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It would probably be more useful to think of what we’ve been through as a revolution in computational statistics than a revolution in intelligence.
“Even in a palace hall, Law is the lord of all.”
― The Story of the Stone, or The Dream of the Red Chamber, Vol. 1: The Golden Days
― The Story of the Stone, or The Dream of the Red Chamber, Vol. 1: The Golden Days
“Having made an utter failure of my life, I found myself one day in the midst of my poverty and wretchedness, thinking about the female companions of my youth. As I went over them one by one, examining them and comparing them in my mind's eye, it suddenly came over me that those slips of girls - which is all they were then - were in every way, both morally and intellectually, superior to the 'grave and mustachioed signior' I am now supposed to have become.”
― The Story of the Stone, or The Dream of the Red Chamber, Vol. 1: The Golden Days
― The Story of the Stone, or The Dream of the Red Chamber, Vol. 1: The Golden Days
“Whereas in this favoured Country, situate in the centremost part of the four continents of the earth, on which it has pleased Heaven to bestow the blessings of everlasting prosperity and peace, we... have, with all due reverence and care, prepared offcies for the salvation of all departed souls, supplicating Heaven and calling upon the Name of the Lord Buddha...Now, earnestly praying and beseeching the Eighteen Guardians of the Sangha, The Warlike Guardians of the Law, and the Twelve Guardians of the Months mercifully to extend their holy compassion towards us, but terribly to blaze forth in divine majesty against the powers of evil, we do solemnly perform for nine and forty days the Great Mass for the purification, deliverance and salvation of all souls on land and on sea.”
― The Story of the Stone, or The Dream of the Red Chamber, Vol. 1: The Golden Days
― The Story of the Stone, or The Dream of the Red Chamber, Vol. 1: The Golden Days
“Having opened up a way for the imprisoned souls, the chief celebrant had succeeded by means of spells and incantations in breaking open the gates of hell. He had shone his light (a little hand mirror) for the souls in darkness. He had confronted Yama, the Judge of the Dead. He had seized the demon torturers who resisted his progress. He had invoked Ksitigarbha, the Saviour King, to aid him. He had raised up a golden bridge, and now, by means of a litle flag which he held aloft in one hand, was conducting over it those souls from the very deepest pit of hell who still remined undelivered.”
― The Story of the Stone, or The Dream of the Red Chamber, Vol. 1: The Golden Days
― The Story of the Stone, or The Dream of the Red Chamber, Vol. 1: The Golden Days
“Our house has now enjoyed nearly a century of dazzling success. Suppose one day "joy at its height engenders sorrow". And suppose that, in the words of another proverb, "when the tree falls, the monkeys scatter". Will not our reputation as one of the great, cultured households of the age then turn into a hollow mockery?"...Honour and disgrace follow each other in an unending cycle. No human power can arrest that cycle and hold it permanently in one position. What you can do, however, is to plan while we are still prosperous for the kind of heritage that will stand up to the hard times when they come.”
― The Story of the Stone, or The Dream of the Red Chamber, Vol. 1: The Golden Days
― The Story of the Stone, or The Dream of the Red Chamber, Vol. 1: The Golden Days
Doug’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Doug’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
211 books
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16 friends
181 books
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42 friends
103 books
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12 friends
1,252 books
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239 friends
214 books
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11 friends
77 books
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36 friends
1,649 books
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49 friends
17 books
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93 friends
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