The Tenets of Dudeism

[Rev. Ed C]

Recently this subject has emerged, and I thought it was a good time to lay down a topic here and start thrashing it out (in the gentle, kitten batting a ball of wool kind of sense).

At Dudeism's core, the very heart of our ethos, are the prime tenets?  Surely, if we have none, there is no definition of a Dude.  We must have something that quantifies us as being us, right?

Suggestions so far include:

Abiding   |   Taking it Easy   |   Not getting uptight   |   Doing no harm (formerly the less eloquent, Do Not Piss on Anyoneelse's Rug!)

Are these true to us and our way of being?  Are there more, less or do some of those need merging/rephrasing?

When I dabbled in the mire of Buddhist, I just put the tip of my little toe in, and found that really, I'd always abided the 5 Precepts in my life to some extent, and thought this really meshed with the way I wanted to live my life.  Surely, we have the same experience coming into Dudeism?  We all recognise what/who we are, and how we connect in the simplest of terms.

It's not about what we do, it's about who we are, what core principals/precepts/tenets define Dueism.

Abiding is a given, but how can we define it further, in simple terms, without creating a whole web of "rules to follow" that help us to explain what being a Dude is?

[Andrea Da Fino]

Beginning of Dudeism:

Don't be uptight
Abide
Take 'er easy

End of Dudeism

This is the short version, then there could be:

Rules of behavior:

What happens between consenting adults is their own business

Respect others' rug/rights

As for doing no harm is great in theory but what should I do if someone pisses on my rug seriously or makes an unchecked aggression? Like attacking one of my family? I mean we are pacifics but not pacifists, or at least I am.

Rules of life:

Sometimes you eat the bear and sometime he eats you, or the strikes and gutters thing.
Every medal has two sides, but sometimes there is also the third one.

No other ideas at the moment.

Coming for the other thread I see the three basic tenets in a bit different way: Don't be uptight relates to oneself in the sense of "don't behave like an asshole" or remain flexible and you'll be able to go around obstacles easier. Taking life easy instead is take easily what happens to you and around you.
Flexibility relates to what comes out of you, taking it easy relate to what happens to you, at least that's how I see it, like ins and outs. 
Abiding instead means abiding, but imho the highest characteristic of a dude is not abiding but taking thing easily, which doesn't mean staying at the window while the whole world goes crazy but lowering our ego and seeing things for what they truly are and not what we think they are. Considering important what's really important, so to speak. I messed everything up right? 

[cckeiser]

I think we replaced do no harm with Don't be a Dick,

[Andrea Da Fino]

Correct cck, correct. But how we do match this with the fact that those who also belong to Brotherhood Shamus have also to admit that they are inherently a dick, as I am?

To be or not to be a dick?

   

[DigitalBuddha]

Great start, looking forward to how it progresses!

[Rev. Ed C]

I think we replaced do no harm with Don't be a Dick,

There's me nodding to your noble mantra, and indeed your sig, and you've gone and changed it.  Damn you

I'm awaiting to hear more thoughts on this, I'd like a wider net of inclusion to really get the broadest dudely opinion on this sort of thing.  And also, we want something concise, and I'm not really good at the whole brevity thing!

[Andrea Da Fino]

Copied from the Hijacked thread:


The three qualities of a dude:

Don't be uptight
Abide
Take it easy

The three attitudes/characteristics of a dude:

He respects others' rug
A dude minds and sometimes draws a line in the sand
He doesn't roll on Shabbas

Life according to Dudeism:

Sometimes you eat the bear and sometimes he eats you

[meekon5]

The three qualities of a dude:

Don't be uptight
Abide
Take it easy

Isn't that saying the same thing three different ways?

[Andrea Da Fino]

Yeah, well, it might be but sometimes, sometimes better be precise, or explain the concept in different ways. Also, they are the original uncompromised whathaveyou of Dudeism and they should remain at the first place. No need to reinvent the wheel in this case.

I think they are deeply interlinked but express different aspects of the same concept. imho. 

[Rev. Ed C]

I think the biggest problem we face in trying to come up with the one true, core definition of what a Dude is and what Dudeism represents is in trying to keep it simple and concise, YET... understandable and not easy to misinterpret.

To say:  "Abide.  That is all..." does not cover it.  Abide isn't actually a word with a whole lots of facets to it, in spite of what stock we may place in it and how much meaning we cram inside (like the multi-inflective "Dude").

On the first page of my (admittedly rather old dictionary) is a word, described thusly:

abide / v. (past & p.p abode or abided) tolerate; arch. remain, continue. abide by act upon, remain faithful to.

It doesn't say as much as "take it easy", "don't be uptight in mind or body", "keep your mind open and limber" or othersuch simple phrases.

I mean, Meekon, you could come up with an abide haiku which would tell people at least something from the outside Oh, sorry, what's that on the floor... are those... hints?

No, but, seriously... the task in hand here is to create a core set of very short, very meaningful principals by which we identify ourselves.  Once we have that down to a tee, in whatever form, we can kind of wrap it up and say "this is Dudeism" and the rest is all talking, philosophy and waffle

There must be a balance between too concise to have meaning and too long to be waffle.  Which is why I'm hoping someone else can do this, as my brevity gland was surgically removed at birth


So, let me highlight my next idea:

Our core principal the 1st:

Abide
To take it easy, not being uptight of mind or body.
To remain limber and supple of thinking, open like a book, not closed like a door.
To tolerate and respect others, to greet with a smile and embrace with a laugh.

I mean, that's a first draft of my own design, but how can that be improved upon with either firming up the message of simplifying it without watering it down?

And then, after abide, what else do we hold closest, or do people think that can sum us up so completely?

Best philosophising caps on, people

[Andrea Da Fino]

I think the 1st is taking things easy, which you can do if you remain flexible and limber and which takes you to abiding or, as an Italian Rev. said "aequo animo patior" which translates as enduring with serenity. F****ng latins, they had a saying for everything.

Anyway, I'd still keep the three qualities as they are, in the order DL wrote them. Why not? 

But a short explanation of each one, as you did, is a great idea. The AD wrote a great article on abiding on the Dudespaper. We can take it and make a summary of it. He won't mind. I hope.

then from there do the same for the rest, but maybe it would be better to first write down the lines, or qualities, or characteristics, or whatever. Less than ten so it won't be exhausting to remember them.

[Rev. Ed C]

as an Italian Rev. said "aequo animo patior" which translates as enduring with serenity. F****ng latins, they had a saying for everything.

I love it

Anyway, I'd still keep the three qualities as they are, in the order DL wrote them. Why not? 

But a short explanation of each one, as you did, is a great idea. The AD wrote a great article on abiding on the Dudespaper. We can take it and make a summary of it. He won't mind. I hope.

Hell yeah, those two need to be involved.  I'm hoping one or both will drop in on the discussion soon and shed some Duddha wisdom all over the topics we've got going down in the Abideism boards

[Landshark]

How about

Be excellent to each other

and

Party on dudes.

oh wait

[Andrea Da Fino]

Landshark, oh well, why not? 

[Andrea Da Fino]

Well, I'm sure they are keeping an eyes on our blatherings. But they let us think on our own and will say something when it will be the right time and place. You know, they are much Stranger like.