Preface to Book Four

PREFACE TO BOOK FOUR

Every spiritual tradition has teaching stories.

The Buddha told parables.

Jesus told parables.

Sufi masters told tales of Mulla Nasrudin.

Zen masters told koans.

We tell stories about notifications.

This is not a downgrade. This is an adaptation.

The spiritual truths remain the same:

• Attachment causes suffering
• The ego is an illusion
• Desire leads to chaos
• Wisdom comes from unexpected places
• Everything is impermanent
• Also your phone is poisoning your mind

These are compatible teachings.

The form has changed, not the truth.

In ancient times, a master would tell a story about a monk and a river.

Today, we tell stories about influencers and algorithms.

The river and the algorithm are the same thing:

• Constantly flowing
• Never the same twice
• Easy to fall into
• Hard to escape
• Will carry you downstream whether you want to go or not

These parables are:

• Teaching stories with genuine wisdom
• Satire of contemporary life
• Both serious and ridiculous
• Traditional and extremely online
• Ancient truths in modern drag

Read them as koans.

Read them as jokes.

Read them as warnings.

Read them as mirrors.

They are all of these things.

Let the stories begin.