[Buddha-l] Re: On Dylan and Poetry

[Joy Vriens]

Benito Carral wrote:

>    I  think  that distraction as a final aspiration is a
> quite  postmodern  thing,  something  with  which Woody
> Allen  would agree. In fact, he has reportedly said, "I
> feel  that it's impossible really to be happy, and that
> the  best  you  can  hope  for  is  to  be  distracted"
> (interviewed by Geoff Andrew)(1).

"Pour être heureux, il faut avoir un objet. Notre âme est une suite 
d'idées ; elle souffre quand elle n'est pas occupée, comme si cette 
suite était interrompue et qu'on menaçât son existence." Montesquieu.

One needs an object in order to be happy. Our soul is a series of ideas 
; it suffers when it hasn't an occupation, as if this series were 
interrupted and were to threaten its existence.