Category Archives: Taoism - Page 3

A day in history.

Posted by on January 20, 2009 1 comment

Well, today is going to be historic, Barack Obama’s inauguration changes things on so many levels.  He has a huge task ahead of him and will need all of his fortitude and courage to face it, though to be fair, that’s going to be required of everyone in the months to come.

Some would say it’s historic because he’s America’s first African-American president, but I take the view that this runs a lot deeper than that.  According to my understanding of the media coverage, this was an election where a whole new demographic of American voter made their voices heard.

Also, we stand at the beginning of a far reaching process of change.  I’ve stated before my firm belief that continuing as we are is no longer a long term option.

So what to do?  Well, I start re-reading the Tao Te Ching a few days ago, and I think Chapter 3 has some good advice for us, not just for our leaders.

Do not glorify the achievers
So the people will not squabble
Do not treasure goods that are hard to obtain
So the people will not become thieves
Do not show the desired things
So their hearts will not be confused

Thus the governance of the sage:
Empties their hearts
Fills their bellies
Weakens their ambitions
Strengthens their bones

Let the people have no cunning and no greed
So those who scheme will not dare to meddle

Act without contrivance
And nothing will be beyond control

Source: www.truetao.org

Change…. and about time.

Posted by on November 5, 2008 2 comments

I’ve been reading the coverage of the US election via BBC News and as I have a break at work, I’ll take the time to dash out a few thoughts.

First up, it’s damn good to see.  My emotional response is to punch the air, finally, a chance for a change of direction. 

In balance to that, I harbour a concern that the opponents of change may wind up trying to turn debates into a race issue in order to avoid facing up to the very real threats and challenges that we will face over the coming years.  We cannot avoid facing these and we must do so honestly and with all the cards on the table.

A comment on a BBC News reporter’s Blog caught my eye.

“When the sun rises over Arizona, many will shake their heads and fear for the future”

If you’re one of those people, and you’re reading this, I’m going to try and reach out to you and show you that your fears are unfounded.  I’m going to leave you a Chinese story, that of The Crying Princess:

(attribution: http://taoism.net/living/2006/200604.htm)

—————-

Spring was Princess Li’s favorite season. She loved the blooming flowers in her garden and would spend hours walking there, taking in the colors and savoring the fragrance.

Today, something was wrong. Instead of enjoying herself, she sat alone and seemed unhappy. Mei, her handmaiden and companion since childhood, grew concerned and decided to approach her: “Princess, forgive me for intruding. Are you alright?”

“Oh, I’m fine, Mei. I am just thinking about my… engagement.” Her father the Duke announced in the morning that Princess Li was to be wedded to the King of Jin in a few months.

“I heard the announcement as well. The Duke said it was very auspicious and a great cause for celebration.”

“For others, perhaps, but not for me. I have never met King Jin and I have no idea what he is like. I love my life here with my flowers and have no wish to leave…. Oh, how I dread the wedding!”

The sudden intensity of Princess Li’s emotions surprised Mei. “Have you told your father that you do not wish to marry him?”

“No. Jin is a powerful kingdom. Our alliance with them, cemented by marriage, is something that will make us much stronger and more secure. It is my duty to do it. I cannot avoid it.”

“What will you do then, Princess?”

“The only thing I can – put it out of my mind as much as possible.”

Time passed. As the wedding drew closer, Princess Li became increasingly anxious. When the date finally came, she refused to come out of her room. This caused quite a commotion. “Unacceptable!” The Duke was displeased. “Mei, you are the only one she listens to. Go talk some sense into her. Quickly!”

Mei entered the inner chambers to discover the princess crying her eyes out. “Princess, what are you doing? Everyone is waiting for you.”

“I don’t care! I won’t marry him!”

Mei noticed that the princess had soaked her clothes in tears, so evidently she had been crying for quite some time. “Princess, did you not tell me yourself that this is something you cannot avoid?”

“You don’t understand! I really, really don’t want to go to the Jin Palace! I want to stay here!”

Mei took a deep breath. She knew how to get through to the princess, but even her ability and patience would be taxed to the limit this time. “Princess, you know as well as I do that everything has been set in motion. We cannot put it off any more than we can push back the waves of the ocean.”

The princess snapped back and Mei responded with her soothing voice. After several hours of this, the princess grew too tired to continue. She allowed herself to be led to the royal carriage. Finally, the wedding party was able to get underway. To the princess, the rest of the wedding went by like a blur.

After an initial period of adjustment, Princess Li grew accustomed to life in the Jin Palace. The King treated her well and kept her in luxuries she had never experienced before. The royal bed in particular was a marvel. When the princess slept on it, she felt as if she was floating on air. Moreover, every meal at the Jin Palace was spectacular. The princess had never tasted so many delicacies, cooked in so many different ways.

Spring arrived again. Princess Li was delighted to discover beautiful flowers blooming in the royal gardens of the Jin Palace. She wasted no time at all summoning Mei to her side, so they could go exploring together.

“You seem to be in high spirits, Princess.”

“I am! I cannot wait to walk amongst the flowers.”

“How strange! Can this be the same person who really, really didn’t want to be here?”

“Please don’t remind me,” Princess Li blushed. “I still cannot believe how foolish I was. It’s so wonderful here, I cannot understand why I was so afraid.”

Kicked back into touch

Posted by on September 17, 2008 2 comments

I’m not an economist, but the recent turmoil in global financial markets really does get my back up.  The whole thing is run for the benefit of a few people, now it’s going wrong, they seem to be walking away with huge bonuses rather than serious consequences.

We’ve been running the entire western world on a ridiculous premise for years, the idea that growth is king and that it can keep happening.  Yeah, right.

We have a limited planet, with finite resources and space, growth is ultimately limited, with no way round that.  Eventually it must end.  To pretend otherwise is to live in complete denial of the real, to allow our illusions and wishful thinking to rule, something the Buddha and Lao Tzu warned about millennia ago.

We need to focus on finding a sustainable way of living, one that won’t wreck the planet and our lives.

A Taoist Diet

Posted by on August 27, 2008 1 comment

Well, after about 3 and a half months of vegetarianism, I’m eating meat again.  I tried, but it didn’t work this time.

After a period of stress and also the creeping of several aches and pains, I’ve been forced to conclude that Vegetarianism isn’t for me at this point in my life, so I have to put my health first and back off.

It was an enormously valuable experience and if you can make it work then you have my respect, I just couldn’t crack it this time, though I got a lot further than my previous two attempts.

At the moment I’m eating meat once per day, which is plenty.  This provoked a quick moment of thought.  From a Taoist/Chinese Medical perspective what is the advice for a diet?

Well, after some looking, I found that they recommend meat as only 1/10th of the diet  and eliminating all processed food (as far as you can).

I’ve linked to a couple of very interesting sites below:

Taoist Arts – Medicine and Diet

Seahorse Arts – The Chang Ming diet

Too much power, too many rules.

Posted by on November 7, 2007 1 comment

I was reading about the new legislation in the Queen’s speech today. It seems that we need to have a new law passed for everything, further invasions of our privacy and our rights eroded.

It’s amazing what they can push through, mention the word Terrorist since 9/11 and you can wave through almost any measure you want, consider the new National DNA database, there are people on there who haven’t been convicted of a crime!

It’s almost as if we’re considered suspect simply by default, though Lao Tzu does have advice for us on this one:

“The highest rulers, people do not know they have them
The next level, people love them and praise them
The next level, people fear them
The next level, people despise them
If the rulers’ trust is insufficient
Have no trust in them

Proceeding calmly, valuing their words
Task accomplished, matter settled
The people all say, “We did it naturally”“

This is illuminating as it suggests a position far removed from the one we currently see in public figures. Lao Tzu suggests a more humble approach, indeed I’ve recently read comments by people saying that our leaders need to take a moment and remember who they really work for. The lack of trust they have in us is unsettling, the need to remember that somewhere in all the rules and cameras and the surveillance the spirit of the society that they’re trying to protect will get lost.

They are so attached to the idea of defending Britain and it’s people from every imagined aggressor that the country will be stifled by the grip they’ll have on it; the people will eventually be injured both in spirit and prospects, maybe even physically by the very measures and officers supposed to protect them.

I personally think they’re taken the exact wrong approach, the threat of terror needs to be tackled on a community level, it’s not a matter of arresting people it’s preventing them becoming extremists in the first place. I remember a point made by Robert M. Pirsig that when someone is deemed insane they’ve possibly subscribed to a view of the world that has higher quality for them than everyone else’s. I think the best view to take with those who would destroy our society is to reach out to them and show them the higher quality in our society.

Imagine a way forward that doesn’t involve more expenditure for the military industrial complex and security services. I wish it would catch on, I can’t see much of a future in mistrust and fear.

The Enemy on The Desk

Posted by on July 22, 2007 1 comment

It’s interesting to watch the approach of some folk to technology. There seems to me to be a view that technology is the enemy, there is a negative view of tech. Speaking as an IT guy, I couldn’t disagree more. When dealing with recalcitrant, misbehaving tech, the key is to remember that it’s nothing personal. Getting all wound up won’t help, sometimes it can be like opening a stubborn lock, you have to know how to jiggle it, I’ve started to think that it might be an ego issue on the operator’s part. I include myself in that, of course.

I always try to bear in mind that computers and technology are as much a part of Tao as everything else.

To misquote Pirsig, “Tao rests as easily at the heart of cyberspace as it does in the heart of a forest. To think otherwise is to demean Tao”

Under the feet

Posted by on July 1, 2007 1 comment

Continuing my previous post, I’ve been carrying on with my decluttering, large amounts of old stuff have vanished both from my physical environment and from the PC.

It’s important to do this as the stuff gets under your feet and hampers you when acting. I was thinking of Wu Wei, or “effortless action”, how can one’s actions be anything near effortless when you’re having to fight through mental and physical junk all the time?

It’s not just about clearing things up, as I find clutter affects my mood, but also about the distractions. Late last year I was listening to a Dharma talk at a local Buddhist centre, the monk told about the Death meditation and elaborated on the need to seize the moment when doing self development, after all, we didn’t know how long we had.

I find that getting rid of clutter cuts out the distractions, and when you think about what I just wrote, that’s a very important thing to do.