The Deep Thinks of Hong Wu - Page 4 - Politics Forum.org | PoFo

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#14743316
Some thoughts on Ages and their Durations.

Radical Traditionalists usually divide history up into "ages" that correspond roughly to the character of the fundamental human castes / activities: royalty, warrior, laborer and (from my point of view) the underclass is also a caste. I think that the length of each age also corresponds to the power associated with those groups, meaning that our current age may be the shortest one.

The "golden age" might be attributed to pre-history or very early historical periods, when human civilization could be said to have begun but there was little to no writing and record keeping.

Ages don't change all at once but this eventually changed into the "silver age" or the age of warriors, when royal lines posed as being semi-divine but were usually lines of fighters that needed consecration by religious figures in order to be taken seriously as royalty. This age lasted longer than recent ages but not for as long as the theoretical golden age lasted.

In the bourgeois age, generally associated with liberalism, castes were finally done away with in favor of "social class" which corresponded heavily to the manner in which bourgeois rank each other; that is, who had the most money. This period lasted for less time than the previous age of the warrior lasted, but it did last for longer than the age of the laborer.

In the age of the laborer, generally associated with communism, the people in charge were the head laborers -- task masters if you will -- who manage the other laborers and treat them much like slaves, although ostensibly being a laborer or slave themselves. This era lasted for probably less than a century and was clearly finished once automated labor machines began to emerge, physically ending their centrality.

In the current (probably last in a cycle) age, the underclass is put on top. This accounts not only for gay marriage and attempts to normalize pedophilia, or the concern for the rights of convicted criminals (as if rapists et al. deserve rights), it might also explain the rise of Donald Trump. The person who manages the underclass and vulgarians is naturally going to be the biggest and most powerful vulgarian, someone who succeeded by virtue of his own vulgarity; this is Mr. Trump.

If trends from these observations are correct and hold out for long enough, this age will probably be shorter than the others, perhaps as short as a couple decades. Although Trump stands against many forms of vulgarity he does so by being pretty vulgar himself, so he could be viewed as a nadir of this period.
#14743349
Radical Traditionalists usually divide history up into "ages" that correspond roughly to the character of the fundamental human castes / activities: royalty, warrior, laborer and (from my point of view) the underclass is also a caste. I think that the length of each age also corresponds to the power associated with those groups, meaning that our current age may be the shortest one.

I'd rather divide history up into "ages" based on some objective criterion such as, oh I dunno, the mode of economic production or something, which after all is the fundamental basis of everything else. But hey, if we're doing deep thinks then here's a good one: the different "ages" of history actually correspond to which vice or sin is the dominant one. During the Aristocratic Age, the ruling elite possessed the sin of Pride, whereas in the Bourgeois Age (which we are still living in, by the way), the ruling elite possess the sin of Greed. Hmm... that still leaves five sins to assign.... Somebody help me out here! :D
#14743352
Talking of cycles, do you know Potemkin, this famous Hindu ummm guru Vivekananda tried to mash up hindu varna system and Marxism. Basically it gos like this first Brahmins (i.e. Priest Kings) ruled the earth (early civilization) then Kshatriyas (i.e. Warrior Kings) ruled the earth (feudalism), then the Vaishyas (Merchants, Traders) ruled the earth (capitalism) and then obviously its the turn of Shudras (i.e. laborers, peasants) to rule the earth (socialism).

Basically people are crazy. :lol:
#14743356
The big mystery from the vedas that a lot of people ponder over is how in the kali yuga, people transcend "through the body". I had a deep think earlier about how traditionally people would transcend through the mind, but one of the reasons religion is in decline is because our jobs often take up our mental faculties, leaving us with little or nothing left over for philosophy and mental religious pursuit. Meanwhile our bodies go unused. If there was a good methodology to transcend through exercise or other physical activities, it might be the answer to that question.

Evola was interested in tantra and sex techniques, I think that a way to seek transcendence with the body and a minimal contribution of mental energy might be to engage in forms of exercise that require a lot of discipline. This wouldn't just be sex related or even primarily sex, but slow movements and practice, pushing yourself and enforcing rest, might be on the right track. This is all pretty similar of course to yoga as well as tantra.

One idea I have been playing with (but haven't tried yet) is to exercise to exhaustion, then drink an energy drink, then force myself to rest. It does sound a little silly but the idea is to obtain a physical sense of self-transcendence and following this train of thought, it is difficult to come up with ways to do this. Mountain climbing has also been popular in many traditions.
#14743362
One idea I have been playing with (but haven't tried yet) is to exercise to exhaustion, then drink an energy drink, then force myself to rest. It does sound a little silly but the idea is to obtain a physical sense of self-transcendence and following this train of thought, it is difficult to come up with ways to do this. Mountain climbing has also been popular in many traditions.

Meh, you should just try huffing nitrous oxide. It's a lot easier. :smokin:

Image
#14743387
Gross. Anyway, I had posted a deep think some time ago about how mental energy is in a way physical energy, which suggests that in the right context physical energy is not necessarily unsuited to this task, despite appearances. The goal of some early Taoist transcendental techniques and Chinese alchemy is to create a "spiritual body" from the mold or foundation of the physical body. Even if the economy saps most mental energy, a persistently reverential or spiritual attitude taken in context with exercise might be similar to those Taoist methods, or to early Buddhist techniques that were about cultivating specific mindsets. Zen is also a potentially good basis for this since as religions go, it has fewer texts and less emphasis upon its texts, which means a lower mental energy requirement.

Lots of exercise is also done out in nature, zen fits in well with the impersonal and unpromising conception of nature as vast and inorganic, as distinct from consumerist nature where you take a ski lift to the mountaintop.
#14743399
Zen is also a potentially good basis for this since as religions go, it has fewer texts and less emphasis upon its texts, which means a lower mental energy requirement.

:lol:

Never change, Hong Wu. :up:
#14743429
Potemkin wrote::lol:

Never change, Hong Wu. :up:

Huh? Obviously a lot has been written but the primary texts, as far as I'm aware, are not very long. I could probably read the ones I'm aware of in a day. They are also arguably simpler than texts in some other religions.
#14743564
Seriously? Your choosing on the basis of how much mental energy it takes to learn?

Here's a low mental energy strategy for you, give up entirely and just live your life.
#14743567
I actually quite admire @Hong Wu's honesty about his half-willingness to achieve self-transcendence. I have a book of Zen koans on my shelf, and I've cracked it open maybe once. Yet I still believe I'll one day learn every koan in there.

Who's better, the person who understands spiritual development is low on his list of priorities or the person who, despite all indications to the contrary, persists in believing otherwise? ;)
#14743568
All indications seem to point towards the one who realizes that chasing after fictions of their imagination is a waste of time is the one whose really transcended the spiritual. :)
#14743643
mikema63 wrote:All indications seem to point towards the one who realizes that chasing after fictions of their imagination is a waste of time is the one whose really transcended the spiritual. :)

Hong Wu, though, is searching for practical ways to surmount the self. He's forming definite, realizable plans for his path to self-transcendence.

Unlike so many others, he doesn't wish for an end to the mundane. He tries to bring one about—mundane as his means of doing so may be.

I don't care if he ends up breaking into a hobby store at night so he can huff the model airplane glue. At least he's trying to accomplish something. Most people, on the other hand, are so content with these fictions of imagination of which you speak that they don't even see a need in chasing them.
Last edited by recurnal on 30 Nov 2016 02:38, edited 1 time in total.
#14743645
I don't care if he ends up breaking in to a hobby store at night so he can huff the model airplane glue.


So long as we all know that PoFo is not liable for any damages or criminal charges that might be incured due to following strange ideas one gets from pofo. :eek:

Meh, he's passing the time I suppose.
#14743647
mikema63 wrote:So long as we all know that PoFo is not liable for any damages or criminal charges that might be incured due to following strange ideas one gets from pofo. :eek:

8)

Meh, he's passing the time I suppose.

Exactly. It's like building a model airplane, only minus the actual pieces and with an added mixture of stealth, well-aimed stones, and massacred brain cells.
#14743708
I think it's pretty clear that I have the energy and have made a commitment, but I can only do this thanks to a privileged position I possess. Most people don't have my options which is why I've started down this route, I feel as if it's intentional that most people have at least a chance at trying to achieve spiritual transcendence. In previous eras there was usually an excess of mental energy, today there's an excess of physical energy, I think it adds up with the passage from the vedas about achieving transcendence through the body.
#14743712
I don't think that's true. Mental energy is firmly in the use it or lose it category, just like physical energy. Malnutrition and lack of education have been greatly associated with the reasons behind the Flynn effect.

Bulaba Jones wrote:You sound like you are very close to reaching enlightenment. I'm very happy for you and I wish you the best.

Yeah, maybe Trump supporters are just more trascendent than us normies?
#14743714
LV-GUCCI-PRADA-FLEX wrote:Yeah, maybe Trump supporters are just more trascendent than us normies?


There's just so much energy, it's great. It's not just great though. It's better than before, and very soon it'll be even better than before. It'll be so great you won't even know what to do with all of it.
#14743716
We have the best spiritual energy, don't we folks?

When Mexico sends their spiritualities... they're not sending their best. They're sending Catholics. They're sending Dia de los Muertos. They're anti-meditation. And some, I assume, are good Taoists.
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