I’ll say it again, to write again something that cannot be said enough… We ought not to pride ourselves in possessing carriages and coronets or because of difficulties and poverty resort to crude means. Who among us doesn’t feel a flush of pride to own a new vehicle, especially one which is widely admired…
Those who are called“recluse scholars” by the ancientsdid not conceal themselvesto shun the world.They did not declineto speak their wordsor conceal their knowledge. It was the times that were out of joint… Highest happiness is the fulfillment of aspiration.Fulfillment of aspiration for the ancientsdid not mean carriages and coronets,but that nothing more was needed…
The ancients who tended to the taoabided in calmto nourish their wisdom,butthey did not dependon their wisdom in their actions.It can be said that they preserved their calmwith wisdom.When wisdom and calmfoster one another from innate nature,harmony and order emerge. Virtue is harmonyand tao is order. Zhuangzi trans by Hyun Höchsmann and Yang Guorong,…
To be simple, pure, clear, still, level, and constant; to be impartial without action and in action to be aligned with heaven— this is the way to sustain the spirit. The swords made at Wu and Yue are kept in a box and rarely used since they are valuable. But the subtle spirit moves…
Saturday and it is bitter-cold today. It is colder in Minneapolis, 11 degrees F. A quiet question comes over and over. Would I be willing to stand alongside friends and others who live around me to oppose the roundup and extradition of immigrants from their homes and places of work? Would I oppose the…
Ingrained ideas, a high regard for oneself, abandoning the world to pursue an uncommon course, talking imposingly and disparaging others – these are the traits of conceit. This is what scholars who retreat to the hills and valleys, who find fault with the world and who are like withered trees or throw themselves into…
No Leaders Please invent yourself and then reinvent yourself, don’t swim in the same slough. invent yourself and then reinvent yourself and stay out of the clutches of mediocrity. invent yourself and then reinvent yourself, change your tone and shape so often that they can never categorize you. reinvigorate yourself and accept…
think of it by Charles Bukowski think of it, there were fellows like Kierkegaard and Sartre who found existence absurd, who battled against anxiety and anguish, nothingness, nausea, and death hanging over them like a Damocles sword while there are other men now -so empty of concern that their first thought of the day…
Today The New York Times featured an account of an interview with the President in the Oval Office. He was interviewed by four journalists. It is difficult to take the measure of another human being. The Homosapien is a layered mammal, quite like and unlike other quadrupeds, say your dog or cat. A member…
Those who hold wealth as their life cannot give up their revenues. Those who seek recognition cannot give up fame. Those who crave power cannot yield to others. While they possess, they are afraid of losing them. When they must let them go, they are desperate and will not reflect upon…
