Afternoon Matinee: Protest - The Sound of Silence

Performed by Simon and Garfunkel

Hello, darkness, my old friend

I've come to talk with you again

Because a vision softly creeping

Left its seeds while I was sleeping

And the vision that was planted in my brain

Still remains

Within the sound of silence

In restless dreams I walked alone

Narrow streets of cobblestone

'Neath the halo of a streetlamp

I turned my collar to the cold and damp

When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light

That split the night

And touched the sound of silence

And in the naked light I saw

Ten thousand people, maybe more

People talking without speaking

People hearing without listening

People writing songs that voices never shared

And no one dared

Disturb the sound of silence

"Fools," said I, "You do not know

Silence like a cancer grows

Hear my words that I might teach you

Take my arms that I might reach you"

But my words like silent raindrops fell

And echoed in the wells of silence

And the people bowed and prayed

To the neon god they made

And the sign flashed out its warning

In the words that it was forming

And the sign said, "The words of the prophets

Are written on the subway walls

And tenement halls

And whispered in the sounds of silence"

~ from Lyric Wiki ~

Original Face

Ta-Wan

Drop the desire for enlightenment and then you are "not-I" and you regain your original face.

Anyone seeking enlightenment is of course not enlightened. Nor could anyone ever be enlightened, as on enlightenment, there is no I.

"I seeking enlightenment" is bound.

"Enlightened" is no-I, free.

So drop the idea you could ever achieve, as that achiever is not even possibly real. Drop the idea of an achieving entity so there is no longer a desirer; and then you reach the non-I, and there is enlightenment...

This post originally appeared on Ta-Wan's blog, Tao Wow.

Ziporyn on the Liji II: Cheng

Scott Bradley

Despite what might be suggested by the title above, this series will not be an attempt to convey the teaching of the selected documents within the Liji ("The Doctrine of the Mean" and "The Great Learning") or of Ziporyn's take of them; I honestly can't say I that I have sufficiently comprehended either to do so. Rather, my use of them will be anecdotal, as was my use of Xunzi in the previous series.

In his explanation of the role of coherence within these documents, Ziporyn discusses the importance of the term cheng, usually translated as "sincerity", though he suggests that "coherence" might in some cases do just as well, since it entails a uniting of intention with a dao. This is a core value within Confucianism and is understood, I think, as absolutely necessary to a successful course (dao) of self-cultivation. Personally, I see myself as on such a course, and write under the assumption that my readers (should there be any) are similarly so involved. Thus, the nature of cheng may have something of importance to teach us.

"Sincerity" certainly has a great deal to do with the manner in which we engage in self-cultivation, tending toward the nature of our self-examination. However, it also speaks to the overall character of perceived reality generally, and thus our approximating sincerity is a reflection of the sincerity of things as they are. Ziporyn quotes Mencius in this regard: "The Dao of Heaven is to be cheng; the Dao of man is to become cheng." (4A12)

"Sincerity" in the case of reality is to be what it is, which seems fairly unproblematical. As is usually the case with humanity, however, things are more problematical: it is necessary to become sincere, to become what we are. There is a sense in which this is nonsense ("become what we are"?), but then such is the human experience, "a being such that, it is what it is not, and is not what it is", to quote Sartre. Or, as Zhuangzi puts it: our "not-one is also One", which I take to mean that despite our need to become, our not-yet-having-become is in the broadest sense, in the view from Dao, no different than having-become. Whether we have realized sincerity or remain insincere is, in the end, of no great consequence since all things are affirmed just as they are. There is nothing we need become. With this tucked away in our consciousness, we are free to proceed with our becoming without the burden of guilt and judgmentalism, a situation that seems to me at least, suggestive of love — love for oneself and thus for others.

You can check out Scott's other miscellaneous writings here.

The Secret of the Golden Flower, Chapter 6, Part 4

The Book of Successful Contemplation (Ying-kuan-ching) says: "The sun sinks in the great water and magic pictures of trees in rows arise". The setting of the sun means that in chaos (in the world before phenomena, that is before the intelligible world) the foundation is laid: that is the non-polarized condition [ultimateless]. Highest good is like water, pure and spotless. It is the ruler of the great polarity, the god who appears in the trigram of shock, Chen. Chen is also symbolized by wood, and soothe image of trees in rows appears. A sevenfold row of trees means the light of the seven body-openings (or heart-openings). The northwest is the direction of the Creative. When it moves on one place further, the Abysmal is there. The sun which sinks on one place further, the Abysmal is there. The sun which sinks into the great water is the image for the Creative and the Abysmal. The Abysmal is the direction of midnight (mouse, tzu, north). At the winter solstice, thunder (Chen) is in the middle of the earth quite hidden and covered up. Only when the trigram Chen is reached does the light-pole appear over the earth again. That is the image represented by the rows of trees. The rest can be correspondingly inferred.

Translators of The Secret of the Golden Flower are Richard Wilhelm and Cary F. Baynes. If you missed any posts in this series, please utilize the Golden Flower label below.

Afternoon Matinee: Protest - Killing In the Name

Performed by Rage Against The Machine

Killing in the name of

Some of those that were forces are the same that burn crosses

Some of those that were forces are the same that burn crosses

Some of those that were forces are the same that burn crosses

Some of those that were forces are the same that burn crosses

Killing in the name of

Killing in the name of

Now you do what they told ya

Now you do what they told ya

Now you do what they told ya

Now you do what they told ya

Now you do what they told ya

Now you do what they told ya

Now you do what they told ya

Now you do what they told ya

Now you do what they told ya

Now you do what they told ya

Now you do what they told ya

Those who died are justified

Wearing the badge, they're the chosen whites

You justify those that died

Wearing the badge, they're the chosen whites

Those who died are justified

Wearing the badge, they're the chosen whites

You justify those that died

Some of those that burn crosses want see them hold office

Some of those that burn crosses want see them hold office

Some of those that burn crosses want see them hold office

Some of those that burn crosses want see them hold office

Killing in the name of

Killing in the name of

Now you do what they told ya

Now you do what they told ya

Now you do what they told ya

Now you do what they told ya

Now you do what they told ya, now you're under control

Now you do what they told ya, now you're under control

Now you do what they told ya, now you're under control

Now you do what they told ya, now you're under control

Now you do what they told ya, now you're under control

Now you do what they told ya, now you're under control

Now you do what they told ya, now you're under control

Those who died are justified

Wearing the badge, they're the chosen whites

You justify those that died

Wearing the badge, they're the chosen whites

Those who died are justified

Wearing the badge, they're the chosen whites

You justify those that died

Wearing the badge, they're the chosen whites

Come on!

Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me

Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me

Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me

Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me

Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me

Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me

Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me

Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me

Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me

Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me

Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me

Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me

Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me

Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me

Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me

Motherfucker! Yeah

~ from Lyric Wiki ~

Only Have What You Can Afford to Lose

Ta-Wan

This is an idea I have had for a long time but only on saying it to a friend this evening did I find it worthy of note;

"Only have what you can afford to lose"

So that anything; savings, house, car, iPoo, etc: - only to the value of that which you could lose and replace. Which, of course, is much lower than that which most people have, especially those who live on credit or debt.

If someone took this laptop, ok, it is very old, runs Linux Mint and all the good stuff is backed up on an external disk, internet or both. If our landlord took the room from us, if someone took all my savings or food, or so on, if my shirt was stolen from my back. More so if I lost my wife, my family or life. In all cases it has been justified.

My wife is far more wise than I am. She embraces death, has no religion whatsoever, has a fine mind and philosophy; She has often said that if death came, then good, I have lived perfectly well, done my best; If I were born again I would ask for exactly the same and if not, then ok, I had fun, did my best.

What do you have that if you lost it it would be a great drain? Really would it be a drain or a release? Could you throw it all away?

Only when you have given it all up, do you have it all.

This post originally appeared on Ta-Wan's blog, Tao Wow.

Ziporyn on the Liji I

Scott Bradley

The Liji ("Book of Rites") is a vast Confucian compendium containing two documents, "The Doctrine of the Mean" (Zhongyong) and "The Great Learning" (Daxue) from the late Warring States Period to Early Han. These, Ziporyn tells us (Ironies of Oneness and Difference), are clearly attempts to incorporate and thereby co-opt the Daoist introduction and prioritization of Yin, the embedding of all value and knowledge in the fundamentally unknowable.

A brief restatement of Ziporyn's basic thesis is in order. This book overall is an examination of how early Chinese philosophy tried to make sense of the world so as to know how best to live in it. He calls this "coherence". Coherence is a model in many respects different from similar attempts to explain the world found in Western philosophy. I do not completely understand how this is so, but as an example we can see that Western philosophy tends toward trying to explain the world (asking the 'what?' of things — objectivity) whereas Chinese philosophy tends toward an understanding how things cohere and harmonize (asking the 'how?' of things so as to know how best to live — subjectivity).

This coherence, as exemplified in Confucianism, is what Ziporyn calls "non-ironic". Though we cannot know Heaven, we can still know how best to live by harmonizing with what it has wrought, namely human hierarchical relationships and tradition. There is a straight-forward, articulable Dao (Path of study and consequent behavior). The proto-Daoists (principally "Laozi" and Zhuangzi) overturned such a view when they pointed out that all our values and knowledge, however practical, have no ultimate foundation, since they are embedded in xuan — darkness, obscurity, mystery. Yet still we require to find a way to best live, and thus they suggested an "ironic coherence", one that harmonizes with the reality of our adrift-ness. Thus, Zhuangzi, for example, provides a model of coherence based on our living in a world essentially incoherent (unintelligible). He suggests a sensible way to live in the context of an essentially non-sensical world.

Not surprisingly, Confucianism was not about to take this lying down, and thus either denied the need to prioritize the unknowable (Xunzi) or incorporated the ironic into an otherwise non-ironic model (the Liji and Yin-Yang metaphysics), thereby co-opting it.

This attempted return to the non-ironic is, I think, consistent with the basic human inclination to "take the mind as teacher"; we hate doubt and love certainty. In this sense, Daoism cuts against the grain of our evolved humanity; so much so that Daoism itself constantly slips back into the non-ironic.

That Ziporyn uses the ironic as a fulcrum to understanding the sweep of early Chinese philosophy is itself telling. (Calling Confucianism "non-ironic" itself prioritizes the "ironic".) There really is no escape from our embedding in Mystery.

You can check out Scott's other miscellaneous writings here.

The Secret of the Golden Flower, Chapter 6, Part 3

Furthermore, the whole body feels strong and firm so that it fears neither storm not frost. Things by which other men are displeased, when I meet them, cannot becloud the brightness of the seed of the spirit. Yellow gold fills the house; the steps are of white jade. Rotten and stinking things on earth that come in contact with one breath of the true energy will immediately live again. Red blood becomes milk. The fragile body of the flesh is sheer gold and diamonds. That is a sign that the Golden Flower is crystallized.

Translators of The Secret of the Golden Flower are Richard Wilhelm and Cary F. Baynes. If you missed any posts in this series, please utilize the Golden Flower label below.

Afternoon Matinee: Protest - The Wall Street Blues

Performed by Procol Harum

You bought the pitch

The whole nine yards

The shiny dream

The house of cards

But now your dream's

Gone down the drain

The house of cards

A house of pain

They promised riches

Over-night

They stitched you up

It hurts alright

They took your money

An' your shoes

And now you've got

The Wall Street blues

You bought the dream

New lamps for old

You thought the streets

Were paved with gold

They filled your hands

With tinsel and glitter

It tasted sweet

But soon turned bitter

You took the bait

They reeled you in

An' now the future's

Lookin' grim

They took your money

And your shoes

And now you've got

The Wall Street blues

They said the market

Could never go down

They took your savings

And then left town

They couldn't have done it

Without your greed

They only satisfied

A need

You tried to make

An easy buck

They pulled the plug

And now you're stuck

They took your money

And your shoes

I guess you've got

The Wall Street blues

~ from Lyric Wiki ~

Houston, We Have a Problem

Trey Smith

For the past 4 years or so, my life has centered around this blog. Rarely would more than a few hours go by that I didn't check-in. I wrote loads and, even when I wasn't writing as much, I was busy formatting Scott's posts -- sometimes Ta-Wan's too -- as well as making sure the various ongoing series were kept up to date and on time.

As I'm sure regular readers have noticed, I have fallen down on the job big time in the last week or so. It seems that my new duties -- I have become the de facto News Director -- at KOSW-LP, 93.1FM are taking up most of my time. Before I joined this all-volunteer community radio station, very little emphasis was placed on providing news, weather and sports. To my way of thinking, providing valuable and timely information should be one of the number one goals of community radio and, since no one else was serving in this capacity (aside from the "morning guy"), I have stepped into the breach to fill this role.

As it currently stands, I go to the radio station a minimum of two times per day -- most days it's three or more times -- to record weather updates that play at the top of most hours. I also contribute a taped 10-15 minute newscast that plays three or four times each morning on the weekends and at least twice each weekday. I'm also working on learning the software program that we utilize to record all of the station's promotional announcements with the idea of taking over this function so that the fellow who has been doing it [reluctantly] can concentrate on what he really wants to do: programing.

If this weren't enough, I am giving strong consideration to hosting a weekend 10:00 pm - 12:00 am left-wing political news and talk show. Ya know, something right up my alley!

With all this going on, I simply haven't had the time to pay much attention to this blog...or even check my email in the past 3 days!

So, what does all this mean? Will I -- like countless people before me -- simply shutdown the blog and move forward to the next chapter of my life? Ultimately, that COULD be the answer. However, I'm not ready to make such a drastic move. There is an ebb and flow to each of our lives and I may end up flowing back this direction...or I may not. Time will tell.

I will make a few changes though. Scott has been writing up a storm lately of his usual fare of interesting and insightful posts. I will move his posts into the 9:45 am slot. If I have any observations to post, they most likely will go in the 6:30 pm time slot. I will try to keep the Golden Flower, Bit by Bit and Afternoon Matinee series going each day (though I'm already a few days behind) and will feature the Morning News a bit less often.

And then we will see how all this pans out.

The Secret of the Golden Flower, Chapter 6, Part 2

If, when there is quiet, the spirit has continuously and uninterruptedly a sense of great joy as if intoxicated or freshly bathed, it is a sign that the light-principle is harmonious in the whole body; then the Golden Flower begins to bud. When, furthermore, all openings are quiet, and the silver moon stands in the middle of heaven, and one has the feeling that this great earth is a world of light and brightness, that is a sign that the body of the heart opens itself to clarity. It is a sign that the Golden Flower is opening.

Translators of The Secret of the Golden Flower are Richard Wilhelm and Cary F. Baynes. If you missed any posts in this series, please utilize the Golden Flower label below.

Ziporyn on Xunzi VII

Scott Bradley

In this, the final post of this series, I return again to the more general issue that I raised in the second post of the series, namely, how do I engage Xunzi, not in a confrontational manner, but in one that is able to affirm his thought despite my disagreements.

Were I strictly scholarly (within my limits) this would probably not be an issue; the scholar takes neutral ground and simply wishes to understand. But I must admit to being sectarian as an advocate for the position of Zhuangzi whom Xunzi set about to refute. But Zhuangzi's position is one that aims at ending sectarianism. The challenge, therefore, is not to defend Zhuangzi in a refutation of Xunzi, but to realize the freedom from sectarian opinion that Zhuangzi advocated.

Assuming that Zhuangzi in some way approximated his own ideal, at least in his writing, if not in his life, then we can say that disagreement and refutation are not inconsistent with his philosophy, since he often does just that to make his points. This leaves us with the more subtle and difficult possibility of a simultaneity of refutation and affirmation. Or put simply: it's the attitude that matters.

Keeping this in mind, I find comments on the back face of Ziporyn's Ironies of Oneness and Difference quite helpful:

Mere awareness of how many different ways human beings can think and have thought about these categories is itself a game changer for our own attitudes toward what is thinkable for us. The actual inhabitation and mastery of these alternative modes of thinking is an even greater adventure in intellectual and experiential expansion.

I cannot think of a better apologetic for this present enterprise.

You can check out Scott's other miscellaneous writings here.

Afternoon Matinee: Protest - Machine Gun

Performed by Jimi Hendrix

"Happy new year first of all. I hope we'll have million or two million more of them... if we can get over this summer, he he he. Right I'd like to dedicate this one to the draggin' scene that's goin' on all the soldiers that are fightin' in Chicago, Milwaukee and New York... Oh yeas, and all the soldiers fightin' in Vietnam. Like to do a thing called 'Machine Gun'"

Machine gun

Tearing my body all apart

Machine gun

Tearing my body all apart

Evil man make me kill ya

Evil man make you kill me

Evil man make me kill you

Even though we're only families apart

Well I pick up my axe and fight like a farmer

(You know what I mean)

Hey and your bullets keep knocking me down

Hey I pick up my axe and fight like a farmer now

Yeah but you still blast me down to the ground

The same way you shoot me down baby

You'll be going just the same

Three times the pain

And your own self to blame

Hey machine gun

Oooooooooo

I ain't afraid of your mess no more, babe

I ain't afraid no more

After a while your your cheap talk don't even cause me pain

So let your bullets fly like rain

'Cause I know all the time you're wrong baby

And you'll be goin' just the same

Yeah machine gun

Tearing my family apart

Yeah yeah alright

Tearing my family apart

Don't you shoot him down

He's about to leave here

Don't you shoot him down

He's got to stay here

He ain't going nowhere

He's been shot down to the ground

Oh where he can't survive no no

Yeah that's what we don't wanna hear any more, alright

No bullets

At least here, huh huh

No guns, no bombs

Huh huh

No nothin', just let's all live and live

You know instead of killin'

~ from Lyric Wiki ~

The Secret of the Golden Flower, Chapter 6, Part 1

Master Lu-tsu said, There are many kinds of confirmatory experiences. One must not content oneself with small demands but must rise to the thought that all living creatures have to be redeemed. One must not be trivial and irresponsible in heart, but must strive to make deeds prove one’s words.

Translators of The Secret of the Golden Flower are Richard Wilhelm and Cary F. Baynes. If you missed any posts in this series, please utilize the Golden Flower label below.

Ziporyn on Xunzi VI

Scott Bradley

In this post we will take a speculative look at the possibility that Xunzi and the author of the Tianxia (33rd) chapter of the Zhuangzi might have been mutually informing each other as likely contemporary members of the Jixia Academy in the state of Qi (late 4th cen. B.C.E.). They certainly share a Confucian point of view and, more strikingly, an understanding of Truth as that which unites the many truths.

In the Xunzi we read: "Human problems all derive from obsession with a single corner of things which obscures the Greatest Coherence. When ordered, these all return to the norm, but when doubts arise, over alternatives between them, there is confusion. In the world [tianxia] there are not two Daos, and the Sages are not of two minds." ("Dispelling Obsessions"). In Tianxia we are similarly told that the "ancient Art of the Dao" is one Dao that has been obscured by "nook and cranny scholars" who have seen only one corner of the whole.

Ziporyn calls this "a whole/part epistemology". "The question to be adjudicated when confronted with conflicting claims is not which is true and which is false, but rather which is more complete." This seems on the surface to reflect Zhuangzi's all-inclusiveness, but lacks the ironic dimension that negates any final 'true' Whole. Ziporyn goes on to say: "In Xunzi's case, there may be some claims which have no place in the whole and must be eliminated completely, although he clearly makes an attempt to be as all-embracing as possible in his inclusiveness." The question arises, by what criterion are some daos then rejected? The answer is, by that "truth" which Xunzi holds in reserve, that is, his own.

Laozi and Zhuangzi are among those who are subsequently "eliminated" as being incompatible with, and thus unable to be successfully incorporated into, the Whole. Their negation of the very possibility of an intelligible Whole makes this inevitable.

The author of Tianxia, on the other hand, has a very positive take on both Laozi and Zhuangzi and is somehow able to include them as part of his Whole, despite their only grasping one corner of it. How he can do this, given their aforementioned negation of any coherent Whole, is not clear. However, others, especially Huizi, are eliminated from participation in the Whole, and in this the author is consistent with Xunzi.

In contrasting Zhuangzi with Xunzi (and Zhuangzi's later interpreters), we see that Zhuangzi saw chaos (unintelligibility) as primal and thus doubt as unavoidable, whereas Xunzi, like most of us, could live with neither. Xunzi walks one road — his own; Zhuangzi walks two — his own which also allows him to walk that of the present other.

You can check out Scott's other miscellaneous writings here.

Afternoon Matinee: Protest - Black Sky

Performed by Sam Phillips

The trees are listening

Each time a missile's made

They hide three mystics

The earth sends from her grave

To tell us the future has been stolen away

By diggers, drillers and sellers

We won't stop till we're underneath the black sky

He took my picture

In the cemetery sun

My body was tempted

To crumble into one

Reunion of dust until creation's done

Returning ashes to ashes

We won't stop till we're underneath the black sky

La, la, la

La, la, la

La, la, la

The commerce the intrigue

Self-slaughtered souls

Cry out to dead poor men

For a drink at the water hole

Their tongues will burn dry

As the day they were sold for forests

Raped into deserts

We won't stop till we're underneath the black sky

La, la, la

La, la, la

La, la, la

~ from Lyric Wiki ~

The Secret of the Golden Flower, Chapter 5, Part 6

All of these are wrong paths. When a man knows the wrong paths, he can then inquire into the confirmatory signs.

Translators of The Secret of the Golden Flower are Richard Wilhelm and Cary F. Baynes. If you missed any posts in this series, please utilize the Golden Flower label below.

Ziporyn on Xunzi V

Scott Bradley

Part of Ziporyn's discussion of Xunzi is in the context of the debate whether he believed there to be only one normative Dao, or whether there are many possible daos, though only one among them is 'best' given the human condition.

This ambiguity is in part the consequence of Xunzi's apparent belief that it is humanity that creates The Great Coherence, Dao. In this sense, "man is the measure of all things" since he selects out and unifies those elements of reality (various coherences) which best serve his purposes. This is consistent with his statement that "it is only the sage who does not seek to understand Heaven." Since it is humanity who determines how best to live in the context of the world's givens, the unknowable is dismissed as irrelevant. Thus, from the point of view of philosophical Daoism, Xunzi was on the right track in his understanding of the subjective nature of truth (humanity decides what truth is, makes it so — it does not exist outside of this determination) but goes astray in thinking that such a truth is not also a non-truth given the larger context of ultimate incoherence. Xunzi does not allow that his Great Coherence is also part of a Greater Incoherence, but this should not surprise us since it is precisely this ironic Dao of Daoism that he wished to overturn.

This belief that it is humanity who creates Dao can be seen in the following statements: "Laws cannot stand on their own; types cannot function by themselves. When they attain the right person they exist, when they lose the right person they vanish." (44/12/2) "The exemplary person forms a triad with heaven and earth, is the unifier of the ten thousand things, is the father and mother of the people. Without the exemplary person heaven and earth are not ordered, ritual and rightness have no consistency, above there is no true ruler or teacher, below no true father or son: this is called utter chaos." (28/9/63ff)

Again, this is curiously in agreement with the Daoist point of view that Dao is essentially a perspective, only Xunzi requires that there can only be one correct perspective, one of Confucian persuasion. Whereas Daoism contextualizes its perspective in the chaos from which it emerges (does not forget the unhewn from which its perspective is hewn) thereby relativizing its own perspective, Xunzi sees chaos as something to flee and forget, enabling the absolutizing of one perspective.

In this regard the closing story of the Inner Chapters, the death of Chaos (Zhuangzi 7:15), is especially telling. Not willing to allow Chaos to remain such, his friends attempt to humanize him by daily giving him one of the seven holes of humanity; on the seventh day Chaos dies. Xunzi similarly wishes to kill off Chaos through the assertion of the human. How one can do so without acting in bad faith, ignoring and sublimating the obvious, is hard to fathom.

You can check out Scott's other miscellaneous writings here.

Afternoon Matinee: Protest - Berkshire Cunt

Performed by Conflict

Filled with love and compassion. As she fixes her make-up for a day of fun

He reads the news, it depresses her. With reports of death by bomb and gun

Astride their horses in the winter lanes. They smile at nature with tenderness

They hear the call, hold hands with pride. And look down at the bloody mess

And civilized upright citizens grin, as the dog's teeth tear at shrieking skin

This ain't savagery; it's jolly old culture. As they stand and wait for death like vultures

She laughs as the bloody fur's flying. Re-applies her lipstick as the animals crying

He claims the tail as privileged prize. And kicks the mangled corpse aside

The time has come when we all must turn around and start to think

No more standing in the corner. Question the missing link

The link that created the misery and pain. That sees the mistakes, but then makes them again

You've heard it once; you'll hear it again. Your blood, their blood serves the same

There they stand and there they grin. Never thinking or questioning

"Why blood of innocents must be spilt". They smile but they can't hide their guilt

That their life is built upon a pile of bodies. Slaughtered animals? Slaughtered squaddies?

The pleasure they take from another's death. Hides the truth that murder feeds their wealth

She smiles at him as dead eyes stare. He takes her hand and strokes her hair

His fingertips soaked in misery are the mark of aristocracy

And the broken form lying in the ditch. The handiwork of the dog and bitch

Bears the label of decency. The honour given so graciously

And backs are slapped in celebration. The success of extermination

Freedom maintained so humanely. As they wipe their hands of blame so bravely

Back at home she wears the fur that proves his precious love for her

Death and glory on her shoulders sit. As the master takes what's rightfully his

Murder is committed in the guise of sport. Ripping flesh is given no thought

Glasses are raised in dedication. The crime is given a justification

Heart beats faster, eyes wide and staring. Death comes whistling cold, uncaring

Slaughtered animals, slaughtered squaddies. Their wealth is built from murdered bodies

~ from Lyric Wiki ~

Bit by Bit - Chapter 25, Part 16

Trey Smith

Confucius said to the Grand Historiographers Ta T'ao, Po Ch'ang-ch'ien, and Hsi Wei, "Duke Ling of Wei drank wine and wallowed in pleasure, paying no heed to the government of the state; he went hunting and gaming with nets and stringed arrows, ignoring his obligations to the other feudal lords. How then does he come to be called Duke Ling? "

Ta T'ao said, "It fitted the facts."
~ Burton Watson translation ~

Speaking of rationalizations, we can turn ANYBODY into a duke, king or celebrity. We simply look the other way when it comes to all those nasty attributes that might belie such a distinction.

Look at the world today. We have created "stars" who we worship out of numbskulls who appear on "Reality TV"!

To view the Index page for this series, go here.

The Secret of the Golden Flower, Chapter 5, Part 5

At best, one finds oneself in heaven, at the worst, among the fox-spirits. Such a fox-spirit, it is true, may be able to roam in the famous mountains enjoying the wind and the moon, the flowers and fruits, and taking his pleasure in coral trees and jeweled grass. But after having done this for three to five hundred years, or at the most for a couple of thousand years, his reward is over and he is born again into the world of turmoil.

Translators of The Secret of the Golden Flower are Richard Wilhelm and Cary F. Baynes. If you missed any posts in this series, please utilize the Golden Flower label below.

Ziporyn on Xunzi IV

Scott Bradley

[I]t is only the sage who does not seek to understand Heaven.
(Xunzi; 62/17/7ff)

Ziporyn introduces this quote from Xunzi with the observation that "what cannot be spoken of, he passes over in silence." Thus, Xunzi acknowledges the fundamental observation of Daoism that "the dao that can be spoken is not the constant Dao", but rather than allowing this to determine the parameters and character of his knowing, he formulates an epistemology outside the context of the fundamentally unknowable. He understands that all our ideas about how the world works are "peculiarly unfixed", as Zhuangzi tells us, but proceeds as if it does not matter. This would not in itself be a form of dishonesty if his "understanding stopped at what it does not know", but he instead goes on to tell us in sweeping terms how the world actually does work: "The exemplary person forms a triad with heaven and earth . . ." (28/9/63ff)

There is a very real sense in which the human experience requires us to 'act as if' things make ultimate 'sense'. We use words to convey ideas as if they are more than "the twittering of baby birds". "Walking two roads" enables us to do so without "bad faith", without self-deceit — we understand both the necessity of assuming the validity of words and their ultimately unfixed character at the same time. Similarly, science tells us how the world works while also keeping in mind that today's paradigm will likely be overturned by tomorrow's (The Structure of Scientific Revolutions; Kuhn). Without acknowledging that it does not ultimately know simultaneous to telling us that it does, science could not advance. The curious thing, however, is that Newtonian physics 'works' despite being overturned by Einsteinian physics, just as our ad hoc ‘spiritual’ formulas often work even when ‘erroneous’. Faith, hope, and even prayer can ‘work’, even when embedded in pure fantasy.

It is especially curious how this statement by Xunzi is in many ways entirely consistent with the position of philosophical Daoism. Yet, since his project was in many ways to co-opt the Daoist view when he could not out-rightly refute it, it is perhaps not so surprising that he would at least give it a nod.

"[I]t is only the sage who does not seek to understand Heaven." This implies that everyone else does. There is a great chuckle here in that we typically think of the sage, the religious, the 'metaphysician' (as some advertise themselves) as doing precisely this very thing. How Zhuangzian might have been Xunzi's sage had he remained consistent with this insight! Instead, he opted out of a paradigm consciously embedded in Mystery.

You can check out Scott's other miscellaneous writings here.

Afternoon Matinee: Protest - Happy Christmas (War Is Over)

Performed by John Lennon

So, this is Christmas

And what have you done?

Another year over

And a new one just begun

And so this is Christmas

I hope you have fun

The near and the dear one

The old and the young

A very merry Christmas

And a happy New Year

Let's hope it's a good one

Without any fear

And so this is Christmas

For weak and for strong

For rich and the poor ones

The world is so wrong

And so happy Christmas

For black and for white

For yellow and red ones

Let's stop all the fight

A very merry Christmas

And a happy New Year

Let's hope it's a good one

Without any fear

And so this is Christmas

And what have we done

Another year over

And a new one just begun

And so this is Christmas

I hope you have fun

The near and the dear one

The old and the young

A very merry Christmas

And a happy New Year

Let's hope it's a good one

Without any fear

War is over over

If you want it

War is over

Now

~ from Lyric Wiki ~

Freedom

Ta-Wan

For me to be truly free, I can not tell another how to be.

It is my not leaning on another in any way that truly justifies my position of freedom. Should I tell a friend that they are wrong to do such a thing or take a stand against a powerful corporation about their policy - I am in both cases asking for the same in return, that they can also do the same to me.

Only by not forcing on another, can I be just in my position of true freedom, and not have any force come upon myself.

How then do we take a stand and form the world if we can not act like that? There are those who will saw the branches off the tree. There are those more cunning who will tie the branches at a young age to have them grow a desired way. There are those, like me, who love a natural form no matter how it goes. Most people have grown up with wraps around them, they have restricted and deformed growth of their character that will take big work to even notice before it can be removed. From a restricted growth they look out and too wish to form the world around them by restricting, forming and shaping. They may even take out a saw to get their way.

The only way to go is allow others to have their way so you can live out your own natural form. Hopefully with time they will notice the constraints on them and reform themselves by inner desire than by extremal force.

This post originally appeared on Ta-Wan's blog, Tao Wow.

Bit by Bit - Chapter 25, Part 15

Trey Smith

Ch'u Po-yu has been going along for sixty years and has changed sixty times. There was not a single instance in which what he called right in the beginning he did not in the end reject and call wrong. So now there's no telling whether what he calls right at the moment is not in fact what he called wrong during the past fifty-nine years. The ten thousand things have their life, yet no one sees its roots; they have their comings forth, yet no one sees the gate. Men all pay homage to what understanding understands, but no one understands enough to rely upon what understanding does not understand and thereby come to understand. Can we call this anything but great perplexity? Let it be, let it be! There is no place you can escape it. This is what is called saying both "that is so" and "is that so?"
~ Burton Watson translation ~

For most of us, right and wrong are conditional. They are conditioned by what our egos desire. If we really, really want something, we can invent all sorts of rationalizations to convince ourselves that it is "right" and "proper".

To view the Index page for this series, go here.

The Secret of the Golden Flower, Chapter 5, Part 4

Nor must a man be led astray by the ten thousand ensnarements. This happens if, after the quiet state has begun, one after another all sorts of ties suddenly appear. One wants to break through them and cannot; one follows them, and feels as if relieved by this. This means the master has become the servant. If a man tarries in this stage long he enters world of illusory desires.

Translators of The Secret of the Golden Flower are Richard Wilhelm and Cary F. Baynes. If you missed any posts in this series, please utilize the Golden Flower label below.

Ziporyn on Xunzi III

Scott Bradley

In my view, the satisfaction of human desires is the only justification of any position developed by any early Chinese thinker.
(Ziporyn; Ironies of Oneness and Difference, p. 200)

If this is the case, then early Chinese philosophy was profoundly humanistic. Human happiness is the overwhelming concern of the human enterprise. Taken in the context of the understanding that this happiness is predicated on its harmonious interface with Nature and society generally, as well as with one's own self, we see how the pursuit of happiness meets all the requirements for universal benefit.

Humanism, at least as it arose in the West, is curiously in contrast to theism. The Creator creates for 'his' own purposes, and it is 'his' purposes that matter; the created are of secondary and derivative significance. Chief among the Creator's purposes are that 'he' be worshiped, "glorified", and obeyed. (Let's call it The Great Ego — “I AM that I AM".) Things exist for God, not for themselves. Human desires are thus subordinate to those of God; they can be rightfully realized only when they conform to 'his' purposes, and quite often even innocent desires do not meet this criterion.

The satisfaction of human desires is necessarily an enterprise; it does not just happen. As individuals we are required to create the conditions necessary to our own happiness. This requires that we exercise self-restraint, lest the satisfaction of our desires negatively impact the conditions necessary to our happiness. As social beings who live collectively, we are also required to create institutions which facilitate the realization of happiness for the greatest number of its participants, and this requires societal-restraints lest a few deprive the many. As members of a vast ecological community (Earth), animate and inanimate, we are required to restrain our individual and collective desires when they negatively impact the harmony of the whole. A collapsed ecosystem is not conducive to happiness.

All of this "restraint" is a non-restraint when taken in the context of the understanding of happiness as living in harmony. Harmony is not only a condition of happiness; it is happiness.

Thus, we have various philosophies and political theories that suggest the best way to deliver the goods, some more effectively than others. Seeing them all from this perspective, perhaps we are better able to choose between them. What need not apply are the concepts of good and bad.

As an American, I feel compelled to question how harmonious the core value of the pursuit of happiness as an individualistic, capitalistic endeavor really is. Given the present disparities of wealth and, more importantly, the impact of the consequent poverty, one must ask if this ideology is in fact the most conducive to happiness for any of us, including the wealthy. One must also wonder if this ideology most cherished by the dedicated theists among us is not a consequence of worshiping The Great Ego.

You can check out Scott's other miscellaneous writings here.

Afternoon Matinee: Protest - Doctor My Eyes

Performed by Jackson Browne

Doctor, my eyes have seen the years

And the slow parade of fears without crying

Now I want to understand

I have done all that I could

To see the evil and the good without hiding

You must help me if you can?

Doctor, my eyes, tell me what is wrong

Was I unwise to leave them open for so long

'Cause I have wandered through this world

And as each moment has unfurled

I've been waiting to awaken from these dreams

People go just where they will

I never noticed them until I got this feeling

That it's later than it seems

Doctor, my eyes, tell me what you see

I hear their cries, just say if it's too late for me

Doctor, my eyes, cannot see the sky

Is this the price for having learned how not to cry

~ from Lyric Wiki ~

Just Me and My Monkey

Ta-Wan

No one is freer than the one with no religion, set routines, solid philosophy, goals, ambitions, clear notions or ways. Those in society program each other to have these things then recursively program themselves and the infinite recursion becomes a set of beliefs and strong "knowledge" that is 100% second hand.

She said "I don't know" and I clapped my hands in joy at her honesty and simple perfected bliss.

The way of Tao is not to have such ways, ok we tend to read books and quote passages to each other when we see a connection, but each passage can have 100 readings. The philosophy of no philosophy, the path of no path, the Wu Way.

This post originally appeared on Ta-Wan's blog, Tao Wow.

Bit by Bit - Chapter 25, Part 14

Trey Smith

"The gentlemen of old attributed what success they had to the people and what failure they had to themselves, attributed what was upright to the people and what was askew to themselves. Therefore, if there was something wrong with the body of even a single being, they would retire and take the blame upon themselves. But that is not the way it is done today. They make things obscure and then blame people for not understanding; l they enlarge the difficulties and then punish people for not being able to cope with them; they pile on responsibilities and then penalize people for not being able to fulfill them; they make the journey longer and then chastise people for not reaching the end of it. When the knowledge and strength of the people are exhausted, they will begin to piece them out with artifice, and when day by day the amount of artifice in the world increases, how can men keep from resorting to artifice? A lack of strength invites artifice, a lack of knowledge invites deceit, a lack of goods invites theft. But these thefts and robberies - who in fact deserves the blame for them?"
~ Burton Watson translation ~

The signs of a quality leader are those described above. Success is bestowed on the group collectively, while mistakes are accepted voluntarily by the head honcho. Of course, as the author above notes, we tend to do it the other way around!

To view the Index page for this series, go here.

The Secret of the Golden Flower, Chapter 5, Part 3

Furthermore, one must not fall victim to the ensnaring world. The ensnaring world is where the five kinds of dark demons disport themselves. This is the case, for example, when, after fixation, one has chiefly thoughts of dry wood and dead ashes, and few thoughts of the bright spring on the great earth. In this way one sinks into the world of the dark. The energy is cold there, breathing is rough, and many images of coldness and decay present themselves. If one tarries there long one enters the world of plants and stones.

Translators of The Secret of the Golden Flower are Richard Wilhelm and Cary F. Baynes. If you missed any posts in this series, please utilize the Golden Flower label below.

Ziporyn on Xunzi II

Scott Bradley

This series will be short and mostly anecdotal; it will not be an attempt to explain Xunzi as Ziporyn understands him, but rather an unsystematic picking out of interesting ideas.

Indeed, this first stab at Xunzi could be said to not be about Xunzi at all, but about any philosopher with whom I significantly disagree. I was struck by the antipathy I felt at the introduction of him in Ziporyn's discussion. Zhuangzi speaks of the Confucian/Mohist conflict and how it demonstrates that without an awareness of how our opinions are perspectivally determined, we foolishly grasp our own as if to the Truth. And this leads to destructive sectarian and argumentative conflict. My response to Xunzi clearly follows this pattern.

Thus, Xunzi has a great deal to teach me, irrespective of what he says.

I am at a loss to say much more. Here is an opportunity to come to grips with the experience of "equalizing our opinions about things". I can only see it as a possibility, a distant horizon. To be free of the need to cling to truth and the 'right view' is yet another facet of Zhuangzi's philosophy through which, if we can pass as through a gate, all the rest falls into place.

You can check out Scott's other miscellaneous writings here.

Afternoon Matinee: Protest - Death Of Mother Nature Suite

Performed by Kansas

Every day she gets a little weaker

The beauty she once knew has come and gone

We've murdered all her sons and all her daughters

The blood is on our hands, the time has come

And now she's gonna die

We've strangled all her trees and starved her creatures

There's poison in the sea and in the air

But worst of all we've learned to live without her

We've lost the very meaning of our lives

And now she's gonna die

Once she ruled the earth with love and wisdom

But we were much too smart to live her way

With greed and lust we tried to rise above her

The ignorance of man will reach an end

And now she's gonna die

~ from Lyric Wiki ~

What Is Zen Taoism?

Ta-Wan

...to be smacked in the face with nothing.

This post originally appeared on Ta-Wan's blog, Tao Wow.

Bit by Bit - Chapter 25, Part 13

Trey Smith

When Po Chu repeated his request, Lao Tan said, "Where will you go first?"

"I will begin with Ch'i." When he arrived in Ch'i, he saw the body of a criminal who had been executed. Pushing and dragging until he had it laid out in proper position, he took off his formal robes and covered it with them, wailing to Heaven and crying out, "Alas, alas! The world is in dire misfortune, and you have been quicker than the rest of us to encounter it. 'Thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not murder!' they say. But when glory and disgrace have once been defined, you will see suffering; when goods and wealth have once been gathered together, you will see wrangling. To define something that brings suffering to men, to gather together what sets them to wrangling, inflicting misery and weariness upon them, never granting them a time of rest, and yet to hope somehow that they will not end up like this - how could it be possible?
~ Burton Watson translation ~

I suppose that, in a "perfect" world, there would be no need for definitions. We humans would do what needed to be done and no more. We wouldn't need to be told what we had done was "good" or "right".

We don't live in that kind of world, though. Consequently, definitions are greatly needed.

To view the Index page for this series, go here.

Here Is A Story That Underscores a Certain Problem in the Obama Administration

Trey Smith

More than two years after sensitive information about the Osama bin Laden raid was disclosed to Hollywood filmmakers, Pentagon and CIA investigations haven’t publicly held anyone accountable despite internal findings that the leakers were former CIA Director Leon Panetta and the Defense Department’s top intelligence official.

Instead, the Pentagon Inspector General’s Office is working to root out who might have disclosed the findings on Panetta and Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence Michael Vickers to a nonprofit watchdog group and to McClatchy.

While the information wasn’t classified, the inspector general’s office has pursued the new inquiry aggressively, grilling its own investigators, as well as the former director of its whistle-blowing unit, according to several people, including a congressional aide.
~ from ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ Leak Investigators Now Target of Leak Probe by Marisa Taylor and Jonathan S. Landay ~

See the problem, here? Members of Team Obama can leak like crazy -- including classified information -- and EVEN when they are identified, they have nothing to worry about. Not only are they NOT prosecuted, it would appear they aren't investigated, reprimanded or merely chastised.

Oh, but if you expose the culprits or any degree of wrongdoing, that's when the boot of government comes down and it tends to come down very hard. You almost can guarantee that you will be investigated and, in most cases, prosecuted or punished in some other way. It is a proverbial case of shooting the messenger, not the party who actually is culpable.

Yes, indeed. The Obama presidency is the most transparent in US history...NOT! He makes one almost long for the days of Dubya!!

The Secret of the Golden Flower, Chapter 5, Part 2

When one begins to carry out one’s decision, care must be taken so that everything can proceed in a comfortable, relaxed manner. Too much must not be demanded of the heart. One must be careful that, quite automatically, heart and energy are coordinated. Only then can a state of quietness be attained. During this quiet state the right conditions and the right space must be provided. One must not sit down [to meditate] in the midst of frivolous. That is to say, the mind must be free of vain preoccupations. All entanglements must be put aside; one must be detached and independent. Nor must the thoughts be concentrated upon the right procedure. This danger arises if too much trouble is taken. I do not mean that no trouble is to be taken, but the correct way lies in keeping equal distance between being and not being. If one can attain purposelessness through purpose, then the thing has been grasped. Now one can let oneself go, detached and without confusion, in an independent way.

Translators of The Secret of the Golden Flower are Richard Wilhelm and Cary F. Baynes. If you missed any posts in this series, please utilize the Golden Flower label below.

Ziporyn on Xunzi I

Scott Bradley

I have leapt over Ziporyn's treatment of Zhuangzi in his Ironies of Oneness and Difference because, following on his (and my) discussion of the Laozi, to do so immediately after might be tiresomely repetitive. I will return to that discussion later, however.

Before looking at Xunzi, it might be helpful to give a quick overview of Ziporyn's overall project in this book. It's about how ancient Chinese philosophy attempted to make 'sense' of the human experience in the world. This 'sense' is largely facilitated through the creation of a coherence. Coherence is about uniting the seemingly disparate 'parts' of our experience into an intelligible whole. This can often be seen in attempts to make intelligible the relationship between the assumed "triad" of Heaven, earth and humanity.

Ziporyn uses the ironic coherence of the Daoist vision as a fulcrum to understand the development of various forms of coherence. Non-ironic coherence is seen in Confucius, Mencius and Mozi (though he is only mentioned in passing). Non-ironic coherence believes this "triad" can be understood sufficiently well to provide a template for how best to live. The proto-Daoists responded with the observation that Heaven, in the sense of Dao, cannot be understood at all, and thus our sense of coherence can only be experienced as ultimately incoherent. The "sustainable whole" is that which includes, and indeed prioritizes, the incomprehensible. Our coherence is thus with the ever-unknowable and ever-transforming so that we learn to live without a fixed template of how best to live, but rather with one of spontaneous following along with the flow of life.

Xunzi provides a decidedly negative response to this ironic coherence by means of a re-working of Confucianism. His is a "post-ironic anti-irony", an attempted return to a non-ironic coherence. He takes up some of the nomenclature of Daoist thought ("emptiness", "stillness", "unity") but folds them back into a world view that knows how best to live by understanding the way things actually are. Though he agrees that Heaven cannot be known, he dismisses the idea that it need be. (Perhaps it is as science usually approaches it — entirely intelligible, but beyond our limited ability to know it.) (Confucius never really addressed the issue, and Mencius only marginally so.)

Similar to Xunzi, other Confucian works ("The Great Learning" and "The Doctrine of the Mean") responded to the Daoist ironic-coherence with a non-ironic vision, but one that also attempted more of a synthesis. (I have not yet read this far.) Finally, Ziporyn discusses how philosophies of the Yin-Yang school attempted a final synthesis.

It is thus in the context of the Laozi and Zhuangzi that Xunzi can best be understood.

You can check out Scott's other miscellaneous writings here.

Afternoon Matinee: Protest - Career Opportunities

Performed by The Clash

They offered me the office, offered me the shop

They said, I better take anything they got

Do you wanna make tea at the BBC?

Do you wanna be, do you wanna be a cop?

Career opportunities are the ones that never knock

Every job they offer you is to keep out the dock

Career opportunities, the ones that never knock

I hate the army and I hate the R.A.F

I don't wanna go fighting in the tropical heat

I hate the civil service rules

I won't open letter bombs for you

Career opportunities

Career opportunities

Career opportunities are the ones that never knock

Bus driver

And the ambulance man

And the ticket inspector

Don't understand

They're gonna have to introduce conscription

They're gonna have to take away my prescription

If they wanna get me making toys

If they wanna get me, well, I got not choice

Career opportunities are the ones that never knock

Every job they offer you is to keep out the dock

Career opportunities, the ones that never knock

Careers

Careers

Careers

Ain't a-never gonna knock

~ from Lyric Wiki ~

Wet Bird

Ta-Wan

"The stiller the viewer, the more that is seen" - Is something I said once and it struck me again but in different words today and became "The less of a viewer..."

Nature is beyond words and is living Tao, if the world could just see the magic there and not keep running around trying to shape life into a misfit reflection of mini-mind, then all would be well - and all IS well for those of us who do do that.

One bird flew with a heavy load of nest material and hit the tree, crashing into the branches. The shaking rocked the other tree dwellers and then crash bird had to struggle to get a footing and place his over egged basket on the branches before it fell. The other birds shuffled in their seats and a number of us human types stopped to look on, smile and laugh.

Below the tree, which was on an island in the lake, another of the same kind of bird was standing with his wings held up and out. He was allowing the sun and wind to dry them I would guess and he just stood, occasionally shifting his footing. Did he know the sun, a large electrical anode, and the wind, the air on an electromagnetic flux, were what were drying the liquid state hydrogen/oxygen mixture off his waxed, tubular feathers?

As the other humans moved on, I stayed. I watched crash bird decide against the crash landing point as a place to stay, pick up his materials and plummet out of the tree back into the water with a splash. He re-emerged and with a shake of his wings the water was off his back and he swam, load splitting up as he pulled it along. Drying bird stood on, drying. The other birds did nest stuff and two proud black swans marched the lake's perimeter looking for troublemakers and bread litterers to honk at.

As this happened none of the water forgot to be wet, no bird fell through the tree as the wood forgot to be stiff, my heart did not once forget which way or how often to pump, my hair grew, the birds feathers remained waxed, light, the sun remained consistently warm and distant, the sky did not go green as it was changing channel for snooker. It just worked.

Nature works. We then, with increasingly more self awareness; crash into trees, laugh, pick up sticks to throw for dogs, ride cycles, run whilst checking times on the watch, sit in a car texting a friend about the park you can't see as you sit texting, drive with music on to drown out the birds, eat a picnic of plastic wrapped sandwiches of chemically preserved ingredients, pick up the kids to get home in time to watch a programme on nature, desire to be able to do this more often...

But I stood on, watching this, seeing humanity in its glory ignoring the very nature they sat within and I saw wet bird, now dry, take a hop into the air and a couple of powerful strokes, up, he was dropping onto a high branch to sit. Crash bird had dropped his load and was now on the bank near me picking up new materials. The swans had found a small boy to harass and his father, who was on his phone, shooed the big guys away. Luckily for him they had eaten already - but that did not stop them giving a passing honk to remind Mr Man and Master Small Boy who was in charge around here.

As various layers of awareness observed each other, the ground did not turn liquid, gravity did not reverse, air remained perfectly breathable and a dog ran by, happy as a dog, running by. I thought "hey dog, don't you know there is a world recession?" and I laughed to myself knowing how it was only me him and the birds who could be free enough not to care.

Nature just goes on, beautifully, and humanity on the whole blindly ignores it and worries if they are getting fat and should have a 3 meat pizza not a 6, if they will get home in time for the news, if their car is new enough or if they were right or wrong when the other driver shouted at them "open your eyes you fucking idiot!".

Nature is quietly being perfect. Not showing off, but just setting the perfect example to those who choose to look.

This post originally appeared on Ta-Wan's blog, Tao Wow.