Essays in Idleness

[MediumTex]

Essays in Idleness is a collection of passages written by Japanese monk Yoshida Kenko between 1330 and 1332.

They are short and provocative and I think they may be of value to some readers of this forum.

If I had to make some connection between these essays and Harry Browne and the permanent portfolio, I would say that Harry Browne described the PP as a way of avoiding worry, distraction and preoccupation with one's investments.  Part of the point of eliminating the investing distraction from your life is to be able to focus more on the things that really matter to you and bring you the results you desire.

What these essays do in many cases is twofold--they have a tendency to tune one in to the small details of everyday life (small details from almost 700 years ago, no less) and how they are important, no matter how trivial they may seem, but the essays also have a way of sneaking up on larger truths and exposing them to the reader in very simple terms.

I will post a few.  If people like them, I will post more.  The passages are excerpted from a public domain source, so there is no copyright issue.


***

#47 - An Unworthy Prelate

Bishop Ryogaku, the elder brother of Kinyo no Nii, is reputed to have been a very ill-tempered man.

Near his temple there was a large nettle tree, and the people accordingly called him "Bishop Nettle."  He had the tree cut down, so that he might no longer be called by that name; but, as the roots were still there, they called him "Bishop Tree Stump."  This made him more angry than ever, and he had the stump dug up and thrown away.  But, as it left a large hole (which filled with water), he was called "Bishop Dug-Out Pond."

[craigr]

Sounds like a Japanese Aesop. Or perhaps Idries Shah (Tales of the Dervishes). Thanks for the reading suggestion.

[MediumTex]

#100 - On the Difficulty of An Easy Task

A man, who had a great reputation as a tree climber, made it a rule, whenever he sent anybody up a tall tree to cut twigs, to keep silence as long as the latter appeared to be in danger, but when he was coming down and had got about to the level of the eaves of a house, he would call out: "Do not slip!  Be careful how you come down!"

Somebody asked: "Why do you say that, for he has now descended so far that he can jump?"  And he answered: "It is for this reason.  When he was giddy with being on a dangerous branch, I did not speak, for he was sufficiently frightened himself.  But when he had reached a safer position, he was far more likely to slip."

Though this was a common low-class man, his teaching was in accordance with that of the sages.

[MediumTex]

#146 - Another True Prediction

Bishop Myo-un once met a physiognomist and asked: "Is there any calamity likely to befall me in connection with weapons of war?"  The physiognomist answered: "In truth, it looks to me as if there is."  "What makes you say that?" the bishop asked, to which the physiognomist replied: "You, my Lord, are one who is never likely even for a moment to be in danger of bodily wounds, and yet such a thought has occurred to you and you have asked me this.  Here already is a sign of danger."

And indeed it turned out later on that the bishop was struck by an arrow and died.

[MediumTex]

#43 - A Cultivated Man At Home

It was the end of spring; the sky was calm and lovely, and at a charming house hidden far back in a grove of old trees it would have been hard indeed for me to pass by without noticing the withered blossoms scattered over the garden. 

I noticed that on the south side the lattice shutters were all let down, so that the place looked deserted, but on the east the door was half-open, and I saw through a tear in the bamboo blind a man of well-bred appearance, perfectly self-possessed, though only some twenty years of age, refined and composed, with a book spread open on the table before him.

Now, who could this be?  How I wished I could find out!

[AdamA]

These are great!  I don't get the last one though...

[brajalle]

I've enjoyed the ones so far, thank you - going to hunt down the actual source. 

[MediumTex]

These are great!  I don't get the last one though...

I think it's sort of like the briefcase in "Pulp Fiction."  It's the mystery that makes it interesting.

[MediumTex]

#189 - On the Uncertainty of the Future

You may propose to do a certain thing today, but some unforeseen matter of importance crops up and you spend the time wrongly on it, or perhaps somebody you had expected cannot come, and some unexpected visitor arrives instead.  At all events you fail to do what you had planned, and it is only the unlooked-for that actually happens.  What was to have been a trouble turns out to be not so, and what looked as if it it would be easy proves to be quite heartbreaking, so that the events of each passing day are very different from what you had expected.

The same applies also to each year, nor is the whole of life's span any different.  You may perhaps think that everything is sure to go contrary to your preconceived ideas, but in that case you will find that things will of their own accord fail to do so, and it is harder than ever to foretell what is to come.

In truth, the one thing we may be sure of is that nothing is certain but life's uncertainty.

[Lone Wolf]

In truth, the one thing we may be sure of is that nothing is certain but life's uncertainty.[/i]

I won't disrupt the Zen vibe you've got going here with a lot of my jibber-jabber except to say that I'm enjoying these.  Keep em coming (if you're so inclined.)

[MediumTex]

#10 - The Home and Its Master

Though our home here is only a temporary resting place, yet if it is charming and in good taste it will afford us some little pleasure.

There, where a good man has his dwelling in peace, even the moonlight streaming in seems more than usually impressive, and though the place be not modern and magnificent, yet its old clump of trees, its garden plants not artificially trained but with a meaning of their own, its bench of bamboo, its well-adapted little hedge and its furniture placed naturally about recall the old ideals and give us an impression of charming tranquility.

But how sad and pitiful it is for the eye to see rare and valuable furniture of China and Japan, polished and finished by many an artist with the greatest skill, stiffly placed, with the plants and trees in the front garden trained in a meaningless fashion!  Well, indeed, none can live forever, and a single glance tells me that all this will pass away like a puff of smoke. 

In truth, it is from his home that the owner's character may be surmised.

[moda0306]

That last one deserves a slow clap, MT.

[6 Iron]

Somebody asked: "Why do you say that, for he has now descended so far that he can jump?"  And he answered: "It is for this reason.  When he was giddy with being on a dangerous branch, I did not speak, for he was sufficiently frightened himself.  But when he had reached a safer position, he was far more likely to slip."

Though this was a common low-class man, his teaching was in accordance with that of the sages.[/i]

I really like this one. It reminds me of reading about Everest climbers, and that the vast majority of deaths occur on the way down.

[MediumTex]

Somebody asked: "Why do you say that, for he has now descended so far that he can jump?"  And he answered: "It is for this reason.  When he was giddy with being on a dangerous branch, I did not speak, for he was sufficiently frightened himself.  But when he had reached a safer position, he was far more likely to slip."

Though this was a common low-class man, his teaching was in accordance with that of the sages.[/i]

I really like this one. It reminds me of reading about Everest climbers, and that the vast majority of deaths occur on the way down.

It's funny you mention Everest.  I just finished reading Jon Krakauer's excellent "Into Thin Air."

After finishing the book, I watched two great documentaries about Everest on Netflix (both stream).

The first was "The Wildest Dream", a 2010 documentary about George Mallory's ill-fated 1924 expedition (in which he may have actually been the first to summit Everest).  Great story.  Mallory was the guy who coined the phrase "because it's there" when asked why a person would want to climb a mountain.

The second was "Storm Over Everest", a 2008 documentary about the 1996 disaster covered in "Into Thin Air."  It's a Nova production and it's very well done, with interviews with many of the survivors.  There is something chilling about watching a couple of very fit looking people describe the experience, but when the camera shot picks up their arms you see the missing fingers and hands.  Beck Weathers' story in particular is pretty amazing. 

[dualstow]

That last one deserves a slow clap, MT.

What is the sound of one hand slow clapping?

[MediumTex]

That last one deserves a slow clap, MT.

What is the sound of one hand slow clapping?

It is the sound of a bonsai tree falling
In a mountain valley
When none are within earshot.

[dualstow]

This is a great thread and a nice escape, especially because where I live people are not so much Tsurezuregusa*
as Carmine Ragusa.

* = essays in idleness