Tao: road, way, path, principle, speak, think, suppose.
I know, I know, the Tao that can be spoken of is not the constant Tao. The Chinese literally translates to ‘way can speak, not constant way’ (道可道, 非常道). Thus, anything I say beyond that is not the constant, but rather tentative. Even saying that is not the constant. Our mind is capable of perceptions more profound than our thoughts or speech can articulate. So our thoughts and speech always end up beating around the bush. (Although, beating around the bush does flush revelation out of the bush at times.) Continue reading ‘What is ‘the Tao’ actually?’
I had a discussion recently with a Christian friend of belief. Personally of course, pondering the process of believing is more curious than the content of any belief. So you won’t find me debating the existence of God, for instance; my question would be rather: How and Why does one believe in a God, or gods? Even more basic questions lurk deeper about the belief-in-words process our mind uses to formulate its belief in God (or any thing else) in the first place. Continue reading ‘Think what you believe? Believe what you think?’
Life evolved to perceive its surroundings in a way that promotes survival in a competitive environment. In animals with a nervous system, neurons fire, on and off. It is little wonder that we therefore see reality in an on-off light. This simple on-off process underpins our perception of what we call good-evil, yin-yang, life-death, active-passive, go-stop, hot-cold, up-down, before-after, hard-soft, heaven-hell, male-female, and what have you. Continue reading ‘Yin Yang, Nature’s Hoodwink’
Science News has another research article that further narrows the gap between humans and other primates. Apparently rhesus macaque mothers act like human mothers when it comes to nursing their babies. When other monkeys are nearby a mother will indulge her baby’s tantrum more. If she doesn’t, macaque onlookers nearby get irritated and make threatening gestures or worse toward the mother.
Continue reading ‘Public Tantrums’
I’ve been saying Buddha’s Four Truths while doing head stand for 30+ years now. These are superbly short, simple, and straightforward as you can see. Still, I’ve plumbed deeper meaning as the years have gone by. For example, a few years ago (5-10?) I began to sense the second truth, ‘The illusion of self originates and manifests itself in a cleaving to things‘ at deeper gut level. Now, this truth has always made sense to me intellectually and rationally. But, up until that time I never ‘felt it in my bones’. I guess there is understanding, and then there is understanding. Continue reading ‘Understanding Understanding’
At the most basic, wealth equals resources(1) . Hillsides full of tall green grass are a deer’s wealth. The more grassy hills, the more deer the hills can support; as the deer increase, they eat more grass until the time comes when deer starve for lack of grass caused by overgrazing. Deer population drops, grass rebounds, deer population rebounds, grass dwindles… and so on. The eternal boom-bust (life-death) cycle of nature.
Continue reading ‘Wealth plays out in odd ways’
I settled down in Japan for turn out to be an extended period (5 years all together). This, after years of living a hand to mouth existence in the developing countries around the world. Hand to mouth living habits slowly waned as I began to enjoy the comforts of more wealthy surrounding. For example, I began to treat myself to a weekly can of peaches. After some months this became a biweekly splurge. By years end I’d dropped all limitations. I’d buy a can of peaches anytime I desired. Whoopi! Continue reading ‘Peaches and Pleasure’
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