Western people ask me whether it is a paradox that I am King but support democracy. I have to tell them that in Thailand, the King is the guarantor of democracy.
Bhumibol AdulyadejRead
People get angry at others who express a different opinion, while, in fact, they should be angry at themselves. But we must be angry at ourselves the most when we say something today, only to say something else tomorrow.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the importance of self-reflection and consistency in our beliefs and opinions.
Bhumibol Adulyadej highlights a common human tendency to react with anger towards others for differing opinions rather than confronting our own contradictions. He suggests that we should recognize our own flaws and inconsistencies in thought as a greater source of frustration, as it undermines our integrity and credibility when we change our statements or beliefs over time.
In practice
In a discussion about political beliefs, one might use this quote to remind participants to consider their own changing views.
Western people ask me whether it is a paradox that I am King but support democracy. I have to tell them that in Thailand, the King is the guarantor of democracy.
My mother praised me when I did something good, and then the next moment, she would say, 'Don't float.' She put me in a balloon and then pricked it.
They say that a kingdom is like a pyramid: the king on top and the people below. But in this country, it's upside down.
If I ever reach heaven I expect to find three wonders there: first, to meet some I had not thought to see there; second, to miss some I had expected to see there; and third, the greatest wonder of all, to find myself there.
Most cynics are really crushed romantics: they've been hurt, they're sensitive, and their cynicism is a shell that's protecting this tiny, dear part in them that's still alive.
In all intellectual debates, both sides tend to be correct in what they affirm, and wrong in what they deny.
But then he told himself: What does it really mean to be useful? Today's world, just as it is, contains the sum of the utility of all people of all times. Which implies: The highest morality consists in being useless.
If both the past and the external world exist only in the mind, and if the mind itself is controllable - what then?
"I should hope so," Laigle replied, "for my coat and I live comfortably together. It has assumed all my wrinkles, does not hurt me anywhere, has moulded itself on my deformities, and is complacent to all my movements, and 1 only feel its presence because it keeps me warm."
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