Line by Line - Verse 49, Line 7

and to those who are not sincere (with me), I am also sincere;
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

I also have faith in people who are not faithful.
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

Those who do not believe, I also believe them
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

and they have faith in the unfaithful.
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~

To continue with John Lash's thought from yesterday,

This faith is not something that can be turned off or on but arises from human nature.

In other words, regardless what each of us believes, the person of Tao holds to the notion that all things will wind up in the same place, when all is said and done.

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

The Appeal of String Theory to a Taoist

The Philosophical Appeal of String Theory
by Ta-Wan

String Theory has great appeal because it gets right to the core with little missing, no room for error, no room for god or mystery and is very philosophical nature. This philosophical leaning is what leads many scientists to dismiss it "unprovable, like philosophy" they say.

Strings are so minute you could never imagine, fantastically smaller than any particle you've ever been asked to imagine. Excellently for me string theory drops the old Newtonian idea of 'little balls spinning around one another' for good. Removing the conundrum of the infinite regression of splitting something only to remain with smaller parts you now wish to spilt.

Strings are either loops, like the one causing gravity and witnessed by school children who place iron filings near a magnet, or like open two ended strings. Strings vibrate, they vibrate in 11 dimensions and we see the result of 3, feel the result of 1 (gravity) and count our days in another, time. We are not sure we interact with the others, maybe we do but until then we'll say they are dark, unseeable, in nature.

The vibrations can ring on so many notes we'll never hear but some common vibration patterns will seem like standing waves to us and children will be able to rub some off a balloon and play with the static charge and scientists will be able to smash some waves and call the resulting burst of energy a particle. These waves have set amplitudes so lead to assumptions of a group of particles with repeatedly constant values.

There are no parts or particles in string theory though only a reason for why we think we see them. String theory is all about a vibration. My only remaining questions as I marvel at it are: what vibrating in what and what of awareness? How are we aware of all this? Are strings thought patterns in the great awareness? Does this now fall flat at yet another infinite regression? Maybe opening up those final dimensions we can answer these questions.

Unfortunately, I'm not that smart.

Fortunately, I'm not that smart... Maybe the mystery is much better than the answer.

You can check out Ta-Wan's other musings here.

Chapter 5, Part 1 - Confucius

The Master said of Kung-ye Ch'ang that he might be wived; although he was put in bonds, he had not been guilty of any crime. Accordingly, he gave him his own daughter to wife.

Of Nan Yung he said that if the country were well governed he would not be out of office, and if it were in governed, he would escape punishment and disgrace. He gave him the daughter of his own elder brother to wife.
~ 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 - To Not Try To Be Is To Be

Attempting perfection, you show all your faults.

Accepting your faults, is perfection.

Aiming to please, failure.

Being, easy.

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.

Moo!

Moo!
by Scott Bradley

I think I've got a pretty good grasp of the meaning of Moo! I presently live in close proximity to a couple of young steers, so I have the opportunity to study it first hand. It can mean any number of things, depending on circumstances. It can mean, Where's Mama Cow!?, when she and her new calf are removed to another pasture. It can mean, The water line is broken again! Or it can mean, There's a black bear in the apple tree! But it mostly just means, I am a (dumb) cow.

The meaning of Mu, however, still escapes me. Robert Aitken speaks a lot about Mu, for it seems that his particular wing of Rinzai Zen has chosen the Mu koan as its central focus. The koan is basically this: A monk asks the master, "Does a dog have the Buddha nature?" The master replies, "No" (Mu). That's it.

I dedicated Chen Jen to a friend's two dogs because when I asked them if they had the Buddha nature, they responded with a simple "Arf!" I figured this was a sure sign that they had pierced through to the very marrow of the matter. But this is a dog's answer, not a human one, and does not actually wrestle with the meaning of Mu.

Alan Watts, not the best authority on these things, but one most beloved, wrote that the Mu becomes an issue here because, according to orthodox Buddhism, a dog does have the Buddha nature. So, why did he say, "No"?

Mu means 'no', but it can also mean 'nothing', or even 'nothingness' — or so I have been led to understand. Zennists largely take it as nothingness and make that the object of their reflection. (Personally, I prefer "Arf!" But then my nick-name is Scottie-dog, or Dog, for short.)

Like all things Zennish, however, nothingness should not be taken to mean...nothingness. The 'answer' does not resolve to one word, or many. In any case, nothingness is a concept in opposition to another, and the point is to go beyond relative and mutually generating concepts. It is much like the debate over Being and Non-being; whether or not there really is any such a distinction, the point is to go where all distinctions vanish.

As a concept, I am no fan of nothingness. It is much too knowing, much too final. I prefer 'emptiness'. The difference, as I see it, is that emptiness does not dismiss anything. Instead, it both affirms and denies; it speaks to the beyond-ness of Reality. A rock may be empty of meaning but it is still a rock. A person may be empty of a fixed-identity, but she is still a person.

And if she is not? Well, what's the point of the discussion?

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

The National Religion

And we hate the rich? Come on. Success is the national religion, and almost everyone is a believer. Americans love winners. But that's just the problem. These guys on Wall Street are not winning – they're cheating. And as much as we love the self-made success story, we hate the cheater that much more.

We cheer for people who hit their own home runs in this country – not shortcut-chasing juicers like Bonds and McGwire, Blankfein and Dimon.

That's why it's so obnoxious when people say the protesters are just sore losers who are jealous of these smart guys in suits who beat them at the game of life. This isn't disappointment at having lost. It's anger because those other guys didn't really win. And people now want the score overturned.
~ from OWS's Beef: Wall Street Isn't Winning – It's Cheating by Matt Taibbi ~

As usual, Taibbi hits the nail smack on the head! Most of the people who make up the 99 percent do not begrudge the rich for being rich; what they DO begrudge is that many people have become rich, not by their own industry, but by handouts and gaming the system.

As Taibbi correctly notes, financial success is the national religion of the United States. As sad as I might think it is, most Americans embrace capitalism to their bosoms. They cheer on people who have a rags-to-riches storyline. They ogle at rich celebrities and get goosebumps when they might happen to rub shoulders with the creme de la creme.

Not surprisingly, a good deal of the working and middle class believe that they will one day climb to the highest rungs of society. Their ship just hasn't come in yet. (Unfortunately, too many of them don't understand that the ship they are waiting for sunk in the harbor!!)

So, this idea that the various occupiers hate money/wealth is ludicrous. They love it. They simply want a reasonably fair opportunity to earn some for themselves.

Tao Bible - Isaiah 43:4

Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honorable, and I have loved thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life.
~ King James version ~

Heaven and Earth are impartial;
They see the ten thousand things as straw dogs.
~ from Verse 5 of the Tao Te Ching ~

Depending on how you want to look at it, either no one is special or everything is. The natural processes of life (and death) don't afford special dispensations to this or that group, this or that person.

It doesn't matter how pious or sacrilegious you are. It doesn't matter how wealthy or impoverished you are. It doesn't matter if you are just and kind or uncivil and hateful. At some point, the body dies. It's that way for each of us.

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

Chapter 4, Part 26 - Confucius

Tsze-yu said, "In serving a prince, frequent remonstrances lead to disgrace. Between friends, frequent reproofs make the friendship distant."
~ James Legge translation via The Internet Classics Archive ~

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

Killing Our Own

A new BBC documentary has investigated why the US, one of the most prosperous nations on earth, has the worst child abuse record in the industrialised world. America's child maltreatment death rate is triple Canada's and 11 times that of Italy. Over the past decade, more than 20,000 American children have been killed their own family members – that is nearly four times the number of US soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

What differentiates us from other countries? The single best predictor of child abuse is poverty. Children raised in families with annual incomes of less than $15,000 are 22 times more likely to be abused. Since the economic downturn, there has been a 30% increase in child maltreatment. The recession is, quite literally, a slap in the face of American children.
~ from America's Child Abuse Epidemic by Seema Jilani ~

While I certainly wouldn't argue that poverty is a factor in child abuse in this country, I do not believe it is as much of a factor as this article indicates. As a former child abuse investigator for state agencies in both Arkansas and Missouri, I can tell you firsthand that there is a lot of suspected child abuse in well-to-do families. The primary reason WHY the problem appears to be more prevalent amongst the poor is that poor people are far more likely to be reported to authorities.

Let's be frank. It is not uncommon in the least for professionals and the vast majority of the general public to believe that others -- of less than ideal financial means -- naturally exhibit all the undesirable human traits. In general, it is "common knowledge" that poor people are lazy and irresponsible. They have a propensity towards thievery and substance abuse. And, of course, they are neglectful parents who beat their children.

Consequently, if you already have this mental picture in your mind AND you discover a child from a poor family with injuries consistent with abuse, you are far more apt not to speak to family members and instead immediately file a report. In your mind, you believe you are performing a public service.

On the other hand, since Americans tend to believe that the well-to-do naturally exhibit the most desirable traits of humanity, you might not be so ready to call in that report immediately. Often, the first thing you would do is try to talk to the family to see if there wasn't some innocent explanation for injuries consistent with abuse. As long as the family provides a halfway plausible explanation, it is not uncommon for the system to grant them the benefit of the doubt.

During my tenure, I worked numerous cases in which a pillar of the community was alleged to have abused their own children and I was often astounded at the lengths the community would go to rally support behind them. It almost never mattered how much evidence we had. So many people would defend these perps to their last dying breath.

In one case, a deacon at the local Baptist church was charged with molesting his three step-daughters. We had affidavits from the three girls plus corroborating information from friends and relatives. We performed rape kits. We had this guy dead to rights and yet several prominent community leaders fought us tooth-and-nail to have this deadbeat exonerated!

In several other cases I was working on at the time, we had very flimsy evidence, at best. However, the alleged perps were from poor families and no community leader sprang to their defense. Because they were poor, most people in the community assumed they must be guilty.

This same bias played out in the local family court as well. If we charged a poor person with abuse, they usually represented themselves. I would present the case against them based on my investigation and the judge almost always went with my recommendations. However, if the defendant was well-to-do, he generally was represented by an attorney. I would present the case against him based on my investigation and the judge almost NEVER went with my recommendations.

I quickly came to understand that the state could present a case with numerous holes in it, but if the alleged perp was poor, he usually was found guilty. It was not that way at all when dealing with alleged perps who were middle class and above. We had to go into court with an ironclad case and yet they typically got off completely or faced a reduced judgment.

Afternoon Matinee: Orwell Rolls in His Grave, Part 5

To view this documentary in its entirety, go here.

Chocolate Tzu

Chocolate Awakening
by Ta-Wan

I was mulling over String Theory whilst eating some chocolate cake when I accidentally awoke to the enlightenment all around me. Nothing matters as nothing is matter. Everything matters as all Everything does is materialize.

I did spend probably slightly too much of last week thinking about New Physics as I came across so many great thinkers who set my mind rolling on possibilities of finding this one thing, this one indivisible that all came from - then I saw, as I chewed on my cake, that absolutely every single one of theses theories, bar none, were that particular scientists new religion. Each one of them, realizing it or not, even if speaking out against religion as they spoke, was pedaling a new god and a new path to realigning with that.

"This is beyond great!" I realized, this marks all off these grand theories as bunk and I need not waste another moments thought on any one of them aside from to say "no thanks!".

All these (very intelligent and very interesting) people were doing in their own way was speaking of what they believed to be, and could nearly but not quite prove, their own cause, or root, to our being. God. Religion. Did they miss this? They were denying religion then forming their own.

As I am quite firmly against religion, religiously against religion, you may say, I was happy to see that the extremely captivating arena of physics was just another set of systems and dogmas to be cast aside on the path of freedom, self authorship and simple happiness.

You can check out Ta-Wan's other musings here.

Line by Line - Verse 49, Line 6

To those who are sincere (with me), I am sincere;
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

I have faith in people who are faithful.
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

Those who believe, I believe them
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

They have faith in the faithful,
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~

As John Lash applies this line to Tai Chi,

The Tai Chi person has faith in the Tao and the progress of human development, and that all people will reach a state of harmony with the universe.

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 13

The world can only be entrusted to those who are able to avoid harming their countries by global ambitions and who are able to avoid ruining themselves by national ambitions.
~ a passage from The Book of Leadership and Strategy by Thomas Cleary ~

The key word in this passage is ambition. In western society, ambition is something to be proud of and to strive for. An ambitious person is a go-getter; someone who supposedly has the ability to manipulate circumstances and other people to meet the ambitious person's ends.

But ambition carries a heavy price tag. In most cases, the ambitious person can never get enough. No matter how many titles they claim, dollars they pocket or doodads they purchase, it is never sufficient. It's like a mountain climber who expends great time and energy to scale one peak and yet is so consumed with the next mountain to climb that they can't even take a moment to enjoy the objective achieved and the breathtaking beauty that surrounds them.

It is the same way with nations. No matter how much of the world's natural resources are claimed, wealth is amassed or territory is added, it's never enough. Before one conquest has been completed, the politicians, financiers and generals are plotting the next bold move.

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

Chapter 4, Part 25 - Confucius

The Master said, "Virtue is not left to stand alone. He who practices it will have neighbors."
~ 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 - You Will Be Peaceful!!

A group of pacifists wish to bring about their idea of peace.

When challenged on the contradiction they forced a smile.

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.

Subjective Thinking

Subjective Thinking
by Scott Bradley

In many of the selections from the various ancient Zen masters which I have been reading are frequent references to subjective versus objective thinking. Often these comments seem contradictory, so I imagined a project to try and sort it all out and present my findings here. But that's too much work, and beyond my ability, in any case.

But why do I need to understand what they meant? I have a mind, and a will to understand what it is up to. And this is precisely what these guys tell us to do. Look within. Figure it out for yourself. There is no other way.

Most every morning I have my little contemplative time. This is intended to set me on a positive path for the day (though it doesn't generally last long) and to explore this experience of being me. With a mind full of chatter, where to begin? You know my koan: There are no conditions to meet. I say koan because to 'understand' this is to shatter the shell of subjective thinking.

Here's a peek inside that shell. Immediately, my thoughts are on how to be transcendent. This implies non-transcendence. This leads to an opposition of being-this and not-being-that. And this leads to striving. This is subjective and conditional thinking. Picture a little solar system of thoughts chasing each other while revolving around a subject — me.

Enter the hammer: There are no conditions to meet. It is already true of me. No tail-chasing is required. There has never been anything but Unity. A more transcendent view arises.

But this transcendence is only superficial; it hasn't penetrated my being. I must truly break through, I must...chase my tail. There are no conditions to meet. Not even that I realize this. A new boundary emerges; I sense its presence. A more transcendent way of being is possible. Will I cross over?

Do you believe it is already true of you? That there is nothing you need become? Do you sense the boundary which, were you to cross over, would be an entirely new and revolutionary way of being in the world? It may be that you do. Maybe you do not. Perhaps you think this is a pile of tripe. Great. Look within. Figure it out for yourself. Or don't. It doesn't matter. All is well.

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

OWS Summed Up in One Paragraph

The past decade has witnessed the most severe crimes imaginable by political and financial elites: the construction of a worldwide torture regime, domestic spying perpetrated jointly by the government and the telecom industry without the warrants required by the criminal law, an aggressive war waged on another country that killed hundreds of thousands of people, massive financial fraud that came close to collapsing the world economy and which destroyed the economic security of tens of millions, and systematic foreclosure fraud that, by design, bombarded courts with fraudulent documents in order to seize homes without legal entitlement. These are not bad policies or mere immoral acts. They are plainly criminal, and yet – due to the precepts of elite immunity which were first explicitly embraced during Ford’s pardon of Nixon — none of those crimes has produced legal punishments.
~ from Book Release: With Liberty and Justice for Some by Glenn Greenwald ~

Yeh, that about sums it up!!

Tao Bible - Isaiah 43:1

But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.
~ King James version ~

Therefore the sage goes about doing nothing, teaching no-talking.
The ten thousand things rise and fall without cease,
Creating, yet not.
Working, yet not taking credit.
Work is done, then forgotten.
Therefore it lasts forever.
~ from Verse 2 of the Tao Te Ching ~

Here we have another example of a prideful and selfish God. When we claim something or someone as our very own, we both objectify it AND make such claims to satisfy the ego. He's not setting a very good example, is he?

The Sage learns from Tao not to possess nor take credit. Tao exemplifies humility and serves as a good role model for all creation.

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

Chapter 4, Part 24 - Confucius

The Master said, "The superior man wishes to be slow in his speech and earnest in his conduct."
~ James Legge translation via The Internet Classics Archive ~

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

Blind Injustice

A proposed rule to the Freedom of Information Act would allow federal agencies to tell people requesting certain law-enforcement or national security documents that records don’t exist – even when they do.

Under current FOIA practice, the government may withhold information and issue what’s known as a Glomar denial that says it can neither confirm nor deny the existence of records.

The new proposal – part of a lengthy rule revision by the Department of Justice – would direct government agencies to “respond to the request as if the excluded records did not exist."
~ from Government Could Hide Existence of Records under FOIA Rule Proposal by Jennifer LaFleur ~

Does anyone remember what our dear president pledged during his first week in office? He said he would promote “an unprecedented level of openness in Government.” Seems like them was hollow words!

Barack Obama may go down as our most secretive commander-in-chief to date. He's gone after whistleblowers -- ya know, people who expose government lies and corruption -- with a vengeance. His administration invokes the "state secrets" principle in court time and time again. He has created a secretive hit list council whose membership, rules, procedures and decisions are a complete unknown. And now, he's crafting a policy that grants his administration the ability to tell bald-faced lies...and be legally protected.

This proposal doesn't come anywhere within one thousand miles of transparency. No, it sounds far more like a beginning step towards a fascist dictatorship!