Critical Thinkers - Who Are They?

 Who is a Good Critical Thinker?

"Today, especially, we all need to become philosophers, to develop a philosophical framework.  Critical thinking is a modern reworking of a philosophical perspective.  Who would you identify as expert critical thinkers?  To qualify, the people you identify should have lively, energetic minds that generally display the following qualities:

Open-minded: In discussions they listen carefully to every viewpoint, evaluating each perspective carefully and fairly.

Knowledgeable: When they offer an opinion, it's always based on facts or evidence.  On the other hand, if they lack knowledge of the subject, they acknowledge this.

Mentally Active: The take initiative and actively use their intelligence to confront problems and meet challenges, instead of simply responding to events.

Curious: They explore situations with probing questions that penetrate beneath the surface of issues, instead of being satisfied with superficial explanations.

Independent Thinkers: They are not afraid to disagree with the group opinion.  The develop well-supported beliefs through thoughtful analysis, instead of uncritically "borrowing" the beliefs of others or simply going along with the crowd.

Skilled Discussants: They are able to discuss ideas in and organized and intelligent way.  Even when the issues are controversial, they listen carefully to opposing viewpoints and respond thoughtfully.

Insightful: They are able to get to the heart of the issue or problem.  While others may be distracted by details they are able to zero in on the essence, seeing the "forest" as well as the "trees."

Self-aware: They are aware of their own biases and are quick to point them out and take them into consideration when analyzing a situation.

Creative: They can break out of established patterns of thinking and approach situations from innovative directions.

Passionate: They have a passion for understanding and are always striving to see issues and problems with more clarity."

-  John Chaffee, The Thinker's Way: 8 Steps to a Richer Life, 1998, p.36

The Thinker's Way: 8 Steps to a Richer Life (Think Critically, Live Creatively, Choose Freely).  By John Chaffee, Ph.D.  Boston, Little, Brown and Co, c1998.  Index, recommended reading, 420 pages. VSCL. 

Thinking Critically.  By John Chaffee, Ph.D.  Boston, Wadsworth Pub., 2012.  10th Edition.  Index, glossary, 575 pages.  John Chaffee, Ph.D., is a professor of philosophy at The City University of New York, where he has developed a popular Critical Thinking program.  VSCL. 

How to Live a Good Life: Advice from Wise Persons

Doubting Might Be a Good Tactic

 

"The problem with the world is that the intelligent people are full of doubts and the stupid ones are full of confidence."
- Charles Bukowski

"The fundamental cause of the trouble in the modern world is that the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt."
- Bertrand Russell

“I like the scientific spirit—the holding off, the being sure but not too sure, the willingness to surrender ideas when the evidence is against them: this is ultimately fine—it always keeps the way beyond open—always gives life, thought, affection, the whole man, a chance to try over again after a mistake—after a wrong guess.” 
- Walt Whitman

“Tell people there's an invisible man in the sky who created the universe, and the vast majority will believe you. Tell them the paint is wet, and they have to touch it to be sure.”
-  George Carlin

“Doubt is an uncomfortable condition, but certainty is a ridiculous one.”
-  Voltaire

An Old Philosopher's Notebooks   
By Michael Garofalo

Pragmatism and American Philosophy

Reasonable vs Unreasonable Doubt

Impediments to Changing Your Behavior

Impediments to Changing Your Behavior

"1.  "Relying on willpower for long-term change
2.  Attempting big leaps instead of baby steps
3.  Ignoring how environment shapes behavior
4.  Trying to stop old behaviors instead of creating new ones
5.  Blaming failures on lack of motivation
6.  Underestimating the power of triggers 
7.  Believing that information leads to action 
8.  Focusing on abstract goals instead of concrete behaviors
9.  Seeking to change a behavior forever, not for a short time
10. Assuming that behavior change is difficult.”
-  Stanford University, Persuasive Tech Lab, 2019

Persistence and Determination
 

“1) Psych: Getting Ready
2) Prep: Planning Before Leaping
3) Perspire: Taking Action;
4) Persevere: Managing Slips;
5) Persist: Maintaining Change.”
-  John Norcross, Changelology, 2012

How to Live a Good Life: Advice from Wise and Respected Persons

Atomic Habits: An Easy and Proven Way to Build Good Habits and Break Bad Ones.  By James Clear.  Avery, 2018, 320 pages.  A excellent best seller. 
Clear writing style, positive, informative, practical, and inspiring. VSCL. 

Procrastination: Why You Do It, What to Do About it Now.  By Jane B. Burka and Lenora M. Yuen.  25th Anniversary Edition.  De Capo Lifelong, 2008, index, 322 pages.  VSCL. 

Chen Taijiquan 18 Movement Form of Grandmaster Chen Zenglei

I have enjoyed practicing this short Chen Taijiquan form for many years.  I plan to review this short form in the Autumn of 2020.   

Tai Chi for Health.  By Grandmaster Chen Zhenglei and Master Liming Yue.  Chen Style Tai Chi Centre, Manchester, U. K, 2005.  ISBN: 194719112.  208 pages.  Color photographs.  "By Chen Zhenglei and his student, Liming Yue. In English. Includes principles of Tai Chi for Health, foundation training exercises, Taji skills for preserving energy, illustrations of the 18 forms, Comments from Westerners about Tai Chi plus interviews with Tai Chi practitioners. Many photos. Paperback. 7 1/4 X 10 1/.4. #9.99."  -  Wayfarer Publications.   Amazon.  Tai Chi Centre  "Tai Chi for Health was officially released at the International Tai Chi Festival and the third International Exchange Competition opening ceremony in China in August 2005. This full color book focuses on the health benefits of Tai Chi, concentrating on the official Chen Style 18 Short Form, Silk Reeling Energy and Qigong exercises. The book contains detailed illustrated instructions and in-depth discussion of the theories behind the practice. The text offers an unprecedented insight into the techniques and theory of Chen Style Tai Chi. The authors bring together their vast knowledge, teaching experience and cultural understanding to create a work that is accessible to western students whilst keeping all the important detail often lost in translations. The book has been written over a two and a half year period by Grandmaster Chen Zhenglei and Master Liming Yue with the assistance of several of Master Liming Yue's senior students. Grandmaster Chen Zhenglei is the 11th Generation head of the Chen Style Tai Chi and 19th generation of the Chen family.  Master Liming Yue is one of Europe's foremost Tai Chi masters and holds a seventh Duan Wei officially issued by the Chinese Wu Shu Association China."  -  Tai Chi Center, U.K.   The Tai Chi Centre offers two free downloadable sections of this book.  Chen Style Taijiquan Short 18 Form.  Performance by Master Chen Zhenglei.  UTube, color, 3:38 Minutes, 2007.  VSCL. 

Chen Taijiquan Short 18 Movement Form Webpage  This short form was developed by Grandmaster Chen Zhenglei.

List of Movements of the Chen Taijiquan 18 Movement Short Form

Chen Taijiquan Old Frame First Form Laojia Yilu Webpage 

Tai Chi Chen 18 Form.  Instruction by Master Norman Smith.  DVD, 60 minutes. This DVD video teaches the Chen Style 18 movements posture-by-posture with repetition and explanation by Master Norman Smith. in English. Master Smith will break down the form and include some Chen style drills.

Essence of Traditional Chen Style 18 Posture Short Form.  Instructional DVD by Shifu Jiang Jian-ye.  Color, 87 Minutes.  Capital District Tai Chi and Kung Fu Association of New York, 1997.  "Cheng Zheng Lei (the 19th generation of the Chen Family) created this form from the old style of Chen first and second routines.  It includes "silk reeling," fa jin (releasing energy), and balance.  This short form is a good introduction for beginners or for those with little Chen style experience."  "A good introductory Chen form that includes silk reeling and fajing movements as well as other characteristics of the Chen first and second routines. Chen Zhenglei, one of today's top Chen stylists, created the form. There is a demonstration of the entire form followed by step-by-step teaching in slow motion with 2-4 views, from the front, back and side. There are front and back demonstrations of each segment (5 to 7 moves each.)  At the end of the teaching there are demonstrations, front and back. There are also excerpts from other Chen forms." - Wayfarer Publications.  CDTKA.  VSCL.  I use a Cboy V-Zon portable DVD player and this DVD works fine because of the way it is organized. 

Chen Style Tai Chi Essential 18 Postures with Patrick Martin.  Instructional DVD, 2 DVDs, 238 minutes.  Disk 1, 130 Minutes.  Jade Dragon Tai Chi International, Empty Circle Productions, 2008.  VSCL.  Patrick Martin is a student of Grandmaster Chen Zhenglei, and has been practicing and teaching Chen style Tai Chi for the last 20 years.  Detailed instructions for each movement sequence.  Unfortunately, this DVD is no longer available for purchase in 2020.   


Watch Grandmaster Chen Zhenglei perform the short form he created:

Ending Postures, DingDian, Snapshots in a Sequence

The dingdian for Golden Rooster Stands on Left Leg
One point in a sequence of movements in Yang Style Taijiquan.
I continue to move thereafter; but my cat keeps the same posture while watching.

"Fu Zhongwen uses a number of terms that require additional explanation.  One of these is the term for what is typically called the ending postures of the forms, that is, the terminus point of a given posture such as White Crane Displays Wings.  The term that Fu Zhongwen uses for these ending postures is dingdian, or "fixed points."  In Taijiquan, however, these "fixed points" are not really fixed, and "ending postures" are not really the end of anything.  Fu Zhongwen therefore advises the reader that " as each movement reaches a fixed point (dingdian), one must accomplish what is called "seems to stop, does not stop."  The dingdian, then must be understood to be both the culmination of one sequence as well as the beginning of the next."

-  Mastering Yang Style Taijiquan  By Fu Zhongwen.  Translated by Louis Swaim.  Blue Snake Books, 2006, p. xix.  

The dingdian is an experienced physical posture, a temporary fixed form, a still photograph, a line drawing, a mental picture, an icon, a temporary fixed point in a flow of movements.  It is a name for a fixed point somewhere in or near the end of a particular numbered posture sequence in a taijiquan form. Here is Yang Cheng Fu's version of the dingdian for Single Whip:

Sort of looks like Virabadrasana II in Hatha Yoga.  In Hatha Yoga you just hold the above posture, don't move, settle, endure, tough it out.  Hold for one or more minutes, then shift to right leg forward lunge in Virabadrasana II (Warrior Pose) or Single Whip Right for one or more minutes.  Hold for longer periods for increased strength and endurance training.      

Taijiquan is like Vinyassa Yoga, you keep moving slowly all the time.  One posture transforms into another posture.  "Seems to stop, but does not stop."  

     
Yang Taijiquan Quotes and Notes

Yang Style Standard 24 Form Taijiquan

Yang Family Style Taijiquan Long 108 Form

Yang Style Tai Chi Chuan Review

 

I have enjoyed my thorough September review of the Yang Style of Tai Chi Chuan, both the Long 108 and Short 24 Forms. I did many repetitions of specific movement sequences, made some adjustments due to recent injuries, emphasized hand moves, altered the pace, reread some favorite authors, used some Chen style Fa Jin strikes on Grasping the Sparrow’s Tail or Parry and Punch, and created special drills.  Learning and Fun! 

I first learned the 24 and 108 Yang Taijiquan forms in 1985-1986 from Sensei Frank McGourick at the Aikido Ai Dojo in Whittier, California.  

Taijiquan can really free the mind of over-thinking and worries.  

New Taijiquan learners might get confused by how different authors count the moves in the Yang Long Form.  For example, the most frequently occurring movement is Grasping the Sparrow's Tail.  Do you count it as one move, or four moves (Ward Off, Rollback, Press, and Push)?  

Accepting and enjoying variations in how people practice these forms, or in how they name or number the movement sequences, is just part of Taijiquan learning.  I recommend you focus on your daily private practice!  

In October, I plan to review the Chen Style Taijiquan 18 Form.   

Cloud Hands Taijiquan by Mike Garofalo 

Yang Style Taijiquan Long 108 Form

Yang Style Taijiquan Short 24 Form 

Yang Style Taijiquan Resources, Recent Blog Posts, September 2020

Pulling Onions Again and Again

When Death grins at you, grin back; when death beckons you, run away.
Thankfully, we can imagine nearly everything─ which helps prevent boredom. 
A garden is a Romantic's parádeisos.

It's over when it ends.
Act on your knowledge first, your common sense second, and your best guess third.
Wear a variety of masks; acting is essential to coping.
A garden is a feeling.
Acknowledging that you might die today has stopped few from trying to stay alive to 80.
Dreams are our imagination at play while we sleep. 

You can train yourself to eliminate bad habits and useless thoughts; for example, stop attending any more church services starting today.
Seventy percent of "good luck" is following reasonable plans and working diligently; the rest is often beneficial circumstances outside of your control.
No garden lasts for long - neither will you. 
Shade, in the summer, is as precious as a glass of water.  
Fear may keep some stupid people in line, but virtue for virtue's sake attracts the allegiance and support of most intelligent people. 
The most important Master to seek and follow is Self-Mastery.  
There is no 'i' in "team," but there is an 'm' in me, my, and mine.  

Sometimes it is best to walk away and never walk back. 
Exercise is a way of making the unconscious body very conscious. 
A wise gardener knows when to stop. 
Gardens are demanding pets. 
Unclench your fist to give a hand. 
The little choices day after day are the biggest issue. 

Gardening is but one battle against Chaos. 
When life gives you onions, it stinks and you ain't making lemonade. 
Many friendships are sustained by a mutual hatred of another person or group.
What you see depends on when you look. 
Beauty is the Mistress, the gardener her slave. 

Wishes are like seeds, few ever develop into something.  
My mind is a sea I cannot see into; I merely skim along its surface.
Absolutes squirm beneath realities. 
There is not much to say about "The Unknown." 
Objectivity is a product of our agreements, and an important feature of my imagination. 
Hearing the cat purr when we pet them gently matters far more to us than whether the cat's fur is black, white, or orange. 
If you think you are damned if you do or damned if you don't, your not thinking creatively enough. 
The ten thousand things are more enchanting than the Silent One. 
To lift the mind, move the body.  

Mother Nature is always pregnant. 
Time creeps, walks, runs and flies - it is all about moving things. 
Chaos breaks its own rules to allow Order to play. 
A flower needs roots; beauty a society of minds. 
A callused palm and dirty fingernails precede a Green Thumb. 
A working hypothesis is far better than a belief. 

One's "true self" is changing and elusive. 
Stupidity and shallowness are increasingly popular. 
The News Media feed our ravenous obsessions with shock, surprise, and slander.
A little of this and a little of that, and some exceptions - these are the facts. 
Does a plum tree with no fruit have Buddha Nature?  Whack! 
-  Mike Garofalo


Pulling Onions by Mike Garofalo
Over 888 random quips, one-liners, sayings, and "insights" from an old gardener.

"An Onion Garden,"  a concrete poem by Mike Garofalo

Master of the Three Ways

Master of the Three Ways: Reflections of a Chinese Sage on Living a Satisfying Life. 
By Hung Ying-ming.  Translated by William Scott Wilson.  Foreword by Red Pine.  Boston, Shambhala, 2012, 196 pages. Written by Hung Ying-ming in about 605 CE.  

"Master of the Three Ways is perhaps the very finest literary expression of the Unity of the Three Creeds: Confucianism, Ch'an (Zen) Buddhism, and Taoism.  Composed of 357 verses of accessible prose-poetry, it not only expresses the root values of the three traditions while rarely mentioning them by name, but also takes as points of departure the branches of these philosophies as expressed by other Chinese poets and philosophers."  - William Scott Wilson.  

"The disease of blatant desire can be cured,
But the disease of excuse-making is difficult to alleviate.
The obstacles of external affairs and thing can be displaced,
But the obstacles of Reason are difficult to overcome."
#187, p 93

"Title and rank should not be elevated to high.
   Once a high elevation is reached, there is danger.
Ability should not be used to exhaustion.
   Once exhaustion is reached, there is decline.
Moral behavior should not be raised excessively.
  Once excess is reached, there will only come slander and blame."
#137, p. 70

"When your work has come to a standstill
and you can neither advance or retreat,
You should relocate the mentality with which you began.
When your efforts have been realized
and your actions are fulfilled,
You need to look carefully farther down the road."
#30, p. 21

"Do not believe in the one-sided,
nor be cheated by deceivers.
Do not be too self-reliant,
nor make a show of your courage.
Do not, with your own strong points,
expose the shortcomings of others.
Do not, because of your own ineptitude,
despise abilities not your own."
#120, 62

"If a common person ventures to cultivate virtue
     or perform a good deed,
It is just like being a high official, but without rank.
If a man of high rank uselessly indulges in his power
     or markets his position,
He becomes, in the end, only a titled beggar."
#93, p. 51

"Our disposition should be lofty and broad,
But not to the point of be distant and abstracted.
Our thoughts should be detailed and conscientious,
But not to the point of being tedious and nit-picking.
Our tastes should be simple and ascetic,
But not to the point of eccentricity and desiccation.
Our virtue should be strict and clear cut,
But not to the point of vehemence or rage."
#81, p. 45

"In carrying yourself through the world,
Do not try to be overly pure.
     One needs to ingest
     A morsel of disgrace and defacement, too.
In associating with others,
Do not be too scrupulous.
     One needs to embrace
     Both the good and the evil,
     Both the clever and the dull."
#185, p.92     

Tao Te Ching, Chapter 21

Daodejing, Laozi, Chapter 21

"A virtuous person comes into being only according to the Tao.
Tao is something which is obscure and indistinct.
Indistinct and obscure —
yet there is an appearance.
Obscure and indistinct —
yet there is a substance.
Vague and dim —
yet there is an essence within it.
This essence is genuine.
There is truth within it.
Since ancient times until now, its name never forsaken,
it stands there to guard all the good deeds.
How do I know all the good deeds are guarded by this Tao?
I know.
-  Translated by Chao-Hsiu Chen, 2004, Chapter 21  

"The grandest aspects of producing force
Find Tao their energizing way and source;
In Tao things move unseen, impalpable,
Yet in it form and semblance brood and dwell;
Impalpable, invisible, yet things
Float forth within on transcendental wings;
Dark and profound, yet lo! within it there,
Are the pure essences which aeons bear;
It holds the truth, it keeps its ancient name,
And watches all that from the beginning came;
From the Beginning! How know I this is so?
By this, it is the Tao, by this I know!"
-  Translated by Isaac Winter Heysinger, 1903, Chapter 21

"The impression made by magnificent Te comes only from Tao.
Tao is a something but elusive, but evasive.
Evasive, elusive, inside it lies the mind's true form.
Elusive, evasive, inside it lies something substantial.
Shadowy, dim.
Inside it lies vital energy.
This energy is very strong inside it lies true genuineness.
From ancient times until today
Its name has not been forgotten allowing us to see the beginnings of everything.
How do I recognize the form of the beginnings of everything?
By this low in the cycle of Change, which is Love and Beauty.
How do I know this?
By my comprehension of the Dao."
-  Translated by Michael LaFargue, 1992, Chapter 21  

"The complete manifestation of things visible proceeds only from Life.
In its nature Life is always coming into activity, yet in itself it eludes our sight and tough.
Eluding sight! eluding touch!
Within it are hid the plane of created things.
Eluding touch! eluding sight!
Within it are hid all created beings.
It is profound! It is obscure!
Within it is hid pure Spirit.
It is pure Spirit, enfolding Truth!
Within it is hid an infallible witness.
Free of Old until Now
Its Name remains unchanged.
Through its Doorway comes the Universe into existence.
How do I know that the Universe is coming to full perfection through Life?
The witness is in Life itself."
-  Translated by Isabella Mears, 1916, Chapter 21 

孔德之容, 唯道是從.
道之為物, 唯恍唯惚.
惚兮恍兮, 其中有象.
恍兮忽兮, 其中有物.
窈兮冥兮, 其中有精.
其精甚,  其中有信.
自古及今其名不去.
以閱衆甫.
吾何以知衆甫之狀哉.
以此.
-  Chinese characters, Tao Te Ching, Chapter 21



k'ung tê chih jung, wei tao shih ts'ung.
tao chih wei wu, wei huang wei hu.
hu hsi huang hsi, ch'i chung yu hsiang.
huang hsi hu hsi, ch'i chung yu wu.
yao hsi ming hsi, ch'i chung yu ching.
ch'i ching shên, chên ch'i chung yu hsin. 
tzu ku chi chin ch'i ming pu ch'ü.
yi yüeh chung fu.
wu ho yi chih chung fu chih jan tsai.
yi tz'u.
-  Wade-Giles Romanization, Tao Te Ching, Chapter 21



"The great virtue as manifested is but following the Tao.
Tao is a thing that is both invisible and intangible.
Intangible and invisible, yet there are forms in it;
Invisible and intangible, yet there is substance to it;
Subtle and obscure, there is essence in it;
This essence being invariably true, there is faith in it.
From of old till now, it has never lost its nameless name,
Through which the origin of all things has passed.
How do I know it is so with the origin of all things?
By this Tao."
-  Translated by Ch'u Ta-Kao, 1904, Chapter 21 


"One of deep virtue cherishes the subtle essence of the universe.
 The subtle essence of the universe is elusive and evasive.
 Though it is elusive and evasive,
 it unveils itself as images and forms.
 Evasive and elusive,
 it discloses itself as indefinable substance.
 Shadowy and indistinct,
 it reveals itself as impalpable subtle essence.
 This essence is so subtle, and yet so real.
 It is the subtle origin of the whole of creation and non-creation.
 It existed prior to the beginning of time as the single deep and subtle reality of the universe.
 It brings all into being."
 -  Translated by Ni Hua Ching, 1995, Chapter 21


"La virtud se expresa siguiendo al Tao.

Tao es evasivo e intengible
Pero expresa toda forma y sustancia;
Tao es oscuro y sútil
Pero expresa toda la Naturaleza;
La Naturaleza no cambia,
Pero expresa toda sensación.
Desde antes del conocimiento
El Tao ha expresado todas las cosas.
¿Cómo puedo saber?
Confiando en mis sentidos."
-  Translated by Antonio Rivas, 1998, Chapter 21 

"In his every movement a man of great virtue
Follows the way and the way only.
As a thing the way is
Shadowy and indistinct.
Indistinct and shadowy,
Yet within it is an image;
Shadowy and indistinct,
Yet within it is a substance.
Dim and dark,
Yet within it is an essence.
This essence is quite genuine
And within it is something that can be tested.
From the present back to antiquity,
Its name never deserted it.
It serves as a means for inspecting the fathers of the multitude.
How do I know that the fathers of the multitude are like that?
By means of this."
-  Translated by D. C. Lau, 1963, Chapter 21  

"The mightiest manifestations of active force flow solely from Tao.
Tao in itself is vague, impalpable, how impalpable, how vague!
Yet within it there is Form.
How vague, how impalpable!
Yet within it there is Substance.
How profound, how obscure!
Yet within it there is a Vital Principle.
This principle is the Quintessence of Reality, and out of it comes Truth.
From of old until now, its name has never passed away.
It watches over the beginning of all things.
How do I know this about the beginning of things?
Through Tao."
-  Translated by Lionel Giles, 1905, Chapter 21 


"The features (yung) of the vast (k'ung) Te,
Follows entirely (wei) from Tao.
Tao as a thing,
Is entirely illusive (huang) and evasive (hu).
Evasive and illusive,
In it there is image (hsiang).
Illusive and evasive,
In it there is thinghood (wu).
Dark and dim,
In it there is life seed (ching).
Its life seed being very genuine (chen),
In it there is growth power (hsin).
As it is today, so it was in the days of old (ku),
Its name goes not away (ch'ü),
So that we may survey (yüeh) the origins of the many (chung fu).
How do I know that the origins of the many are such?
Because of this."
-  Translated by Ellen Marie Chen, 1989, Chapter 21

"For effective contrast, this chapter is best read together with chapter 14.  Both chapters call Tao, the illusive and evasive (hu-huang), i.e., the primal Chaos or Hun-tun described in chapter 25.  In chapter 14, Tao recedes and becomes the nothing; here in chapter 21 the same illusive and evasive Tao moves forward to become the realm of beings.  There Tao is nameless; here Tao is the name that never goes away.  There Tao is the formless form, the image of nothing; here Tao contains the seeds and images of all beings that are to be.  The dominant character of Tao in chapter 14 is wu, nothing; in this chapter it is yu, being or having.  The conclusion of chapter 14 traces Tao to the beginning of old; this chapter arrives at the realm of the many in the now."
-  Ellen M. Chen, The Tao Te Ching: A New Translation with Commentary, 1989, p.107

A typical webpage created by Mike Garofalo for each one of the 81 Chapters (Verses, Sections) of the Tao Te Ching (Daodejing) by Lao Tzu (Laozi) includes up to 25 different English language translations or interpolations for that Chapter, 5 Spanish language translations for that Chapter, the Chinese characters for that Chapter, the Wade-Giles and Hanyu Pinyin transliterations (Romanization) of the Mandarin Chinese words for that Chapter, and 2 German and 1 French translation of that Chapter.  Each webpage for each one of the 81 Chapters of the Tao Te Ching includes extensive indexing by key words, phrases, and terms for that Chapter in English, Spanish, and the Wade-Giles Romanization.  Each webpage on a Chapter of the Daodejing includes recommended reading in books and websites, a detailed bibliography, some commentary, research leads, translation sources, a Google Translate drop down menu, and other resources for that Chapter.   

Chapter 21, Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu

Chapter and Thematic Index (Concordance) to the Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu

English Language Daodejing Translators' Source Index

Spanish Language Daodejing Translators' Source Index

Ripening Peaches: Taoist Studies and Practices

Taoism: A Selected Reading List

One Old Daoist Druid's Final Journey  

A T'ai Chi Masters' Guiding Principles for Living

Anyone who begins the study of Taijiquan, Qigong, Chinese martial arts, or other Asian martial arts will quickly be introduced to rules for proper behavior, ethical principles, lifestyle and heath recommendations, social duties and responsibilities, and spiritual ideas from the East.  The main influences and doctrines come from Confucianism, Chinese Buddhism, Taoism, Zen, and pragmatic secular thinking.  

There are many books and articles on this subject.  For example, Zen in the Martial Arts (1982),  The Bodhisattva Warriors (1994),  Cultivating the Civil and Mastering the Martial (2016),  The Protector Ethic: Morality, Virtue and Ethics in the Martial Way (2018), and many others.  

Please refer to my hypertext notebook on this topic of the martial artist and ethical guidelines.  

You will find many examples of ethical, moral, and behavioral rules and recommendations in nearly all books on Taijiquan.  The mind, body, and spirit are all three trained in martial arts, and especially in internal martial arts.  

Here are some daily guiding principles from Gordon Muir in his book: Yang Style Traditional Long Form T'ai Chi Ch'uan; As Taught by Master T. T. Liang.  By Gordon Muir.  Berkeley, California, Blue Snake Books, 2008, 225 pages.

 "To accomplish T'ai Chi physically and technically is relatively easy, but to accomplish it mentally is much more difficult.  From my more that thirty years' experience of learning and practicing T'ai Chi, I have formulated ten theorems for my daily guiding principles to help me know how to deal with people and myself:

1.  Nobody can be perfect.  Take what is good and discard what is bad.

2.  If I believe entirely in books, better not to read books; if I rely entirely on teachers, better not to have teachers.

3.  To remove a mountain is easy, but to change a man's character is more difficult.

4.  If there is anything wrong with me, I don't blame others, I only blame myself.

5.  If I want to live longer, I must learn and practice T'ai Chi, and accomplish it both physically and mentally.  To accomplish it mentally is much more difficult.

6.  I must learn how to yield, to be tactful, not to be aggressive; to lose (small loss, small gain; great loss, great gain), not to take advantage of others; to give (the more you give the more you have.)

7.  Make one thousand friends, but don't make one enemy.

8.  One must practice what he preaches.  Otherwise it is empty talk or a bounced check.

9.  To conceal the faults of others and praise their good points is the best policy.  

10.  Life begins at seventy.  Everything is beautiful!  Health is a matter of the utmost importance and all the rest is secondary.  Now I must find out how to enjoy excellent health in my whole life and discover the way to immortality."   

How to Live a Good Life: Advice From Wise Persons.  Compiled by Michael Garofalo.

Also, you might enjoy reading:  Master of the Three Ways: Reflections of a Chinese Sage on Living a Satisfying Life  By Hung Ying-ming.  Translated by William Scott Wilson.  Foreword by Red Pine.  Boston, Shambhala, 2012.  Notes, Bibliography, 196 pages.  VSCL. 

Nurturing a Peaceful Mind

"You've probably experienced something similar after finishing a long and difficult job, whether it involved physical labor or the type of mental effort involved in writing a report or completing some sort of financial analysis.  When you finish the job, your mind and body naturally come to rest in a state of happy exhaustion.  This perfectly effortless state of relaxation is what is meant by natural peace." ... 

"First, assume a position in which your spine is straight, and you body is relaxed.  Once your body is positioned comfortably, allow your mind to simply rest for three minutes or so. Just let your mind go, as though you just have finished ad long and difficult task.
Whatever happens, whether thoughts or emotions occur, whether you notice some  physical discomfort, whether you are aware of sounds or smells around you, or you mind is a total blank, don't worry.  Anything that happens or ─doesn't happen─ is simply part of the experience of allowing you mind to rest.
So now, just ret inn the awareness of whatever is passing through you mind ...
Just rest ...
Just rest ..."

"Let me confide in you a big secret.  Whatever you experience when you simply rest your attention on whatever's going on in your mind at any moment is meditation.  Simply resting in this way is the experience of natural mind." ...

"In fact, experiencing natural peace is easier than drinking water.  In order to drink, you have to expend effort.  You have to reach for the glass, tip the glass so that the water pours into your mouth, swallow the water, and then put the glass down.  No such effort is required to experience natural peace.  All you have to do is rest your mind in its natural openness.  No special focus, no special effort is required."
-  Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche, "The Joy of Living," 2007, pp. 55-58



So, I relax, breathe gently and easily, stand up straight, unloosen myself from thinking and judging, settle down into ease, rest the mind, and begin a slow and easy Taiji form ... one path to "natural peace."


Relaxation, Sung, Fang Song, Rest, Ease

Tai Chi Chuan

Buddhism

Meditation

Taoism

In Any Balm or Beauty of the Earth

Vineyards near San Luis Obisbo, California

Yosemite National Park, California

"What is divinity if it can come
Only in silent shadows and in dreams?
Shall she not find in comforts of the sun,
In pungent fruit and bright, green wings, or else
In any balm or beauty of the earth,
Things to be cherished like the thought of heaven?
Divinity must live within herself:
Passions of rain, or moods in falling snow;
Grievings in loneliness, or unsubdued
Elations when the forest blooms; gusty
Emotions on wet roads on autumn nights;
All pleasures and all pains, remembering
The bough of summer and the winter branch,
These are the measures destined for her soul."    
-  Wallace Stevens, Sunday Morning, 1915


"The point in life is to know what's enough - why envy those otherwold immortals?  With the happiness held in one inch-square heart you can fill the whole space between heaven and earth."
-   Gensei (1623-1668), Poem Without a Category
    The Enlightened Heart, Edited by Stephen Mitchell, p. 86 


"The secret of beginning a life of deep awareness and sensitivity lies in our willingness to pay attention. Our growth as conscious, awake human beings is marked not so much by grand gestures and visible renunciations as by extending loving attention to the minutest particulars of our lives. Every relationship, every thought, every gesture is blessed with meaning through the wholehearted attention we bring to it. In the complexities of our minds and lives we easily forget the power of attention, yet without attention we live only on the surface of existence. It is just simple attention that allows us truly to listen to the song of a bird, to see deeply the glory of an autumn leaf, to touch the heart of another and be touched. We need to be fully present in order to love a single thing wholeheartedly. We need to be fully awake in this moment if we are to receive and respond to the learning inherent in it."
-  Christina Feldman and Jack Kornfield, Stories of the Spirit, Stories of the Heart



"A virtuous person comes into being only according to the Tao.
Tao is something which is obscure and indistinct.
Indistinct and obscure —
yet there is an appearance.
Obscure and indistinct —
yet there is a substance.
Vague and dim —
yet there is an essence within it.
This essence is genuine.
There is truth within it."
- Tao Te Ching, Chapter 21

Virtue Ethics

How to Live a Good Life: Advice from Wise Persons


From a 2015 post to the Cloud Hands Blog.  

  

Inspired by the 10,000 Things

 "Science and psychoanalysis apart, the most profound development in thought since Nietzsche, as far as we are concerned, is the phenomenological approach to the world.  Mallarmé sought "words without wrinkles," Baudelaire cherished his minutes heureuses and Valéry his "small worlds of order," as we have seen: Checkhov concentrated on the "concrete individual" and preferred "small scale and practical answers," Gide though the "systematizing is denaturing, distorting and impoverishing."  For Oliver Wendell Holmes, "all the pleasure of life is in general ideas, but all the use of life is in specific solutions."  Wallace Stevens considered that we are "better satisfied in particulars."  Thomas Nagel put it in this way: "Particulars things can have a noncompetitive completeness which is transparent to all aspects of the self.  This also helps to explain what the experience of great beauty tends to unify the self: the object engages us immediately and totally in a way that makes distinctions among points of view irrelevant."  Or, as Robert Nozick, who counseled us to make ourselves "vehicles" for beauty, said: "this is what poets and artists bring us―the immense and unsuspected reality of a small thing.  Everything has its own patient entityhood."  George Levine call for "a profound attention to the details of this world."  

-  Peter Watson, "The Age of Atheists: How We Have Sought to Live Since the Death of God," p.536

"The idea of one overbearing truth is exhausted."  
- Thomas Mann, translated by James Wood  

"My religion consists of a humble admiration of the illimitable superior spirit who reveals himself in the slight details we are able to perceive with our frail and feeble mind."
-  Albert Einstein

"To study the self is to forget the self.  To forget the self is to be enlightened by the ten thousand things."
-  Zen Master Dogen

"The more we understand individual things, the more we understand God."
-  Benedict De Spinoza

"God is in the details."
-  Mies Van Der Rohe

"After appreciating and understanding thousands of the details, a common variety God or Goddess is really superfluous."
-  Mike Garofalo

"Caress the detail, the divine detail." 
-  Vladimir Nabokov

"Details are all there are."
-  Maezumi Roshi

"We think in generalities, but we live in details."
-  W.H. Auden

Gardening and Spirituality

Gardening and Religion   

Pragmatism and American Philosophy

Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results: Atomic Habits

Dao De Jing, Chapter 20

 Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu

Chapter 20 

"Give up learning, and put an end to your troubles. 
Is there a difference between yes and no? 
Is there a difference between good and evil? 
Must I fear what others fear? What nonsense! 
Other people are contented, enjoying the sacrificial feast of the ox. 
In spring some go to the park, and climb the terrace, 
But I alone am drifting, not knowing where I am. 
Like a newborn babe before it learns to smile, 
I am alone, without a place to go. 
Others have more than they need, but I alone have nothing. 
I am a fool. Oh, yes! I am confused. 
Others are clear and bright, 
But I alone am dim and weak. 
Others are sharp and clever, 
But I alone am dull and stupid. 
Oh, I drift like the waves of the sea, 
Without direction, like the restless wind. 
Everyone else is busy, 
But I alone am aimless and depressed. 
I am different. 
I am nourished by the great mother."
-  Translated by Gia-fu Feng and Jane English, 1989, Chapter 20  

"Get rid of "learning" and there will be no anxiety.
How much difference is there between "yes" and "no"?
How far removed from each other are "good" and "evil"?
Yet what the people are in awe of cannot be disregarded.
I am scattered, never having been in a comfortable center.
All the people enjoy themselves, as if they are at the festival of the great sacrifice,
Or climbing the Spring Platform.
I alone remain, not yet having shown myself.
Like an infant who has not yet laughed.
Weary, like one despairing of no home to return to.
All the people enjoy extra
While I have left everything behind.
I am ignorant of the minds of others.
So dull!
While average people are clear and bright, I alone am obscure.
Average people know everything.
To me alone all seems covered.
So flat!
Like the ocean.
Blowing around!
It seems there is no place to rest.
Everybody has a goal in mind.
I alone am as ignorant as a bumpkin.
I alone differ from people.
I enjoy being nourished by the mother."
-  Translated by Charles Muller, 1891, Chapter 20  

"Cease learning, no more worries
Respectful response and scornful response
How much is the difference?
Goodness and evil
How much do they differ?
What the people fear, I cannot be unafraid

So desolate! How limitless it is!
The people are excited
As if enjoying a great feast
As if climbing up to the terrace in spring
I alone am quiet and uninvolved
Like an infant not yet smiling
So weary, like having no place to return
The people all have surplus
While I alone seem lacking
I have the heart of a fool indeed so ignorant!
Ordinary people are bright
I alone am muddled
Ordinary people are scrutinizing
I alone am obtuse
Such tranquility, like the ocean
Such high wind, as if without limits

The people all have goals
And I alone am stubborn and lowly
I alone am different from them
And value the nourishing mother"
-  Translated by Derek Linn, 2006, Chapter 20 

唯之與阿, 相去幾何.
善之與惡, 相去若何.
人之所畏, 不可不畏.
荒兮其未央哉.
衆人熙熙.
如享太牢.
如春登臺.
我獨怕兮其未兆, 如嬰兒之未孩.
儽儽兮若無所歸. 
衆人皆有餘, 而我獨若遺. 
我愚人之心也哉, 沌沌兮.
俗人昭昭.
我獨昏. 
昏俗人察察.
我獨悶悶. 
澹兮其若海.
飂兮若無止.
衆人皆有以.
而我獨頑似鄙.
我獨異於人,而貴食母. 
-  Chinese characters, Tao Te Ching, Chapter 20

wei chih yü a, hsiang ch'ü chi ho.
 shan chih yü wu, hsiang ch'ü jo ho.
 jên chih so wei, pu k'o pu wei.
 huang hsi ch'i wei yang tsai.
 chung jên hsi hsi.
 ju hsiang ta lao.
 ju ch'un têng t'ai.
 wo tu p'o hsi ch'i wei chao, ju ying erh chih wei hai.
 lei lei hsi jo wu so kuei.
 chung jên chieh yu yü, erh wo tu jo yi.
 wo yü jên chih hsin yeh tsai, t'un t'un hsi.
 su jên chao chao.
 wo tu hun.
 hun su jên ch'a ch'a.
 wo tu mên mên.
 tan hsi ch'i jo hai.
 liu hsi jo wu chih.
 chung jên chieh yu yi.
 erh wo tu wan ssu pi.
 wo tu yi yü jên, erh kuei shih mu.
 -  Wade-Giles Romanization, Tao Te Ching, Chapter 20  

 

"Leave off fine learning! End the nuisance
Of saying yes to this and perhaps to that,
Distinctions with how little difference!
Categorical this, categorical that,
What slightest use are they!
If one man leads, another must follow,
How silly that is and how false!
Yet conventional men lead an easy life
With all their days feast days,
A constant spring visit to the Tall Tower,
While I am a simpleton, a do-nothing,
Not big enough yet to raise a hand,
Not grown enough to smile,
A homeless, worthless waif.
Men of the world have a surplus of goods,
While I am left out, owning nothing.
What a booby I must be
Not to know my way round,
What a fool!
The average man is so crisp and so confident
That I ought to be miserable
Going on and on like the sea,
Drifting nowhere.
All these people are making their mark in the world,
While I, pig-headed, awkward,
Different from the rest,
Am only a glorious infant still nursing at the breast."
-  Translated by Witter Bynner, 1944, Chapter 20 


"Renounce knowledge and your problems will end. 
What is the difference between yes and no? 
What is the difference between good and evil? 
Must you fear what others fear? 
Nonsense, look how far you have missed the mark! 

Other people are joyous, 
as though they were at a spring festival. 
I alone am unconcerned and expressionless, 
like an infant before it has learned to smile. 

Other people have more than they need; 
I alone seem to possess nothing. 
I am lost and drift about with no place to go. 
I am like a fool, my mind is in chaos. 

Ordinary people are bright; 
I alone am dark. 
Ordinary people are clever; 
I alone am dull. 
Ordinary people seem discriminating; 
I alone am muddled and confused. 
I drift on the waves on the ocean, 
blown at the mercy of the wind. 
Other people have their goals, 
I alone am dull and uncouth. 

I am different from ordinary people. 
I nurse from the Great Mother's breasts."
-  Translated by John H. McDonald, 1996, Chapter 20 



"Suprime el adoctrinamiento y no habrá preocupaciones.
¿Qué diferencia hay entre el sí y el no?
¿Qué diferencia hay entre el bien y el mal?
¡El dicho “lo que otros evitan, yo también deberé evitar”
cuán falso y superficial es!
No es posible abarcar todo el saber.
Todo el mundo se distrae y disfruta,
como cuando se presencia un gran sacrificio,
o como cuando se sube a los jardines de una torre en primavera.
Sólo yo doy cabida a la duda,
no copiando lo que otros hacen,
como un recién nacido que aún no sabe sonreír.
Como quien no sabe a dónde dirigirse,
como quien no tiene hogar.
Todo el mundo vive en la abundancia,
sólo yo parezco desprovisto.
Consideran mi mente como la de un loco
por sentir umbrías confusiones y críticas.
Todo el mundo brilla porque solo las luces buscan,
sólo yo me atrevo a transitar por las tinieblas.
Todo el mundo se conforma con su felicidad,
sólo yo me adentro en mi depresión.
Soy como quien deriva en alta mar,
voy contra la corriente sin un rumbo predestinado.
Todo el mundo es puesto en algún uso;
sólo yo soy un ermitaño intratable y aburrido.
Sólo yo soy diferente a todos los demás
porque aprecio a la Madre Naturaleza que me nutre."
-  Translation from Wikisource, 2013, Capitulo 20  


"Give up learning, and you will be free from all your worries. 
What is the difference between yes and no about which the rhetoricians have so much to say? 
What is the difference between good and evil on which the critics never agree? 
These are futilities that prevent the mind from being free. 
Now freedom of mind is necessary to enter into relation with the Principle.
Without doubt, among the things which common people fear, there are things that should be feared; but not as they do, with a mind so troubled that they lose their mental equilibrium.
Neither should one permit oneself to lose equilibrium through pleasure, as happens to those who have a good meal or view the surrounding countryside in spring from the top of a tower with the accompaniment of wine, etc.). 
I, the Sage, seem to be colourless and undefined; neutral as a new-born child that has not yet experienced any emotion; without design or aim.
The common people abound in varied knowledge, but I am poor having rid myself of all uselessness and seem ignorant, so much have I purified myself.
They seem full of light, I seem dull. 
They seek and scrutinize, I remain concentrated in myself. 
Indeterminate, like the immensity of the oceans, I float without stopping.
They are full of talent, whereas I seem limited and uncultured. 
I differ thus from the common people, because I venerate and imitate the universal nourishing mother, the Principle."
-  Translated by Derek Bryce, 1999, Chapter 20 

A typical webpage created by Mike Garofalo for each one of the 81 Chapters (Verses, Sections) of the Tao Te Ching (Daodejing) by Lao Tzu (Laozi) includes over 25 different English language translations or interpolations for that Chapter, 5 Spanish language translations for that Chapter, the Chinese characters for that Chapter, the Wade-Giles and Hanyu Pinyin transliterations (Romanization) of the Mandarin Chinese words for that Chapter, and 2 German and 1 French translation of that Chapter.  Each webpage for each one of the 81 Chapters of the Tao Te Ching includes extensive indexing by key words, phrases, and terms for that Chapter in English, Spanish, and the Wade-Giles Romanization.  Each webpage on a Chapter of the Daodejing includes recommended reading in books and websites, a detailed bibliography, some commentary, research leads, translation sources, and other resources for that Chapter.  Each webpage includes a Google Translate drop down menu at the top that enables you to read the webpage in over 100 languages.

Chapter 20, Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu

Chapter Indexing for the Tao Te Ching

English Language Daodejing Translators' Source Index

Spanish Language Daodejing Translators' Source Index

Ripening Peaches: Taoist Studies and Practices

Taoism: A Selected Reading List

Concordance to the Tao Te Ching (2018 Project)

One Old Daoist Druid's Final Journey  

How to Live a Good Life: Advice from Wise Persons