Between the tiger and the dragon

[For Honor]

PREFACE


New instalment



(but first... I am amazed at myself. I outlast everyone, even now, and it is almost a bad thing. No matter what sort of physical exercion I put myself through, going on three days now, I still have this undeniable will to write and generate thought. It is almost as if I cannot repress it. I do not understand why I am so... mentally.... .... relentless...? I am not trying to be arrogant here, I just can't believe this. I should be exhausted. But there is always more, it seems....)

======================

Between the Tiger and the Dragon

As one may speculate, the name orginates from the film "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon". Beginning - just beginning - the study of a book about Feng Shui, I wonder if there is a connection there - Tigers and Dragons play key roles in Feng Shui. And the movie is a marvelous portrait of what it is to be human. I am a huge fan , from the philosophical perspective, and I also enjoy the stoic nature of all involved. When I first saw it, before I began my gradually increasing interest in Asian culture, I was astonished by the movie... I had, to that point, only really seen Western movies, and, the occasional "martial arts flick". But this movie was something else, something real that I could connect to, so to say.

Anyhow...

There is one critical scene that I will build this thread around, in addition to other themes that come up between the movie.

Oh, and one more thing - arrogatly and conceitedly so, I always found it interesting - what is between the tiger and the dragon? Well, perhaps, according to Chinese/Eastern Zodiac, the Rabbit is, or in some cultures (Vietnam??) the Cat. That is the year I was born in - 1987 - as many people all over the world were born in that year, I know.

(PS) - if I ever make reference to Chinese/Eastern culture and am inaccurate or offensive, please by all means point it out and tell me right away. I do not want to be one of those arrogant people who assumes they know everything, and is totally flawed in understanding, especially in regard to a culture. And especially because I have a genuine interest in Asian culture, and a general interest in all peoples and cultures. But Asian is my favorite . I am always willing to learn, and understand, but forgive my ignorances.

 

[For Honor]

(initial) INTRODUCTION





"The things we can touch have no permenance. It is all an illusion. A master will say: 'A man's primary need is to let go. Only then can he posess what is trul real."

-

"We are beset with peril, and it is not weapons. The real danger... resides in the human heart."

"To repress one's feelings only makes them stronger."

 

[For Honor]

I always tend to.... write my own answers for my situations in life, it seems......

 

[For Honor]

No weapons


No weapons
It's the art of war
It's the way of the world
Real skill comes without effort
The work is already done, the stage already set
Once the button is pushed, signal sent, and shemes solidified
There is nothing more to do than wait and see what happens, who is left

 

[wizard2c]

reply

You must first remember this is all a game.......as I break open another bag of potato chips.......and await mankind's next move...................

Here I am...the observer......looking around from my pedestal of life.

Very good thoughts to ponder...hope you write more on the subject.

carol
wizard2c

 

[wizard2c]

reply

In fact, I was over at the Hasbro site the other day picking up a few new Furby friends and I came across this board game called Heroscape Game System Master Set...it is to be the ultimate battle of the world ....so as a good wizard which I sometimes am.......put it in the shopping cart.

Can't wait till it gets here......it looks intriguing.....even has a dragon........

Oh well, boredom setting in about now..........

carol
wizard2c

 

[For Honor]

I'm tired of games....

yet sometimes they seem like the only way to distract my mind .... distract me from the things I cannot change....

 

[For Honor]

I can't repress


The one thing, this contradiction
The wound is open
The blood is flowing out, from my heart
There is no pain, the only pain is to stop the blood from flowing

How can you repress it, how can I silence it?
This... thing which drives me mad
Makes me stay up all hour of the night, and spend the next day in exhaustion?
This.... thing
Which makes me crave evermore for the future
This..... thing

I can't repress.


___________________
.... my mind...... it is.......
It devours things...
I need to control it.

 

[For Honor]

Hey Wizard - I've got a request.

If you happen to come across a really good picture, image of a sword, let me know. I'm not sure if I want one to be mystical, or fantasy like, medival, or oriental... but searching the web for a good image of a sword... 'tis difficult.....

 

[wizard2c]

reply

I'll let you know if I see a nice one.......the best are from the Lord of the Rings.....I have a pix of Gandalf on my desk wielding one of the best looking swords.

carol
wizard2c

 

[For Honor]

THanks - more writing to come


but I'm going to NYC for a few days, so you'll have to wait a bit.
With all the people in NYC, my study of people will surely be... interesting. But I guess I won't get too lonely there, right?


Until next time.

 

[wizard2c]

reply

Something very wrong again........strange sense of a force versus time..an evil wave of some kind......

can't describe what I feel.......

carol
wizard2c

 

[For Honor]

Hmm........ thanks for the update.
I appreciate your.... "forecasts", even if they may not make sense at the time......


-----------------

Part of the Danger (part 1)


In the youth, she is confident, too much?
I wonder
For her sake

She worked 60 hours this week, not many years past 16
She is

But the real danger resides in the human heart....

A combination of pride, delicateness, gulibility, and others -
That is what she is
What she showed to me

A certain kind of beauty is her body
Though typical, it remains full of... its appeals.

But the real danger lies in the heart
Deep in the heart
So present in the ways, I could forsee much
From only one meeting


She is an unnatural leader
And her actions as such will be her greatest downfall
For in her human heart
She will need protection from others
And not the other way around

Some people should be told:
"Know what you don't know"


=====================


about someone I met @NYC...........

 

[wizard2c]

reply

For Honor......see you are back from New York......did you have an interesting visit....it sounds as such from your writing.....

Yes....forecasts......my postings are on a 5 hour time difference.....time what does it matter at all.......just a means of measuring reality.

Write more about New York though.......

carol
wizard2c

 

[wizard2c]

reply

Yes, call it the final conflict, call it Armageddon........we are in it NOW.

So, let the others have their fun because they just don't get it..........
I'll remain serious because it is a battle between good and evil and it is happening now.........doesn't take far to look to see it......except those who are blind and prefer to ignore it.........

The Fellowship of the Ring
The Two Towers
The Return of the King

Fantasy...I say reality.

Look recently at events around the world....which if you analyze them.....do not make sense.......there is a force of evil prevalent in the world right now which knows no boundaries........some call it the devil.........I perhaps call it the dragon....nonetheless it is pure evilness....I sense its presence stronger with each passing day.

carol
wizard2c

 

[For Honor]

I will write more about NYC........


Things keep coming up......

 

[For Honor]

Repress, still


Sometimes, though, it's for the best
To repress
Some things.......

Sometimes, I just want to rush right in
Have my way
Stay all night
And get too rough, too strong,

ANd it would break all the foundations, but.....
I have thought about it.
It's right there, right infront of me, all the time
I could just reach out and grab it
And it would be mine

All mine..... mmmm
Just for me, I could take it, and make it succumb to me.....

But see - that right there
That's it
The possession, the power
I need to repress those things
At least save them
For then I can unleash them in a healthy manner....

for now, though, I know where the danger resides
The same place it has always been.....


But I don't deny that the temptation is there
To just......
slide in, and take it
do whatever I wanted to it, make it mine...............

But would I ever break the law?

 

[For Honor]

(note - law is being used as a more open term --- I would not literally break the law. Besides, I choose "For Honor" for a reason........... )

 

[wizard2c]

reply

For Honor........this has a certain ring to it.......the quest for the golden ring in The Lord of the Rings.

I was just reading an item in Cowboys & Indians magazine about Viggo Mortensen who starred in Lord of the Rings...he had an interesting comment...

"I know the devil is supposed to be in the details, but sometimes satisfaction is in those details, too."

He also talks about codes of honor in the article. To quote partially..."Also, Aragorn had a certain code of honor that's not unfamiliar if you've looked at Westerns."

Thanks for the writing.....
carol
wizard2c

 

[For Honor]

......Interesting...............................................

 

[For Honor]

It is disturbing to me that honor is so....... "not in style" anymore, here in the US. And then there is the fake patriotism crap that really makes me cringe. If we weren't so into PC and making a commercial out of everything, then perhaps real values could shine through.

AS you may conclude, the lack of "honor" in American culture has been a factor in my learning about other cultures, or at least my desire to learn - I know nothing as of yet, in all reality.

And, perhaps I even understand this - that, like Westerns, "Honor" is something that is romanticised, and perhaps unpragmatic. But at the same time, it is....... something I very much ascribe to, and support, the notion or perhaps ideal of Honor.


Dictionary definition:

#8
a Principled uprightness of character; personal integrity.
b A code of integrity, dignity, and pride, chiefly among men, that was maintained in some societies, as in feudal Europe, by force of arms.
c A woman's chastity or reputation for chastity.

It's a shame that Dictionary.com has this definition for honor ranked as #8. It should be the first "set", not all the way at 8

I agree with all of that, except the force of arms thing. I mean, I like swords and protection/defense a lot, but that has only a little to do with Honor.

A real warrior is one who lays down his sword.

 

[For Honor]

Addendum

And the best warrior is one who does not even have to pick up his sword...... even by art of war standards, it is truly a master tha makes direct conflict all together unneccesary.

Or in some cases, (the best, in regards to being the superior and victor), direct conflict is made futile and useless, or impossibly ineffective, or just impossible, really..................

 

[wizard2c]

reply

Yes, you are correct, For Honor, except that "evil" enters the scenario......that is a battle in itself...........sometimes you have to fight the dragon, other times you sit back and watch........killing the dragon is a story which stands alone and there are certain ethics involved in slaying a dragon....{just a bit of wizardry here}

carol
wizard2c

 

[For Honor]

"Because you do not forget"



Let us go where there are no swords
Where there is no war
And we can be no more
Than just a man and a woman

Because you do not forget


... Like all things, you want what you cannot have
... a child wants revenge like a ....
... a warrior wants peace like a moon wants the night
... so while the natural balance of want and have exists always

We all have to overcome this, and make the right choice


Because you do not forget,
perhaps that is why
You and I
Can live in our home
With no swords


Because you do not forget


"our land"


======================

(thanks to the movie HERO)

 

[For Honor]

Re: reply

Yes, you are correct, For Honor, except that "evil" enters the scenario......that is a battle in itself...........sometimes you have to fight the dragon, other times you sit back and watch........killing the dragon is a story which stands alone and there are certain ethics involved in slaying a dragon....{just a bit of wizardry here}

carol
wizard2c

Also from HERO -

One person's pain is nothing compared to the suffering of all
(very "Jesus")



In the movie, it goes on about how a war beteween two countries was at first considered irrational - why bloodshed?
But in reality, they had been fighting for many years anyways.

So even though a war would bring much bloodshed, it was worthy, had the ruler, leader, been virtuous and earnestly sought to make peace, make stability.



I am not sure how I feel about all this yet, but, it reminded me of your post, wizard.


Even though fighting is not "the best" means, it is often unavoidable. But I suppose the trick is keeping it as rare as possible, and trying to elevate above that as much as possible.



eh.......... I don't know....... It is not clear in my mind yet how I feel about this, yet.

 

[For Honor]

That is why a victory must be observed like a funeral.

On happy occasions precedence is given to the left,
On sad occasions to the right.
In the army the general stands on the left,
the commander-in-chief on the right.
This means that war is conducted like a funeral.
When many people are being killed,
They should be mourned in heartfelt sorrow.
That is why a victory must be observed like a funeral.

-Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching, as translated by Gia-Fu Feng and Jane English

 

[For Honor]

This, this is why I am so interested in Asian culture

Tao Te Ching
by LAO TSU
Translation by Gia Fu Feng
and Jane English



Thirty-One

Good weapons are instruments of fear; all creatures hate them.
Therefore followers of Tao never use them.
The wise man prefers the left.
The man of war prefers the right.

Weapons are instruments of fear; they are not a wise man's tools.
He uses them only when he has no choice.
Peace and quiet are dear to his heart,
And victory no cause for rejoicing.
If you rejoice in victory, then you delight in killing;
If you delight in killing, you cannot fulfill yourself.

On happy occasions precedence is given to the left,
On sad occasions to the right.
In the army the general stands on the left,
The commander in chief on the right.
That means that war is conducted like a funeral.
When many people are being killed,
They should be mourned in heartfelt sorrow.
That is why a victory must be observed like a funeral.




http://www.daily-tao.com/

 

[For Honor]

 

[For Honor]

"Bless those who persecute you;
bless, and don't curse.
Rejoice with those who rejoice.
Weep with those who weep.
Be of the same mind one toward another.
Don't set your mind on high things,
but associate with the humble.
Don't be wise in your own conceits.
Repay no one evil for evil.
Respect what is honorable in the sight of all men.
If it is possible, as much as it is up to you,
be at peace with all men.
Don't seek revenge yourselves, beloved,
but give place to God's wrath.
For it is written,
"Vengeance belongs to me;
I will repay, says the Lord."
Therefore
"If your enemy is hungry, feed him.
If he is thirsty, give him a drink.
For in doing so, you will heap
coals of fire on his head."
Don't be overcome by evil,
but overcome evil with good."
Romans 12:14-21

Hmm, I do not like quoting the scriptures, but I actually like this one...