| Re: A quote from _Sadism and Masochism_ by Wilhelm Stekel |
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Group: alt.philosophy · Group Profile
Author: bigfletch8bigfletch8 Date: Sep 15, 2008 17:14
On Sep 15, 5:26 pm, "Scott H" wrote:
> I also heard that he had his first physical encounter with the opposite sex
> when he was two and a half years old. (For the record, I'm two and a half
> decades old, and I haven't even been on a date yet. You can imagine the
> awful nausea I've had to live in.)
>
> I wrote:
>
>> Here is a quote:
>
>> "...Only the martyr takes another's
>> pain upon himself; to be sure, because the consciousness of this
>> affords him pleasure..."
>
> I dispute this sentence. Its truth, if it is even true at all, depends on
> the meaning of "taking another's pain upon oneself."
>
> If I seek to relieve another's pain, doesn't that mean my consciousness *per
> se* of his or her pain causes me *pain*, not pleasure? And if I relieve his
> or her pain, sure, it affords me pleasure, but this is not quite the same as
> stating that my mere *consciousness* of it does.
A martyr is well meaning, but misguided. He does not yet realize that
experience is the only teacher, and tries to impose his awareness on
an unprepared individual or community.
The spiritual basis for the understanding of pain/pleasure is the same
for wealth/povety, success/failure, elation/frustration etc.
That is, we each have to experience both to find the 'middle
ground' (self ).. Until that is recognised, the extremes keep
increasing to the point that we actually only appreciate living when
we face dying.
I was reminded of this yesterday, when I watched briefly the 500cc
Indionapolis m/c race. That was on the way to watching the movie The
Celestine Prophecy.
Beautiful irony.
BOfL
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