The following is an exchange between Confucius and Grand Duke Ren, a friend and a follower of the tao. Ren said, “Allow me to relate to you the way of avoiding death. In the Eastern Sea there are birds called Yidai. They fly low and slowly as if they lacked strength. They fly near…
Zhuangzi laughed and said,“If I were to say that I would prefer to be in the intermediate position between being useful and being useless,That might seem to be in the right position.But it is not,for we will not be able to avoid difficulties. One who follows the tao is free of difficulties.He is above…
Zhuangzi was walking on a mountain when he saw a great tree with enormous branches and abundant foliage. A woodcutter was standing beside the tree without touching it. When asked why he did not, he replied, “It is useless.” Zhuangzi then said, “This tree will live out its natural term of life because it…
“Do to others, as you’d desire others doing to you”, my down and dirty paraphrase of the ‘golden rule’. Jesus said it… ergo for many there’s no greater authority. “All we need is love, love, love…” is another variation of the idea. So wrote Paul Mccartney and John Lennon. Come on people now Smile…
Today is the 2nd day of February, Groundhog day. The sky is gray as if a canvas were stretched horizon to horizon. Groundhog day is a wistful anticipation of an early end of winter’s cold. According to the German legend, the groundhog emerges from its borrow and has a look around. If the animal…
My wife asked me what I would write about today. I replied I was unsure whether I would write anything at all on this February 1st. Midway through winter, my energy is at low ebb. I am not one to peruse Facebook, or other social media sites. Still, I am aware of the activities…
Chui the artisan could draw as precisely as if he had used a circle and square. His fingers moved with the changes without requiring the attention of the mind. His Tower of Intelligence was intact and not impeded. The feet are forgotten when the shoes fit. The waist is forgotten when the girdle fits….
The segment describing our common condition, and a treatment that allows day-to-day life on a much better basis — greatly impressed me today. I think such enormous waste of our potential is a direct consequence of our ignorance. We are confused about the difference between what is superfluous, optional, redundant to our essential flourishing….
The memory remains when I was twelve or thirteen years old. That memory shimmers, a glow of experience from a time which by and large I cannot recall. The Engineering School at Duke University sponsored an annual open house for an evening. The community was invited to observe and to admire the work which…
I joined an online book club at the beginning of the year. I was motivated by the accountability entailed by membership. At the end of every month a zoom session, moderated by Jared Henderson, a philosopher-convener is offered to members. I figured this was sure to motivate me to read each of the monthly…
