Illustrations depicting the Zen master Zhaozhou Congshen (778–897).
by 李蕭錕 Li Xiaokun aka Quenten Lee / Lee Hsiao-kun (1949-) #Mindful #Art
Illustrations depicting the Zen master Zhaozhou Congshen (778–897).
by 李蕭錕 Li Xiaokun aka Quenten Lee / Lee Hsiao-kun (1949-) #Mindful #Art
Poems from the collected songs of Cold Mountain, translated by Red Pine. #Mindful
“To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders.” - Lao Tzu
Governing Through the Dao: A Non-Anarchistic Interpretation of the Laozi:
https://sci-hub.tw/https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11712-010-9176-z
"Given the origins of anarchism, it is important to recognize that claiming the political philosophy of the Laozias a form of anarchism requires placing a Chinese world-view into a Western framework that postdates it by over two thousand years and is understood vis-à-vis a particular Western concept (i.e., the modern state). This alone should raise initial skepticism about the anarchist conclusion regarding the Laozi. Beyond Daoism’s historical past, there are three theoretical reasons for skepticism: (1) the fact that the Laozi is clearly a political treatise addressed to the ruler and providing him with a philosophy of governance; (2) the Chinese conception of personhood, which creates aproblem for traditional anarchist arguments that utilize a notion of the atomistic individual;and, (3) the fact that the skepticism of the Laozi is aimed at a different target than that of anarchism."
"Common to both individualist and social anarchists alike, however, is a perceived tension between individual liberty and the collective will. In Daoism and in Chinese political thought generally, this tension does not exist”(Ames 1983: 32). This lack of tension results from the Daoist, and more generally Chinese, conception of the person. Rather than conceiving the self as autonomous and discrete, Daoists understand the self as interdependent and contextualized."
The Journal of Daoist Studies: https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/711
The rise of the Tao: https://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/07/magazine/07religion-t.html
China's Apolitical Political School of Thought: https://nationalinterest.org/feature/chinas-apolitical-political-school-thought-12823
New research from Imperial Centre for Psychedelic Research: "Ayahuasca compound changes brainwaves to vivid ‘waking-dream’ state": https://www.imperial.ac.uk/news/193993/ayahuasca-compound-changes-brainwaves-vivid-wakingdream/
"A total of 13 participants were given an intravenous infusion of DMT. DMT affects human consciousness by significantly altering the brain’s electrical activity."
#Comment: The comedy show which is psychedelic science continues. Ever since Dr. Robin Carhart-Harris fell in love with Friston and they are seriously trying to explain subjective experience of highly isolated agent brains with probabilistic (machine learning) models, things are rapidly becoming full Monty Python. Their approaches rely so heavily on myriads of highly arbitrary reductionist choices, it would make any renaissance alchemists giggle. Even DARPA is taking a much more interesting approach at this point and people like Dr. Michael Persinger must be laughing from their graves. I suppose let them dive down the fractal of knowledge in search of some illusive "final hard truth". If mathematicians and neuroscientists would only accept that the thing-in-itself is infinite (not a bug, but its essence) - and that there is everything in infinity (incl. nothing) - their entire house of cards would collapse. The only thing left to-do at that point, is to live a simple, humble and compassionate life.
From the Tao Te Ching, translated by Red Pine. Red Pine: Dancing With Words: https://kyotojournal.org/fiction-poetry/dancing-with-words/
The Problem of Translation: https://theonlinephotographer.typepad.com/the_online_photographer/2014/02/the-tao-te-ching-addendum.html #Mindful #Philosophy
Objects Suggesting Longevity: Fan with Pine Trees, Inro with Crane, and Netsuke in Shape of Turtle. 松の扇、鶴の印籠、亀の根付 - Totoya Hokkei (Japanese, 1780–1850).
Shoulao, the God of Longevity. 鐵嶺道人指畫冊 (高其佩). Gao Qipei (Chinese, 1660–1743)
Embroidered Screen with Design of Longevity Symbols, 18th century - Unknown (Korean)
From OODA (US Airforce) and Theory of change (Aspen/CIA) to Cynefin (IBM/DARPA) and Sensemaking - many of the popular knowledge-management/decision-making frameworks emerged in western military/war contexts. Due to this heritage, they all suffer from similar, very serious conceptual & practical illnesses: fetishizing control, design, objectives, knowledge, performance and power. (Just have a look at the kind of books OODA creator John Boyd was into: cuckoo cybernetics + pop science + esoteric woo woo + TED-style motivation BS + WAR). In many ways, ancient approaches are still far more advanced and enjoyable.
Daoist Art: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taoist_art
Daoist Robe, 17th Century: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/53609
"This dazzling garment would have been worn by Daoist priests during ceremonies. The back of the robe, which is displayed here, depicts five dragons hovering above a primordial landscape of stylized mountains rising from a frothy sea."
Seek Simplicity, Patience and Compassion. Its really rather simple.
Taoism - Illustration by Tsai Chih Chung
Paro Taktsang: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paro_Taktsang #Mindful #Architecture
I'm deeply in love with the comic works of Tsai Chih Chung. Highly recommended reading - all of them: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07R54CW3L More about the artist: https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/culture/2016-07/27/content_26235313.htm https://taiwantoday.tw/news.php?post=26360&unit=20,29,29,35,45&unitname=Taiwan-Review&postname=A-Thinking-Artist #Mindful #Philosophy #Art
Lao Tzu (601 BC) on Knowledge
Teachers talk too much! http://teachinglearning.albapages.net/teachers-talk-too-much/
Most teachers talk too much. They enjoy standing up there, in front of a largely captive audience, and talking about what they know. It makes them feel important.Is that learning? Is that the best way to teach? Nope. Of course not.
Teachers should not talk more than 10 minutes in each class. The rest of the class time students should be doing something – practising what they have learned, be engaged in finding answers to questions their teachers have asked, be at work on a learning project, doing group work, pair-work. They should be learning actively. Research has shown that students taught by active learning, score a grade & a half higher than those who learn in traditional (boring) ways.
"The world is full of objects more or less interesting; I do not wish to add any more." - Douglas Huebler
"Experienced Meditators tend to score higher on several measures of social cognition, such as emotional recognition, according to new research": https://www.psypost.org/2019/09/meditation-linked-to-enhanced-social-cognition-in-new-psychology-research-54496 https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00809/full #Mindful
Say NO to ten things - Card by @The_Maintainers, designed by @juliacastrov.