Novelis
Jedi Master
Below is a little allegory of my thoughts on 'the way' in relation to the work, not any particular work, I use the word "Work" to signify the many paths that are available to us throughout human history, like the way of the monk, yogi and so forth. For one who wishes to start work of any kind, there is literally a jungle out there full of danger. I was walking home when I thought of this pictorial representation of a dilemma I'm having difficulty with at the moment, namely, how does one choose a path? And how does one determine that the path chosen is the 'right' one? I'm curious to read responses from people on this forum, thought it could shed some light on some issues and questions. Here it is:
There exists a sadistic overlord with lots of resources and power (similar to the organizers of the scenario in the film "The Cube", if you haven't seen it, you should, it's great!) He likes to conduct twisted experiments on people, putting them in strange scenarios and puzzles out of curiosity of how people might react. He invented a game where he wipes away the memories of the victim, then puts them in a circular clearing in the middle of a jungle. He wants to see how people react to the situation and how they find their ways out. The victim doesn't know how to get out and also doesn't know IF there is a way out.
He leaves the victim there with nothing but an axe, which they could use to chop down trees and clear/widen a path through the woods, and if/once the victim dies of exhaustion or starvation, he leaves them there and places a new victim in the original circle, where a new victim must face the same situation, but with the added benefit of a better analysis of the situation since there are traces of actions made by previous victims.
Luckily you aren't the first to enter this puzzle, and for the sake of argument, you are the 100th victim to enter this jungle 'puzzle'. There are many traces of what previous victims did before in the same scenario. This could be useful since you can determine your plan of action based on insights and deductions previously hypothesised and tested by others. (I realise that for this to work, I have to describe what these variables in paths are, but that's not possible, so let's assume there are many different paths, if you think "Oh, I'd go for the path that looks the widest" then just describe YOUR favourable path and we can assume such a path exists.)
By the way, the jungle has NO human inhabitants, you can cry for help all you like and nobody will come to your aid.
Ok, with the rules aside, this is what happens:
You wake up in the jungle with no idea of who you are or how you got there. You can't see anything because its night time, and worst of all, you feel that you're surrounded by danger that could strike at any time.
In a stroke of luck, the Moon happens to be full that night, and the clouds in front move aside, casting precious, silvery light on the landscape you find yourself in.
Firstly, you notice that you are in a small clearing of a jungle, and you don't know how vast the jungle is. There are trees and plants of many different species all around you, and you are located on a platform where plants can't grow. You are in the centre of this circle, and the foliage begins about 5 metres away from you.
You notice, to your horror, a pile of human bones around you, which are the remains of other victims in this place who probably sat down and blasted the trees with 'Love and Light' bombs. (See the parallel?) Of course, this sight doesn't give you much confidence that you'll make it out alive. However, a glimpse of hope appears when you discover an axe sticking into the bark of a nearby tree. Further more, on closer inspection of your environment you realise that there are numerous paths cleared, all around you, cutting directly through the foliage into unknown territory.
This gives you the indication that there have been others faced with the same problem as you, and who have previously have made significant efforts to carve their ways out of this jungle, the problem is, it's unknown to you what happened to these people, they might have made it out alive, but they also might have been killed on the way. There is no way to find out really except by choosing a path and finding out. Perhaps after choosing one path you'll reach a dead end and find the remains of the previous warrior who started the work. With your axe, you could continue their quest.
You notice that there are many different kinds of paths, there are some that must have been worked on by several people at least, since some paths are wider than others. There are paths that are narrow, some with brambles growing over the path, indicating that the path has been left alone for a while. Of course, there are also paths that aren't apparent until closer inspection. Someone could have cleverly navigated themselves around the trees, chopping down softer plants instead of just bulldozing their ways through the jungle through thick and thin. These paths are hard to spot, but they give you an insight into the creativity of some of these past explorers.
Luckily, your powers of deduction remain, you can basically do and think anything you want, and there are more options available than you might think at first. You could start a path of your own, you could sit down and "visualize" that you are somewhere else, you could even commit suicide. It's all up to you.
What would you do?
I can foresee many people noticing contradictions and paradoxes in this framework. I can see this 'game' turning into an endless 'what ifs' and 'why nots' discussion which I'll have to constantly go over again and again as my point fades away. I will inevitably miss some variables that reduce the game, along with my point to ashes. For example, "Do I have super powers in this jungle?" and "What's the point of such an experiment?" etcetera...
But what the hell, if you can see the underlying point I am making then brush the hypothetical questions aside and tell me what you'd do, or what you think.
There exists a sadistic overlord with lots of resources and power (similar to the organizers of the scenario in the film "The Cube", if you haven't seen it, you should, it's great!) He likes to conduct twisted experiments on people, putting them in strange scenarios and puzzles out of curiosity of how people might react. He invented a game where he wipes away the memories of the victim, then puts them in a circular clearing in the middle of a jungle. He wants to see how people react to the situation and how they find their ways out. The victim doesn't know how to get out and also doesn't know IF there is a way out.
He leaves the victim there with nothing but an axe, which they could use to chop down trees and clear/widen a path through the woods, and if/once the victim dies of exhaustion or starvation, he leaves them there and places a new victim in the original circle, where a new victim must face the same situation, but with the added benefit of a better analysis of the situation since there are traces of actions made by previous victims.
Luckily you aren't the first to enter this puzzle, and for the sake of argument, you are the 100th victim to enter this jungle 'puzzle'. There are many traces of what previous victims did before in the same scenario. This could be useful since you can determine your plan of action based on insights and deductions previously hypothesised and tested by others. (I realise that for this to work, I have to describe what these variables in paths are, but that's not possible, so let's assume there are many different paths, if you think "Oh, I'd go for the path that looks the widest" then just describe YOUR favourable path and we can assume such a path exists.)
By the way, the jungle has NO human inhabitants, you can cry for help all you like and nobody will come to your aid.
Ok, with the rules aside, this is what happens:
You wake up in the jungle with no idea of who you are or how you got there. You can't see anything because its night time, and worst of all, you feel that you're surrounded by danger that could strike at any time.
In a stroke of luck, the Moon happens to be full that night, and the clouds in front move aside, casting precious, silvery light on the landscape you find yourself in.
Firstly, you notice that you are in a small clearing of a jungle, and you don't know how vast the jungle is. There are trees and plants of many different species all around you, and you are located on a platform where plants can't grow. You are in the centre of this circle, and the foliage begins about 5 metres away from you.
You notice, to your horror, a pile of human bones around you, which are the remains of other victims in this place who probably sat down and blasted the trees with 'Love and Light' bombs. (See the parallel?) Of course, this sight doesn't give you much confidence that you'll make it out alive. However, a glimpse of hope appears when you discover an axe sticking into the bark of a nearby tree. Further more, on closer inspection of your environment you realise that there are numerous paths cleared, all around you, cutting directly through the foliage into unknown territory.
This gives you the indication that there have been others faced with the same problem as you, and who have previously have made significant efforts to carve their ways out of this jungle, the problem is, it's unknown to you what happened to these people, they might have made it out alive, but they also might have been killed on the way. There is no way to find out really except by choosing a path and finding out. Perhaps after choosing one path you'll reach a dead end and find the remains of the previous warrior who started the work. With your axe, you could continue their quest.
You notice that there are many different kinds of paths, there are some that must have been worked on by several people at least, since some paths are wider than others. There are paths that are narrow, some with brambles growing over the path, indicating that the path has been left alone for a while. Of course, there are also paths that aren't apparent until closer inspection. Someone could have cleverly navigated themselves around the trees, chopping down softer plants instead of just bulldozing their ways through the jungle through thick and thin. These paths are hard to spot, but they give you an insight into the creativity of some of these past explorers.
Luckily, your powers of deduction remain, you can basically do and think anything you want, and there are more options available than you might think at first. You could start a path of your own, you could sit down and "visualize" that you are somewhere else, you could even commit suicide. It's all up to you.
What would you do?
I can foresee many people noticing contradictions and paradoxes in this framework. I can see this 'game' turning into an endless 'what ifs' and 'why nots' discussion which I'll have to constantly go over again and again as my point fades away. I will inevitably miss some variables that reduce the game, along with my point to ashes. For example, "Do I have super powers in this jungle?" and "What's the point of such an experiment?" etcetera...
But what the hell, if you can see the underlying point I am making then brush the hypothetical questions aside and tell me what you'd do, or what you think.
