Forum Post: It's about the Transcendent, stupid!
Posted 13 years ago on Nov. 2, 2011, 11:49 p.m. EST by TotheMiddle
(7)
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To Wall Street: “What shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his soul?” -JC
To the Protesters: "It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles. Then the victory is yours. It cannot be taken from you, not by angels or by demons, heaven or hell." - Buddha
Sit with this and you may just find yourself awake for the first time.
You ought to write fortune cookies.
(1) There is no soul to lose; 'soul' is just a word for 'mind' used by people who can't admit to themselves that when the brain goes, the mind goes. Being consumed with material wealth is a pretty hollow existence, but whether you live like a monk or a mogul you're going to lose your soul (i.e. your mind, sense of self, etc.) in the end anyway.
(2) There are no angels, devils, heaven or hell.
Mmm fortune cookies, I'll look into that!
These quotes weren't meant to be dissected word by word, for fear of missing the point, which unfortunately, you have.
Focus on the poetic side of the quote, not the literal.