20
Too much higher education keeps you from getting high.
Many learned men have disputed this.
Sooner or later we’re going to have to face the fact
That they’re goddamn morons.
Can’t be worried about that shit.
The world is as wild as a Jackie Treehorn garden party,
But I take it easy and abide,
Like a little Lebowski before it learns to dig,
Living alone, not much to tell.
The achievers are fucking loaded,
But I’m unemployed.
Also, my rug was stolen.
And my car got dinged up a bit.
It was lodged against an abutment.
The achievers have never been more certain of anything in their life,
Whereas I’m rambling again.
The square community is strongly commended,
Whereas I throw out ringers for ringers,
Aimless as a wave drifting over the bosom of the Pacific Ocean.
Thaaat’s right, dude—
One hundred percent uncertain.
Whereas my career has slowed down a little lately,
The people are busy, as I know you are.
Let me explain something about the Dude:
He is sustained by the Tree of Life.
Aitz chaim he, as the ex used to say.
Tao Te Ching: 20
Abandon learning—it brings only sorrow.
What is good and what is bad?
Must I fear what others fear?
The limit to our ignorance is endless.
Yet there is endless joy to be had—
The world is like a great spring feast.
I take in the views from high above it all,
Calm, alone, and expressionless as an unborn infant,
With nothing to do, and nowhere to go.
The people indulge in an abundance of wealth,
While I appear to have nothing.
The people are sharp and clear-minded,
Whereas I seem confused.
The people are confident and assertive,
But I look dull and withdrawn.
The people are gainfully employed,
Yet I remain stubbornly idle.
My mind is foolish, indeed rather vulgar.
Aimless as the restless winds,
I seem to have no direction at all.
I suppose I am rather different from everyone else.
Yet I am content. Everything I need is right here.
Missing verse 5 of Tao de Ching
yes it is missing, but like the sacred rug, we know it still exists, somewhere.