Science and Logic

Hi Jacky,
There is a Mulla Nasrudin story (he's like the Middle Eastern/Sufi holy fool
archetype, like Shakespeare's, foolish in an exteremely wise way),

Nasrudin is walking and speaking with a scientist and a logician:
"I only accept something unless I can carry out an experiment to establish
its truth or otherwise", said the scientist.
"I only accept something if I can work out out, beforehand, whether it can
be established rationally (!)", said the logician.
Nasrudin was hard-pressed.
They remained silent for a while.
Suddenly Nasrudin bent down by a lake and started to spoon some milk he was
carrying into the lake.
"What on Earth do you think you're doing", said the logician.
"I'm making yogurt", said Nasrudin.
"But you can't make yogurt that way", said the scientist.
"Ah, but what if it takes", said Nasrudin.

Here's to lakefuls of musical yogurt.

Lawrence

>It makes one wish to ask: "Must the answer to any investigation be
>known in advance, or should one always have a clear goal in mind at
>the onset?"

>To proceed without preconception can sometimes open doors to things
>which may be hidden by having a clear initial goal. One might tend to
>not notice a particular useful pattern or the like.

--- In tuning@y..., "Lawrence Ball" <Lawrenceball@p...> wrote:
> >To proceed without preconception can sometimes open doors to
things
> >which may be hidden by having a clear initial goal. One might tend
to
> >not notice a particular useful pattern or the like.

Lawrence,

Hello! It's good to see you active on the list of late, and I warmly
welcome interaction.

This is a great story!

It brings to mind the story of the Buddha, who was transmitting his
teaching to a large crowd of monks, and only held a lotus petal in
his hand saying nothing.

This is where mathematics must run away shrieking like a frightened
pup!

It makes one ponder the distance at which our rational minds
(mathematical) hits a brick wall, and becomes unable to describe or
perceive the world and the complexities, and paradoxes of existence
which defy being symbolically expressed (as in an incessant
mathematical view of reality, art, life). Human beings can only exist
within extremely narrow parameters allowed by natural borders beyond
their control. As well, they can only experience reality through the
limited sensory mechanisms provided by the force which generates all
things. We can only hear within a limited frequency range, and
perceive all sensations within the limits allowed by the same
governing force.

When we try the simple test of our consciousness and rational mind
applied our own bodies, something very interesting is revealed. On a
superficial level we can perceive "surface" sensations; like the
control over walking or our hands, but try to turn it inward, and
attempt to grasp the same sensation for the liver, the spleen, or the
marrow in one's own bones; what one finds, is the gigantic brick wall
appears right there in one's own body, in a place so local and so
intimately personal - which we would like to think we know better
than any other. This shows us a great example *THE ULTIMATE LIMIT*,
the point at which the human mind can not penetrate beneath the
surface of things. One could argue that the tools of science and
mathematics allow our senses to be extended to allow our perception
of things unseen, and yes we do see a little further with these
perceptual aides, but even the best we've got will never explain the
Buddha's teaching. Science stops were this border is drawn - it is a
cold fact, because it can do nothing to enhance our ability to
perceive, or better yet "understand" the ultimate reality behind the
surfaces we see (Maya). This border will always remain, because
without the benefit of some radical changes in human behaviors with
regard to the destruction of their own nest (and their complete
inability to get along with one another, and slant toward hostility,
power, subjugative control), which would perhaps allow a few more
billion years of fruitful evolution, to perhaps expand our biological
capabilities.

The mystery of it all is: The veil will never be removed from the
Goddess' face. The veil of our perceptions and ability to understand
the ultimate reality behind all being is the true limit through which
we must live our lives.

When we come face to face with the inescapable Mystery which is the
ground of all being, what lessons do we obtain about how we should
interact with each other and our finite world, within the limited
time we have here? We can easily look out and see that huge portions
of the world are racked in a perpetual hell of war, slavery, torture,
terrorism and subjugation by the power hungry *death-dealing*
political archetypes which consume the life essence of other life
forms, cultures and peoples in a feeding frenzy toward *progress* -
which can only be equated with a kind of blind evil force for mass
suicide/genocide. It's worth noting here, that I have found North
American Indian artifacts in the soil around where I live ever since
I was a child, yet they have been so efficiently annihilated by the
consuming force, that nothing "living" remains of them - only
artifacts. They where killed off by the evil long ago - a strange
legacy of silence ensues. It makes one take pause to realize that we
are just one moment in a huge continuum, and the life in our bodies
gives us certain opportunities and choices. It is how we harness the
moment which counts.

In the face of the choices being made in the world, directly
affecting all of our futures, what do we put forth? Do we join in the
destructive "frenzy of hate", or do we stubbornly and unrelentingly
keep trying to create islands of peace and love for which others may
find a faithful anchor, in a time where brother/sisterhood and
community sprit, is seemingly on it's way to becoming an extinct
species? To me, it is one of the most important roles for the artists
of 2001.

I prefer to create Islands,

Jacky Ligon

P.S. Enjoying a nice gamma ray shower in NC today!

Dear Jacky,

>Do we join in the
>destructive "frenzy of hate"

Hope my labors of love are not being misinterpreted as a "frenzy of hate".
Remember Galileo.

Love,
Paul