religion
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Daodejing 4
#4* Dao is empty yet when used, it seems never endless. Bottomless, yet it seems like the progenitor of 10,000 things. [Blunt the sharpness, Remove the distractions, Soften the light, Blend with the dust.] [1] Formless, yet it seems like existence.… Continue reading
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How to Spot Propaganda
propaganda (n.) 1718, “committee of cardinals in charge of Catholic missionary work,” short for Congregatio de Propaganda Fide “congregation for propagating the faith,” a committee of cardinals established 1622 by Gregory XV to supervise foreign missions. The word is properly… Continue reading
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Dead Christ with Angels | Manet
This was the first of several paintings by Manet with a religious theme. The inscription indicates Manet’s source, but the passage he cited describes Mary Magdalen’s finding Christ’s tomb empty except for the two angels. After the painting was already… Continue reading
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St. Symeon
Symeon the New Theologian (Greek: Συμεὼν ὁ Νέος Θεολόγος; 949–1022 AD) was a Byzantine Christian monk and poet who was the last of three saints canonized by the Eastern Orthodox church and given the title of “Theologian” (along withJohn the Apostle and Gregory of Nazianzus). “Theologian” was not applied to… Continue reading
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Daodejing 1
My beloved friend, LU Wenlong, has been graciously going through Laozi‘s great work with me. He transliterates directly from the Chinese into the English, and then we dialog for a bit about an expressive translation. In doing this, I have found that many… Continue reading
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Daodejing 42
#42* Dao begets one. One begets two. Two begets three. Three begets 10,000 things. The 10,000 things carry YIN on their backs and embrace YANG. Yin and Yang contest Then blend each with the Other in harmony. People detest most… Continue reading
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Daodejing 39
#39* In the ancient days: grasping one. Heaven grasping one: clear and bright. Earth grasping one, tranquility. Spirit grasping one, effective. [1] River valley grasping one, fullness. 10,000 things grasping one, growth. Kings grasping one, leading under-heaven. Draw this inference: Grasp one. Heaven without clear and bright, splitting open.… Continue reading
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Daodejing 38 Redux
With this poem, we begin the Book of DE (the second part of the Daodejing, the poems on virtue or excellence). #38* Magnificent excellence (DE): Acting without thinking of being excellent. Acting thus is authentic excellence. Debased excellence: Keeping up… Continue reading
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Gospel of Thomas – Yale Online
Part of being a self directed learner who seeks out what interests you and hopefully makes you a better person, is finding bits and pieces of solid thinking on line. And so much sift through! There are a gajillion bits… Continue reading
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Caravaggio’s profane eye for the sacred – Eureka Street
Caravaggio was the Jim Morrison of his time — Rimbaud with a paintbrush. There was little that was pious or holy about the man with a gift for holy and sacred art. Caravaggio’s world was the world of drunken singing,… Continue reading
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American Freedom
I recently reposted this picture to my Facebook which had been making the rounds. It drew a lot of comments and got rereposted. In his response, my good friend and fellow pedagog John F. recommended me one of his favorite… Continue reading
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Daodejing 32
#32* DAO (the Great Way) always and forever without name. Simple and small. Nothing under-heaven can rule over the Great Way. If Kings obey this, all under-heaven will follow them spontaneously. Heaven and earth† join together: sweet dew will fall… Continue reading
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Ageless Wisdom
“The sacred function of hope has, in modern man, degenerated into a hideous disease called tomorrow.” –G. Gurdjieff How does the old age not already become the new age? How does the ancient not always transform into the modern? Would… Continue reading
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Daodejing 28
#28* Knowing power, abiding in modesty; like a stream under Heaven. Like a stream under Heaven- never abandoning eternal virtue, returning at last to purity. Knowing white, abiding in black; like this order under Heaven. Like this order under Heaven-… Continue reading
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Daodejing 25
#25* There is a thing born of Nature before Heaven & Earth. Soundless, formless Independent, unchanging Always turning, never stopping. Regard it: the Mother of All. I do not know its name, reluctantly I call it the Great Way (Dao).… Continue reading
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Fear and Fearlessness
O you luminous being, you heart encompassing a brilliance: let-go fear; end your self exile in darkness: Only open your eyes & see the Light. Textimony 20121209 Related articles Abandon Hope (and Fear) (shambhala.com) Pema Chodron – Renunciation as saying… Continue reading
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