Tao Te Ching 13-28...Too many quotes, not enough space

Before I start rambling on and on about Tao, I would like a chance to explain my title before hand (although I think it is self-explanatory). In the Tao you can find about ten interesting and note-worthy quotes. So, I will do my best in picking the best ones in order to explain them.

I would like to star with a quote that isn't really interesting but I think is really important to talk about. "Knowing the ancient beginning is the essence of Tao."(14:17) We can we really extract a lot from this quote. Most importantly we can sense that past and where things are from and how the were made are very important aspects of the Tao, and in some cases; the "essence." I personally think that when you want to know about something or someone you have to know about the past where they come from in order to find out where they are going. And in a sense that it was the Tao is saying.

As I've read the Tao I've always thought it was a very wise book and a book that encouraged and promoted learning. After I read the first sentence of chapter twenty I run into something a bit peculiar, "Give up learning, and put an end to your troubles"(20:1)What the hell are we supposed to think know? All our lives we've been taught that learning is good, that one makes progress with learning. I've always believed and supported most of the Tao's teachings, but this is bizarre and out of the question in my book. What this quote is suggesting is that learning and knowledge cause trouble and aren't beneficial to you, which I think is wrong. I believe learning is an important tool we should all learn to master. Sorry Tao, you suck.

I know Tao is from a completely different culture than mine, and I know it has many different Ideals as well, but I think our hemispheres also have a lot in common. Take this for example, "He who does not trust, will not be trusted"(23:19) I think we share a very common belief. We believe that someone who does not give something should not get something in return. We believe that everything you get you deserve, good or bad. And judging by what we've read the Tao shares this same belief.

Although I have found the Tao to be an amazing piece of literature and seriously consider making it my life agenda, I think it contradicts itself and can sometimes say stupid things.

I would like to end my blog by analyzing two more quotes I found in chapter 28, "Know the white, but keep the black"(28:7) and "Know honor, yet keep humility."(28:12) I think this relates to the yin-yang. It has to do with knowing your opposites and being aware of their effect on the normal balance. We have to keep a balance because as many people have told me before, "Everything in large quantities is bad."

The Tao 1-12... SuperTao

I say SuperTao simply because I think that this book has many wise teachings and I also love how easy it is to read and to write about. Don't be fooled by this lovely introduction, although it is very short and it's easy to read it can be hard to understand. The reason it can be hard to understand is because these simple innocent lines are so deep and behind each of them is so much that needs to be analyzed that you have to read them over and over in order to understand them. Take this little fella' for example:

"The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao."(1:1)

This one I had to analyze for a while since it was the first sentence and it introduced the whole Tao Te Ching. When I was done analyzing I concluded that it meant that the Tao that you hear or you tell the first time won't stay like that forever, meaning it will change. I guess the Tao would be like an oral narrative or like a legend which is told and told throughout centuries. The reason I think this is that when you tell a story orally and people keep retelling it things are modified and changed by the people who tell it, so it really never is the same and won't be eternal. Which is exactly what the sentence was referring to.

Honestly the depth of these sentences worry me. What if I don't understand something or don't analyze it correctly and get it wrong? This sucks I actually prefer longer, more simple texts.

In my opinion the Tao seems like a manual, something that tells you what to do and how to do it. It seems like a very good book with wise opinion and advice. I heard Heaven being mentioned a lot and I'm going to attempt to analyze a sentence were Heaven is mentioned, "Under Heaven all can see beauty as beauty only because there is ugliness."(2:1) This makes me look forward to Heaven much more than I did before. What I understand about this is that everything is so beautiful up there, that you can't even recognize beauty (ironic, huh?). The only reason the people on earth see beauty is because we have something to compare it to: Ugliness.

Yet another Heaven related sentence, "Heaven and earth last forever."(7:1) This specific sentence is way out of my league and is hard for me to interpret and analyze but, I think it's something about how good things last forever and how bad things although they seem powerful don't last very long. Although my interpretation of the book is lousy, I did notice something very particular in the sentence. Please notice how "Heaven" is capitalized and how "earth" isn't. An interesting observation don't you think? Would this mean that earth is not as important as Heaven? Well my friends, I'm done here. It's up to you to figure it out (comment below if you managed to figure it out).

The Analects 15, 17, and 18... Confucius (Lu) ends, Confucianism begins

I personally like this Confucian proverb because I think it is really funny and I like the wordplay used. I also chose this picture and my title because we are done with Confucius but Confucianism is introuduced after Confucius ends his teachings so it thought it would be appropriate. For Information on Confucianism click on the link, Confucianism

Lets start with Book 15: At the beginning of this book I found three very interesting sentences. The first one, "I have never been able to do something for a person who is not himself constantly asking, "What should I do? What Should I do?"(15:16) I found This interesting for two motives. First what I interpret is that you must help yourself if you want others to help you. Second I notice that Confucius isn't going to do the work for you, you must work in order to receive help.

The next sentence that came to my attention was this one, "Is there one word that can serve as a guide for one's entire life?"(15:24) I think it is self-explanatory and you really don't need to know what my interpretation is but, I would really like to know what you think about this question (please comment below).

The third sentence and probably my favorite was right next to the other two, it goes like this, "When the multitude hates a person you must examine them and judge for yourself, the same holds true for someone whom the multitude love."(15:28) I personally love this quote because it is the truest of all. Before you make judgement on a person you must first see what he/she is like and not let yourself be judged by other's perspective on that person. I actually think this presents a fallacy (appeal to popularity) where you follow the crowds or in this case, the multitude's thinking towards what they think is popular. This reminds me of Michael Jackson's commercial for Pepsi.

Pepsi commercial

Book 17: Interesting Book, I have to admit. We are introduced to a very wise but questionable quote, "Only the very wise and the very stupid do not change."(17.3) This is one of the few quotes which I don't agree with. I think that even before everyone was constantly changing people were learning new stuff therefore change was inevitable. I think it would be stupid to assume that somebody doesn't, because we all do even if we do not notice it. Although some people may discuss that situations change and people stay the same but, that's a load of crap.

We can see that the Master isn't such a serious guy and he really cares if you are comfortable and happy, "Would you feel more comfortable then eating your sweet rice and wearing your brocade gowns?" "I would." Is that nice or what?

Book 18: Not a very interesting book to say the least. We just see the same ol' dialog, really monotonous. I did however, find a very interesting quote, "To avoid public service is to be without a sense of what is right." Think about this you people who think about avoiding public service. I know it might be boring but, it is our duty to do so. And plus, you don't want to disobey Confucius. He'll get mad.

A sentence from the Tao

"The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao." I think this line is true because when tha Tao is told to someone it maychange after someone tells it again, so If you tell the Tao in a certain way It doesn't mean that will be the "eternal" Tao, it can change as it is told. An example would be an oral narrative or like a legend which is told throughout time orally but not in writing so it changes throughout time because each time there are little moifications which end up changing the story.

Evolution... I WANT YOU to tell me what side your on! (Comment below)

I take the side of the teacher which introduces evolution to the children because he has many significant and convincing facts which corroborate his theory, therefore I think if I hadn't been taught about evolution I would be on the side of evolution. I also think that many people would rely on the government to tell them what to believe in. I think that if you doubt something or if you strongly believe in something, you shouldn't let go of that belief not even if the government wants to sue you, if you know it's the right thing, go with it and don't let anyone change your mind.

As you have seen I feel strongly about holding on to your beliefs so I would be on the side of evolution also because I think that scientifically proven data is much more valid than words written by God's and Jesus’ followers. You might have the best lawyer in the world, but you can't disprove scientific facts, even if society doesn't accept it.
The teacher certainly makes a compelling case which would lead me to believe in his evolution theory. I think that Genesis is a book that deals a lot with the creation of earth and human species.

I think that I could backup my thinking and my point of view by showing you this excerpt from Genesis: "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth"(gen 1:26). I also think it is absurd that this would happen: " And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years" (gen 1:14) because how can man just say something and make it be true? Not even a catholic man like me can believe that, and not even from a perfect being, not even from god.
There’s one more thing that bugs me about the bible, it just makes everything look so simple, or it makes everything look so complicated. It’s really annoying. For example: “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.”(Gen 1:27) I think it’s impossible even for the most powerful creature on earth to do everything so simply. This is why I back up my man Charles Darwin when he says: “Man is descended from a hairy, tailed quadruped, probably arboreal in its habits.”
Charles Darwin

I would also like to accompany this quote with yet another quote from this brilliant man: “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.”
Charles Darwin

The Analects 7, 8, and 11... Don't confuse me Confucius

First of all I would like to take a few seconds to laugh: HAHAHAHAHAHA. The moment is over. I don't really know if you have seen this video or even heard about Miss Panama's response, but I have to say that if there's a contest for the world's most stupid people, Miss Panama could easily take the title. Let me show you exactly what she said. Here it is (in Spanish, I will later translate it): "Buenas noches panama, Confucio fue uno de los que invento la confusion. Por eso se le ha de lo mas antiguo fue uno de los chinos-japoneses que fue lo de lo mas antiguo. gracias." Now in english: "Good night panama, Confucius was the one who invented confusion. That is why he is the oldest one of the Chinese-Japanese who was the oldest of. Thank you." Can you believe this? I will post a link so you can watch the video, but for now lets get to Confucius.

As I read the Analects I notice that Confucius is a bit full of himself. I don't understand why he has to be like that. I believe that if you are as wise and as great Confucius is, you should be humble even though it can be hard. I also notice that the Analects although the chapters might have some relationship, they are very different. Therefore, I will go through them one by one.

Chapter 7: I want to start talking about this chapter by introducing this sentence: "Set your heart upon the Way, rely upon Virtue, lean upon Goodness, and explore widely in your cultivation of the arts." (Book 7:6) I think this could actually answer all our doubts we had about Confucianism and about what Goodness really meant to Confucius. What I understand from this quote is that you must always be on the right path and not be tempted by evil, you must also be virtuous, and have knowledge as well as practice the arts.

Another thing that astonished me and made me think in chapter 7 was this: "Is Goodness really so far away? If I simply desire Goodness, I will find that it is already here." (Book 7:30) So now Goodness is redefined we are not told it is impossible to achieve anymore. We are given hope, which allows us to understand what goodness really is, it is not unreachable and therefore we should all seek it and look out for it constantly, because my friends Confucius has said it it is not impossible.

Chapter 8: key word in this chapter: ritual. This chapter talks a lot about ritual and I don't what ritual actually refers to in the Analects. In my knowledge a ritual is a "ceremonial act or a series of such acts." (courtesy of freedictionary.com) so I would guess that a ritual according to Confucius would be something sacred. He talks about ritual, "Being respectful without ritual will make you exasperating, being careful without ritual will make you timid, being courageous without ritual will make you unruly, and being upright without ritual will make you inflexible." (Book 8:2) I don't know if this changed your mind about what ritual means, but I hope it helps. What I basically took from this chapter was to control your actions and be aware of the consequences that follow.

Chapter 11: I didn't really take much from this chapter (plus, I'm really tired I've been on this post for over 3 hours) except for this quote: "Upon learning of something that needs to be done, should one immediately take care of it?" I always thought Confucius liked to act on things as quickly ass possible but I clearly was wrong. We can see A calmer simpler side of Confucius and of his ideas. "Everyone recognizes his son, whether he is talented or not." This I didn't personally think was very true, probably back then it was, but now it sure as hell isn't. Now a days you have to be the best in order to make your parents proud and sometimes love isn't enough. It's sad I know but it's the sad world we live in. There really is nothing we can do about it!




">miss panama

An

Revision: David and Goliath

I'm sure you've had some laughs with this picture. I'm also sure you know what it represents. Just in case you don't, it represents David and Goliath (David being the little kid, and Goliath being the big sumo wrestler). Now that we've established that, lets get to the story.

Samuel has been by far my favorite book in the Bible. It is very easy to understand and I've heard it before.

The story of David and Goliath starts with a giant called Goliath. He comes to the city where David lives and says in a strong voice: “Choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me. If he be able to fight with me, and to kill me, then will we be your servants: but if I prevail against him, and kill him, then shall ye be our servants, and serve us.” (1 Samuel 17:8-9). I know it may seem very cocky of Goliath to say this, and it was, but when you're that big, strong, and powerful, it's hard to be modest (I know from experience! hahaha). Nevertheless I think it was very brave of Goliath to make such an entrance. Maybe he wasn't the only giant in the city and he could've found an equal match, so on that part I award Goliath 1 point.

David, a brave youngster, was just a small boy with a big heart (how many times have you heard that?). I say he was brave and had a big heart because regardless of his size, and of Goliath's size, he was the only one to stand up to him. It wasn't pure courage which enabled David to fight and defeat Goliath, it was Faith. Faith is capitalized not only because it is the first word of a sentence, I capitalized it because Faith is not a thing, it is a feeling. It enables you to do extraordinary things, a feeling that takes fear away, and makes you reach for the stars.

"So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him; but there was no sword in the hand of David."(17:50) After performing this heroic task, Saul, a man who used to be a dear friend of his, betrays him and suddenly wants to kill him! Again I must say, the Bible is unfair. Why would someone who defended his country be killed? Those are the things I don't understand. I guess Saul was jealous and didn't want David to be famous. I guess Saul would've preferred to be remembered instead of David. Nevertheless, you don't do that to a friend.

I think it sucks that stupid Saul makes David do things that he knows are impossible, even if David gets through them with God's help. I think that Saul is mean and I can't believe a good person like David would be friends with him.

After Saul dies (in a weird way), I was extremely happy, but what amazed me the most was that David cried for him. I'm sorry I'm not very sentimental and all, but I find that very stupid. I would be happy that he was dead and no longer persecuting me. I guess I just don't understand Bible stories.

In the second book of Samuel until chapter 2 all I heard was: FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT, hence, my title.

These Books of Samuel are interesting and extremely fun to read; I really hope more of these come along!

The Analects 4, 5, 6... Achieve "Goodness"

Achieve goodness, a complex idea for certain. What does it mean when you say "Achieve goodness?" That's exactly what we are trying to find out with the Analects, and with Confucius.

This book confuses me a little (as always) because it doesn't necessarily say what to do to achieve goodness, but it tells you: "To live in the neighborhood of the Good is fine. If one does not choose to dwell among those who are Good. how will one obtain wisdom?"(Book4 4.1) What I found weird about this was that it didn't tell you to be good or how to achieve goodness. It just tells you to be surrounded by good and you will be fine (remember, we don't even know what good actually means!). So, I can be Adolf Hitler and massacre and destroy the live of millions, but if I live in the same neighborhood as Mahatma Gandhi and I'll be fine? This makes no sense to me at all.

I believe that the whole purpose of the Analects is to discover what being "good" really is, to discover the meaning of the word "good" or "goodness". I think we must discover the meaning because our modern interpretation of being good nowadays might be much more different than it was before. Nowadays being good is doing your h.w, being respectful to parents, being nice to people. When before it could have meant being religious and following god's words step by step, and honoring your heritage, or something like that. So, as you see, very different meanings. Or maybe nowadays being good is having property or money: "Wealth and social eminence are things that all people desire, and yet they are acquired in the proper way I will not abide them. Poverty and disgrace are things that people hate, and yet unless they are avoided in the proper way I will not despise them." (Book4 4.5)

I think no one will ever understand and interpret Confucius correctly...I guess I'll just have to wait and finish reading the Analects, Good Bye!

Psalms 23, 42, 51, 137... Songs and Songs (And you thought artist made them up!)

Since there were 4 completely different chapters, I decided to break them up and introduce them to you one by one:

Psalms 23:

What I noticed in this chapter was that someone seemed to be devoting themselves to god by saying things like: "The LORD is my shepherd"(Psalms, 23:1) or "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever."(Psalms, 23:1)

As I was reading this. I thought to myself that these words were words that would go into a punk song or something, words wit a lot of meaning and sentimental value; maybe an emo song.

Psalms 42:

In this particular chapter I could really relate with the message it was trying to get across, because as the character I wonder sometimes about God and if he is really present, this is seen clearly here: “Where is thy God? ... Why hast thou forgotten me.”(Psalms 42:3,9) And although you may wonder sometimes where God is, never doubt his presence; not even when you are passing through rough times and you may feel he is not there, because he is there and he knows what is best for you.

Psalms 51:

In this chapter we can see someone that is repenting, maybe from a bad devision that person took, maybe we are dealing with a sinner. We do in fact, see a lot of beggin and praying toward god: " Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions." (Psalms 51:1)

Then we can see that the person offers different sacrifices in order to be forgiven; what do you think he did that he was so repented?, these are his offerings: Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar. (Psalms 51:19)

Psalms 137:

we are introduced now to a magical place, a sacred place, a place which is: Babylon. we know it is important because they say: "How shall we sing the LORD's song in a strange land?" (Psalms 137:4) Which means that the only place to sing the lords songs is in Babylon. This chapter reminded me of many things: First, it reminded me of the hanging gardens of Babylon.



The other thing it reminded me of was the song: By the rivers of Babylon. The reason I remembered this song was because of the first sentence in this chapter: "By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion." If you listen to the beginning of the song you will see that they are identical, to listen to it click on the link below.

Babylon