I don't remember exactly what I was reading, but the other day in a news article there was a quote from some fellow involved in the Tea Party movement about the Christian God's blueprint for humankind. The guy said something like, when good or bad things happen, it's all part of God's plan. So, when someone receives

Daodejing - Other VoicesHaving it good.I didn’t appreciate all the things I had before. The Friends, that fame, the fortune of being an artist, even my own art style. I don’t think up until this week have I appreciated anything v

Hand it to Ta Wan on his blog, Pyjama Dharma, to post a lyrical ode to the water closet! He dares to explore, albeit briefly, that magical activity that most beings engage in on a daily basis: relieving ours

You see it all around youGood lovin' gone badAnd usually it's too late when you, realize what you hadAnd my mind goes back to a girl I left some years ago,Who told me,Just Hold On Loosely, but d

Tao is empty. Would you experience Tao? Be empty. Yet know, too, that in emptiness there is no Tao. This is Tao.Always, to speak of Tao is to aspire to be Tao-like. This is to experience Tao.Tao is fathomless. Return to the fathomless up-welling of life within you. This is to unite with T

Originally, I thought I might entitle this post, My Bedside Table. However, I sleep on the floor and so the carpet serves as my table! Anyhow, the area around my "bed" has become littered with books. Hardbacks. Paperbacks. Some mine; the others from the library.As I've noted in this space b

(O Beloved!) Read (commencing) with the Name of Allah, Who has created (everything).~ from The Qur'an ~In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.~ from the Bible ~The Tao that

Daodejing - Other VoicesThe Tao of Healthy Living and Weight LossA few weeks ago I was flipping through the million channels on my TV trying to find just one thing worth watching (which isn't an easy task). Luckily I found Dr. Wayne

Good weapons are instruments of fear; all creatures hate them.Therefore followers of Tao never use them.The wise man prefers the left.The man of war prefers the right.Weapons are instruments of fear; they are not

Where does a sage now govern? When has one ever governed?Is it not rather that when so-called sages — Confucian, Mo-ist, Taoist, or Buddhist — gain a foothold in the courts of power that they oppress all the others? And is not this but a further expression of what led them to seek this influence? Thi

Two news articles on Reuters caught my eye today. The first one, BP oil spill to cost U.S. taxpayer almost $10 billion, should really surprise no one. In fact, my guess is that it will cost all of us far more, both in economic and ecol

Today on NW Ohio Skeptics, Bruce shares a snippet of transcript in the post "God Said, Let there be 13,48,50 States, and it was so." It seems to these two evangelical fellows that their God d

Daodejing - Other VoicesVerse 70: So easy to understand and practice!The Great Integrity is so easy to understand, and so easy to practice. Yet it is not understood. Nor is it practiced. It is not understood because people's he

Is there ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ on the moon? Or in the unfathomable reaches of empty space?It is you who introduces opposition into the world.But if you are to blame, so am I for calling you ‘you’. Without ‘I’ there is no ‘you’, Without ‘you’ there is no ‘I’. Yet we

All of us want to be successful.But once you hit on something that does work, it takes great courage to keep going beyond your limits...Spirituality is creativity. Only with creativity can you have the power to follow Tao.~ from

Daodejing - Other VoicesAnother example of how to use the values expressed in chapter 67 is the way of the warrior, which you can translate into your life as just getting by in the modern world."Raise your hand, show no fist." and the well

Since March -- when my odyssey with a malfunctioning computer began -- Taoist blogging compatriot Ta Wan has been urging me to give Linux Mint a try. It's a great Linux system, he said. His wife loves it!

This is not about Tao. It is about you. What else asks after Tao? Where else could Tao be found?The Ultimate cannot be conceived and thus has no name. To name It is to miss a way. This gate yawns wide within you. You need look no farther. Surrender utterly into Mystery. Cast off every lin

Daodejing - Other VoicesTaoist views of warTaoism (pronounced "dow"-ism...as in the chemical company), is based on the concept of the Tao, or the path--the journey. Of course, the Tao is more encompassing than these words can convey.

Well, after nearly two months, we've come to the end of the Book of Chen Jen. However, before he "shoves off" for greener pastures, I'm going to share with you five more posts (starting tomorrow morning) in which Chen Jen provides commentary for the first five verses of the Tao Te Ching.

At times, dogged determination and persistence are laudable traits. When faced with daunting circumstances or emergencies, having someone in your corner who refuses to give up until the job is done certainly is something most of us admire greatly. At other times, however, it can be a wee bit excessive...like the past

Daodejing - Other VoicesCompassion, Restraint, CourageI recently enjoyed this post from Language Log.In it, the author translates and in

This last section of the manuscript for The Book of Chen Jen has been broken down into several posts and this post represents the final one. To see all the posts in chronological order, go to the Book of Chen Jen I

The Tao, like a tapestry, cannot be separated into individual threads, otherwise the Oneness would be lost, the harmony destroyed.~ from Chapter 1 of

The tapestry that is the Tao has a peculiar characteristic. Its threads are always moving, adjusting, and changing their relationships. Change is the only constant in the Tao. But in all this ceaseless change, the harmony of the threads is maintained.~ from Cha

Daodejing - Other VoicesIncompetent BossIf the sage would guide the people, he must serve with humility.If he would lead them, he must follow behind.In this way when the sage rules, the peo

The tree needs the rain in order to produce acorns. The wild pig needs the acorns for food. The droppings of the wild pig fertilise the soil. As a result, the surrounding vegetation flourishes, which enables the soil to retain water for the tree. Hence there is no dependence or independence i

Chuang Tzu's wife died. When Hui Tzu went to convey his condolences, he found Chuang Tzu sitting with his legs sprawled out, pounding on a tub and singing. "You lived with her, she brought up your children and grew old," said Hui Tzu. "It should be enough simply not to weep at her death. But poun

This last section of the manuscript for The Book of Chen Jen is broken down into several posts. To see all the posts in chronological order, go to the Book of Chen Jen Index Page (scroll down to Section 3

If truth be known, I don't think any of us can answer the simple question: Who Are You? We can provide some unimportant information like our name, occupation, where we live, our family and how we and others view us, but we can't truly define who we are.The problem we face is that the core of who we are as