Laozi said, “The way to guard life consists in the following: Can you encompass the unity of body and spirit? Can you sustain it? Can you know the fortunate and the unfortunate without relying on the divination of the tortoise shell or the yarrow sticks? Can you rest where you ought to rest? Can…
Nanrong Chu said, “If I lack knowledge, people will say that I am obtuse. If I have knowledge, it brings me distress.If I am not benevolent, then I might harm others; If I am benevolent, I distress myself.If I am not righteous, I might injure others; If I am righteous, I…
Light of the Stars asked Non-being, “Master, do you exist or do you not exist?” Light of the Stars received no reply and, gazing intensely into the appearance of Non-being, saw that it was a deep void. All day he looked at it but could see nothing; he listened for it but could hear…
I have enjoyed taking photographs since I was a sophomore in high school. I borrowed my fathers box camera, (shutter speed of 1/30 th second) which I used to capture black-and-white photos of the racing action at a North Carolina drag strip. I have owed many cameras since. Photography and images endure as important…
Perfectionism which would transform the whole of thought and the entire society, is a program of destruction, ending up at best in a world of pretense. The Tacit Dimension by Michael Polanyi, 1891-1976 Today is unseasonably warm nearly sixty degrees, mid-February. Are the gods are playing with us? Or is it just another step…
Today is a special time to recognize those we care about most. Here are two thoughts that strike a note with me today. A metaphor can unlock a door that logic cannot budge. – Rob Brezsny Great societies decline when old men chop down forests meant to provide shade and oxygen for future generations…
“Man’s life between heaven and earth is like a white colt passing through a narrow opening in a wall: in a moment it is suddenly over. With striving, all things hurtle into life. Calmly and silently all things pass away. Undergoing change they are born, and by another change they die. Living things are…
The Laughing Heart by Charles Bukowski your life is your life don’t let it be clubbed into dank submission. be on the watch. there are ways out. there is a light somewhere. it may not be much light but it beats the darkness. be on the watch. the gods will offer you chances. know…
Confucius and Lao-tsu are reported to have been contemporaries. Both are legendary figures in the cultural/moral ethos for many generations living in China. Both figures are larger than life. In this passage one overhears a conversation between the two. Confucius, author of the legal-ethico composite for China asks Lao-tsu to say more, speak more…
I am confounded, at impasse to understand how the tao can be maintained in view in a 21st century context of technology. Our species has been designated “homo faber” man-the-maker on account of the application of reason for tool making. Untold generations lived upon the earth between “discovery” of methods for making fire, and…
