Taoism
-
Taoist altruism
Sincere words are never beautifuland beautiful words never sincere.The noble are never eloquent and the eloquent never noble.The knowing are never learnedand the learned never knowing. A sage never hoards: the more you do for others the more plenty is… Continue reading
-
Absence/Presence
If all goes well this post will appear while I am gone. Neat, huh? I thought it would be nice to reflect upon the notion of "presence" in my absence. More seriously, the relation of presence and absence… Continue reading
-
Good News
I realize that much of what I post about is bad news: critiques of politics and society in the US, in China, in Singapore and elsewhere. In my everyday life I am not so pessimistic. My daily countenance… Continue reading
-
Historical Forgetting
An opinion piece in today’s People’s Daily is chock full of material for my purposes. It is titled, "To Dissolve Cultural Conflict with Oriental Wisdom," and it starts like this: History tells us that cultural conflict can’t be… Continue reading
-
Remembering People Who Die In War
Today is Memorial Day in the US, a national holiday to remember those people who have died fighting in wars for America. For me, it is a day to pay respect to individuals while also remembering the inherent… Continue reading
-
Wan Sui!
Some folks are thinking about immortality, or, at least, significant life extension (hat tip: bioethics): In Oscar Wilde’s novel, "The Picture of Dorian Gray," the main character barters his soul for eternal youth but becomes wicked and immoral… Continue reading
-
So, Is This A Part of Lee Kuan Yew’s “Asian Values?”
There used to be a time, not too long ago, when the Lees of Singapore tried to position themselves as morally superior to decadent, overly liberal American culture. That was the whole "Asian Values" thing of the 1990s,… Continue reading
-
The un-Way of Barry Bonds
When we try too hard to reach a goal, when we push aside our humanity and humility, even if we accomplish it, we fail for succeeding. That is the emerging moral of the Barry Bonds story. … Continue reading
-
Forgetting the Cultural Revolution
By some historical accounts, 40 years ago today the Cultural Revolution began in China. I say "some historical accounts" because the Cultural Revolution is a big, sweeping series of events, stretching over years, with debatable beginning and ending… Continue reading
-
It’s Official: China is a Taoist, not a Confucian, Society
Not completely: but a survey of Chinese university students, which asked them how to define "cool," suggests that their attitudes are closer to the Taoist end of the spectrum than the Confucian. Let’s start with this excerpt: …When… Continue reading
The Useless Tree 