Kotaro Lives Alone

Kotaro Satо̄ is a four year old boy who idolises Tonosaman and prefers to speak in the formal language of the feudal lords.

 Kotaro ran away from the group home/children's home/orphanage after his abusive father (who has a restraining order against him and not allowed near Kotaro) found him and caused a scene. Since then, Kotaro is careful not to be photographed.

Kotaro lives alone in unit 203 in the Shimizu apartment block. He befriended neighbours: Karino from unit 202;  Mizuki from unit 201 and Tamaru from unit 102. (Takei moves into unit 201 after Mizuki moves out).

  

According to Kotaro, the bathhouse is not just a place to wash the filth from one's body, it is a place to relax. It is imperative to have one everyday. Personal hygiene is important.

 In the past, he used to eat tissues when he was hungry and left all alone. He preferred the more expensive higher quality boxes as they were moisture-rich; extra soft and tasted sweeter.

A weekly allowance is hand delivered to Kotaro by a representative from a law firm under the guise of a 'kind and generous benefactor' when in reality it is dividends from the life insurance policy of his mother, Sayori Wamiya.

Example breakfast dishes Kotaro makes to help keep him company when feeling lonely:

Marinated meat and potatoes

Golden egg cake

Deliciously crunchy kinpira gobo

Hijiki

Dinner in the company of friends instead of extra food:

Delicious meat and vegetable stir-fry.

Aho-uke: a regional treat from the town he grew up in. Kotaro's favourite afternoon snack!

Warm green tea is the best complement to sweet treats.

An umbrella-sharing badge of honour: 

Keep the person next to you dry; a wet shoulder proves how much they mean to you.

* Information derived from the Netflix anime adaptation of Kotaro Lives Alone *

Fairie-ality

There sleeps Titania

some time of the night,

Lull'd in these flowers

with dances and delight;

And there the snake 

throws her enamell'd skin,

Weed wide enough to

wrap a fairy in.

~

On tops of dewy grass

Nimbly do we pass,

The young and tender stalk

Ne'er bends when we do walk.

Yet in the morning may be seen

Where we the night before have been.

~

I sing of feather gowns

and veils of air; 

Of lilies for the

bride most fair.

~

After releasing clouds of butterflies, the 

flower girls continue spinning their magic, 

scattering rose petals from

their glossy magnolia leaf baskets 

~

The language of love using flowers whose sentiments express your message

Bougainvillaea: Elegance 

Bridal Wreath: Happiness

Buttercups: Childhood memories 

Calla Lily: Female beauty

Columbine: Determines to succeed

Cosmos: May I have the next dance?

Cowslips: Divine beauty

Daisy: Innocence 

Dianthus: Make haste

Dock: Patience

Fuchsia: Humble love

Gerbera: Beauty

Hyacinth: Sorrow

Ivy: Marriage

Lady's Mantle: Comfort, protection

Lilac: First love

Lily: Purity

Mint: Virtue

Pansy: You occupy my thoughts 

Pinks: Fascination

Queen Anne's Lace: Fantasy

Red Currant: You please me

Red Rose: Love

Violet: Fidelity

* Information taken from 'Fairie-ality: The Fashion Collection from the House of Ellwand' by David Downton and David Ellwand *

Button House

The ghosts who died in or among the grounds of Button House (previously known as Higham House)

Fanny Button (Lady Stephany): Pushed out of the window by her adulterous and secretly gay husband George. Involuntarily re-enacts her death every day at 3am. Had a very brief posthumous affair with the body of Sir Humphrey Bone and enjoys watching Murder She Wrote.

Julian Fawcett MP: Had a heart attack whilst having adulterous sex and died with no trousers on. He is able to touch objects in the real world if he concentrates very hard.

Patrick Butcher: A scout leader who was accidentally shot through the neck with an arrow during an archery lesson in 1984 by one of his scouts called Keith Darren Dean. Pat's family visits the spot where he died on the anniversary of his death every year.

Thomas Thorne: A Romantic poet from the Regency era who was betrayed by his cousin (Francis Button) resulting in him being shot by a musket during a duel on October 10th 1824.

Robin: A caveman who lived on the land. Enjoys playing chess, worships the moonah and is able to make lights flicker.

Captain: A repressed homosexual Second World War army officer.

Mary: A peasant woman who was burnt at the stake during the Stuart era witch trials. She can still emit a burning smell if live people walk through her unknowingly.

Kitty (Lady Katherine): A friendly, giggly and naive Georgian noblewoman. She was adopted when she was a baby by a wealthy couple who also had a biological daughter of similar age called Eleanor. Eleanor gave the illusion of being a caring sister but was actually resentful and jealous and reminded Kitty repeatedly that she was mother's 'true' daughter.

Sir Humphrey Bone: A Tudor nobleman who entered into an arranged marriage aged 14 with a 12 year old girl from a French noble family. Later, it turns out that under the guise of a book club, his wife and others plotted to assassinate Queen Elizabeth I in favour of her Catholic cousin, Mary Queen of Scots. Humphrey was accidentally decapitated by two dangling swords from a chimney whilst hiding from Royal guards searching for the Catholic plotters. 

The ghosts down in the basement: Killed by the Plague.

Positions mentioned by Julian Fawcett:

~ Moroccan tea party ~ Norwegian picnic ~ Himalayan campsite

Posh people dinner party according to Fanny Button:

~ Turtle soup

~ Oyster rissoles

~ Pheasant

~ Pelaverga wine

What I Would Wear If I Could Today (if the ghosts could get up one morning and wear whatever they liked):

Fanny: Answer unknown.

Patrick: Tracky Bs, tracky T and white Hi-Tecs.

Robin: Apollo A7L spacesuit.

Julian: Trousers.

Kitty: Blue jeans and a green jumper.

Captain: What he is currently wearing (army uniform).

Thomas: Double denim with aviators.

Mary: Dress made out of seashells with a simple lobster hat.

Hermione and Roger written and recited by Thomas Thorne

Summer hath aroused 

the twilight of life in the hay

Shadows long and dark

Time has passed

since the honeymoon of May

And held aloft by rosy buds

Whose nectar sweet forbade

Upon the banks of the rushing Ouse

sits there a poor man...

(Two hours later...)

Oh, welcome death

Oh, sweetest sleep

on this Earth, we are but a lodger

For she was his Hermione

And he always her Roger!

Grandma went to the shops and bought an apple:

~ A packet of Monster Munch

~ A bottle of sherry

~ Playboy magazine

~ An Enfield No 2 standard issue revolver

~ A swingball

~ A lace brassiere

The Sun by Thomas Thorne

The sun, you rise when night is done

Like a big yellow bun

Come sweet sun

Let us have fun

Must weigh a ton

The Inaugural Cocktail Society

Julian: Sex on the beach.

Thomas: Port and lemon.

Robin: Puddle water mixed with river water.

Mary: Doesn't partake in devil's juice.

Patrick's daily schedule when he was alive

6:30 - Wake, ablutions.

7:00 - Breakfast, read paper.

7:30 - Shower with a show tune, something from Annie or Guys and Dolls.

(We don't hear about the rest of the day until bed time...)

9:30 - A chapter of Sharpe, cocoa and bed.

Fish and chips on Fridays.

Shepherd's pie on Wednesdays.

* Information derived from the BBC TV series 'Ghosts' starring Charlotte Ritchie and Kiell Smith-Bynoe *

Vows / promises after the legal bit

Non-religious vows between two equals

Option 1

"I love you for who you are and who I am with you.

From this date forth, I freely and joyfully join my life with yours.

Wherever you go, I will go.
Whatever you face, I will face.

I will care for you should you become ill.
I will comfort you should you feel sad.
I will bathe in your joy.

I am yours completely and forever.
I take you as my partner for life and I will give myself to no other."

Option 2

Do you happily make the decision with a full heart to join your lives, to fulfill your dreams, to embrace adventures and create memories together? 

Then by the power vested in me by the magic of the world wide web, I now pronounce you married.

Commitment between a Dominant and a submissive

Dominant

I take you ___ for my ___.

I promise to always remember that your ___ is a gift and treat it as such.

I promise to love, honour and cherish you.

I promise to put your love in my heart and always keep it with me.

I acknowledge my role as your ___ and promise to always honour this role.

As I place this ___ on your ___, I acknowledge and honour your ___.

I acknowledge your willingness to serve me as my loving ___.

I give you this ___ fully with love and with joy.

Submissive

I take you ___ for my ___.

I promise to remember that my ___  is a gift of love to you.

I promise to love, honour and cherish you.

I promise to put your love in my heart and always keep it with me.

I acknowledge your role as my ___ and promise to always honour this role.

As you place this ___ on my ___, I give myself to you completely of my own free will.

I give to you my heart, soul and my body, for we are now one. 

Domestic Goblin's Journey into Moral Philosophy and Ethics

After watching 'The Good Place' in 2019/2020 and re-watching it again in 2022; the Domestic Goblin was inspired by Chidi Anagonye and Eleanor Shellstrop to improve her mind by reading extensively into moral philosophy and ethics.

Moral philosophy and ethics is the search for answers to the following four questions:

1. What are we doing?
2. Why are we doing it?
3. Is there something we could do that’s better?
4. Why is it better?

List of books to read:

• How To Be Perfect written by Michael Schur
• A Treatise of Human Nature written by David Hume
• Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals written by Immanuel Kant
• The Metaphysics of Morals written by Immanuel Kant
• The Nicomachean Ethics written by Aristotle
• Tao Te Ching written by Lao Tzu
• What We Owe to Each Other written by T. M. Scanlon

Summarising notes

How To Be Perfect

~ This sandwich is morally problematic. But it’s also delicious. Can I still eat it?

~The leopard can, but won't, change his spots.

~ How do we deal with loved ones whose beliefs and behaviours cause us pain and deemed incompatible with our sense of integrity? 

• Maybe we try to get to the bottom of their views, find their root cause and work to change this person's mind. 

• Maybe we explain that while they may think they are just expressing an opinion or making a joke, their words risk damaging our relationship with them and that remaining silent as they say these things threatens our own sense of integrity.

~ What people who want to sound fancy say and what they actually mean:

• Kafkaesque = eerie
• Surrealist = weird looking
• Ironic = annoying
• Existential = dark/sad/bleak/despairing
• Freudian = penis related
• Post-modern = recent
• Orwellian = I got banned from social media for being racist

~ Know thyself. Nothing in excess.

A Treatise of Human Nature

This was supposed to be an easy start with an empirical investigation into human nature. Hardly. After page 20, DG's eyes started to glaze over. 

DG was distracted and could not concentrate on any of the contents.

Moving onto Immanuel Kant...

Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals

1) Formal philosophy = logic.

2) Material philosophy = laws of nature and laws of freedom:

2a) Laws of nature = physics (doctrine of nature).

2b) Laws of freedom = ethics (doctrine of morals).

Logic can have no empirical part.

Grounds taken from experience is empirical.

Concept of duty and conforming to duty.

To preserve one's life; to be beneficient where one can (helping people who are less fortunate than you are); and to assure one's own happiness can be deemed as indirect duty.

There is also duty of action out of respect for the law. Is there any moral worth to direct duty?

Everything in nature works in accordance with laws. Only a rational being has the capacity to act in accordance with the representation of laws, that is, in accordance with principles, or has a will. Since reason is required for the derivation of actions from laws, the will is nothing other than practical reason.

Act only in accordance with that maxim through which you can at the same time will that it become a universal law of nature. (If you do an action, then everyone else should also be able to do it).

Maxim: the reason(s) for your action.

So act that you use humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of any other, always at

the same time as an end, never merely as a means.

(Ask whether your action can be consistent with the idea of humanity as an end in itself).

As a rational being, and thus as a being belonging to the intelligible world, the human being can never think of the causality of his own will otherwise than under the idea of freedom.

The Metaphysics of Morals

The moralist says that there is only one virtue and one doctrine of virtue, that is, a single system that connects all duties of virtue by one principle.

Duty is that action to which someone is bound. It is therefore the matter of obligation, and there can be one and the same duty (as to the action) although we can be bound to it in different ways.

An action that is neither commanded nor prohibited is merely permitted, since there is no law limiting one’s freedom with regard to it and so too no duty. Such an action is called morally indifferent.

An action is called a deed insofar as it comes under obligatory laws and hence as the subject, in doing it, is considered in terms of the freedom of his

choice. By such an action the agent is regarded as the author of its effect, and this, together with the action itself, can be imputed to him, if one is previously

acquainted with the law by virtue of which an obligation rests on these.

External objects that are yours or mine: I shall not call an apple mine because I have it in my hand (possess it physically), but only if I can say that I possess it even though I have put it down, no matter where. 

In the same way, I shall not be able to say that the land on which I have lain down is mine because I am on it, but only if I can assert that it still remains in my possession even though I have left the place.

So there follows from pro-creation a duty to preserve and care for its offspring; that is, children, as persons, have by their procreation an original innate (not acquired) right to the care of their parents until they are able to look after themselves, and they have

this right directly by law without any special act being required to establish this right.

From a practical point of view, it is a necessary idea to

regard the act of pro-creation as one by which we have brought a person into the world without their consent and on our own initiative, for which deed the parents

incur an obligation to make the child content with their condition so far as they

can. 

They cannot destroy their child as if the child were something they had made (since a being endowed with freedom cannot be a product of this kind) or as if the child were their property, nor can they even just abandon the child to chance, since they have brought not merely a worldly being, but a citizen of the world into a condition which cannot now be indifferent to them even just according to concepts of right.

From this duty there must also arise the right of parents to manage and develop the child, the right not only to feed and care for the child but to educate them, to develop them both pragmatically, so that in the future the child can look after themselves and make their way in life, and morally, since otherwise the fault for having neglected the child would fall on the parents. 

Parents have the right to do all this until the time of their child's emancipation when they renounce their parental right to direct him as well as any claim to be compensated for their support and pains up till now. After they have completed the child's education, the only obligation (to their parents) with which they can charge the child is a mere duty of virtue, namely the duty of gratitude.

The Nicomachean Ethics

All knowledge and every pursuit aims at some good: happiness, living well and doing well. 

Different people will have different views as to what happiness means or looks like.

Pleasure (life of enjoyment).

Honour (political life).

Self-sufficiency (contemplative life).

What is the function of mankind?

A complete life.

Money-making is a compulsion. Wealth is not the good we are seeking; it is merely useful and for the sake of something else.

Happiness is prized and divine.

Virtue is intellectual and moral.

Moral excellence is concerned with pleasures and

pains; it is on account of the pleasure that we do bad things, and on account of the pain that we abstain from noble ones. 

Virtue and vice are concerned with the same things. 

Objects of choice:

1. the noble 
2. the advantageous 
3. the pleasant

Objects of avoidance: 

1. the base
2. the injurious
3. the painful

Three kinds of things found in the soul:  

1. Passions
2. Faculties 
3. States of character

Passions

Appetite, anger, fear, confidence, envy, joy, friendly feeling, hatred, longing, emulation, pity, and the feelings that are accompanied by pleasure or pain.

Faculties

What we are capable of feeling, such as becoming angry or being pained or feeling pity.

States of character 

How well or badly we stand with reference to the

passions, for example, we stand badly when we feel violently angry and we stand well if we feel  moderately angry; and similarly with reference to the other passions.

Passions and actions can be done in excess, defect or intermediate.

(Then it starts to feel like Aristotle is stuck in a loop repeating himself under different chapter titles...until near the end, he moves into friendship).

To be happy we will need virtuous friends.

We should neither be friendless nor have an excessive number of friends.

Friends made with a view to utility or friends made with a view to pleasure - a few is enough.

But in regards to good friends - great friendship too

can only be felt towards a few people.

Do we need friends more in good fortune or in bad?

The presence of friends seems desirable in all circumstances.

Another question that arises is whether friendships should or should not be broken off when the other party does not remain the same. 

(Then Aristotle goes on further repetitive loops until the end of the book...)

Tao Te Ching / 道德經 / Scripture of Morality 

8) Not to honour men of worth will keep the people from contention; not to value goods which are hard to come by will keep them from theft; not to display what is desirable will keep them from being unsettled of mind.

9) Therefore in governing the people, the sage empties their minds but fills their bellies, weakens their wills but strengthens their bones. He always keeps them innocent of knowledge and free from desire, and ensures that the clever never dare to act.

 

10) Do that which consists in taking no action, and order will prevail.

105) There is no crime greater than having too many desires;

There is no disaster greater than not being content;

There is no misfortune greater than being covetous.

105a) Hence in being content, one will always have enough.

121) The court is corrupt,

The fields are overgrown with weeds,

The granaries are empty;

Yet there are those dressed in fineries,

With swords at their sides,

Filled with food and drink,

And possessed of too much wealth.

This is known as taking the lead in robbery.

121a) Far indeed is this from the way.

194) Truthful words are not beautiful; beautiful words are not truthful. 

Good words are not persuasive; persuasive words are not good. 

He who knows has no wide learning; he who has wide learning does not know.

195 ) The sage does not hoard.

Having bestowed all he has on others, he has yet more;

Having given all he has to others, he is richer still.

196) The way of heaven benefits and does not harm; the way of the sage is bountiful and does not contend.

Hua Hu Ching / 化胡經 / Scriptures of Hu

The Integral Way:

The practice of undiscriminating virtue: taking care of those who are deserving; also, and equally, taking care of those who are not. When you extend your virtue in all directions without discriminating, your feet are firmly planted on the path that returns to the Tao. 

To embrace all things: one holds no anger or resistance toward any idea or thing, living or dead, formed or formless. Acceptance is the very essence of the Tao. To embrace all things means also that one rids oneself of any concept of separation [...] one enters in the harmonious oneness of all things.

To practice virtue is to selflessly offer assistance to others, giving without limitation one's time, abilities, and possessions in service, whenever and wherever needed, without prejudice concerning the identity of those in need. If your willingness to give blessings is limited, so also is your ability to receive them. 

Those who wish to attain oneness must practice undiscriminating virtue. They must dissolve all ideas of duality: good and bad, beautiful and ugly, high and low. They will be obliged to abandon any mental bias born of cultural or religious belief. Indeed, they should hold their minds free of any thought which interferes with their understanding of the universe as a harmonious oneness. The beginning of these practices is the beginning of liberation.

Stop striving after admiration.

To the ordinary being, others often require tolerance. To the highly evolved being, there is no such thing as tolerance, because there is no such thing as other.

Do not go about worshipping deities and religious institutions as the  source of the subtle truth To do so is to place intermediaries between yourself and the divine, and to make of yourself a beggar who looks outside for a treasure that is hidden inside his own breast. If you want to worship the Tao, first discover it in your own heart. Then yourworship will be meaningful.

To the ordinary person, the body of humanity seems vast. In truth, it is neither bigger nor smaller than anything else.

To the ordinary person, there are others whose awareness needs raising. In truth, there is no self, and no other. 

To the ordinary person, the temple is sacred and the field is not. This, too, is a dualism which runs counter to the truth. 

Those who are highly evolved maintain an undiscriminating perception. Seeing everything, labeling nothing, they maintain their awareness of the Great Oneness.

The clairvoyant may see forms which are elsewhere, but he cannot see the formless. The telepathic may communicate directly with the mind of another, but he cannot communicate with one who has achieved no-mind. The telekinetic may move an object without touching it, but he cannot move the intangible. 

Such abilities have meaning only in the realm of duality. Therefore, they are meaningless. Within the Great Oneness, though there is no such thing as clairvoyance, telepathy, or telekinesis, all things are seen, all things understood, all things forever in their proper places.

The highest truth cannot be put into words. Therefore the greatest teacher has nothing to say. He simply gives himself in service, and never worries.

Choose food, clothing, and shelter that accords with nature. Rely on your own body for transportation. Allow your work and your recreation to be one and the same. Do exercise that develops your whole being and nor just your body. Listen to music that bridges the three spheres of your being. Choose leaders for their virtue rather than their wealth or power. Serve others and cultivate yourself simultaneously. Understand that true growth comes from meeting and solving the problems of life in a way that is harmonizing to yourself and to others. If you can follow these simple old ways, you will be continually renewed.

The Integral Way depends on decreasing, not increasing; to correct your mind, rely on not-doing. Stop thinking and clinging to complications; keep your mind detached and whole.  Eliminate mental muddiness and obscurity; keep your mind crystal clear. Avoid daydreaming and allow your pure original insight to emerge. Quiet your emotions and abide in serenity. Don't go crazy with the worship of idols, images, and ideas; this is like putting a new head on top of the head you already have. Remember: if you can cease all restless activity, your integral nature will appear.

Dualistic thinking is a sickness. Religion is a distortion. Materialism is cruel. Blind spirituality is unreal. Chanting is no more holy than listening to the murmur of a stream, counting prayer beads no more sacred than simply breathing, religious robes no more spiritual than work clothes. If you wish to attain oneness with the Tao, don't get caught up in spiritual superficialities. Instead, live a quiet and simple life, free of ideas and concepts. Find contentment in the practice of undiscriminating virtue, the only true power. Giving to others selflessly and anonymously, radiating light throughout the world and illuminating your own darknesses, your virtue becomes a sanctuary for yourself and all beings. This is what is meant by embodying the Tao.

Those who want to know the truth of the universe should practice the four cardinal virtues:

1. The first is reverence for all life; this manifests as unconditional love and respect for oneself and all other beings. 
2. The second is natural sincerity; this manifests as honesty, simplicity, and faithfulness. 
3. The third is gentleness; this manifests as kindness, consideration for others, and sensitivity to spiritual truth. 
4. The fourth is supportiveness; this manifests as service to others without expectation of reward. 

The four virtues are not an external dogma but 

a part of your original nature. When practiced, they give birth towisdom and evoke the five blessings: health, wealth, happiness, longevity, and peace.

Do you think you can clear your mind by sitting constantly in silent meditation? This makes your mind narrow, not clear. 

Integral awareness is fluid and adaptable, present in all places and at all times. That is true meditation. Who can attain clarity and simplicity by avoiding the world? The Tao is clear and simple, and it doesn't avoid the world. 

Why not simply honour your parents, love your children, help your brothers and sisters, be faithful to your friends, care for your mate with devotion, complete your work cooperatively and joyfully,

assume responsibility for problems, practice virtue without first demanding it of others, understand the highest truths yet retain an ordinary manner? That would be true clarity, true simplicity, true

mastery.

The mystical techniques for achieving immortality are revealed only to those who have dissolved all ties to the gross worldly realm of duality, conflict, and dogma. 

As long as your shallow worldly ambitions exist, 

the door will not open. 

Devote yourself to living a virtuous, integrated, selfless life. Refine your energy from gross and heavy to subtle and light. 

Use the practices of the Integral Way to transform your superficial worldly personality into a profound, divine presence. By going through each stage of development along the Integral Way, you 

learn to value what is important today in the subtle realm rather than what appears desirable tomorrow in the worldly realm

 Then the mystical door will open. and you can join the unruling rulers and uncreating creators of the vast universe.

A person's approach to sexuality is a sign of his level of evolution. 

Unevolved persons practice ordinary sexual intercourse. Placing all emphasis upon the sexual organs, they neglect the body's other organs and systems. Whatever physical energy is accumulated is summarily discharged, and the subtle energies are similarly dissipated and disordered. It is a great backward leap. 

For those who aspire to the higher realms of living, there is angelic dual cultivation. Because 

every portion of the body, mind, and spirit yearns for the integration of yin and yang, angelic intercourse is led by the spirit rather than the sexual organs. Where ordinary intercourse is effortful, angelic 

cultivation is calm, relaxed, quiet, and natural. Where ordinary intercourse unites sex organs with sex organs, angelic cultivation unites spirit with spirit, mind with mind, and every cell of one body with 

every cell of the other body. Culminating not in dissolution but in integration, it is an opportunity for a man and woman to mutually transform and uplift each other into the realm of bliss and wholeness. 

The sacred ways of angelic intercourse are taught only by one who has himself achieved total energy integration, and taught only to students who follow the Integral Way with profound devotion, seeking 

to purify and pacify the entire world along with their own being. 

However, if your virtue is especially radiant, it can be possible to open a pathway to the subtle realm and receive these celestial teachings directly from the immortals.

 What We Owe To Each Other 

The Domestic Goblin started reading Scanlon very slowly in April 2022 and she hopes that by the time this blog post is automatically published in August 2022, she would have finished reading the contents and produced a summary here. 

However, seeing as Eleanor Shellstrop took centuries to work her way through its dense prose, this may not happen!

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August 2022 update: As you can see from the above paragraph, the Domestic Goblin has still yet to finish reading the Scanlon book.

However, according to a Philosophy lecturer on the TV show 'Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt', "a truly moral person would even give away their organs to those in need. Of course, if everyone did that in the real world, there would just be this pile of organs. Utilitarianism is just one theory. 

Kant's categorical imperative says something totally different and according to ethical egoism, being selfish is the only true morality. 

John Stuart Mill said taking sufficient enjoyment in life is actually necessary [in order] to act morally."

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Do No Harm and Take No Shit

 

You may have seen statues of the Buddha, like the one above, where he holds his left palm open, like a cup catching rain. He holds his right hand out in front of him, as if making the stop gesture.

In Sanskrit, these hand gestures are called mudras. In the Buddhist and yogic traditions mudras are used to evoke a specific state of mind.

The cupped palm gesture is the mudra of generosity and compassion. It symbolizes a heart that turns no one away, a cup that can hold the world. In Christian terms, it is the gesture of agape, the highest form of love. It is the 'do no harm' gesture.

The stop gesture is the mudra of fearlessness. It is said that the historical Buddha made this gesture upon gaining enlightenment, indicating that even if we are confused, unhappy, or hurt, we can have a fearless spirit and a dignified strength. It is the 'take no shit' gesture.

In Buddhist iconography, these two mudras are usually used together. This is important. It reveals an enduring truth that any strength overdone becomes a

weakness. Made together, the two mudras bring us into balance.

* Information copied from the internet *