千里之行，始于足下
qiān lǐ zhī xíng , shǐ yú zú xià
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a first step
More than two thousand years ago, a man known by the name of 老子(Lǎozǐ), wrote those words. My hope is that many people outside of China today stand poised ready to take their first steps in the understanding of China.
Laozi lived around the same time as Confucius. Daoism (Taoism) is looked upon in China both as a philosophy and as a religion. The canon (written text) of Daoism is called the Dàodéjīng（道德经) Arthur Waley translated this title as The Way and Its Power. The word Dao ( 道) is often translated as the “path” or the “way”. In the first of the 81 passages that make up the original text of Daoism, we learn that “dào” and the word “míng (名 )” meaning “name”, cannot really be defined by words. In other passages, we learn that water is one of the softest and pliable of all substances while being one of the strongest and most powerful forces in the universe. And we learn that opposites define one another (there would be no “ugliness” if there were no “beauty”). One of Laozi’s followers, Zhuangzi, wrote some amazing parables based on passages from the Dàodéjīng.
The Worthless Tree
One day, a man by the name of Hui Zu struck up a conversation with the philosopher, Zhuangzi. “See that big ugly old tree. It’s called a Stinky Tree. Butt ugly. Trunk twisted. The entire tree is riddled with knots and knotholes. There’s no way anyway could even make one good board from it. Check out the branches. Different sizes and shapes going this way and that. Not one thing about this tree makes any sense. Kind of like school. Big and worthless.
Zhuangzi thought for a minute and then responded. “Have you ever seen a wild cat crouching and waiting for its prey? The cat sits immobile while the mouse scurries around. In the end, the mouse always ends up in the trap. Water Buffalos are massive, almost as big as clouds. They’re really big and strong, but they can’t catch mice.”
“You’re telling me that tree is worthless. Uproot it then, and plant it where there is nothing else – in empty space. After it’s taken root, walk around it. Sit under it and enjoy its shade. No one’s ever going to cut it down.”
“Worthless? We should all be so worthless.”
(based on Thomas Merton, The Way of Chuang Tzu, Abbey of Gethsemani, 1965)
China Odyssey 2
I dug pretty fast
but didn’t get far
when my shovel went clink
I’d found me a jar.
Inside was a map
there were mountains and rivers
but the words had no letters
that gave me the shivers.
The Panda in the Room PD 