The Parable of the Bitter Tea - my two cents

[indifferent betty]

None of you will probably need reminding of this, but here it is for quick reference anyways.

THE PARABLE OF THE BITTER TEA

by Rev. Dr. Hypocrates Magoun, P.P.
POEE PRIEST, Okinawa Cabal

When Hypoc was through meditating with St. Gulik, he went there into the kitchen where he busied himself with preparing the feast and in his endeavor, he found that there was some old tea in a pan left standing from the night before, when he had in his weakness forgot about its making and had let it sit steeping for 24 hours. It was dark and murky and it was Hypoc's intention to use this old tea by diluting it with water. And again in his weakness, chose without further consideration and plunged into the physical labor of the preparations. It was then when deeply immersed in the pleasure of that trip, he had a sudden loud clear voice in his head saying "it is bitter tea that involves you so." Hypoc heard the voice, but the struggle inside intensified, and the pattern, previously established with the physical laboring and the muscle messages coordinated and unified or perhaps coded, continued to exert their influence and Hypoc succummed to the pressure and he denied the voice.

And again he plunged into the physical orgy and completed the task, and Lo as the voice had predicted, the tea was bitter.

To me this speaks on a few levels.
In one way it illustrates the pathetic humanity of even the enlightened. This is demonstrated by the laziness of Hypoc, in the first instance by not making a new pot of tea shortly after his "meditating with St. Gulik". So involving himself in everything else he decides to take an easy route with one aspect of the feast, even when confronted by his conscience on the matter he ignores it for his own few moments of enjoyment in his other activities. This appears to me to be a "Thinker and Prover" scenario, wherein the Thinker thinks "The tea will be fine and so i can concentrate on everthing else" we see Hypoc's Prover wrestling with his conscience/divinely-inerventive-statement/common sense in order to allow him to continue believing the contrary, another damnable human trait (or blessed by Eris depending on your perspective).

In another way, it can bee seen as a metaphor for the human ability to ignore the bigger picture and to involve themselves in one aspect so wholeheartdley as to blind themselves to it completley. Now this is slightly different from RAW's Thinker and Prover model as it would suggest that Hypoc was more conscious of the contradicion, and so "it is bitter tea that involves you so." becomes a metaphor meaning "If you dont look at the the whole problem, then you won't solve it". Thus the feast is ruined by the tea being foul.

It could also be construed, if we imagine that Hypoc is operating on Leary's Fifth Circuit following his "meditating" eneabling him to perceive x-dimensionally, that this is an expression of the Curse of Cassandra. He can see forward and know that the tea will be bitter, but is constrained by causality itself and is unable to change the outcome, the rest being his mind allowing him to deal with the concept.

Finally (so far at least), I take one more meaning from this passage.
Don't try and entertain folk after a DMT binge.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

 saw it more as a parable about how we have a tendency to strive toward something that has no positive outcome and ignore the evidence right before us that what we're working toward has no beneficial outcome.

Like striving to attain the love of someone who is a terrible match or to obtain a degree in a field you really don't want to work in.

[Bebek Sincap Ratatosk]

And I often wondered if it wasn't a warning against trying to keep the old, new....

The tea was once good, but it stagnated, it got old, it was from the past. Hypoc, rather than using his creative power to make new tea, tried to make to old tea do, even though he was warned that it would result in bitter tea. As if the people who wrote it were perhaps concerned that later 'followers' would try to rehash the old tea, rather than making new tea.... that is, they might make use of old creative work that has stagnated, rather than making a pot full of new creative works.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

 like that interpretation too.

[Cain]

Its obviously a story about the buildup of toxins with an enclosed environment.  The "bitter tea" is really DDT, and we're all drinking it.

Or were, at least.

[AFK]

I think this parable is a meeting place of the PD and the BIP.  That is, the idea of blinders and awareness.  Being so focused that other options are obsucred from vision.  Being so focused that even when other options are suggested they are ignored.  It probably also is a good example of why ideas like the BIP and the ideas in the PD can so easily be ignored and laughed off by outsiders.  Because they are so focused on living the way they were raised and taught to live, that it makes absolutely no sense for them to even consider considering other considerations. 

[indigoblade]

I wonder how many more meanings can be extrapolated? I kinda see it as a guy purposley ignoring the warning out of ego and then paying the price and finding out "Oh, I can be wrong.".

[indigoblade]

I think this parable is a meeting place of the PD and the BIP.  That is, the idea of blinders and awareness.  Being so focused that other options are obsucred from vision.  Being so focused that even when other options are suggested they are ignored.  It probably also is a good example of why ideas like the BIP and the ideas in the PD can so easily be ignored and laughed off by outsiders.  Because they are so focused on living the way they were raised and taught to live, that it makes absolutely no sense for them to even consider considering other considerations. 

consider consider other considerations, thats is just great !

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Are we wasting our efforts in all our preparations only to make tea that was already bitter before we started?

[Bebek Sincap Ratatosk]

Are we wasting our efforts in all our preparations only to make tea that was already bitter before we started?

Well if something tells us that the tea will be bitter... it might be a good idea to consider making a new pot

Hypoc got bad tea, because he chose to act in the way he did... not because he had no choice. I think.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Are we wasting our efforts in all our preparations only to make tea that was already bitter before we started?

Well if something tells us that the tea will be bitter... it might be a good idea to consider making a new pot

Hypoc got bad tea, because he chose to act in the way he did... not because he had no choice. I think.

Right the question is whether we're thinking listening and paying attention.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

 REALLY fucking hate not having a comma.

[indifferent betty]

Some awesome thoughts here. thanks guys.

So, in one sense I'm overanalysing, and in the other I'm not reading enough from it.

but what else do i expect, what with being a cosmic schmuck and all.

[Telarus]

betty, I think you have some insight pegging the 5th circuit experience, but missed the boat with the DDT reference, although Gulik should point you to the correct jetski if you look for the other places he appears in the PD.

It seems to me that one should keep in mind that this was (apparently) something that the Rev. Dr. Hypocrates Magoun, P.P. wrote down after having this experience. The most pleasure that Hypoc seemed to get out of his endeavor was in the physical acts of preparation, but no matter how he excelled in his preparations, it would still turn out bitter tea.

I take this as a warning on where to throw your apples, and to take a second at the beginnings of plans and machinations to step back and take another look at the big picture.

[LMNO]

It was then when deeply immersed in the pleasure of that trip, he had a sudden loud clear voice in his head saying "it is bitter tea that involves you so."

This part is what has been concerning me.

It almost sounds like when you're having fun just doing, and your so-called "rational" or "grown-up mind" butts in and says, "stop being so childish".