Pop! - Part 1

Pop!
by Ta-Wan

In the stream bubbles appear one new one a second and as we watch old ones pop every second, pop, pop, pop. These bubbles represent humans coming into the world by birth and leaving by death, each second is this swirl of bubbles, pop, pop, pop, pop, and one day that pop will be you!

The thought of a death a second is not such a nice one as to dwell on it and so we do not, the thought though of the ongoing mass game of Russian Roulette where your number is guaranteed to come up at some unknown time should force a smart adjustment in perspective and awakening to the moment and living, now.

You do not spend your time sitting mourning each and every pop, considered though the thought of your own popping may be of some concern. Will you pop out of the blue unprepared or will you feel your pop coming? Part of your concern over your pop is sadness and loss you'll leave behind in others.

Each moment a pop, pop, pop, each moment people suffering that. Aren't you though, the stream?

You can check out Ta-Wan's other musings here. If you'd like to purchase your own copy of Pop! (a small Ebook), visit the Lulu Marketplace.

Afternoon Matinee: Robin Hood Tax

Turned Around

Why is it that the various tentacles of the mortgage industry have not tried to be more helpful to homeowners struggling to maintain the roof over their heads? Elyse Cherry offers one explanation in an article posted on Alternet.

One reason the mortgage industry hasn't done more, its leaders say, is that it fears creating a "moral hazard" -- the concept being that if homeowners in default are given too much help, other homeowners might be tempted to deliberately default in order get the same help.

Cherry, who works for "a 27-year-old nonprofit, community development finance institution," will tell you this happenstance has not occurred in her experience. So, where is this rationale coming from?

Interestingly enough, it comes from the financial industry itself!! This is the way they operate and so they assume everyone else operates this way too.

Lately, almost anytime bad investments blow up in their faces, the federal government comes a'riding to their rescue. The fed throws them oodles of money with little, if any, strings attached. This strategy creates a "moral hazard" in that the financiers don't have to pay for their sins; so they rush right back out to engage in even more bad investment deals.

When these blow up in their faces, they hold out their hands and the federal government saves their asses. This "moral hazard" engenders no incentive to change their business model because they know that, when things go south, good old Uncle Sam will be there to bail them out over and over again!

Another National "Tragedy" Narrowly Averted

Remember how all of us liberals got together recently and secretly plotted to somehow remove “In God We Trust” as America’s national motto? And remember how the final stage of our awesome plan was just about to be implemented, and not a single Real American knew of it? Bad news, liberals: House Republicans caught wind of our plot and jumped into action, scheduling a vote affirming “In God We Trust” as our national motto this evening. This bill, addressing perhaps the single most pressing issue of our time, will likely be passed some time after 6:30 p.m. Eastern time.
~ from GOP Cunningly Defeats Our Plan to Ban God from National Motto by Alex Pareene ~

You can imagine the sigh of relief I experienced when I discovered the resolution passed by a vote of 396-9. While the approval rating of Congress is at an all-time low, it's good to know that Republicans and Democrats can come together in a bipartisan manner to deal with such a critical issue!

What really chaps my hide is that only 9 representatives voted against this stupid resolution. As Pareene points out, it is not needed. There is no concerted effort to change the wording of the motto. I mean, who really gives that much of a diddly darn about the motto anyway? It's not like it makes any kind of substantive difference.

I haven't spent much, if any, of my adult life thinking about the motto. However, now that the issue has been brought up, I think we non-Christians should ban together to form the kind of concerted effort that previously didn't exist. In a nation that supposedly has a barrier between church and state, why do we even have a motto that favors one religion over another or none at all?

I'm a US citizen and I don't trust in God. I don't think he exists. I mean, I trust in God as much as I have trust in the Tooth Fairy, Santa Claus or leprechauns! So, this wondrous national motto certainly doesn't speak for me or any of the other folks -- a growing number, I might add -- who don't believe in A god or THIS god either!

Line by Line - Verse 50, Line 3

and three are ministers of death.
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

Three in ten are followers of death,
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

The followers of death, three in ten
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

People who look
for the secret of long life
wind up dead.
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~

In many ways, we each fall into this category. We engage in behaviors that we know are not healthy for our bodies or minds, but we rationalize that we will somehow escape the natural consequences.

As Derek Lin explains it,

The followers of death are the people with self-destructive tendencies. They rush headlong into any situation recklessly, and put their health and safety at risk.

To view the Index page for this series to see what you may have missed or would like to read again, go here.

Look Away, Look Away

We lived, as usual, by ignoring. Ignoring isn't the same as ignorance, you have to work at it.
~ from The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood ~

We live in a world with a lot of ugliness and vulgarities. If we focused 24/7 on all this pettiness, subjugation and misery, it would lead the average person to great despair. Consequently, as a self-preservation measure, we teach ourselves to ignore.

Sure, we may understand much of the evil that permeates human civilization on an intellectual level, but we try to shield our heart as much as possible. No one -- with the exception of masochists -- wants to be tied up in knots all the time. We don't want to spend each day feeling the pain of others, so we devise various mechanisms to keep our mind occupied with less negative things.

But it takes a lot of work to keep the shield up. We have to be diligent to avoid confronting disquieting truths. We have to become so self-absorbed that there isn't much room for outside information to poke through.

And, of course, there is great danger involved. While it is important to shield our heart to some extent, we can go too far. We can get to the point in which we don't give a flip about anyone's life but our own. When this occurs, we lose the ability for compassion and, where compassion is lacking, so too is humaneness.

We each walk a tightrope. We train ourselves to look away, but no so far that we can't cast occasional glances over our shoulder. When we get to the point that we can neither empathize nor sympathize with our fellow beings, we are lost. If we continue on in this direction, we often can't find our way back and we remain lost forever.

Chapter 5, Part 13 - Confucius

When Tsze-lu heard anything, if he had not yet succeeded in carrying it into practice, he was only afraid lest he should hear something else.
~ James Legge translation via The Internet Classics Archive ~

Go here to read the introductory post to this serialized version of the Analects of Confucius.

Daily Tao - Seeking

Why seek happiness?
When the quest only defines sadness!
Breathe deep and sit,
For this is it!

Daily Tao is a reprint from Ta-Wan's blog, Daily Cup of Tao, which offers one post per day for an entire year. You also can read these posts in an ebook.

Unfettered

Unfettered
by Scott Bradley

"Work hard for realization in this life, or you will have regrets eternally."

This is the last of the fourteen cautions with which Wu-men concludes his Wu-men Kuan (Mumonkan; Jap.). I share it here to serve as an example of precisely the kind of religious mentality which I wish to avoid. Frankly, I can hardly conceive of a declaration more able to bind and fetter us to a life of striving and fear.

I have shared here that I have problems with negativity. Release from this bondage is one of my most immediate goals. For this reason, I am generally very much aware when negativity creeps into my writing. It does so frequently. Yet negativity is essentially an attitude, not a content. It is possible to say, This is not helpful, without it being an emotional reaction or an expression of self-other, the essential egoic exercise.

As I am sure you have noted, a great deal of what I write here is inspired by what I am currently reading. Unfortunately, most all I have had for some time only concerns Zen, which, despite my great respect for it as a skillful means, is not my way, nor in agreement with my way. I say this by way of explaining why it is that I so often speak of my disagreements with what I read. This need not be negativity. It can also help to throw light upon how there might be another way.

This having been said, I think I have learned a great deal of the 'positive' from Zen, and have attempted to share that here.

Why, one might ask, do I not instead read more of that with which I agree? I answer, Because I cannot find it. You might chuckle at this, thinking I agree with nothing, but this is not the case. It is the case, however, that it is a difficult thing indeed to find literature which is both 'spiritual' and non-religious. In a word, philosophical Taoism (that 'spirituality' which most appeals to me) is poorly represented in a world where people clamor to avoid "eternal regrets". There is also the fact that I am currently reading only what I can find in used book stores. It's time, I suppose, to buy online.

Returning to the quote with which I began, little really need be said. I offer it for your consideration. Consider how it places a yolk upon the heart. Consider what it assumes about Reality. Do we really need to fear eternity? Do we really need to strive to secure an imagined place within it? Do we need to be saved? Consider how different it is from "far and unfettered wandering" "in the vast wilds of open nowhere, our homeland of not anything at all."

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

Tao Bible - Isaiah 44:24

Thus saith the LORD, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am the LORD that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself;
~ King James version ~

All things arise from Tao.
~ from Verse 51 of the Tao Te Ching ~

This is one of the aspects of the Bible that always perplexes me. On the one hand, God declares he is the creator of all things. On the other hand, however, the Chosen People are deemed more special than other creations PLUS God disavows evil and the Devil. If an entity is responsible for ALL things, then it is responsible for everything that happens. You don't get to pick and choose.

As I have stated before, in the view of Taoists, everything is special or nothing is special under Tao. As the mother of life, all the forces in the cosmos -- what we may deem as good and bad -- originate in Tao.

If you're interested in reading more from this experimental series, go to the Tao Bible Index page.

Almost Here

The end of Daylight Savings Time (DST) is almost here. On Saturday night, we will set our clocks back one hour.

In year's past, I have dreaded the day. Since I tend to get up in late morning and I usually take a mid-afternoon nap, the annual end of DST means I don't get to see sunlight very often. That tended to lower my sails a bit.

But I'm not dreading it this year. I've made my peace with it. It is what it is and so I must deal with it AS it is.

I think my acceptance also has to do with the observation that I like the dark. Regardless of the season, I am the most productive while most everyone else sleeps. I tool around in the middle of the night -- doing housework, indoor projects and maintaining this blog.

Consequently, in an odd sort of way, I welcome an additional hour of darkness. That's one additional hour that I feel most in my element.

Hmm. Maybe I'm a vampire! :-)

Chapter 5, Part 12 - Confucius

Tsze-kung said, "The Master's personal displays of his principles and ordinary descriptions of them may be heard. His discourses about man's nature, and the way of Heaven, cannot be heard."
~ James Legge translation via The Internet Classics Archive ~

Go here to read the introductory post to this serialized version of the Analects of Confucius.

This Ain't School

Awhile back, I write two posts about We, a dystopian novel by Yevgeny Zamyatin. My intent was to follow up on these with more posts, but I found the author's writing style very difficult for me -- it simply didn't flow! So, after wrestling with it for a week or two, I gave up.

In day's past, I probably would have felt a bit down on myself for not struggling through the text. I guess one of the lessons my mother drummed into me noggin -- you should finish what you start -- stuck. I would have felt pangs of guilt for not trying to force myself to read a book that didn't speak to me.

Fortunately, somewhere along the line, it dawned on me that life isn't like formal schooling. There isn't a regimented syllabus I must follow. I'm not going to get in trouble if I decide -- as I did in 10th grade -- to read the Cliff Note's version of Beowulf instead of the epic poem itself. Heck, I even found the abbreviated version to be boring!

And so, We will be put on a back burner. I may try to explore it again. While it may not speak to me now, who is to say it might not at a later juncture?

Owing to the recommendation of, I believe, two commenters, I am now reading Margaret Atwood's dystopian novel, The Handmaid's Tale. I'm only about 1/4 of the way through the book, but I can say I like it far better than We. While I'm unclear if it will spur many blog posts, there is, at least, one in the offing.

Afternoon Matinee: Orwell Rolls in His Grave, Part 11

To view this documentary in its entirety, go here.

Poke, Poke, Poke

The U.S. has Iran completely encircled. It has over 100,000 troops in the nation on Iran’s eastern border (Afghanistan, where, just incidentally, the U.S. continued through this year to turn over detainees to a prison notorious for torture) and has occupied the nation on Iran’s western border (Iraq) for eight years, and will continue to maintain a “small army” of private contractors and CIA officials after it “withdraws.” The U.S. continuously flies drone aircraft over and drops bombs on the nation on Iran’s southeastern border (Pakistan). Its NATO ally (Turkey) is situated on Iran’s northwestern border. The U.S. has troops stationed in multiple countries just a few hundred miles across the Persian Gulf from Iran, virtually all of which are client states. The U.S. has its Fifth Fleet stationed in a country less than 500 miles from Iran (Bahrain) containing “US warships and contingents of U.S. Marines.” And the U.S. routinely arms Iran’s two most virulent rivals (Israel and Saudi Arabia) with sophisticated weaponry.

But, New York Times readers were told today, the U.S. must increase its military presence still further in that region because . . . it is Iran (which has no military bases in countries bordering the U.S. or fleets stationed off its coast) that is “belligerent” and poses a “threat” (after all, they just dispatched a failed Texas used car salesman who constantly loses his own keys and can’t pay his bills to hire teams of Mexican drug cartel gunmen to attack a Saudi ambassador on American soil!).
~ from Middle East Propaganda 101 by Glenn Greenwald ~

I am often amazed that so many of my fellow citizens don't see the connections between what our national leaders do in terms of foreign policy and the similar strategies employed in our local communities. If you fall into this category, Greenwald has provided a good object lesson.

By encircling Iran with threats to their safety galore, we actively are trying to goad them into doing something that we can paint as "provocative." If they fall into our trap, this will provide US leaders with the political cover to attack them.

We see this very same strategy at work in regards to the various Occupations throughout the country. Police -- often in riot gear -- surround and hassle peaceful protesters in the hopes of goading them to do something that can be painted as "a threat to public safety." If any of the protesters fall into this trap, this will provide the police with the political cover to be even more aggressive and brutal than they already are.

Two different scenarios, yet the exact same tactic is involved. Think there might be a wee bit of a connection here?

Line by Line - Verse 50, Lines 1-2

Men come forth and live; they enter (again) and die. Of every ten, three are ministers of life (to themselves);
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

Between birth and death,
Three in ten are followers of life,
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

Coming into life, entering death
The followers of life, three in ten
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

(No corresponding lines.)
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~

The beginning lines of Verse 50 are a bit mystifying. As we can see from the three translations above, they agree that Lao Tzu is writing about three in ten. However, two commentators quoted by Red Pine, Han Fei and Tu Er-Wei, contend that the numerical symbolism signifies the number thirteen!

According to Pine,

Han Fe says it means "three and ten" or "thirteen" and refers to the four limbs and nine orifices of the body, which can be guarded to preserve life or indulged to end it.

Tu Er-Wei also reads "thirteen" but sees its numerical significance in the moon, which becomes full thirteen days after it first appears and which disappears after another thirteen days.

To view the Index page for this series to see what you may have missed or would like to read again, go here.

Huainanzi - Entry 14

The reason why leaders are set up is to eliminate violence and quell disorder. Now they take advantage of the power of the people to become plunderers themselves. They are like winged tigers -- why shouldn't they be eliminated? If you want to raise fish in a pond, you have to get rid of otters; if you want to raise domestic animals, you have to get rid of wolves -- how much the more so when governing people!
~ a passage from The Book of Leadership and Strategy by Thomas Cleary ~

Isn't it interesting that the words of the Chinese Masters so closely resemble the complaints of the Occupy Wall Street movement? Our governments -- in cahoots with the financial elites -- are plundering the people. These elites are behaving like otters in a pond and wolves among livestock.

All this goes to show is that the power inequalities in society haven't changed all that much in more than two thousand years. The critique lodged by the Chinese Masters in the 2nd century BCE isn't that much different than today's protesters out in the streets.

Why is it that we seem to be stuck in the same place? For all of our so-called progress, we apparently haven't progressed all that much.

Will this problem turn out to be an immovable barrier OR will humankind figure out a way around this proverbial impasse?

Time will tell!

To read the introduction to this ongoing series, go here.

Chapter 5, Part 11 - Confucius

Tsze-kung said, "What I do not wish men to do to me, I also wish not to do to men."

The Master said, "Ts'ze, you have not attained to that."
~ James Legge translation via The Internet Classics Archive ~

Go here to read the introductory post to this serialized version of the Analects of Confucius.

Daily Tao - A Polite Kick in the Face

What are you doing this work on? Who are you seeking to fix?

Anyone working, seeking, has not yet recognised the true self.

And once recognized, they see, it required nothing from them!


Harsh words maybe? Not at all, the most compassionate!

Daily Tao is a reprint from Ta-Wan's blog, Daily Cup of Tao, which offers one post per day for an entire year. You also can read these posts in an ebook.

Do We Require a Teacher?

Do We Require a Teacher?
by Scott Bradley

Opinion is divided as to whether we require a teacher if we are to realize our full human potential. This disagreement does not simply exist between different traditions, but within them as well. There is a difference of opinion within Zen, for instance.

I think Zhuangzi would have answered this question in the negative. He was very much an individualist, and he encouraged the same in others. This is part of his greatness, that he was able to emerge from the collective mentality which typified his time.

We must remember, however, that if we conclude we do not 'require' a teacher, this does not mean that we could not benefit from having one.

Personally, I find the assertion that we require a teacher as dogmatic, and indicative of a bondage to 'content', whether articulated or esoteric. Yet, I suspect one could certainly profit from having one, provided one did not surrender one's own unique expression to him or her.

This likewise applies to the fuzzy idea of 'transmission' wherein spiritual insight is somehow mysteriously passed from teacher to student. To each his own, but I prefer to remain free of a belief in the miraculous.

The real meat of the matter for me, however, is my trust in myself — and yourself. We are human, and this is about becoming fully human in the sense of realizing our human potential. We can do it. We can discover our own unique expression. And that expression has no defined goal. 'Enlightenment' can be a most pernicious concept (to use a favorite word of late). It tells us there is a specific goal and no other. If you don't attain this, you have attained nothing at all. No. And again, I say, No. I will not assume these chains and fetters.

I have a friend who would now say, But we are all interconnected and our every thought has its source in our collective experience. All your ideas, Scott, are rooted in your exposure to millennia of human thought and experience. Yes. And again, I say, Yes. This collective connectivity is both reassuring and humbling. It does not, however, diminish the uniqueness of each one of us, or obviate our responsibility to nurture that unique expression. Life does not reduce to logical pigeon-holing or the tyranny of mutual-exclusion. We can each one become our own Omega Person (without concern for an imagined Omega Human).

So, yes, I declare my independence. I live alone within this mind and it is thus that I will forge my own way — with the help of all humanity collectively expressed in me. I require no other teacher.

Nevertheless, I would gladly embrace one should she or he become evident to me. Yet, I do not seek one; nor would I ever sacrifice my way to the way of another.

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