Trey SmithOn Wednesday, my wife and I did something totally inexplicable: we went to our local Humane Society and adopted another dog! We had decided that, while Lily and Jaz have bonded very well, we just felt that Lily (the dachshund/xolo mix) would benefit fro

Scott BradleyImagine having nothing to defend.Finished already? Didn't even try? For some time I have felt the need for some kind of conceptual framework by which to help direct this project of self-cultivation and I finally formulated one

Happiness! -- misery lurks beneath it!~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

Trey SmithThere was a king who liked slender waists, and people starved themselves to be thin. Another king admired bravery, and people endangered themselves and fought duels to the death. As we can see from these examples, the handle of authority and

Tsze-chang asked about government. The Master said, "The art of governing is to keep its affairs before the mind without weariness, and to practice them with undeviating consistency."~

Follow leaders and be forever in the shade of stupidity and greed.Follow the learned and be forever confused.Look to nature and she will serve you well.Daily Tao is a reprint from Ta-Wan's blog, Daily Cup of Tao

Scott BradleyImagine having nothing to defend.Imagine a heart of openness.Imagine having a heart so open it does not close when told to imagine openness.Imagine a heart so accepting that it can hear and learn from every voice.

He hath inclosed my ways with hewn stone, he hath made my paths crooked.~ King James version ~Great straightness seems twisted.~ from Verse 45 of the

The Master said, "In hearing litigations, I am like any other body. What is necessary, however, is to cause the people to have no litigations."~ James Legge translation via

Trey SmithIf the ruler is truly upright, then honest people are entrusted with affairs, and the treacherous go into hiding. If the ruler is not upright, then evil people achieve their aims, and the trustworthy go into concealment.

Trey SmithEach person carries a great wisdom in himself, but nobody finds this ancient treasure because it is buried under mountain of grief. Once you learn to remove the rubble of sorrow and pain, you can see the treasure gleam in the lig

Misery! -- happiness is to be found by its side!~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

Trey SmithTruly: what more tyrannical power is there than for a government to target its own citizens for death — in total secrecy and with no checks — and then insist on the right to do so without even having

The Master said, "Ah! it is Yu, who could with half a word settle litigations!"Tsze-lu never slept over a promise.~ James Legge translation via The

The outwardly beautiful person has troubles as no matter how free of ego, they will always project the seed of ego into each person they meet.The smart and reliable person always gets far too much put upon them.The wise are always being asked questions.The fool is always at loss.

Scott Bradley"I didn't even have a chance to say goodbye," mourned cleaning lady Jenny, who asked her last name be withheld. It was Jenny who, while doing her nightly cleaning of the facility where the now celebrated box of egos is housed, found the box empty. "I

Also when I cry and shout, he shutteth out my prayer.~ King James version ~Tao isn't a listener.~ possible Taoist a

The Duke Ching, of Ch'i, asked Confucius about government. Confucius replied, "There is government, when the prince is prince, and the minister is minister; when the father is father, and the son is son.""Good!" said the duke; "if, indeed,

Trey SmithWhether Christian or not, most people know the Christian creation story. God made Adam out of the dust (the woman, Eve, came about AFTER that) and plunked him down into a beautiful paradise. Adam was told he could do anything he wanted to do. He could

Trey SmithTa-Wan alerted me to an interesting development. When he selects the bookmark to take him to ramblingtaoist.blogspot. com, he ends up instead at ramblingtaoist.blogspot.com.au. Why did the "au" (Australia) get added?To be protect the freedom

That which is meddling, touching everything,Will work but ill, and disappointment bring.~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East

Trey SmithWe, who once led the world in worker rights, and whose management thinkers were considered gurus, now lag the world with many citizen rights.And yet not a single presidential candidate from the Republicans or

Tsze-chang having asked how virtue was to be exalted, and delusions to be discovered, the Master said, "Hold faithfulness and sincerity as first principles, and be moving continually to what is right, this is the way to exalt one's virtue."You love a man and wish

The eyes do not look, they absorb. The mind is responsible for looking.The failure here is how it divides information from a limited sensory input into values good and bad.Here is the illusion.Daily Tao is a reprint from Ta-Wan's blog,

Scott BradleyWhen reading the widely divergent opinions in the Chinese spiritual tradition regarding the nature of things and the way to achieve sagehood, two things stand out. The first of these is that, despite this divergence of opinion, the descriptions of the

Surely against me is he turned; he turneth his hand against me all the day.~ King James version ~Therefore the sage seeks freedom from desir

The Duke Ai inquired of Yu Zo, saying, "The year is one of scarcity, and the returns for expenditure are not sufficient; what is to be done?"Yu Zo replied to him, "Why not simply tithe the people?""With two tenths," said the duke, "I find

Trey SmithEvery memory is a partial truth. Every forgetting might be a kind of lie; retroactive innocence, maybe not so innocent. Forgetting is a necessity and at times a betrayal -- opting for convenience and omission, survival and