/lit/ - Literature

[Anonymous No.19765946]

I'm going to become an apartment ascetic. Sell all my possessions and sit in an empty room for as long as I can take it. A month. A year. All I will have is a single book and a pen and paper. What book should I buy? I want it to be something nonfiction and something that would be worth rereading and rereading. Basically something I can use as my bible.

[Anonymous No.19765956]

>>19765946
you're not an ascetic as long as you're using electricity, running water or standard toilets even.

[Anonymous No.19765961]

>>19765956
An apartment ascetic is allowed those things. I would live in a cave but I don't have the means right now. Maybe in the future.

[Anonymous No.19765962]

[Anonymous No.19765968]

>>19765962
I should add nothing religious. I'm an atheist

[Anonymous No.19765977]

[Anonymous No.19765978]

The 1001 Arabian Nights

[Anonymous No.19765988]

>>19765978
Have you read his other books

[Anonymous No.19766000]

>>19765961
start using your shoe as a pillow when sleeping and only take shits when you're out of the house

[Anonymous No.19766009]

Maybe to be clearer about what I'm looking for my original plan was to only keep The World as Will and Representation which is almost exactly what I'm looking for but I dislike philosophy and most philosophers as a whole. Maybe something similar to that book but something closer to collection of essays than philosophy.

[Anonymous No.19766049]

>>19765946
>>19765968
The Bible

[Anonymous No.19766056]

History of My Life by Casanova

Reemerge as an 18th century Chad

[Anonymous No.19766072]

>>19765946
Proust maybe?

[Anonymous No.19766079]

>>19765946
Meditation by Marcus Aurelius

[Anonymous No.19766226]

>>19765946
i'm already doing this because i got fired for vaccine noncompliance

[Anonymous No.19766375]

>>19765946
Ride the tiger by evola (it's useful for you even if you're not trad, as it talks abot ascetism, askesis means exercise)
Doctrine of awakening by Evola (book about askesis and mind training)
The tibetan book of the dead

if you want to be quirky:
Solitary Fitness by charles bronson. Exercise book for people in solitary confinement in empty rooms, just like you. it's an interesting experiment. it contains mental exercises as well, stretching etc. This will make sure you have something non finctional to read, and will enhance your creativity by maing YOU write a non-derivative book worthy of reflection.

[Anonymous No.19766424]

>>19765946
Don Quixote

[Anonymous No.19766436]

>>19765946
you will start a cult based on that book

[Anonymous No.19766497]

>>19765968
the bible. So you are no longer an atheist.

[Anonymous No.19766501]

>>19766497
The Bible made me an atheist

[Anonymous No.19766676]

>>19765946
you can learn unintended things from any book. If I only had one book I'd either choose a collected book of poems from my favourite authour or if I was never expected to read another again, The Collected Shakes

[Anonymous No.19766755]

>>19766501
Yea i said the same thing when i was a teen too. You're intellectually bankrupt and have never consumed anything biblical other than Hitch slap compilations. Now grow up and actually read the thing.

[Anonymous No.19766937]

>>19766755
why are christian larpers like this?

[Anonymous No.19767009]

>>19766009
So you're dumb as fuck. I thought so

[Anonymous No.19767578]

>>19765946
>for as long as I can take it
Not to make asceticism into some productivity-cult cringe-ass thing with a goal -- but what do you hope happens as a result of this? Or at least, what makes you want to do this? You mentioning that you're going to do it for as long as you can handle it, not indefinitely, makes me think there is something specific you're looking for and I want to know what it is.

As far as books I'd recommend a very long, very thorough history of a specific country/region/time/etc.

[Anonymous No.19768276]

>>19765946
>I'm going to become an apartment ascetic. Sell all my possessions and sit in an empty room for as long as I can take it. A month. A year.
I'm gonna live like that too.
I'm moving out and as I don't have any possessions, things are going to be like that for a while.

Maybe a good pick would be
"The Complete Works of Plato".

[Anonymous No.19768293]

>>19765946
am i allowed to be an ascetic and listen to classical music?

[Anonymous No.19768301]

Based, I'm in the process of throwing away all of my unnecessary possessions (vidya, comics, etc) myself rn.

[Anonymous No.19768363]

>>19765946
Check your motives before you do this. I did something similar, but it wasn't intentioned like this. I was processing my oneitis breakup, trouble with the law, and the loss of my academic future of 200k wasted. I ended up going from sad on day 1 to full blown schizo by day 30ish. Obviously my mental state was in a different place, but the setting itself is somewhat to blame.

I just want you to understand going in that you are voluntarily playing with forces that lead to detachment from sanity. Not kitschy enlightenment or esoteric knowledge, just pure suffering from complete social isolation and the insane copes your monkey brain spits out. Monkey brain does not take kindly to social isolation and trust me there is a big difference between limited social interaction and zero social interaction. I'm posting on this website, I know what limited social interaction is like, but total cut off is not the same and I personally would never voluntarily put my psyche through that torture again. There's nothing to be gained from it for me, but maybe there is for you? I can't conceive how, but I don't claim to know everything.

[Anonymous No.19768471]

>>19766937
They haven't read the bible, only told other people to

[Anonymous No.19768567]

>>19765946
>Single book
> Pen
> Paper
learn math the old way bucko.

[Anonymous No.19768592]

>>19766375
>evola
Didn’t read but condemn
>bronson
Based

Take Bronson and bible
You won’t regret a thing

[Anonymous No.19768602]

>>19766937
He’s right. You can’t just read it without understanding and it comes with a mentor if you’re lucky or by harsh experience if your aren’t

[Anonymous No.19768616]

>>19768567
He who isn’t dumb must study math. If he fails then he may proceed to any other field of education.

[Anonymous No.19768620]

Tao te ching

[Anonymous No.19768624]

>>19765946
You buy a book with empty pages. Use your paper for your drafts. Only write in the book once you have something good on your paper.

[Anonymous No.19768664]

>>19768616
heck yeah.

[Anonymous No.19769253]

>>19767009
Why you think that?

[Anonymous No.19769285]

>>19765961
>An apartment ascetic is allowed those things
Does it say so in the handbook? Why do you want to do this? Just to say you can?

[Anonymous No.19769336]

>>19765968
>I'm gonna change myself, so don't recommend anything I don't already agree with

[Anonymous No.19769405]

>I'm gonna X
>I'm gonna Y
no you're not. all your plans fail because of this reason.

[Anonymous No.19769532]

>>19766937
>>19768471
filtered

[Anonymous No.19770056]

>>19768293
No, you're only allowed to play it.

[Anonymous No.19770082]

>>19766009
Unironically Fanged Noumena

[Anonymous No.19770221]

Decline and fall of the Roman Empire

[Anonymous No.19770228]

>>19770221
Or lord of the rings or count of monte cristo

[Anonymous No.19772141]

Do not take a boring novel that you'll just memorize and get bored of, allow your mind to grow and expand beyond what it now is. You'll also want an unmarked ruler and compass though

[Anonymous No.19772158]

>>19765968
Weird way to spell retarded, but okay

[Anonymous No.19772442]

>>19765946
A single book isn't as useful as several great books. It is noble to wish to cut everything superfluous from your life, and I commend you and really wish you the best. That is a life I could only dream of living if I were a stronger man. However, I do recommend several books rather than just one, since overspecialization can lead to weakness as much as underspecialization. Often one great book requires several smaller books to give deeper meaning. Often one understanding of life is aided and expanded by several contrasting views of life. You don't have to believe or become attached to any particular idea, but it is beneficial if you entertain and question several complex ideas and think for yourself after that.

>The Bible, plus major biblical commentaries
>Bhagavad Gita, plus major Hindu texts, particularly any Yogi who speaks of the Higher Self such as Ramana Maharshi
>Buddhist Suttas of your choice, maybe Avatamsaka Sutra or poems by Vajrayana yogi masters, even if they deny the Self or all worldly things I think it is just a matter of "upaya" since all language no matter how pious is always limited. Chogyam Trunpa is great on Buddhist topics.
>Be familiar with all atheist and secular arguments. This sounds strange, contradictory, and maybe perverse, but I think knowing everything about the nihilistic materialist perspective while also rejecting and critiquing it is useful in this modern world.

Honorable Mentions
>World as Will and Representation
>Any Pagan works
>Daoism
>Anything you need to most fully understand the above

This inherently leads to the thought "Should I concern myself with learning merely because it is useful to the ego? Doesn't the ego usurp spirituality for its own gain?" The answer is yes, it is alright to learn this, it is alright to ignore this, since spiritual completion matters more than egoic knowing and learning, but the world of matter and spirit are connected. Thus, if you learn all of these things with the intense intention that this worldly knowledge expands your spiritual knowledge, you will still benefit spiritually.

Am I implying you have to adhere to any particular view? No. Am I supporting syncretism, secularist psychologism, or perrenialism? Not really. I just think it is healthier to know as many quality spiritual traditions as you can, even if you reject a few of them. However, any spiritual seeker must still see these as tools and not as rules to worship.

I wish you the best of luck on your journey for truth and moral purity.

[Anonymous No.19772481]

>>19768363
>>19765946
Social isolation can be extremely dangerous, even for spiritual reasons. This post that warns caution should be held as an important message. Before doing this you must, really you MUST, have extensive spiritual teaching and experience, you must have teaching from a spiritual master.

Buddhist monks, for example, only take great retreats when their guru (spiritual teacher/master) says that they should or recommends it. Otherwise they avoid retreat and instead cling to the Sangha (spiritual community)

If you think you may lose your mind by doing this, you must first become accustomed to strict ascetic living in a social environment, such as a monastery. I sincerely advise you learn communally before you dive straight in to ascetic isolation. I know that ascetic isolation without proper training can lead to insanity and death, which is the opposite of your desire.

[Anonymous No.19772562]

>>19765946

You should read Naming and Necessity by Kripke

[Anonymous No.19772815]

>>19765946
severing all ties with nature is about the worst possible decision you could make if you want to achieve any spiritual insight. better to have zero books and one nature than one book and zero nature.

[Anonymous No.19772831]

Guys when I think about getting a job my head starts spinning. I literally feel sick. What can I do to live in total poverty for the rest of my life without ending up in the streets? Where can I go? I'm in Europe and basic costs of living are prohibitively expensive here. What can I do? I literally just want to avoid wageslaving in some terrible warehouse or in a store or food. I can draw fairly well but I'm not going to draw porn and other cancerous prostituted shit. I can do some very basic coding and I'm a little bit of a polyglot.

[Anonymous No.19772838]

>>19772831
join a ramakrishna mission ashram anon

[Anonymous No.19772842]

>>19772831
Get on neetbux?

[Anonymous No.19772855]

>>19772831
I managed to get lucky and find a government job with no degree whatsoever, which for some reason hires borderline retards to interpret legislation and apply it to different situations (lack of staffing). If you're on /lit/ you probably already have an at least moderately high verbal reasoning ability, especially if you get into philosophical arguments a lot. Given this, I found it both rewarding and a natural talent and managed to get promoted really quickly to a position of authority, where I can basically relax and spend my time mitigating the stupidity-damage done by the lessers, just by relying on a good verbal memory and strong and very precise reason. These types of government jobs are probably ideal for /lit/ autists.

[Anonymous No.19774516]

>>19772842
Impossible to get buxx for anything unless you're an illegal """""refugee"""""
>>19772855
Government jobs are difficult to get to. Generally you need to pay someone off in some way.
I just want a job that isn't suicide inducing.
I don't want sex
I don't want kids
I don't want comforts
I don't want drugs
I just want a light job that doesn't completely drain me of all energy and pays me enough for me to feed myself. That's all I want. In another time I would have been a humble artisan and I would have been so happy making shoes or what have you. Why the fuck did I have to be born in this horrible industrial era?