Tag Archives: Taoism

PROMPT: Invention

Posted on by
Reply
Daily writing prompt
The most important invention in your lifetime is…
View all responses

Velcro and Sticky Notes! We knew how to fasten things, but before then we couldn’t fasten things in a half-assed fashion. As Laozi says in the Daodejing [Ch. 40,] “Returning is the movement of Tao; yielding is the way of Tao.” So, to be able to stick and unstick at will is the highest virtue under heaven.

[NOTE: Technically, research indicates both inventions predate me, but I don’t believe ether became popular for household consumer use until my lifetime.]

Second Eyes [Free Verse]

Posted on by
2
Photograph of the roof of the Cheng Hoon Teng Temple taken from the upper floor of the Xiang Lin Si Temple in the Jonker Walk / Chinatown area of Malacca, Malaysia.
From the dark depths
   of a temple,
      eyes open & blink
   against the sunlight
       pouring through
   a narrow second set
       of eyes.

What shapes form across
    the way?

It's the roof of a second -- 
    more ancient -- temple
        that stands across 
    the street.

This monk has opened 
    eyes on that view a 
       thousand times before,
    and each time has 
        forgotten the centuries 
    old neighboring temple
        existed.

The Deeps [Lyric Poem]

Posted on by
Reply
Big Creek in Vickery Creek Park, Atlanta.
A jutting rock
   splits the river,
 diverging streams
   never wither,
 but speed around --
   smoothly flowing,
 still gaining speed --
   never slowing,
 until they reach
   the deeps.

PROMPT: Positive Events

Posted on by
1
Daily writing prompt
What positive events have taken place in your life over the past year?
View all responses

Positive? Negative? Who’s to say? Like the Taoist farmer, I’ll withhold judgement.

BOOK: “Stories and Myths of Eight Immortals” Trans. by Li Yanjia and Nathaniel Hu

Posted on by
Reply
Stories and Myths of Eight ImmortalsStories and Myths of Eight Immortals by Anonymous
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Available online – Internet Archives

This is a fine collection of stories about the adventures of the Eight Immortals (mostly as individuals, but with a few stories that feature the whole group.) There are twenty-eight chapters, but a few less than that of stories because the first chapter is an introduction to the Eight Immortals, and there are a couple of chapters at the end that discuss the origins of cultural artifacts associated with the Eight Immortals.

The stories are pulled from varied sources. I would give the stories a five, but this edition is loaded with grammatical mistakes — to the point of being distracting and unpleasant to read. It reads not like a present-day Google Translate translation, but rather as if it was being spoken by someone with an uneven (remedial to elegant) grasp of English. [Not everywhere, but enough to be problematic.]

The stories themselves are engaging, often have moral, and are quick reads (mostly a page, a few more than three pages.)

If you can tolerate reading through patches of bad grammar, this is not a bad collection of stories and information about the Eight Immortals, but if it’s too much to stomach, you might want to look elsewhere. The stories themselves are widely available, though not necessarily in English and, if so, not necessarily collected into a single volume. With editing, this would be an excellent collection of stories.

View all my reviews

Surrender [Lyric Poem]

Posted on by
Reply 
Let the flood sweep 
   one away — out
 of the shallows, 
 into the deeps.
   Don’t ever cry;
   Don’t ever weep;
 Just feel the speed 
   Carry one on.

PROMPT: Instincts

Posted on by
Reply
Daily writing prompt
Do you trust your instincts?
View all responses

More and more each day. And I’m starting to trust reason less and less.

BOOKS: “The Activist” by Daniel Fried

Posted on by
Reply
The Activist: A Daoist Protest ManualThe Activist: A Daoist Protest Manual by Daniel Fried
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Publisher Page — Prometheus Books/

Release date: March 3, 2026

Taoist philosophy has been applied to many a subject over the centuries, from war to business to governance to relationships, but this is the first time I’ve seen it applied to activism in a substantive way. The book caught my eye because I’ve long recognized the central truth behind Fried’s work, which is that the tactics and mindsets of protesters often does them no favors and may even ensure failure (if one presumes the objective to be to change behavior and attitudes on a given topic into line with the protesters’ stance.) The problem is that protesters are often angry and combative, characteristics which may keep the choir (preaching to itself) warm and feeling self-righteous, but which seldom brings in new converts from among the undecided [let alone from the opposing side.] And if you didn’t need converts to your side, you wouldn’t have to protest in the first place. Given this tendency, Taoism could be argued to be an ideal source of strategy. Taoism proposes going with the grain, not leading with a fight, and avoiding useless activity.

This book provides interesting food-for-thought about how protesters might have more impact by adopting fewer belligerent and self-serving tactics. Unfortunately, the book also has stretches of stream-of-consciousness writing that — while perhaps consistent with the Taoist love of spontaneity — can be a bit of a strain on the reader’s ability to follow. This mostly takes place in the latter chapters.

I found this book to be intriguing. I can’t say that I came away from it having answered the question of whether Taoist philosophy is reconcilable with activism on a practical level. Taoism asks one to let the natural unfold, while protest movements want to guide a society in a particular direction (notably one by definition at odds which that which has fallen into place organically.) It’s not for lack of discussion that I haven’t reached a conclusion, but rather that questions remain for me on the pragmatic level (rather than the level of theory.) That said, I found the book well worth reading, despite a few points of low readability.

View all my reviews

PROMPT: Working On

Posted on by
Reply

What have you been working on?

Being…. POW!… more spontaneous. 自然 (zìrán) in the Taoist conception.

PROMPT: Principles

Posted on by
1

What principles define how you live?

Before traveling, empty my cup. Before returning home, empty my cup.

Collect experiences, not geegaws.

Wishing for the world to be some other way is a grand waste of time.

If there is a river flowing toward where I want to be, surrender to it.

See humor everywhere, especially in myself.

Be content with who I am at the moment, while struggling to be a better version in future editions.

Strive to find the non-adversarial path.

Keep looking until I see what is beautiful in all things and creatures.

Don’t attempt to construct anyone else’s list of principles to live by.

Feel the sensations that arise without letting the mind amplify them out of proportion.

Seek only simple pleasures, enjoy them fully, and then move on.