In the fashion of becoming completely persistent with the idea of constantly bombarding you with philosophical rhetoric, I felt the need to share one of my favorite philosophical tools. The endless Jewish wisdom from the Pirke Avot (pronounced peer-kay ah-vote).
As a brief summary on the Pirke Avot, it is a book on the collection of rabbinical sayings dating from very early Hebrew history to about 250c.e.. It is an ethical teaching tool for the Jews and delivers one of the best insights to rightful morality and virtue.
Here are some of it's sayings:
"...Be cautious in judgement
What passes for Truth
is often only hallowed opinion."
"Raise up many students.
Help them see Reality for themselves;
remove dependency-
there is no hierarchy in true learning..."
Joshua ben perachya says:
"Find a teacher to challenge your answers. Acquire a friend, to challenge your questions. Allow everyone the room to doubt: the ability to challenge opinions--even your own."
Judah ben Tabbai says:
"If called upon to judge, do not take sides. To avoid bias, regard all parties as guilty. When judgment is accepted, regard all parties as innocent. Do not cling to judgments nor imagine that the good cannot err or the wicked correct their ways. All life is change, all feeling is in flux. Look to what is now and act accordingly."
And finally Shemaya says:
"Love work.
Constructive labor
is vital to balanced living.
Hate authority. Reality alone is true.
No matter how famous the mouth, check the words against experience.
Do not become intimate with power.
There is nothing we can control
beyond our own doing.
Relinquish power, embrace Reality,
and do what must be done."
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