Latest revision as of 14:28, 9 February 2011

Part 3 of the Sacred Chao Te Ching

Chapter 21

The wise spags try keeping their minds
at one with the Chao;
That is why they are able to think for themselves.

But if the Chao is ineffable,
How can their mind be at one with it?
Because they don't whine about minutiae.
How can this help a spag think for themselves?
Because they can choose immeasurable points of view,
not just Authority's version.

Life is real, and has the power of Creation.
From the moment we are born,
we Create the patterns of Illusion
from which we ever after try and free ourselves.
How do I know of these Illusions?
By observing Chaos.

Chapter 22

Newton's Third Law is no Illusion:
Each thing contains its opposite.
In Order, there is Disorder.
In Hate, there is Love.
Every human houses a monkey.
Each Machine™ has its self-destruct switch.
Revolutions have Reactionaries as offspring.

So the wise spags stay on their toes,
and avoid labels.
Does not the old saying,
"Think outside the box"
imply that a box exists in the first place?
There is no box.

Chapter 23

The Machine™ is built by our behaviors;
Our unconscious desires,
our conscious schemes.
Built by the expectations we create through our expectations,
the action we create through our actions,
the jobs we create with our jobs,
the world we create with our world.
 
But as a traffic jam does not last all morning,
nor a bad day lasts a lifetime,
a good mood is often fleeting,
and fortune does not always smile.
The Machine™ contains more than is apparent.

Chapter 24

The Grayface believes in Order.
The Anarchist believes in Disorder.
The General sees war.
The Celebrity sees themselves.
The Bureaucrat seeks control.
The Leader acts like a bully on the playground.
The Scientist and the Priest believe in the model.

All these things are balanced in Chaos,
and so do not succeed.
Therefore the followers of Eris like to poke them with sticks.

Chapter 25

There is Something that exists,
beyond the Illusions of Order and Disorder.
It is all things, and unknowable in full.
We only see small parts of It, 
but are convinced what we see is the entire Universe.

For lack of a better name, I call It "Chaos".
At dinner parties, I claim It is everything Possible and Impossible.
When asked why not call It "god", 
I point out that their head is too fucking small.

Because we create the Illusions in which we live,
we are more creative than Chaos.
Because we believe in the Illusions we create,
our heads are too fucking small.
In this way, we reflect our creations.

Chapter 26

Serious is the root of hilarious.
Laughter can be very serious.

The wise spag laughs all day
without the need for jokes,
and does not walk away
when the Truth is not funny.

Every Marx brother needs a Zeppo.

...Zeppo?  You know, the straight man?
Oh, I swear, you kids today.
I mean, really.

Chapter 27

A good mindfuck leaves no reasons;
A good saboteur leaves no evidence;
A good artist leaves new questions;
A good barstool removes much idle speculation;
The perfect prison cell looks like the environment;
A nice tie opens many doors.

So a wise spag knows how to blend in,
and takes their freedom once inside.
They understand the people around them,
and know how to get things done.
This is called "Tweaking the Machine™".

Those who proclaim their individuality by following rebels
are still grey, though their fingernails be black.
Such things bring my palms to my face.

The Machine™ cannot be stopped.
But you can gradually redesign it
part by part,
party by party.

Chapter 28

The news anchor is a comedian
who delivers grim stand-up with a straight face.
Some reel back in terror.
Some are numb.
Some laugh through the horror; 
This makes them poor victims.

To tell a bad joke
with a straight face,
one must master seriousness.

To live in a bad joke
with a straight face
one must master humor.

The Discordian wears many masks.

Chapter 29

Those that would take over the world
and bend it to their will,
will get bent.
The world is full of would-be superheroes 
and would-be supervillains.
Maybe the world would be better off without them.

Some lead, and some follow;
Some shout, and some whisper;
Some cry, and some laugh;
Some win, some fail.
The wise keeps their head down 
and let the cannon fodder do their jobs.

Chapter 30

If you're going to do some Covert Ops in the name of Discordia,
keep your head down, and Keep Your Fucking Mouth Shut.
A mowhawk is as good as a target during Police Action.

The wise spags toss a wrench into the Machine™,
and then walk away.
They strike against Authority, but don't put it on the Internet.
They subvert the paradigm, but don't stick around to watch.
They mindfuck the people, but don't pat themselves on the back.

If two people know a thing, it is not a secret.
Getting away with it means staying away from it.