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Fasting & Flames of Anger

It takes greater courage refusing to withdraw oneself, neither making oneself conspicuous nor part of the crowd.

Toughen the soul, & set aside days to test oneself against conditions one fears; accordingly train before it comes, so as not to flinch when crisis comes.

It is not how big a fire you can cast, it matters upon where the flames land; as many a great trees have repelled fire, yet the smallest spark can ignite on a bed of straws & sticks; Flames of anger, derives their fire from the source it ignites.

On Festivals and Fasting

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对许多众人来说，获得财富不是结局，仅仅是换来了不同的烦恼；错误不在于财富，而在于思想本身。

如果你一无所有，寻求其他理想前，是否先寻求理解。

在哲学和财富上

The acquisition of riches has been for many people, is not an end, but a change, of troubles; 

For the fault is not in the wealth, but in the mind itself. 

If you have nothing, before anything else, seek understanding first.

Wisdom offers wealth in ready money, & pays it over to those in whose eyes it has made wealth superfluous.

Change the age in which you live, & you have too much; But in every age, what is enough remains the same.

I shall borrow from Epicurus: "The acquisition of riches has been for many people, not an end, but a change, of troubles."; For the fault is not in the wealth, but in the mind itself.

Just as it matters little whether you lay a sick person on a wooden or on a golden bed, for whithersoever they be moved, they will carry their malady with them; so one need not care whether the diseased mind is bestowed upon riches or upon poverty.

Their malady goes with the person.

Farewell.

Seneca, StoicTaoist.

https://youtu.be/StchYfbNLSk

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为什么是哲学？ 

哲学，是一个题，不是言语，而是实事。 

自然的需求是微小的，意见的需求是无限的。 

如果你按照自然生活，你永远不会贫穷； 

如果你按照意见生活，你永远不会富有。 

再会。 

塞内卡，坚道学。 

https://alwaysbeconfident.com/

Why Philosophy ?

Philosophy, it is a matter, not of words, but of facts.

Nature's wants are slight, the demands of opinion are boundless.

"If you live according to nature, you will never be poor; if you live according to opinion, you will never be rich." 

Seneca, StoicTaoist.

https://stoictaoism.org/

什么运动？ 

培养身心健康；无论你做什么，从身体到精神；培养那些随着岁月而进步的东西。 

为何要求命运给予我们财富；我宁愿要求自己不要渴望？ 

想想，不求任何东西是多么愉快，知足是多么高尚&不依赖命运。 

论肌肉与大脑 

https://stoictaoism.org/

Cultivate the health of both mind & body; Whatever you do, come back soon from body to mind; Cultivate that which improves with the years.  

Why should we demand of Fate that it provide & Fortune to give; I much rather demand that of myself that I should not crave & yearn ?  

Reflect how pleasant it is to demand nothing, how noble it is to be contented & not to be dependent upon Fortune.  

It is indeed foolish, my dear Lucilius, & very unsuitable for a cultivated person, to work hard over developing the muscles & expanding the chest; For although your heavy feeding produce good results & your sinews grow solid, you can never be a match, either in strength or in weight, for a first-class bull.

Now there are short & simple exercises which tire the body rapidly, & so save our time; & time is something of which we ought to keep strict account; These exercises are running, brandishing weights, & jumping, – Select for practice any one of these, & you will find it plain & easy.

Whatever you do, come back soon from body to mind; The mind must be exercised both day & night, for it is nourished by moderate labour; & this form of exercise need not be hampered by cold or hot weather, or even by old age; Cultivate that good which improves with the years.

 You see, I have relieved you of no slight bother; & I shall throw in a little complementary present, – it too is Greek; Here is the proverb; it is an excellent one: "The fool's life is empty of gratitude and full of fears; its course lies wholly toward the future."

What sort of life do you think is meant by the fool's life?, That of Baba & Isio?

No; it means our own, for we are plunged by our blind desires into ventures which will harm us, but certainly will never satisfy us; for if we could be satisfied with anything, we should have been satisfied long ago.

Nor do we reflect how pleasant it is to demand nothing, how noble it is to be contented & not to be dependent upon Fortune.

Therefore continually remind yourself, Lucilius, how many ambitions you have attained; When you see many ahead of you, think how many are behind!, Fix a limit which you will not even desire to pass, should you have the power.

Away with fripperies which only serve for show!, As to what the future's uncertain lot has in store, why should I demand of Fortune that it gives, rather than demand of myself that I should not crave?

Why should i crave?, Shall I heap up my winnings, & forget that one’s lot is unsubstantial?

For what end should I toil?, Lo, Today is the last; if not, it is near the last.

Farewell.

Seneca, StoicTaoist.

On Brawn & Brains 

https://stoictaoism.org/

怎么不被欺负？ 

什么使身体害怕？ 

要明智&避开那些可能伤害你的人，不要让别人看到你在躲避他们；避免什么，就谴责什么；当我们选择不压制他人时，我们会让他们认为他们可以践踏我们。  

智者认他所行为视为理性，而不尽是结果；初始是自己的力量；命运决定结果。 

论退出世界的原因 

一个渴望财富的人会因为它而感到恐惧，然而，没有人会享受它所带来的焦虑；当一个总是试图增加一点，一个对增加财富感到困惑时，他却忘记了如何使用财富，那些收集账户、翻开账本的人，简言之，他不再是主人，而是成为了管家。 

再会。 

塞内卡，坚道学。 

https://stoictaoism.org/

How not be bullied ?

What frightens your body ?

Be wise & shun those who might hurt you, You must not seen to be avoiding them; as what one avoids, one condemns; When we choose not to stamp others down, we let them think that they can stomp us.

The wise ones regard reason for all their actions, though not the results; The beginning is in our own power; fortune decides the issue.

On Reasons for Withdrawing from the World

I confess that we all have an inborn affection for our body; I confess that we are entrusted with its guardianship.

I do not maintain that the body is not to be indulged at all; though I maintain that we must not be slaves to it; One will have many rulers who makes their body it’s ruler, who is over-fearful on its behalf, who judges everything according to the body.

We should conduct ourselves not as if we ought to live for the body, but as if we could not live without it; Our great love for it makes us restless with fears, burdens us with cares, & exposes us to insults.

Virtue is held too cheap by those who counts their body too dear; We should cherish the body with greatest care; but we should also be prepared, when reason, & duty demand sacrifice, to deliver it to the flames.

Let us however, in so far as we can, avoid discomforts as well as dangers, & withdraw to safe ground, by thinking continually how we may repel all objects of fear.

Let us therefore, see to it that we abstain from giving offence; It is sometimes, people that we ought to fear; or sometimes a body of influential oligarchs; & sometimes individuals equipped with power by the people & against the people.

It is burdensome to keep friendship of all such persons; it is enough not to make enemies of them; So the wise ones will never provoke anger of those in power; nay, they will even turn their course, precisely as one would turn from a storm if they were steering a ship.

Philosophy itself, however, should be practised with calmness & moderation.

One who craves riches feels fear on their account, No one, however, enjoys a blessing that brings anxiety; one is always trying to add a little more, While one puzzles over increasing their wealth, one forgets how to use it, those that collect their accounts, & turns over their ledger, – in short, One ceases to be master & becomes a steward.

Farewell.

Seneca, StoicTaoist.

https://stoictaoism.org/

为何忍受恐惧！

真正的精神；必须受到考验, 只要它被击倒，便会再次的升起；勇敢是通过被挑战而获得的力量。

我们在想象中受苦比在现实中受苦得更多；我们可能会遇到麻烦；即使是厄运也是变化无常的，也许它会到来，也许不会；与此同时，情况并非如此；所以现时不如期待更好的结果。

论毫无根据的恐惧