The Useless Tree

Philosophy

  • Baseball Fate

         I just have to take a moment to recognize a great moment in the storied history of the New York Yankees: a five game sweep of that other team from a northeastern city, a series reminiscent of the… Continue reading

  • Reflections on Analects 9.17

    Standing beside a river, the Master said: "Everything passes away like this, day and night, never resting." TimeFills up and fills inpouring into each moment of our livesseeping into every crack and crevice.It flows into uswe drift along. He defined… Continue reading

  • Do We Need Viagra in the Afterlife?

        Here’s a great story from China Daily, that raises a deep philosophical question: China bans tomb-sweepers’ "vulgar" burned offerings (Reuters) Updated: 2006-04-25 21:25 China has banned its citizens from burning paper models of condoms, luxury villas and karaoke… Continue reading

  • So, Is Confucianism a Religion? Can It Be?

         A little late in posting today: the network at my work was slow, too slow to work through my usual survey of papers and blogs.  I must say, however, that it was good to be back at work,… Continue reading

  • Breaking Historical Laws

        Roland, at ESWN, has provided some great coverage of the closing, and then the reopening, of the Freezing Point (Bingdian) section of the China Youth Daily newspaper.  His posts are numerous and spread about his site; it is… Continue reading

  • The Politics of Postmodern Confucianism

         I have been thinking a bit more about my earlier post on postmodern Confucianism.  And here’s a question: why on earth would the editors of People’s Daily open up this kind of conversation?  Don’t they realize that bringing… Continue reading

  • Bernie Williams: Taoist Sage

         Bernie Williams, of the New York Yankees, is on the downside of an illustrious career.  He was a key element of the great Yankee teams of the late 1990s.  In recent years, however, he has been slipping.  Age… Continue reading

  • The Pursuit of Happiness

        In an article in this week’s New Yorker, "Pursuing Happiness," John Lanchester reviews some new books on that contented emotion.  It is a sweeping piece, engaging recent research in psychology and brain scanning technology, and running across a… Continue reading

  • Pieces of Tao

       When I passages like this one from Chuang Tzu, I realize how far away from an ideal Taoist I am: This life we’re given comes in its own season, and then follows its vanishing away.  If you’re at ease… Continue reading

  • A No-Place for Tao

        OK, someone had to ask obvious question about this news item in today’s People’s Daily: The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) Wednesday established the Center for the Studies of Taoist Culture. The center will focus on advancing… Continue reading