Wisik: A Splash of Reality

  Choose Thy Battles Wisely (photo from:  https://www.teahub.io/down/TTwmoJ_thor-ragnarok-hela-mural/) “A wise king never seeks out war,  but he must always be ready for it.”      Odin, the father of Thor, uttered these wise words in the Marvel film Thor (2011). War indeed must never be the first recourse of a leader. She or he must first exhaust the available peaceful means (e.g., dialogue, peace talks) before resorting to the use of force. Unnecessary violence which leads to the destruction of lives and property may be avoided with such means. However, as Odin puts it, the leader must always be ready for it since peace may not always be the enduring status quo. Someone might choose violence.       In the unlikely event of war, it is better for us to be the party who is prepared. I am not only talking about the common notion of war (i.e., the violent conflict between nations), but also about the various battles one fights in life. The quotation above would suggest that a wise person d

BUILDING BRIDGES, NOT WALLS:  Constructing the Proper Attitude  Towards the Mysterious   (photo from: https://www.pexels.com/search/sky/)      The search for transcendence has led humanity to many distinct paths. The Western tradition, with their intense rational and logical explications, found a Transcendent that is interpreted differently by those in the religious spheres and by those in the academe. On the other hand, the Eastern tradition, with their mysticism and spiritual explications, has a distinct notion of Transcendence which blurs or even disintegrates the line between religion and philosophy. Despite these differences, one thing seems certain: the Transcendent is a mystery. Its vastness and inexhaustibility make it so mysterious that even the word mysterious falls short to describe it.        With the Mysterious before us, we cannot seem to reconcile our finitude with it. Limited as we are, our grasp of the Mysterious is also limited. In our frail attempt at grasping the My

      THE SEARCH OF TRANSCENDENCE     (photo from:  https://imgflip.com/memetemplate/200626627/IGHT-IMMA-TRANSCEND)                     “Are we capable of transcending?”             This was one of the many questions pondered in the discussion on the article “Beyond Ricci and Longobardi: Exploring a Dialogue Between East-West Transcendence.” As we surveyed the Western and Eastern perspectives on the search of transcendence, we are first confronted with the question on our capability to transcend. Well, the answer of course is we can. We are capable of such feat. This is evident by the fact that man is able to think of things or even entertain ideas that are beyond him. If we are not able to do so, how, then, could the greatest theories and discoveries especially about the outer space been put forth? Also, how would religions in the world flourish if man is not able to think about divine stuff?             Since we are capable of transcending, it is safe to assume that there is a Trans

  EXAMEN: Examination of Consciousness         (photo from:  https://www.additudemag.com/self-compassion-practice-adhd-shame/)          There are many “lutang” moments in our lives. “Lutang” could also mean “sabaw”, “bangag”, and most especially, “tanga.” These Filipino terms all point to ‘stupidity’ – a state where consciousness seems to dissipate. In moments where stupidity is evident, we seem to do things without proper reflection or without being conscious. Consciousness, in this reflection, is taken as the state or power of the mind to be rational in saying or doing things. Hence for this matter, being stupid is opposite to being conscious.          Consciousness is one of the notions being discussed in Nishida Kitaro’s philosophy. We ponder on what consciousness is all about given the fact that the I/self and the world/reality is internally related in all aspects. In tackling such question, we find out that it is all about being capable of self-critique. Having such capability en