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A soldier named Nobushige came to Hakuin, and asked: "Is there really a paradise and a hell?"

"Who are you?" inquired Hakuin.

"I am a samurai," the warrior replied.

"You, a soldier!" exclaimed Hakuin. "What kind of ruler would have you as his guard? Your face looks like that of a beggar."

Nobushige became so angry that he began to draw his sword, but Hakuin continued: "So you have a sword! Your weapon is probably much too dull to cut off my head."

As Nobushige drew his sword Hakuin remarked: "Here open the gates of hell!"

At these words the samurai, perceiving the master's discipline, sheathed his sword and bowed.

"Here open the gates of paradise," said Hakuin.

(Nyogen Senzaki, 101 Zen Stories LVII "The Gates of Paradise.")

Alone in immunity from magic is he who, though drawn by the alien parts of his total being, withholds his assent to their standards of worth, recognizing the good only where his authentic self sees and knows it, neither drawn nor pursuing, but tranquilly possessing and so never charmed away. [...] Thus this universe of ours is a wonder of power and wisdom, everything by a noiseless road coming to pass according to a law which none may elude—which the base man never conceives though it is leading him, all unknowingly, to that place in the All where his lot must be cast—[but] which the just man knows, and, knowing, sets out to the place he must, understanding, even as he begins the journey, where he is to be housed at the end, and having the good hope that he will be with gods.

(Plotinus, Enneads IV vi "Problems of the Soul (2)" §44–5.)

If you're losing the game, try instead playing the different game that is one level up.

(Mark Dominus.)

Have you ever played Nicky Case's little explanatory toy The Evolution of Trust? If you haven't, you should.

I think Case makes an error, by equating the Golden Rule with the "tit-for-tat" strategy; the Golden Rule isn't about treating others the way you are treated, it is rather about treating others the way you wish to be treated. Therefore, the Golden Rule is more of a mirror: if one is kind, then the Golden Rule is the "Always Cooperate" strategy, while if one is cynical, then the Golden Rule is the "Always Cheat" strategy.

As Case demonstrates, "Always Cooperate" never seems to survive. (And is destroyed all the more rapidly in times like these where "Always Cheat" is on the ascendant!) And yet, we try to be good and kind anyway. Why is that?

Is it because "Always Cooperate" is the strategy of angels? If one wishes to be among them, it makes sense to practice in preparation...