"A man of knowledge lives by acting,
not by thinking about acting,
nor by thinking about what he will think
when he has finished acting.
A man of knowledge chooses a path
with heart and follows it;
and then he looks and rejoices and laughs;
and then he 'sees' and knows.
He knows that his life will be over altogether too soon;
he knows that he,
as well as everybody else,
is not going anywhere;
he knows because he 'sees'
that nothing is more important than anything else.
In other words, a man of knowledge has
no honor, no dignity, no family, no name, no country,
but only life to be lived,
and under these circumstances his only tie to his fellow men
is his controlled folly.
Thus a man of knowledge endeavors,
and sweats, and puffs,
and if one looks at him he is just like any ordinary man,
except that the folly of his life
is under control.
Nothing being more important than anything else,
a man of knowledge chooses any act,
and acts it out as if it matters to him.
His controlled folly maked him say
that what he does matters and
makes him act as if it did,
and yet he knows that it doesn't;
so when he fulfills his acts he retreats in peace,
and whether his acts were good or bad,
or worked or didn't,
is in no way part of his concern."
cc
