interest in Eastern religions and mysticism probably arose when, as a college seminarian, I took this course in Indian philosophy. I was simply fascinated by the stories, the immensity of it all, and the apparent contradictions contained within a philosophical system. I practically remembered almost without effort most of what we were taught in that particular subject. (Mostly basic concepts like “atman,” “brahman,” “maya,” etc.)

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Tags: Buddhism, Life, Love, Nietzsche, Philosophy, Psychology, spirituality
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