It is Saturday, raining and the sky hints of snow to come. I do not mind rain in wintertime, or any time. Trees need water, a subsurface soaking. Lately rain seems to come less frequently, sometimes weeks pass with little to no moisture. Like it or not we (humans) belong to Nature, we are…
This art of dissimulationreaches its peakin man. Deception, flattering, lying, deluding, talking behind the back, putting up a false front, living in borrowed splendor, wearing a mask, hiding behind convention, playing a role for others and for oneself – in short, a continuous flutteringaround the solitary flame of vanity – is so much the…
Once upon a time, in some out of the way corner of that universe which is dispersed into numberless twinkling solar systems, there was a star upon which clever beasts invented knowing. That was the most arrogant and mendacious minute of “world history,” but nevertheless, it was only a minute. After nature had drawn…
In the last part of the performance, I played notes which did not have an enervating effect. I blended them with spontaneity. Hence the sounds came forth in dissonance, like a cluster of plants growing from one root, or like the music of the forest coming from no perceptible form. The sounds spread in…
These verses describe a concert sponsored by the Yellow Emperor. Beimin Cheng, a member of the court is speaking with the Yellow Emperor. Cheng relates that the music effected him. The concert was in two parts. Here the Yellow Emperor describes the second part – the sensations felt by the listener who is enveloped…
1. Does heaven revolve continuously? 2. Does earth continuously abide in rest? 3. And do the sun and moon pursue one another? 4. Who guides and directs these movements? 5. Who holds them together and connects them? 6. Who is it that, without straining and effort, brings them about and maintains them?…
Shicheng Qi came to see Lao-tsu and asked him, “I heard master, that you are a sage, so I came to see you, not minding the long journey. During the hundred days of the journey the soles of my feet became callous, but I did not stop to rest. Now I see that you…
The sages are stillnot because they possessthe aptitude of being still.Nothing can disturb their mind—that is why they are still. When water is still,it reflects the eyebrows and the beard.It is a perfect level and the craftsman takes his rule from it.If still water has this clarity, how much greater is that of the…
Great music does not move the villagers, but if they hear “The Breaking of the Willow” or “Bright Flowers” they will be rollicking with laughter. Noble words do not stay in the minds of the multitude, and consummate words are not comprehended because common words proliferate. Two clay instruments will overpower the sound of…
At the ultimate origin of all things, there was nothing; there was nothing that could be named. From this emerged the One, the first existence without form. Then different things were produced receiving what we regard as their attributes. What was formless was divided and then continued to be interconnected. The two processes led…
