A short video essay on cell phones gave me food for thought. Of course, I need more of that like I need another hole in my head, but I can’t pull the plug on thinking. The essay is ostensibly about the wide use of cell phones. However, scratch the surface and it offers insight into […]
Continue reading…knowing
Tao and Democracy
Having a largely ignorant electorate is both an advantage and a disadvantage in a democracy. Being unaware of shortsighted political narratives makes it harder to dupe people. However, ignorance of historical and scientific fact can easily lead to disastrous political choices. The Science News’ report, Uncommitted newbies can foil forceful few, explains why both democracy […]
Continue reading…What’s Not the Elephant?
My favorite Buddhist parable is the Blind Men And The Elephant. Several blind men each touch a different part of an elephant and proceed to describe and debate what they think an elephant is. The lesson here is how untrustworthy perception actually is. With only five main senses, we are all blind in the final […]
Continue reading…A Word to the Wise?
“A word to the wise” is a good maxim, but flawed I’m afraid to say. I’ve always liked how D.C. Lau phrased the last characters of the first line of chapter 51: Circumstances bring them to maturity. It’s true, albeit not what the characters literally say. What is it about circumstances that bring us to […]
Continue reading…Guilt, Shame and the Name Game
I touched on guilt and shame in the post, I am foolish of human mind also? (p.276). Nevertheless, I feel our practice of naming such emotional experiences deserves its own post, so here goes, beginning with a personal example… Up until thirty years ago, I had never experienced depression… or so I didn’t think. Following […]
Continue reading…I am foolish of human mind also?
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…What Follows Loss of the Way?
Knowing what was, what is, and what will be is virtually impossible because our own biases shape what we think we know. Chapter 38’s descending order can help evade the trap of preconceptions when pondering the whys and wherefores of life. Hence, virtue follows loss of the way. Benevolence follows loss of virtue. Justice follow […]
Continue reading…Who or What Do You Trust?
The ‘small “t” taoist’ (p.154) within us can find it difficult deciding who to trust, especially if we feel both the advocate and the critic make credible cases. Conversely, the partisan within us seldom hesitates before favoring one side or the other. Sincere advocacy for anything is a projection of one’s own beliefs. Importantly, sincere […]
Continue reading…We only understand what we know
Chapter 56’s, One who speaks does not know has intrigued me for a long time. I came across this D.C. Lao translation in Vietnam in the early 60’s. I’ve referred to it often over the decades in various ways, and it launches the overview of CenterTao.org. (See What are the roots of thought?, p.602.) My […]
Continue reading…Resistance is Futile
This Science News article, Fighting willpower’s catch-22, (google the title) reports on how resisting desires makes following desires more tempting. I certainly have experienced this to be true, although it took me decades to recognize this and begin to manage it. Like maintaining balance, applying this always requires continuous re-realization. Why did it take so […]
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 suitable 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 […]
Continue reading…Loss is Gain; Gain is Loss
This title, “Loss is Gain; Gain is Loss”, may sound a bit ridiculous because we are biologically set up to respond positively to gain and negatively to loss. Chapter 58’s, It is on disaster that good fortune perches; It is beneath good fortune that disaster crouches attempts to show how entangled gain and loss are. […]
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 knowledge and our experience. Catching the flu for the “first” time in my life recently offers an example of how thought can distort and pigeonhole reality. Assuming that I caught the flu […]
Continue reading…You Know
More than once, I’ve mentioned the likelihood that we put the cart before the horse when it comes to learning, understanding, and knowing. Over the last few years, I’ve become convinced that we only truly understand and learn what we already know intuitively. My suspicions began during our home schooling days as I began seeing […]
Continue reading…An Improper Sense of Awe
I marvel at how seriously some people take prophets of doom. Still, I do understand the apprehension. Certainly, my own apocalyptic sense of life probably accounts for my serious side. True believers in Western religions, i.e., a Judeo-Christian-Islamic worldview, have the end of times Judgment Day (1) to worry about. Being a Taoist lets me […]
Continue reading…So, I’d like to ask…
A Centertao member asked me if I had any advice for a 30 year old. Right away, too much came to my mind for that question! I had to sleep on it awhile. Interestingly, not thinking about a tricky issue is often the best way to resolve it. Not thinking doesn’t mean disregarding it, but […]
Continue reading…Learning What You Know
In recent years, I’ve realized there is more to meet the eye when it comes to learning, understanding, and knowing. Perhaps, as chapter 14 says, These three cannot be fathomed, and so they are confused and looked upon as one. A few days ago, I was having a discussion with my wife and our son […]
Continue reading…He Who Speaks Does Not Know, but…
Years ago, I began to notice that I was incapable of truly being in-the-moment while speaking — or even while thinking! When I’m speaking, I’m not reporting from an immediate state of knowing. Rather, I am passing on what I’ve already thought thru somewhat. Speech references past experience, if even only a second ago — […]
Continue reading…The Future Takes Care of Itself
My mind often wanders and wonders about ‘tomorrow’, whether that’s five minutes, five weeks, or five millennia from now. I reckon a hunter-gatherer instinct drives this because everyone I know sees a ‘tomorrow’ awaiting them. Why are humans always jumping ahead of the moment? … Because we can! The mind’s space is larger than most […]
Continue reading…Teachers and Students
Teachers and students are interdependent. You can’t have one without the other. Society admires the teachers, especially the esteemed professors, gurus, or senseis (xiansheng 先生). In reality, students are the more important part of the equation. After all, teachers can lead students to water, but only the students’ thirst determines whether they’ll drink. As chapter […]
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