Category: Method or META HODOS
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Open Virtue, Closed Propriety: Considerations on Daoism and Bergsonism
No consideration of parallels between Daoism and Bergsonism has been accomplished. Yet there is a profitable comparison to be made between the ancient Chinese philosophy of the Dào Dé Jing and the more contemporary work of French philosopher Henri Bergson. Each philosophy concerns a creative force that flows through the…
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Queering and Wyrding
‘Q’ then, will never be a coherent letter tacked as a bridge on some list of identities. The past decade shows the poverty or ruin of every attempt to do so. We’ve said already that these words are magic. We might add that they are wyrd – the Old English for fate…
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The nameless backgrounds the nameable
MWF PHIL 1050.006, 1:00pm, Friday 16 Sep 2016 We took a close look at poem 1 about the Dao (Way), spending time on the (ironic) difference between the Nameless and the nameable. Basically, it is difficult to name the Ultimate Source of Reality and any attempt to name the Source must fail. Laozi does not…
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Ethics and The Unblocked Life
Ethics: Acting in a situation with appropriate energy. Doing without overstepping what is necessary for life. (Where “life” is to be held as distinct from mere existence or survival.) And maybe that opens up the next query: What is life? The narrative goes that Buddha taught that life is suffering.…
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Quiet and meditation as pedagogy
In 2007, James Dierke, then the principal of the Visitacion Valley Middle School in a troubled neighborhood in San Francisco, was determined to improve both the quality of education and student behavior in his school. He adopted a system called the Quiet Time Program, developed by the David Lynch Foundation…
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May the Fourth Be with You
Let-go of what weighs you down… “Attachment leads to jealously. The shadow of greed, that is.” ~Yoda. And May the Fourth be with you!
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Research method: napping
Over the years as I worked through the #trudgery of academic assignments, napping has become an important aspect of my process. I read and write on a subject for a few hours. Then I drink about 8 ounces of black coffee, just at the moment I feel really tired. I lay…
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Zen Anarchy
And nothing is fixed! The famous master Hyakujo wanted to find an abbot for a monastery. He put a pitcher on the floor and asked what it was, adding, “Don’t say it’s a pitcher.” Some of the smarter monks came up with smart things to say. Then Isan the cook…
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Bhakti
Beginning to gather up different pictures of the god Hanuman for my research. Hanuman, a key figure in the Ramayana and totally dedicated follower of Sri Rama, represents the deep devotion (bhakti) of life to the Divine.
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Whatever, Etc. 0037: Justice and the Tripartite Soul
I was asked to drop by and engage in Dialog this evening, Mar 03, at 6pm, with some of my compatriots who are doing a close reading of Plato’s Republic. Live-streaming this for those who want to watch at home or catch it later on Youtube. They are reading Book…
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Evaluating broader impacts
Part of my research assistantship this semester had me helping to complete the organization of a workshop in Washington, DC – Feb 10 & 11, 2016. I had been involved with this project since the grant was originally received 18 months ago. I am happy to pass along here a…
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Line – circle – motion
My pedagogy: I do not claim to know things that will make you more intelligent, more wealthy, or more satisfied. I do claim to have experiences in reading, working, and traveling that I enjoy passing along in exchange for your own experiences. What I have discovered about being in the…
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What is Altruism?
Matthieu Ricard uncovers the reasons why altruism is the vital thread that can answer the main challenges of our time: the economy in the short term, life satisfaction in the mid-term, and environment in the long term. The book paints a complete picture of the importance of altruism and the…
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