The Rambling Taoists

Line by Line - Verse 57, Lines 14-15

2012-01-28T11:11:00.000-08:00

Therefore a sage has said, 'I will do nothing (of purpose), and the people will be transformed of themselves;
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

Therefore the sage says:
I take no action and people are reformed.
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

Therefore the sage says:
I take unattached action, and the people transform themselves
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

A wise leader says to himself:
"I do nothing,
and people transform themselves.
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~

When I look at my own experiences in life, it is good to ask whether I learn better when someone simply tells me what to do or when the teacher models the lesson to be taught. I don't know about any of you, but I far better come to a deeper understanding via the latter methodology. It allows me to experience for myself the point another is trying to get across.

Words tend to mean different things to different people. They often represent hurdles or obstacles to real understanding. The wordless sharing of experience, however, can identify commonality amongst people who may speak different languages and come from far flung locales the world over.

To view the Index page for this series to see what you may have missed or would like to read again, go here.

The most suitable philosophy...

2012-01-28T09:45:00.000-08:00

Ta-Wan

...for any person, is the one that fits them best.

This is circular, yet completely true.

What has people searching for alternatives or feeling disconnected with their religion or philosophy is that it is not theirs. This disconnection can lead them, strangely, to fight for and stand strongly for, their position. It can lead some to feel incomplete or wrong as they do not feel their religion or philosophy answers life for them like it seems to for others.

If two people sit in separate homes and one has views that resonate perfectly with yours and the other believes that purple space donkeys made the word, both may die completely happily, if they were comfortable with their views. If two people held views that they were not comfortable with, be those views just like yours or greatly differing, they may leave this life sadly.

Organized and fixed views, then, are not great things. The world flows and changes. We must be ever free to adapt. Fixed views are like a mooring for a boat. What if the tide rises or drops more than your rope will allow for?

Float freely.

You can check out Ta-Wan's other musings here.

Chapter 11, Part 25B - Confucius

2012-01-28T07:30:00.000-08:00

Last of all, the Master asked Tsang Hsi, "Tien, what are your wishes?" Tien, pausing as he was playing on his lute, while it was yet twanging, laid the instrument aside, and "My wishes," he said, "are different from the cherished purposes of these three gentlemen."

"What harm is there in that?" said the Master; "do you also, as well as they, speak out your wishes."

Tien then said, "In this, the last month of spring, with the dress of the season all complete, along with five or six young men who have assumed the cap, and six or seven boys, I would wash in the I, enjoy the breeze among the rain altars, and return home singing." The Master heaved a sigh and said, "I give my approval to Tien."

The three others having gone out, Tsang Hsi remained behind, and said, "What do you think of the words of these three friends?" The Master replied, "They simply told each one his wishes."

Hsi pursued, "Master, why did you smile at Yu?"

He was answered, "The management of a state demands the rules of propriety. His words were not humble; therefore I smiled at him."

Hsi again said, "But was it not a state which Ch'iu proposed for himself?" The reply was, "Yes; did you ever see a territory of sixty or seventy li or one of fifty or sixty, which was not a state?"

Once more, Hsi inquired, "And was it not a state which Ch'ih proposed for himself?" The Master again replied, "Yes; who but princes have to do with ancestral temples, and with audiences but the sovereign? If Ch'ih were to be a small assistant in these services, who could be a great one?"
~ James Legge translation via The Internet Classics Archive ~

Go here to read the introductory post to this serialized version of the Analects of Confucius.

Daily Tao - Mad Loops

2012-01-28T06:00:00.000-08:00

The big mouth causes fear and panic.

In times of fear and panic, people huddle around a leader with a big mouth.

Daily Tao is a reprint from Ta-Wan's blog, Daily Cup of Tao, which offers one post per day for an entire year. You also can read these posts in an ebook.

Speaking of Insufficiency I

2012-01-28T04:03:00.000-08:00

Scott Bradley

I have just begun Fung Yu-lan's The Spirit of Chinese Philosophy and have started with the chapter on one of my favorite topics, the so-called Neo-Taoists of the Third and Fourth Centuries. This was actually a rather disparate group of thinkers ranging from the free-spirited Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove to the more heady and verbose commentators like Wang Pi (226-249) and Guo Xiang (252-312), though Fung chooses to only discuss the latter two.

What makes Fung's work particularly interesting is that, as a working philosopher himself, he brings a definite bias to his studies and thus gives things an interestingly different spin. This is the case here where he clearly sides with Wang and Guo in their negative critiques of the "Taoism" of Lao Tzu and Zhuangzi.

To understand this critique one need only realize that, despite the designation Neo-Taoists, Wang and Guo were dyed-in-the-wool Confucians on a project of adopting and adapting Taoist thought to their own synthetizing purposes.

In this regard, it is related that when Wang Pi, the great advocate of the primacy of non-being, was asked why it was that Lao Tzu and Chuang Chou (Zhuangzi) spoke much of non-being, while Confucius did not, he replied: "The Sage [Confucius] identified himself with non-being and realized it could not be made the subject of instruction, with the result that he felt bound to deal with being. Lao Tzu and Chuang Chou were not yet outside the sphere of being, with the result that they constantly spoke of their own insufficiency." In other words, they saw it, but didn't get it, and therefore always talked about.

This argument, though in many ways specious, does nonetheless provide an interesting perspective on why we talk about the things we do. We speak out of our "own insufficiency". And this immediately brings to mind the pivotal pronouncement of both Lao Tzu and Zhuangzi that "those who know, do not speak".

One commentating wag took Lao Tzu to task for saying this and then proceeding to write a thesis on the subject. It might be more helpful, however, to realize that Lao Tzu knew he was speaking out of his own insufficiency. How do we purge from our minds this idea of a Truth to which we must arrive? Why do we insist that there are those who "know"? Those who "point" might not necessarily have arrived at that to which they point. Perhaps the lesson in the pointing is that we can also see something of our insufficiency and then learn to point.

Is it just more hot air to say that the point is in the journey, not the arrival? Let us hope not, because there is infinitely more pointing than arriving being done and it is doubtful that any of us will not go to our graves with our finger directed at the heavens, pointing to our own insufficiency.

You can check out Scott's other miscellaneous writings here.

In the forest

2012-01-28T01:15:00.000-08:00

Ta-Wan

I'm in the forest and I'm surrounded by life, sitting on it, in it and being it also. The best at being alive though are the unseen lifeforms, the yet to be discovered, better still those which will never be discovered, what a perfect example they offer.

You can check out Ta-Wan's other musings here.

Tao Bible - Lamentations 1:5

2012-01-27T23:11:00.000-08:00

Her adversaries are the chief, her enemies prosper; for the LORD hath afflicted her for the multitude of her transgressions: her children are gone into captivity before the enemy.
~ King James version ~

Tao is not the cause of affliction.
~ possible Taoist alternative ~

I could have chosen numerous biblical citations to make this point, so this one will serve the purpose as well as any other. For the Christian, God doles out punishment based on his judgment as to our word, conduct and deed. In this sense, God is the judge, jury and executioner.

Tao, on the other hand, is the framework of existence, being and non-being. Tao is not a judge. Tao is not a jury. Tao is not an executioner.

If we find that we are afflicted, it is our own doing.

If you're interested in reading more from this experimental series, go to the Tao Bible Index page.

Chapter 11, Part 25A - Confucius

2012-01-27T20:30:00.000-08:00

Tsze-lu, Tsang Hsi, Zan Yu, and Kunghsi Hwa were sitting by the Master.

He said to them, "Though I am a day or so older than you, do not think of that.

"From day to day you are saying, 'We are not known.' If some ruler were to know you, what would you like to do?"

Tsze-lu hastily and lightly replied, "Suppose the case of a state of ten thousand chariots; let it be straitened between other large cities; let it be suffering from invading armies; and to this let there be added a famine in corn and in all vegetables:-if I were intrusted with the government of it, in three years' time I could make the people to be bold, and to recognize the rules of righteous conduct." The Master smiled at him.

Turning to Yen Yu, he said, "Ch'iu, what are your wishes?" Ch'iu replied, "Suppose a state of sixty or seventy li square, or one of fifty or sixty, and let me have the government of it;-in three years' time, I could make plenty to abound among the people. As to teaching them the principles of propriety, and music, I must wait for the rise of a superior man to do that."

"What are your wishes, Ch'ih," said the Master next to Kung-hsi Hwa. Ch'ih replied, "I do not say that my ability extends to these things, but I should wish to learn them. At the services of the ancestral temple, and at the audiences of the princes with the sovereign, I should like, dressed in the dark square-made robe and the black linen cap, to act as a small assistant."
~ James Legge translation via The Internet Classics Archive ~

Go here to read the introductory post to this serialized version of the Analects of Confucius.

Assertiveness and Receptivity III

2012-01-27T18:30:00.000-08:00

Scott Bradley

Traditionally, Yin and Yang are complimentary principles, neither of which is to be affirmed more than the other. Together, through their give and take, all things have their being. If the Yang is waxing, the Yin is waning; but the waxing leads to waning and the waning to waxing. We cannot have the one without the other.

Yang and Yin are also representative of life and death, existence and non-existence. In the Taoist context, this does not assign a negative connotation to Yin, as representative of death. Death and life are a single thread and the one is but the flipside of the other. Life and death alternate like night and day. On the contrary, Taoism sees the discovery of death (non-existence) as an integral part of life as essential to balanced living.

But again we see that the human norm is the denial of Yin in the denial of death. Yang dominates. We typically proclaim life as the negation of death and death as the negation of life. We sunder their essential unity. And we fear to integrate our empty core (non-existence) with our assertive selves.

For this reason, Taoism stresses the Yin, not with a view to its dominance, but in the interests of balanced and harmonious living.

This is illustrated in negative relief by the development of the cults of immortality which grew out of philosophical Taoism. These were, in effect, the complete negation of that of which they claimed to be the truest expression. Death became the enemy. Immortality became the goal. Yin, representative of death, must be opposed and overthrown. Yang, life, must become pure, unadulterated and concentrated in one's being. Max Kaltenmark (Lao Tzu and Taoism) writes:

In ancient and classical theory, they [Yin and Yang] were held to collaborate; but this collaboration implies the alternation of life and death. The desire for eternal life naturally leads, therefore, to a desire for the victory of Yang over Yin.

This should not surprise us given our own personal experience of the dominance of Yang and our desire to prolong life...forever. Yet if we in any way subscribe to the essential intended meaning of Yin and Yang, and the Taoist appreciation of the equality of life and death, then it is to Yin we must look as the way to restore balance.

You can check out Scott's other miscellaneous writings here.

Afternoon Matinee: War Made Easy, Part 1 of 8

2012-01-27T16:30:00.000-08:00

Assertiveness and Receptivity II

2012-01-27T13:00:00.000-08:00

Scott Bradley

Let us understand Yin and Yang as metaphorical constructs which have no reality whatsoever; they are concepts by which the mind attempts to understand the nature of its experience.

I have suggested that ego is essentially Yang and that its remedy in Yin. And I have thus found myself in the uncomfortable position of apparently advocating only this one-sided approach to life.

Ego may be Yang, but we must also remember that human life is a great deal more than ego. To begin with, we understand that ego is no thing at all; it is a mental construct without true existence. It is something we have, with the emergence of self-consciousness, added on to life. And life? What is life? I cannot venture to say; only I would say that it is a ground infinitely more fundamental than ego, and the only ground in which we can pretend to proceed.

Life arises. Or is it 'arisen'? Is it Yang? Or is it Yin? It is both. And because it is both, it is neither. Unity is not the union of Yin and Yang, but the absence of any and every distinction. And it is this Unity, or at least an approximation thereof, which is the goal of the remedial use of Yin in response to the ego-assertive dominance of Yang.

The Taoist vision, as I understand it, is for us to be the life we are. It is to let life live through us. This is the ground-source of what is meant by 'going with the flow'. This attitude has its expression in the world, but the flow arises here where "I" step aside and let life flow where and as it will. And this stepping aside is Yin, surrender into the gift of life. It is Yin as remedy for Yang in the service of life which is both and neither.

Life is assertive; it lives. Life is receptive; it is given. Life as expressed through the 'genuinely human', the ideal of the sage living in harmony with life, is both Yin and Yang, assertive and receptive, yet it knows nothing of either. It is an expression of Unity.

You can check out Scott's other miscellaneous writings here.

Line by Line - Verse 57, Lines 12-13

2012-01-27T11:11:00.000-08:00

the more display there is of legislation, the more thieves and robbers there are.
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

The more rules and regulations,
The more thieves and robbers.
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

The more laws are posted
The more robbers and thieves there are
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

When they try to fix things
by passing more laws,
they only increase the number of outlaws.
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~

In the United States, the laws and regulations that cover high finance and big business are crafted in such a way as to ensure the elite will rob the people. What else should we expect when the corporations that the rules supposedly are meant to regulate, by and large, write the legislation itself?

It would be like a parent allowing their 7 year old son or daughter to write up the house rules and to determine what the punishment, if any, there will be for violating the rules. Do you think your 7 year old will create tough rules and harsh punishments?

To view the Index page for this series to see what you may have missed or would like to read again, go here.

One for Another

2012-01-27T09:45:00.000-08:00

Trey Smith

Obviously, the Gadaffi and Saddam regimes were horrible human rights abusers. But the point is that one cannot celebrate a human rights success based merely on the invasion and overthrow of a bad regime; it is necessary to know what one has replaced them with. Ironically, those who are the loudest advocates for these wars and then prematurely celebrate the outcome (and themselves) bear significant responsibility for these subsequent abuses: by telling the world that the invasion was a success, it causes the aftermath — the most important part — to be neglected. There is nothing noble about invading and bombing a country into regime change if what one ushers in is mass instability along with tyranny and abuse by a different regime: typically one that is much more sympathetic to the invading regime-changers.
~ from The Human Rights “Success” in Libya by Glenn Greenwald ~

In his column, Greenwald discusses the spate of reports that the so-called liberated states of Iraq and Libya are engaging in violent repression of rights, torture and, in some cases, murder. These are the VERY SAME criteria that the US utilized as a reason to attack both countries. So, in essence, we have liberated each nation to go right back to committing the very same human rights abuses as before.

As Greenwald makes clear, human rights violations almost never are the "actual objective." Historically, the US has supported some of the most brutal despotic regimes as long as these tyrants don't screw up the machinations of our elites. If a vile dictator allows US corporations to have free rein, he can murder his countrymen at will and you won't hear as much as a peep from Washington.

However, if that same tyrant gets in the way our plans and schemes -- even just a tad -- all bets are off. If the tyrant refuses to be kowtowed by all the various forms of pressure the US can exert, then and ONLY then do we hear about the regime's woeful human rights record and how the US must now bomb the entire country to kingdom come to save them from destruction and to usher in a new era of freedom and democracy.

But our "saving" of the people comes at a strange price. Not only do we destroy much of the nation's infrastructure -- seriously hampering its ability to rebound economically -- but we install puppets who -- surprise, surprise -- tend to commit the very same sorts of atrocities that we ostensibly saved the people from in the first place!

In other words, after all is said and done, about all we genuinely have accomplished is to trade one abuser for another.

And that, my friends, is why the people in the "liberated" countries "love" us so much.

Chapter 11, Part 24 - Confucius

2012-01-27T07:30:00.000-08:00

Tsze-lu got Tsze-kao appointed governor of Pi.

The Master said, "You are injuring a man's son."

Tsze-lu said, "There are, there, common people and officers; there are the altars of the spirits of the land and grain. Why must one read books before he can be considered to have learned?"

The Master said, "It is on this account that I hate your glib-tongued people."
~ James Legge translation via The Internet Classics Archive ~

Go here to read the introductory post to this serialized version of the Analects of Confucius.

Daily Tao - Mutual Benefit

2012-01-27T06:00:00.000-08:00

What use is competition when the result is one rejoicing in another's loss?

Competition for mutual benefit is more desirable.

Nothing though beats cooperation as that is always inline with truth.

Daily Tao is a reprint from Ta-Wan's blog, Daily Cup of Tao, which offers one post per day for an entire year. You also can read these posts in an ebook.

Assertiveness and Receptivity I

2012-01-27T04:03:00.000-08:00

Scott Bradley

In "A Heart Like a Meadow" (yesterday's post) I found myself faced with the prospect of advocating what would appear to be a one-sided view of the human response to being-in-the-world. Everything happens to a meadow; a meadow does nothing. Yet, the meadow is an event of wonderful fecundity. The meadow is Yin.

Yin and Yang are concepts which I have assiduously avoided for the simple reason that, within the literature of Chinese philosophy, they seem to have become things-in-themselves, actual forces at work in the cosmos; they have become entities in a purely speculative cosmology which I have no desire to adopt or promote. For the same reason, I have not given much time to their study; nor have I thought much about them. Yet I find myself confronted with the same kinds of issues from which the concepts of Yin and Yang arose. So, I am going to wade into this swamp knowing full well I will soon be out of my depth and swimming to I know not where.

Ego is Yang. Yang is assertiveness. Yang proclaims itself to be. Yang insists on itself as opposed to others. Yang must occupy space. Yang confronts the world because it is not the world and in that confrontation affirms itself.

Can an ego exercise some appearance of Yin? Of course. But it can never actually be it. The ego can only surrender or exercise receptivity for egoic purposes, the purposes of Yang.

Yang, it would seem, is the foundation of human self-assertion and the norm of human interaction with the world. Taoism, like every religious philosophy, assumes the problematical nature of this reality. That there is a problem, psychologically, sociologically and ecologically is a given of our experience. We need not endeavor to 'prove' it. Taoism's remedy for this problem is to suggest the way of Yin.

Yin is receptivity. Yin is acceptance. Yin is surrender. Yin is wu-wei. Yin is non-confrontational. It is the way of water, which follows the path of least resistance and gladly fills the lowest places which Yang disdains. It is the way of the valley, which receives and channels all the waters of the world.

The way of water is one of powerlessness. And yet this powerlessness is most powerful. Water transforms by virtue of its giving way. And Taoism understands all true transformation as similarly realized. And Taoism believes that such transformation actually takes place, both within individuals and in the societies in which those individuals dwell.

I subscribe to this way of Yin and in writing about it, exercise Yang. And of this, I will yang more in the next post.

You can check out Scott's other miscellaneous writings here.

3W 69

2012-01-27T01:23:00.000-08:00

'Nearer my tail to thee', the kitten remarked -
as with a final desperate leap she overreached herself
and fell head-over-heels into the pond.
#
~ A selection from Posthumous Pieces by Wei Wu Wei. Click here for more from this book. ~

The Undeserved

2012-01-26T23:10:00.000-08:00

Trey Smith

The other day I was at the grocery store. I was talking with a gal about universal health care. Overhearing the conversation, one of the checkers said universal health care was a bad idea and not right for the good 'ol US of A. Her remark didn't surprise me at all because I already knew she was an unabashed conservative. In her eyes, America is falling behind in so many areas because of all the lazy poor people who want handouts.

After mulling over her usual arguments -- ones I've listened to countless times before -- I realized there really is a stark divide between those who have a conservative mindset versus those of us who view things much more expansively.

Conservatives are willing to sacrifice the deserved in order to ensure that the undeserved don't receive one penny they aren't entitled to.

Moderates are willing to sacrifice some of the deserved to ensure that most of the undeserved don't receive one penny they aren't entitled to.

Liberals are willing to sacrifice a few of the deserved to ensure that a significant portion of the undeserved don't receive one penny they aren't entitled to.

And then there are leftists like me. I'm not willing to sacrifice ANY of the deserved and if that means some of the undeserved receive benefits they aren't entitled to, then so be it.

There are scammers in all walks of life. Many people become rich preying on others. Why is it most people only castigate financially poor scam artists, while giving wealthy ones -- some of which are celebrities and/or important people -- a free pass?

I'm not suggesting that we should craft a system that allows people to cheat and lie without consequences. We have a court system for that. If the government determines that someone received something they shouldn't have, then they can work to get it back and/or punish the individual in some manner. But to deny people their basic needs to guard against the few who might take advantage of the situation is patently mean, callous and inhumane.

Chapter 11, Part 23 - Confucius

2012-01-26T20:30:00.000-08:00

Chi Tsze-zan asked whether Chung Yu and Zan Ch'iu could be called great ministers.

The Master said, "I thought you would ask about some extraordinary individuals, and you only ask about Yu and Ch'iu!

"What is called a great minister, is one who serves his prince according to what is right, and when he finds he cannot do so, retires.

"Now, as to Yu and Ch'iu, they may be called ordinary ministers."

Tsze-zan said, "Then they will always follow their chief; win they?"

The Master said, "In an act of parricide or regicide, they would not follow him."
~ James Legge translation via The Internet Classics Archive ~

Go here to read the introductory post to this serialized version of the Analects of Confucius.

Real Life Tao - Don't Be Rigidly Flexible

2012-01-26T18:30:00.000-08:00

Trey Smith

Two of the concepts we find repeated in the Tao Te Ching are the notions of flexibility and yielding. Like trees in the wind, we often are best served by being able to give ground rather than to fight against something. Most trees will snap in a gale IF they resolved to stand straight and tall. It is the acts of bending and yielding which allows them to take the fury of the wind and live to see another day.

However, we make a big mistake if we take these two notions as dogmatic dictates. There are times in which we need to be flexible enough to be inflexible! There are times when we must learn to drive strongly through the yield sign. Let me provide two examples of what I'm referring to.

I suffer mightily from Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). While some folks with IBS must deal with frequent bouts of diarrhea, I'm on the opposite end of the spectrum. My issue is chronic constipation. Along with the constipation, I also have to deal with deep and painful intestinal cramping.

Now, in the case of these deep abdominal cramps, I've learned that flexibility and yielding are quite helpful. By finding a comfortable position and doing deep breathing exercises, it often helps me to relax. When I'm more relaxed overall, it helps my colon relax and this helps to lessen the pain.

However, this strategy does not work at all when I suffer cramps in another portion of my body: my feet. I don't know what it is about the anatomy of my feet, but I tend to get very painful cramps in one or the other from time to time. Last night I was sitting in my easy chair with my dog, Lily, on my lap, watching a dvd. All of a sudden, my right foot seized up and I was howling in agony.

When I was a young lad, my mother's advice was to yield to the muscle spasms and to try to go to my "happy place" in my mind. I followed my mother's suggestion on several occasions and all I got for my troubles was a foot that simply wouldn't un-seize. The pain level would shoot right off the charts!

In time, I learned that yielding to the spasm was the worst strategy possible. In this particular case, I needed to meet force with force.

So last night I didn't dicker around with trying to find my Zen place; I grabbed my foot, located the center point of the spasm and pressed as hard as I could on that spot. The spasm pushed against my hand and my hand pushed against the spasm. We fought each other tooth and nail for a good 60 seconds and then the spasm was gone.

My point here is that how we address life is situational. What works for one circumstance will not necessarily work for the next one. While learning to yield is a great skill to master, it is not always the most appropriate to employ. Sometimes force is called for. True sagacity is the act of discerning which of our many skills and abilities will work best as we encounter a wide variety of situations and variables throughout our lives.

This post is part of a series. For an introduction, go here.

Afternoon Matinee: Punishing the Whistleblower?

2012-01-26T16:30:00.000-08:00

United Diversity. Pride.

2012-01-26T13:00:00.001-08:00

Ta-Wan

There are thousands of people within a mile of me, celebrating.

Celebrating in different ways and for different reasons a day whose apparent importance is generations old.

Uniting everyone is that, within the last 100 years, when this day already had an established meaning, each and every person here, was curled up, nameless, in a womb. And in one hundred years, when this day has come and gone again and again, each and every person here will be gone.

That any one here has pride in this day passing, pride in themselves for being who they are, or contrastingly, a feeling of unworth, when all were dead before, and will be again after, is testimony indeed to the very disillusionment that has people fight over borders or ideas.

Proud are we? What a strange sense, this pride. Is pride a quality? I think it should be seen by all that pride is indeed a flaw, not a quality. Where was the lack first born that drew towards it the render of pride to fill the cracks?

You can check out Ta-Wan's other musings here.

Line by Line - Verse 57, Lines 10-11

2012-01-26T11:11:00.000-08:00

the more acts of crafty dexterity that men possess, the more do strange contrivances appear;
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

The more ingenious and clever men are,
The more strange things happen.
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

When people have many clever tricks
More strange things occur
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

When its leaders try
to be cunning and clever,
the situation spins
further out of control.
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~

Again, the US offers a clear example of the message in these two lines.

Our leaders tell us over and over again that they stand for fairness and justice, yet they always seem to find a way to let corporate criminals off the hook. They devise clever schemes to make it appear they are clamping down on those who have brought the world near financial ruin, but instead of punishing the wrongdoers, they open the vault of taxpayer funds and lavish it on the very people who need it the least.

To view the Index page for this series to see what you may have missed or would like to read again, go here.

Face-to-Face

2012-01-26T09:45:00.000-08:00

Trey Smith

If you read the Old Testament, there are many instances in which Moses and the various prophets meet God face-to-face, as it were. When these events happen, the humans tend to bow their faces, avert their eyes and many trembled in fear. Modern-day Christians, particularly those of a fundamentalist bent, say that they believe these stories word-for-word -- these stories represent the sacred word of the almighty. And yet...

Many Christian politicians, religious leaders and everyday believers, particularly those who identify as evangelicals, will tell you that they regularly talk with God/Jesus. I've heard many describe it as talking with a pal or buddy. There are no burning bushes. No bowing down. No requirement to avert the eyes. And no trembling at the thought of the creator walking through the garden.

I find this discrepancy exceedingly odd. On the one hand, we have a group of individuals who have been lionized because they were handpicked by the creator to lead the people in times of distress and/or to prophetize. These folks are the ones who set the stage for everything that has come afterward. And these people were in absolute awe of his majesty.

On the other hand, modern-day Christians seem to have lost their sense of awe. They shoot the breeze with the Big Guy all the time. They talk about trivial matters (e.g., help to win the big game, advice on what to serve at a party, etc.) They talk about earthly concerns (e.g., should I accept the promotion, is this the right person to marry, etc.) Some even have long drawn-out discussions about presidential runs and political policies!

What I can't figure out is why the great prophets weren't able to establish the same kind of buddy-buddy relationship with the top dog. Why did they tremble and bow down, while many modern believers act almost orgasmic?

Chapter 11, Part 22 - Confucius

2012-01-26T07:30:00.000-08:00

The Master was put in fear in K'wang and Yen Yuan fell behind. The Master, on his rejoining him, said, "I thought you had died." Hui replied, "While you were alive, how should I presume to die?"
~ James Legge translation via The Internet Classics Archive ~

Go here to read the introductory post to this serialized version of the Analects of Confucius.