Summertime Garden and Home Work Projects

Karen and I both work part-time for school districts during the academic school year.  We have been off work for the last two weeks on 'summer vacation.'  We have been very busy with home and garden improvement projects every day for the last two weeks.

Today and yesterday, a storm came in from the south west.  It is been very overcast, cool, and raining.  A half-inch of rain fell last night in Red Bluff.  The weather forecasters predict this storm will pass by tomorrow and then a period of low humidity and high temperatures up to 105F will be coming next week.  Hot and dry are very typical in July where we live in rural Northern California. So, for today, indoor work projects and reading. 

Our orchard and garden are filled with fruits and vegetables.  Right now, we have our choice of four varieties of plums, two types of peaches, and three types of figs.  We are now harvesting squash, eggplant, onions, garlic, and tomatoes from our 'Sunny' vegetable garden.  The photograph of Karen was taken last August when the tomato plants were really producing heavily, but we still pick a few tomatoes in late June. 

As one can see from my recent posts, when not working on home improvement projects, I have been busy reading the Tao Te Ching, Chuang Tzu, and NeoPagan literature on Lithia (Summer Solstice), and developing webpages on related subjects.  

True Men of Old

"Assured! his stability, but not rigid:
Pervasive! his tenuous influence, but it is not on display.
Lighthearted!  Seems to be doing as he pleases:
Under compulsion!  Inevitable that he does it.
Impetuously! asserts a manner of his own:
Cautiously! holds the Power which is his own.
So tolerant! in his seeming worldliness:
So arrogant! in his refusal to be ruled.
Canny!  Seems he likes to keep his mouth shut:
Scatterbrained!  Forgets every word that he says."
Chuang-Tzu, Chapter 6.1
Translation by Angus Graham, Chuang-Tzu: The Inner Chapters, 1981, 2000, p. 85


'The Genuine Human Beings of old seemed to do whatever was called for but were not partisan to any one course.  They appeared to be in want but accepted no assistance.  Taking part in all things, they were solitary but never rigid.  Spreading out everywhere, they were empty but never insubstantial.  Cheerful, they seemed to be enjoying themselves.  Impelled along, they did what they could not help doing.  The let everything gather within them but still it manifested outwardly to the world as their own countenance.  They gave it all away, but still it rested securely with them as their own Virtuosity.  Leprous with symptoms, they seem just like everyone else.  Haughty, nothing could control them.  Oblivious, they would forget what they were saying."
Zhuangzi, Chapter 6.1
Translation by Brook Ziporyn, Zhuangzi: The Essential Writings, 2009, p. 41


"The true man in ancient times was upright but impartial, humble but not servile.  He had distinct natural characteristics but was not adamant about them; his humility was evident but not displayed.  Pleasant and composed, he seemed to be content.  His actions appeared to spring from necessity.  People were drawn to his virtue; he seemed to comply with the age but with a certain reserve.  His independence of spirit was limitless.  Endeavoring to remain silent, he forgot what he wished to say."
Zhuangzi, Chapter 6.1
Translated by Hyun Hochsmann and Yang Guorong, Zhuangzi, 2007, p.117


"The true man of old
Was towering in stature but never collapses,
Seem insufficient but accepted nothing.
Aloofly independent but not obstinate,
Amply empty but not ostentatious,
Demurring, as though he were compelled,
Suffused with an alluring charm,
Endowed with an arresting integrity,
Stern, as though he were worldly,
Arrogant, as though he were uncontrollable,
Reticent, as though he preferred to clam up,
Absent-minded, as thought he forgot what to say."
Chuang Tzu, Chapter 6.1
Translated by Victor H. Mair, Wandering on the Way: Early Taoist Tales and Parables of Chuang Tzu, 1994, p.52 


Chuang-Tzu: The Inner Chapters   Translated with commentary by Angus C. Graham (1919-1991).   Indianapolis, Hackett Pub. Co., 1981, 2001 edition.  Index, extensive footnotes, 293 pages.  ISBN: 0872205819.  VSCL.  

Zhuangzi: The Essential Writings with Selections from Traditional Commentaries.  Translated with an introduction and notes by Brook Ziporyn.  Indianapolics, Hackett Pub. Co., 2009.  Notes, index, bibliography, 238 pages.  ISBN: 9780872209114.  VSCL.  

Zhuangzi (Chuang Tzu, Zhuang Zhou, Master Chuang)  369—286 BCE

Ripening Peaches: Taoist Studies and Practices

 

Leap into the Boundless

"Forget the years, forget distinctions.  Leap into the boundless and make it your home."
-  Zhuangzi

This past week, I have been reading various translations of Chuang Tzu.  


My notes are found on a webpage on Master Chuang (Zhuangzi) in my Ripening Peaches Notebook.