‘I am foolish of human mind also?’ is one of my favorite lines in chapter 20. The more literal the translation, the more peculiar it can read. If it helps, D.C. Lau interprets this line more poetically as, My mind is that of a fool – how blank. I do feel the literal phrasing of […]
Continue reading…“Times of Yore” Posts
Posts that are tagged with ‘Times of Yore’ are autobiographical. Naturally, many end up quite philosophical for that’s the element that usually hooks my experiences into memory in the first place. However, I am going to attempt to go lighter philosophy-wise, and put more into the ‘experiential moment’.
Jack of All Trades, Master of None?
Is there any real difference between a generalist ‘jack of all trades’ and an accomplished master? After all, isn’t a ‘jack of all trades’ simply a master generalist? I’ve been doing several activities for many years now: yoga (50 years), tai chi (40 years), shakuhachi sui Zen (35 years), gardening (30 years) — plus, I […]
Continue reading…We only understand what we know
The view that ‘One who speaks does not know’ has intrigued me for most of my thinking life. I ran across this D.C. Lao translation in Vietnam, of all places, in the early 60’s. I’ve referred to it many times over the decades in various ways. Indeed, it still launches the overview of CenterTao.org. (See One who […]
Continue reading…Really, Have We No Clue?
As a child, I recall marveling at how everything seemed to work so well. The logistics blew my mind, although I didn’t know that was the word for it. How the authorities dealt with all the sewage and garbage my hometown produced baffled me. I am still in awe that civilization works as well as […]
Continue reading…Why?
Some say “love” is the greatest word they know. Others say “God” is. I’ve had favorite words over the years too, but “why” beats them all. So I ask myself, why continue posting these observations? It’s certainly not for money. Is it for fame? I actually prefer anonymity. In fact, years ago when my yoga […]
Continue reading…Gone Fishin’, Back Soon
The ‘fish’ are still biting and I’m reeling them in, I’m just not posting them. Posting my fishy observations requires so much cleaning up to make them fit for consumption. Finishing the last chapter of my translation of the Tao Te Ching —Tao Te Ching, Word for Word — was the catalyst I needed to […]
Continue reading…Opiate of the Masses
Karl Marx said religion was the opiate of the masses. I say it is prosperity, not religion, which is the opiate of the masses. The United States has experienced decades of unprecedented prosperity. Indeed, most people have lived their whole lives accustomed to what is actually a historically rare era of unusual affluence. Now, the […]
Continue reading…Naturally Unnatural, Naturally!
Occasionally I hear people opine on what is or isn’t natural human behavior. Doesn’t this depend on what part of the elephant one currently perceives? Elephant parables aside, I see this issue as emerging layers of reality’s onion. (See Tao as Emergent Property) Let me sort this out… Like all animals, humans are naturally inclined […]
Continue reading…Feeling Animal-ness
We know humans are animals, biologically speaking. Yet do we really feel we are? In reality, there is a wide gap between our abstract knowledge and our visceral experience. Catching the flu for the ‘first time’ in my life may offer an example of how thought can separate us from fully feeling our animal-ness. Assuming that […]
Continue reading…Thoughts and Ducks Quacking
I spent a lot of the day in the backyard picking weeds. Nothing beats having enough free time to sit in the warm sun picking weeds. Even better, I’m heeding chapter 64’s, Deal with a thing while it is still nothing; Keep a thing in order before disorder sets in. Occasionally, our ducks come to […]
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