10-21-2010, 12:00 AM
Gonzo, the Joker, yikes! That character represented one who was totally imbalanced and had self-serving dreams of grandeur. I would say he pitied himself, felt the world was against him which made him enjoy seeing others suffer. Their suffering was his reward for his inner pain and resentment towards them (feeling unloved), which he hid behind his smile.
There is a difference between kindness and morality. You seem to associate the two as the same thing.
Kindness is a feeling. It is sincere and just comes from whence it comes (mysterious).
Morality is feeling obligated to pretend you feel any emotion you deem appropriate, and doing so so that any social consequences will be adverted or achieved depending on their being considered bad or good.
I have found through personal experience that when I let go of self-concern, all self-concern (not seeing the world composed of selves), there is the flow of unity that carries feelings with it and they are positive. The feelings don't discriminate, they just exist. I'm not talking about being in this state long term, but apparently some people, Buddhists, have claimed to have seen this occur in people.
One thing important to remember. Any pleasure derived at another's expense is linked to a personal emotion of retaliation. If you are happy to see others suffer, then its not that you have reached the place of no pity, but rather that you get enjoyment out of thinking you have conquered them in some way which is born from some fear you associate with them (some self-pity you have), buried very deeply, that makes you hate them for whatever reasons.
I think as children we start out not this way but socially acquire self-pity via the things that occur that cause us pain. We learn to maneuver around them and develop schemes so well that it takes years for us to see it, and more years to change it. Some try to change it by stopping having emotion. And Carlos aided this movement by how he wrote about things (which maybe he recanted later). So many people today view not having emotions as warrior-ly. But its not that such people have actually achieved an emotionless state, just they think its the answer to all that ails, but inside they still have lots of biases about the world and the people in it, so they leave an emotional trail when they speak and you can see it.
To me the challenge is to get to a place where nothing bothers you, that's the place of no pity. When you arrive at this place you do not have any complaints with the world, it is all as it should be. I'm not there yet, lol. Occasionally I do access this state as I think we all do, its just staying there that is the bigger challenge. I think Juan Matus achieved this. Remember he practiced controlled folly, and his words often contradicted, but basically I don't think he judged anyone from a place of self-pitying emotion.
There is a difference between kindness and morality. You seem to associate the two as the same thing.
Kindness is a feeling. It is sincere and just comes from whence it comes (mysterious).
Morality is feeling obligated to pretend you feel any emotion you deem appropriate, and doing so so that any social consequences will be adverted or achieved depending on their being considered bad or good.
I have found through personal experience that when I let go of self-concern, all self-concern (not seeing the world composed of selves), there is the flow of unity that carries feelings with it and they are positive. The feelings don't discriminate, they just exist. I'm not talking about being in this state long term, but apparently some people, Buddhists, have claimed to have seen this occur in people.
One thing important to remember. Any pleasure derived at another's expense is linked to a personal emotion of retaliation. If you are happy to see others suffer, then its not that you have reached the place of no pity, but rather that you get enjoyment out of thinking you have conquered them in some way which is born from some fear you associate with them (some self-pity you have), buried very deeply, that makes you hate them for whatever reasons.
I think as children we start out not this way but socially acquire self-pity via the things that occur that cause us pain. We learn to maneuver around them and develop schemes so well that it takes years for us to see it, and more years to change it. Some try to change it by stopping having emotion. And Carlos aided this movement by how he wrote about things (which maybe he recanted later). So many people today view not having emotions as warrior-ly. But its not that such people have actually achieved an emotionless state, just they think its the answer to all that ails, but inside they still have lots of biases about the world and the people in it, so they leave an emotional trail when they speak and you can see it.
To me the challenge is to get to a place where nothing bothers you, that's the place of no pity. When you arrive at this place you do not have any complaints with the world, it is all as it should be. I'm not there yet, lol. Occasionally I do access this state as I think we all do, its just staying there that is the bigger challenge. I think Juan Matus achieved this. Remember he practiced controlled folly, and his words often contradicted, but basically I don't think he judged anyone from a place of self-pitying emotion.