Oh, The Places You'll Go!

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retrofuturist
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Oh, The Places You'll Go!

Post by retrofuturist »

Greetings,

A bit of controversy about whether Hermann Hesse's 'Siddartha' is Dhammic... but surely Dr. Suess' classic "Oh, The Places You'll Go!" is Dhammic. Yeah?

"Oh, the Places You'll Go!"

Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You're off to Great Places!
You're off and away!

You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
You're on your own. And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go.

You'll look up and down streets. Look 'em over with care.
About some you will say, "I don't choose to go there."
With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet,
you're too smart to go down any not-so-good street.

And you may not find any
you'll want to go down.
In that case, of course,
you'll head straight out of town.

It's opener there
in the wide open air.

Out there things can happen
and frequently do
to people as brainy
and footsy as you.

And when things start to happen,
don't worry. Don't stew.
Just go right along.
You'll start happening too.

OH!
THE PLACES YOU'LL GO!

You'll be on your way up!
You'll be seeing great sights!
You'll join the high fliers
who soar to high heights.

You won't lag behind, because you'll have the speed.
You'll pass the whole gang and you'll soon take the lead.
Wherever you fly, you'll be the best of the best.
Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.

Except when you don' t
Because, sometimes, you won't.

I'm sorry to say so
but, sadly, it's true
and Hang-ups
can happen to you.

You can get all hung up
in a prickle-ly perch.
And your gang will fly on.
You'll be left in a Lurch.

You'll come down from the Lurch
with an unpleasant bump.
And the chances are, then,
that you'll be in a Slump.

And when you're in a Slump,
you're not in for much fun.
Un-slumping yourself
is not easily done.

You will come to a place where the streets are not marked.
Some windows are lighted. But mostly they're darked.
A place you could sprain both you elbow and chin!
Do you dare to stay out? Do you dare to go in?
How much can you lose? How much can you win?

And IF you go in, should you turn left or right...
or right-and-three-quarters? Or, maybe, not quite?
Or go around back and sneak in from behind?
Simple it's not, I'm afraid you will find,
for a mind-maker-upper to make up his mind.

You can get so confused
that you'll start in to race
down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace
and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space,
headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.
The Waiting Place...

...for people just waiting.
Waiting for a train to go
or a bus to come, or a plane to go
or the mail to come, or the rain to go
or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow
or waiting around for a Yes or a No
or waiting for their hair to grow.
Everyone is just waiting.

Waiting for the fish to bite
or waiting for wind to fly a kite
or waiting around for Friday night
or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake
or a pot to boil, or a Better Break
or a sting of pearls, or a pair of pants
or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.
Everyone is just waiting.

NO!
That's not for you!

Somehow you'll escape
all that waiting and staying.
You'll find the bright places
where Boom Bands are playing.

With banner flip-flapping,
once more you'll ride high!
Ready for anything under the sky.
Ready because you're that kind of a guy!

Oh, the places you'll go! There is fun to be done!
There are points to be scored. there are games to be won.
And the magical things you can do with that ball
will make you the winning-est winner of all.
Fame! You'll be famous as famous can be,
with the whole wide world watching you win on TV.

Except when they don't.
Because, sometimes, they won't.

I'm afraid that some times
you'll play lonely games too.
Games you can't win
'cause you'll play against you.

All Alone!
Whether you like it or not,
Alone will be something
you'll be quite a lot.

And when you're alone, there's a very good chance
you'll meet things that scare you right out of your pants.
There are some, down the road between hither and yon,
that can scare you so much you won't want to go on.

But on you will go
though the weather be foul
On you will go
though your enemies prowl
On you will go
though the Hakken-Kraks howl
Onward up many
a frightening creek,
though your arms may get sore
and your sneakers may leak.

On and on you will hike
and I know you'll hike far
and face up to your problems
whatever they are.

You'll get mixed up, of course,
as you already know.
You'll get mixed up
with many strange birds as you go.
So be sure when you step.
Step with care and great tact
and remember that Life's
a Great Balancing Act.
Just never forget to be dexterous and deft.
And never mix up your right foot with your left.

And will you succeed?
Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and 3 / 4 percent guaranteed.)

KID, YOU'LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!

So...
be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray
or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O'Shea,
you're off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So...get on your way!


Source: http://schools.fsusd.k12.ca.us/schools/ ... l%20Go.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Metta,
Retro. :)
"Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."
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Dhammanando
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Re: Oh, The Places You'll Go!

Post by Dhammanando »

Hi Retro,
retrofuturist wrote:A bit of controversy about whether Hermann Hesse's 'Siddartha' is Dhammic... but surely Dr. Suess' classic "Oh, The Places You'll Go!" is Dhammic. Yeah?
Yes, that's much better than anything by Hesse. One would of course need a commentary to appreciate it in all its depth.
You're on your own. And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go.

You'll look up and down streets. Look 'em over with care.
About some you will say, "I don't choose to go there."
With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet,
you're too smart to go down any not-so-good street.
Very good. It appears to be a modern restatement of the Sabbāsava Sutta's teaching on āsavas to be abandoned by avoiding.
  • "What taints, bhikkhus, should be abandoned by avoiding? Here a bhikkhu, reflecting wisely, avoids a wild elephant, a wild horse, a wild bull, a wild dog, a snake, a stump, a bramble patch, a chasm, a cliff, a cesspit, a sewer. Reflecting wisely, he avoids sitting on unsuitable seats, wandering to unsuitable resorts and associating with bad friends, since if he were to do so wise companions in the holy life might suspect him of evil conduct. While taints, vexation, and fever might arise in one who does not avoid these things, there are no taints, vexation, and fever in one who avoids them. These are called the taints that should be abandoned by avoiding."
Best wishes,
Dhammanando Bhikkhu
Yena yena hi maññanti,
tato taṃ hoti aññathā.


In whatever way they conceive it,
It turns out otherwise.
(Sn. 588)
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Jechbi
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Re: Oh, The Places You'll Go!

Post by Jechbi »

Hi Retro,

I've read this book to my kid I don't know how many times, and I always feel good about it. Tho I wonder how this tidbit fits in exactly:
retrofuturist wrote:And will you succeed?
Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and 3 / 4 percent guaranteed.)
I guess there are no 100% guarantees.

;)
Rain soddens what is kept wrapped up,
But never soddens what is open;
Uncover, then, what is concealed,
Lest it be soddened by the rain.
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BubbaBuddhist
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Re: Oh, The Places You'll Go!

Post by BubbaBuddhist »

I've been told there's an apocryphal "missing" verse edited from the published version:
This place is Hades, where bad people go,
Hellfire and brimstone forever flow.
Devils dance and devils shout
My how they jump about.
They have a long rusty fork
They roast you on the end like pork.
They stick you in the ear
they stick you in the rear
they stick you in the eye
They stick you til you cry
It does no good to call for Mama,
She ran off with the fifth Dalai Lama.
Does Hell last forever? That's what they say.
Let's hope this isn't Judgment Day.
Or so I've heard. :twisted:
Author of Redneck Buddhism: or Will You Reincarnate as Your Own Cousin?
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retrofuturist
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Re: Oh, The Places You'll Go!

Post by retrofuturist »

Greetings BuddhaBuddhist,

You nearly had me going until you had the bit about the fifth Dalai Lama.

Nice apocryphal verse though... in keeping with the theme of the original text.

Metta,
Retro. :)
"Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."
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retrofuturist
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Re: Oh, The Places You'll Go!

Post by retrofuturist »

Greetings venerable,
Dhammanando wrote:One would of course need a commentary to appreciate it in all its depth.
Of course, of course. :lol:

Metta,
Retro. :)
"Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."
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BubbaBuddhist
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Re: Oh, The Places You'll Go!

Post by BubbaBuddhist »

That's actually an excerpt from some Buddhist Nursery Rhymes I wrote on a thread on e-Sangha. Here are some more:

"Don't get mad," the Buddha said
"It sets a fire inside your head."
"I hate this! I'm mad at that!
"I'll whip the dog and kick the cat!"
Like taking poison, hoping someone else will die,
Anger makes us weep and cry.
It's never good, always ill,
And through kamma we pay the bill.
That dog, that cat, the hated OTHER
Was, in bygone times, your mother.
Above all else, be kind
Let love, not anger, rule the mind.

Jack and Jill
Went up the Hill
To listen to some Dhamma.
Jill came back
As a boy named Zach
And Jack came back as his mama.

There was an old man
Who lived in a shoe
He studied Lord Buddha
Confucius and Lao Tsu.
He saw it was fruitless
To chase after riches
He learned how to live
Life free without glitches.
Most people said "He's just an old fool,"
But personally, I thought he was cool.
That man was me, in a former existence
So now today, I meditate with persistence.

It's raining, it's pouring --
Isn't Samsara boring?
Impermanent, inconstant and stressful
Seldom blissful, at peace or restful.
So spend much time on the mat, dear friend
And you'll reach Nibbanna in the end.
May we find, as others found
The perfect Mind like fire unbound.

:lol:
I had too much coffee that day.

J/ Bb
Author of Redneck Buddhism: or Will You Reincarnate as Your Own Cousin?
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