The Useless Tree

Taoism

  • Man and Nature are One

    It's a central concept of Chinese aesthetics: the unity of man and nature – 天人合一.   And it comes up in a blog post by Evan Osnos over at The New Yorker.  He is writing about Xu Bing, an artist,… Continue reading

  • “This way it leaps, and that way…”

    Have you ever watched the wildcat, crouching, watching his prey – This way it leaps, and that way, high and low….                     Zhuangzi Continue reading

  • Another Taoist Easter

    I have posted this before but it seem appropriate for the day: As I have done for Thanksgiving and Christmas, let me put down a few thoughts here about Easter from a Taoist perspective.     Easter may be the… Continue reading

  • Liberal Zhuangzi

    I've been a bit jet-lagged since arriving home late Wednesday night.  And I'm also behind in all sorts of work.  So, it has been hard to find time to blog.  But I wanted to make note of this post by… Continue reading

  • Shake Your Groove Thing

    I was at a party last night and some disco came on.  My wife and I started to dance, just like we did all those years ago in college, back in the seventies when disco was ubiquitous. It made me… Continue reading

  • Branding Tao

    Can the principles of Taoism be commodified and sold?  It would seem that some are trying to do this: THE Chinese philosophy of Taoism advocates the natural way of things and the harmonious blending of the two opposite principles of… Continue reading

  • Zhuangzi on Nationalism

    This is going to be a bit round about, but bear with me… Today in my East Asia Nationalism class we were discussing Benedict Anderson's classic text, Imagined Communities.  At one point, in considering the origins and rise of nationalism,… Continue reading

  • Integrity (德) and Gays in the Military

    A friend (thanks Tracy!) put me on to this connection… This week the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, came out in support of repealing the "don't ask, don't tell" policy that had maintained a bar… Continue reading

  • Taoist Consciousness

    A regular reader, Casey Kochmer, comments on the "Ovid, Daoist Sage" post below with a question: What do you think A Taoist would say Consciousness is? Let's think about it… (But first a note on usage.  I have not been… Continue reading

  • Ovid, Daoist Sage

    I am stepping beyond my competence here (how else do we learn?), but today I heard a passage from Ovid and it struck me.  It was from the Metamorphoses (in this version, Book 15, section 176): "Since I am launched… Continue reading