Daily Archive for May 21st, 2008

Quote of the Day

Published
by
Paulo Coelho
on May 21, 2008
in Quotes
. 12 Comments

By Paulo Coelho

The best way to plunge into God is through love.
(Brida)

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The chess game

Published
by
Paulo Coelho
on May 21, 2008
in Stories
. 8 Comments

By Paulo Coelho

A young man said to the abbot from the monastery:

- I’d actually like to be a monk, but I haven’t learned anything in life. All my father taught me was to play chess, which does not lead to enlightenment. Apart from that, I learned that all games are a sin.

- They may be a sin but they can also be a diversion, and who knows, this monastery needs a little of both - was the reply.

The abbot asked for a chess board, sent for a monk and told him to play the young man.

But before the game began, he added:

- Although we need diversion, we cannot allow everyone to play chess the whole time. So, we only have the best players here; if our monk loses, he will leave the monastery and his place will be yours.

The abbot was serious. The young man knew he was playing for his life, and broke into a cold sweat; the chess board became the center of the world.

The monk began badly. The young man attacked, but then saw the saintly look on the other man’s face; at that moment, he began playing badly on purpose. After all, he would rather lose, a monk is far more useful to the world.

Suddenly, the abbot threw the chess board to the floor.

- You have learned far more than was taught you - he said. - You concentrated yourself enough to win, were capable of fighting for that which you desire. Then, you had compassion, and were willing to make a sacrifice in the name of a noble cause. Welcome to the monastery, because you know how to balance discipline with compassion.

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“2084″ Is China Building the Next-Generation Police State?

Published
by
Paulo Coelho
on May 21, 2008
in News
. 10 Comments

Today in Digg, found this disturbing article written by Casey Kazan for the Daily Galaxy based on an article written by Naomi Klein for Rolling Stone

Thirty years ago the new Chinese city of Shenzhen did not exist. Today, with the help of U.S. defense contractors, the booming city is a model for a high-tech police state 2.0. And, according to some authorities, it’s ready for export.

(…)

Today, Shenzhen situated on the Pearl River Delta, is a city of 12.4 million people and now houses roughly 100,000 factories. As Naomi Klein writes in her brilliant first-person memoir in the current issue of Rolling Stone, “there is a good chance that at least half of everything you own was made here: iPods, laptops, sneakers, flatscreen TVs, cellphones, jeans, maybe your desk chair, possibly your car and almost certainly your printer. Hundreds of luxury condominiums tower over the city; many are more than 40 stories high, topped with three-story penthouses. Newer neighborhoods like Keji Yuan are packed with ostentatiously modern corporate campuses and decadent shopping malls.”

As China prepares to showcase its economic advances during the upcoming Olympics in Beijing, Shenzhen, Klein continues, “is once again serving as a laboratory, a testing ground for the next phase of a vast social experiment. Over the past two years, some 200,000 surveillance cameras have been installed throughout the city. Many are in public spaces, disguised as lampposts. The closed-circuit TV cameras will soon be connected to a single, nationwide network, an all-seeing system that will be capable of tracking and identifying anyone who comes within its range — a project driven in part by U.S. technology and investment. Over the next three years, Chinese security executives predict they will install as many as 2 million CCTVs in Shenzhen, which would make it the most watched city in the world.”

(…)

To read the rest for the article please go here.

Today’s Question by Aart Hilal

Published
by
Paulo Coelho
on May 21, 2008
in Q&A
. 11 Comments

Is there any place in the world that might be more important or more meaningful then other places? Place that one should definitely visit?

A place is a symbol. You misunderstand a symbol when you try to follow the interpretation that another person gave to it. A symbol is there to talk to your heart, not to your brains. Therefore, wherever you feel that you are receiving good energy, this is a place that you should return.

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