Chapter 14 Volume 3 Faith-2

I feel within me an inclination and effort to move outward; and this seems to be true, and the only truth concerning the matter.Since it is the ego that feels this disposition, and I cannot transcend myself with all my consciousness, nor especially with my sensations, and this ego itself is the ultimate point from which I grasp that disposition, it seems to me that Intention is, of course, an intention based on myself, and it takes an activity based on myself.But, though I do not perceive it, could this be the disposition of an alien force invisible to me, and could that notion of independence be but a deception produced by my own sphere of vision? Woolen cloth?I have no reason to admit this, but I have no reason to deny it either.I must confess that I knew nothing of this and could no longer know.

Do I also feel that real dynamic which I think I—strangely—did not know?No! The real active force is the fictitious determinable thing for the determinate according to the well-known laws of thought through which all abilities and powers are produced, and the determinant is the same fictitious reality action. Apart from being the usual and familiar procedure of all objective thinking, which leads outward from mere concepts to their supposed realizations—for this thinking never intends to be mere thinking, but also to presuppose something other than thinking—it is something else. Kind of something else?What dishonesty should make the practice more valuable here than in other cases?Does attaching the idea of ​​thinking to the realization of this thought have a deeper meaning than attaching the actual table to the concept of a table? "The concept of purpose is a particular determination of phenomena occurring within me, which manifests itself in a double form, on the one hand as the subjective, i.e. thinking, and on the other as the objective, i.e. acting"; Against such an explanation, which would undoubtedly not lack a genetic deduction?

I say, I feel the intention; when I say this, do I really say and think so myself?Am I really feeling it?Or is it just thinking about sensations, isn't everything I call sensations present to me only through my objectified thinking?Is not all this the real and primary transition point of all objectification processes?Besides, am I really thinking, or just thinking?Am I really thinking about thinking, or am I just thinking about thinking about thinking?What can prevent speculation from asking such questions, from continuing to ask them without end?What can I answer to Sibian?Where is the end point where I can keep my speculation from asking these questions?

——Of course I know, and I have to admit to speculative thinking that we can think about each state of consciousness development and create a new consciousness of the previous consciousness, from Li always pushes the direct consciousness to a higher stage , making the former consciousness dubious; I also know, and have to admit to Speculation, that there is no end to this ladder of conscious development.I know that all skepticism is based on this practice, and I know that the system of doctrine that so shocked me is also based on this practice and clear awareness. I knew that if I didn't want to simply play another dizzying game with this system of doctrine, but actually live by it, I'd have to refuse to listen to that voice in my heart.I cannot act when I want to act, because according to that system of doctrine I have no way of knowing whether I can act, nor can I ever believe that I am actually acting; whatever I feel to be my action must mean nothing to me except Just a deceiving image.In this case, all seriousness and all interest disappear from my life, which, like my thoughts, becomes a mere game, which begins with nothing and ends with nothing. .

Should I refuse to heed that inner voice?I don't want to do that.I resign myself to the mission this disposition has given me; and in this decision I also want to grasp thoughts of the reality and reality of the disposition, of the reality of all that the disposition presupposes.I will stick to the unpretentious thinking position that this intention has arranged for me, and reject all the meaningless thinking and trivial analysis that will only make me doubt the authenticity of this intention. Noble Elf, now I understand you.I have now found a faculty by which I can comprehend this reality, and perhaps all the others at the same time.This faculty is not knowledge; no knowledge can justify itself, prove itself; every knowledge presupposes a higher being as its ground, and so goes back to infinity.This ability is a kind of faith, a voluntary trust in the point of view which is naturally presented to us, because only according to this point of view can we fulfill our mission; To the extent that it is sure and convincing, without this belief knowledge would be a mere delusion.Faith is never knowledge, but a decision of the will which makes knowledge valid.

I will always hold to this notion, not merely of a verbal way of discerning, but of a real, profound way of discerning, which had the most important consequences for my whole ethical attitude.All my convictions are beliefs, which spring from ethical attitudes, not from the intellect.When I see this, I will not engage in arguments, because I expect them to be fruitless; I will not lead myself astray by them, because the source of my faith is above all arguments.I do not want to set myself free to force this belief on rational grounds; nor should I be surprised if such a plan fails.I adopt my way of thinking, first of all for myself, not for others, and I just want to prove this way to myself.Anyone who has such an ethical attitude as mine, such a loyal and good will, will also have such a belief as mine; but without that ethical attitude, this belief cannot arise.When I know this, I also know whence all self-cultivation, my own and that of others, arises—from the will, not from the intellect.As long as the will moves unreservedly and honestly towards the good, the understanding grasps the truth for itself.

If only the intellect is at work and the will is neglected, there will be nothing but a skill of going into an absolute void for pointless thinking and trivial analysis.When I know this, I can refute all pseudo-knowledge that might be opposed to my beliefs.I know that all so-called truths, which arise from mere thought and have no basis in faith, must be hypocrisy, since mere knowledge thus produced leads only to the perception that we know nothing; I know, Such a pseudoknowledge can never discover anything other than what it puts by faith in its premises, and from which it may draw false conclusions.When I know this, I have the touchstone of all truth and all faith.It is only from conscience that truth arises.Everything that is contrary to conscience, or prevents it from realizing what it can and decides, is certainly false and can never be convincing, even if I cannot reveal the fallacies that lead to this pseudo-knowledge.

The same is true of all people who have been born into the world.Even if they are not aware of such things, they grasp all reality that exists for them by faith alone; this faith, which came into their hearts at the same time as their existence, was born with them.How could things be otherwise?If there is no ground involved in pure knowledge, simple intuition and thinking, and we regard our representations as reflections that, although simple, must appear before our eyes, why on earth should we regard our representations as What about such an image?Why base our representations on something that exists independently of all representations?If we all have the ability and the inclination to go beyond our original, natural perspective, why on earth are so few of us going beyond it?Why do they even resist with a feeling of resentment when they are urged to go beyond this point of view?What fixes them to this first, natural point of view, is not a rational ground, for there can never be such a thing; it is a concern for a reality which they are to create; ——The good man is devoted to creating this reality, and the vulgar and lustful is to enjoy it.No one alive can escape this concern, nor can he escape the belief that this concern brings.We are all born with faith—the blind man follows blindly the secret and irresistible impulse; the sighted man consciously obeys it, and he has faith because he wants to.

How unified and complete, how dignified is the nature of man in itself! Our thinking is not independent of our inclinations and inclinations but based on itself; man is not composed of two separate and co-existing parts, man is an absolute unity .All our thinking is grounded in our intentions themselves; and as a man's inclinations are, so are his perceptions.The intention compels us to think in a certain way only as long as we are not aware of the compulsion; as soon as we are aware of the compulsion, it disappears, and what has formed our way of thinking according to the intention is no longer there. It is no longer the intention, but ourselves.

However, I should open my eyes, I should know myself thoroughly, I should understand that compulsion, this is my mission.Therefore I should form, and under this premise I must form my way of thinking itself.In this way, I will be completely independent and self-fulfilling.The original source of all my other thoughts and all my life, the source from which all that is possible in me, for me, and by me, i.e., the innermost spirit of my spirit, is not an alien spirit, but, on the contrary, It is entirely my own creation in the strictest sense.I am entirely my own creation.I may be able to blindly follow the inclinations of my spiritual nature.But instead of being a product of nature, I would like to be a product of myself; and now I am such a product because I will.I might be able to make endless trivial analyzes that make my mind's natural views dark and suspect.But I rely freely on this view because I am willing to rely on it.The way of thinking that I now hold is a way of thinking that I have deliberately selected from all other possible ways of thinking, because I think this way of thinking is the only way of thinking that is consistent with my dignity and my calling.I have freely and consciously brought myself back to the footing upon which my nature had once made me rest.What I accept is what my nature declares; but I do not accept it because I must, but, on the contrary, I believe in it because I want to believe in it.

The lofty mission of my intellect fills me with admiration.Intellect is no longer the kind of empty reflection performance from nothing, it has been given to me for a great purpose.The task of cultivating the intellect for this purpose has been entrusted to me; it is in my hands, and it is at my summons.It's right under my control.I know directly—and here my faith accepts this statement of my consciousness without further contemplation—that I do not have to let my mind wander blindly and aimlessly, that I can awaken and To direct my attention away from this object, and fix it on another; I know that, when I have not yet fully understood the object, and have not yet had a most complete belief in it, I will not relax my study of it, Then it is entirely in me; I know that neither blind necessity compels me to a certain system of thought, nor empty chance makes fun of my thinking, but the ego thinks there, and I can think what I want to think.It is by thinking that I discover more; I find that it is only myself that has independently produced my whole way of thinking, my particular views of general truths; All sense of truth, or pious obedience and trust in the truth, is entirely up to me.My whole way of thinking, the upbringing of my intellect, and the object of my attention--all this depends entirely on me.Putting forward the true knowledge is credit, but distorting my cognitive ability, being careless, ignorant, full of mistakes, and having no faith are all sins. The only thing I had to devote my attention to and constantly think about was what I should do, and how best to carry out this order.All my thinking must relate to my actions, must be seen as a means to an end, though not at hand.Otherwise, thinking is empty, aimless play, a waste of energy and time, and a corruption of the noble faculties endowed to me for an entirely different purpose. I can hope, and I do hope, that such a reflection will have good results.The nature in which I have to act is not something alien, generated independently of me, which I can never understand deeply.Nature is molded according to the laws of my own thought, and must correspond to them; it must be everywhere for me completely transparent and knowable, even down to its inner essence. .Wherever this nature is no more than the expression of my own relation and relation to myself; just as I may indeed aspire to know myself, so I may indeed aspire to ascertain this nature.If I seek only what I seek, I will find it; if I ask only what I ask, I will have the answer.