Chapter 3: The- What was that again?- of Piglet? (6/10/15;6/15/15)

This first section discusses the time when man lived in harmony with nature communicating with the animals, plants and surroundings through telepathy. Before time, before recorded history, existing in legend, everything was “perfect”; there was no killing for sport, no conquering of man against man, no warfare or poverty.   Then mans’ ego grew too large and we lost our connections to the spiritual “teachers” that he had lived in harmony with up until that point.  

“On his own, feeling alienated from the world he had been created from, cut off from the full extent of its abundance, man was no longer happy. He began to search for the happiness he had lost. When he found something that reminded him of it, he tried to possess it and accumulate more-thereby introducing Stress into his life. . . . As he was no longer able to hear what the other forms were saying, he could only try to understand them through their actions, which he often misinterpreted. Because he was no longer cooperating with the earth angels and natural spirits for the good of all, but was attempting to manipulate the earth forces for his benefit alone, plants began to shrivel and die. With less vegetation to draw up and give off moisture, the planet’s atmosphere became drier, and deserts appeared. . . . .”

“. . . A relatively small number of plant species survived,, which grew smaller and tougher with passing time. Eventually they lost their radiant colors and abundant fruit of their ancestors. Man’s life span began to shorten accordingly, and diseases appeared and spread. Because of the decreasing variety of food available to him- and his growing insensitivity- man began to kill and eat his friends the animals. They soon learned to flee from his approach and became increasingly shy and suspicious of human motives and behavior. And so the separation grew. . . . “ (p.15)

All Mans woes seem to come from this separation. Every ancient culture up through today has some sort of “fall from paradise” myth. The Jews and Christians have The Garden of Eden in Genesis; The Greeks have the coming of the Brass age (creation of mankind) and their responsibilities to their gods; many ancient cultures speak of man coming from the earth. (Much can be written about the different origin mythologies and their similarities and differences, but that’s not the point of this assignment)

What Hoff goes on to talk about after the creation of this “separation” and the change of mans’ focus; thus detaching ourselves from focusing on what truly matters. But some ideas survived passed down as myth.

“. . . On the North American continent, they are passed on in some of what remains of native teachings- those of the “Indians.” In Europe they have largely died out, but traces of their influence can still be seen in such comparatively recent phenomena as stone circles and the marking of “ley lines”- channels along which earth energy is concentrated.  .. . In China, they have been passed on through Taoism. . . “

Hoff goes into a definition of what Taoism is; which is basically the idea of living in “harmony with Tao, the Way of the Universe, The character of which is revealed in the workings of the natural world. . . “

When compared to the Chinese belief of Confucianism- which concerns itself more with ritual and human relations, as well as social and political rules and hierarchies.. . . Hoff goes on to say;

“Confusucianism concerns itself mostly with human relations… It’s major contributions have been in the area of government, business, clan and family relations, and ancestor reverence, It’s most vital principles are Righteousness,Propriety, Benevolence, Loyalty, Good Faith, Duty, and Justice. Briefly, Confucianism deals with the individual’s place within the group.”

“In Contrast, Taoism deals primarily with the individual’s relationship to the world. Taoism’s contributions have been mostly scientific, artistic, and spiritual. From Taoism came Chinese science, medicine, . . . and nature poetry.  It’s key principles are Natual Simplicity, Effortless Action, Spontaneity, and Compassion.  The most easily noticed difference between Confuscianism and Taoism is emotional, a difference in feeling; Confucianism is stern, regimented, patriarchal, often sever; Taoism is happy, gentle, childlike, and serene- like it’s favorite symbol, that of flowing water. . . . . . Ever since the Great Seperation, Taoists have concerned themselves with attaining the state of Perfect Virtue, through discarding whatever prevents harmony with Tao . . . ” (p.19-21)

Okay, lets take a breath and discuss this very big quote; I included it here because it goes into a bit more detail in the differences between the ideas of Taoism and Confuscianism. I do know that this was all discussed in “The Tao of Pooh”, and may seem like regurgitation of discussion but let’s forget that previous assignment for a moment.

In “The Tao of Pooh”, Pooh went to china to discuss the stern, regimented, and ritualized system of Confucianism through the painting of “The Vinegar Tasters”, but this time we are more concerned with this mythos of “The Great Seperation” and the idea of “Te” (which we will discuss soon).

I’m going to back pedal a bit here: The great separation mythos teaches that we were once living in harmony- or “Perfect Virtue”- with everything around us until ego came and ruined everything; but through the taking away of things, through separation of ourselves from the animals, we have lost sight of harmony within ourselves and propagated disharmony within our world.  Through the teachings of Taoism, and the practice of mindfulness, we can possibly reach that state of virtue, effortless action, spontaneity, and genuine Compassion.

Now about “Te”:

“. . . And with that mention of Virtue, we come to an explanation of the title of the book.  . . .First of all, we’d better explain that the Chinese Character “Te”,  and in “The Te of Piglet,” is pronounced DEH, more or less. . . . In classical Chinese, it is written two ways. The first joins the character for “upright” to the character for “heart”. It’s meaning is Virtue. The second way adds the character for “left foot,” which in Chinese signifies ‘Stepping out’. It’s meaning is Virtue in action.”

“In this book, we are concerned with the transformation of Virtue into Virtue That Steps Out. And Piglet, we believe, is the Pooh animal bests suited to demonstrate the process- because in the Pooh stories it is Piglet, and only Piglet, who undergoes just such a transformation.”

Hoff basically ends this chapter with an “thesis” statement for this book (quoted above). 

The idea of virtue that steps out is interesting. Perhaps it’s the wording that catches the eye; Virtue is good; everyone possess some sort of individuality that makes them virtuous (or aspires to be virtuous) but “Te” seems to be the idea of “putting money where your mouth is” (but perhaps that’s too easy an explanation) and by doing so; you don’t just say you have virtue, but you actually act virtuous.  I guess, like Piglet does in the “Winnie-the pooh” and “House on Pooh Corner” Books. As I’ve already discussed the separation mythos, and my goals for this assignment I guess I should turn the page and continue on my journey.

6/10/2015

Chapter 1; 2: What? another one? / interjection

So here we are again; traipsing down the hundred acre road; meeting up with pooh and Christopher Robin, Eeyore, Rabbit and kanga, Roo, Owl and Tigger; and a very small but very important little animal.  Piglet.

I won’t quote the introduction or interjection but having just finished “The Tao of Pooh” earlier this morning, and spending a day at the dojo focusing on Jiu-jitsu and Tae Kwon Do; Timid adolescents and hyperactive pre-teens and younger students, my brain is a bit of a mess.  A part of me wants to wait to start this assignment, even just a few days but as I ate my dinner tonight I saw my (now dog-eared) copy of “The Tao of Pooh” with all its highlights and aforementioned dog-eared pages; and I felt like searching out my copy of “The Te of Piglet”;  I spend the last 7 months working with Pooh and Piglet, Eeyore and Rabbit, and all the rest, and while I felt a sense of accomplishment, I found myself, like Mr.Hoff, hearing a little voice in my head.  

Picking up the book I read the first 2 chapters –named above- and wanted to take a moment before the real assignment started, to perhaps take stock and breathe; to mentally prepare myself for wit and whimsy, and to have my mind blown a bit by a very small but important animal; and good friend to are former main character Pooh; the lovable, quiet, and often looked over character of Piglet. I hope I get to know him as well as I got to know Pooh (and Taoism) from the last book. Either way I’m sure to have my world views questioned, my opinions challenged, and my mind Blown!

So with a smile on my face, and my feet firmly on the ground, I take a breath, turn the page, and begin another journey into the hundred acre wood.

Chapter 8: Nowhere and Nothing; Chapter 9: The Now of Pooh and chapter 10: backword (6/09/15) 2:24:45-2:43:15

This is mainly going to be about chapter 8 as chapter 9 and 10 are only 1-2 pages in their entirety; so with that it brings us to our last full chapter: CHAPTER 8: NOWHERE AND NOTHING.

This chapter is about consciousness; or doing “nothing” as something to do.  Hoff quotes a parable of Chuang-tsu to explain this principle.  (my apologies if this is a long quote)

“Consciousness wandered North to the land of the Dark Water and climbed the Unnoticable Slope, where he met Speechless Non-Doer. ‘ I have three questions for you,” Consciousness said. “First, what thoughts and efforts will lead us to understanding the Tao? Second, where must we go and what must we do to find peace in the Tao? Third, from what point must we start and which road must we follow in order to reach the Tao?” Speechless Non-Doer gave no answer.

Consciousness traveled South to the land of the Bright Ocean and climbed the Mountain of Certainty; where he saw Impulsive Speech-Maker. He asked him the same question. “Here are the answers,” Impulsive Speech-Maker replied. But as soon as he started to speak, he became confused and forgot what he was talking about.

Consciousness returned to the palace and asked the Yellow Emperor. Who told him, “To have no thought and put forth no effort is the first step towards understanding the Tao. To go nowhere and do nothing is the first step towards finding peace in the Tao. To start from no point and follow no road is the first step towards reaching the Tao.”

What (they) are describing is the Great Secret, the key that unlocks the doors of wisdom, happiness, and truth. What is that magic, mysterious something? Nothing. To the Taoist, nothing is something, and Something- at least the sort of thing that many considered to be important- is really nothing at all.. .  (or the) T’ai Hsu; the Great Nothing.”

 My karate sensei use to discuss this idea of consciousness with me and honestly I didn’t really understand it at the time. I understand the idea of doing nothing as a “thing” such as siting still and breathing is a thing we call: Meditation; but it took me until I read this book for those discussions to “click” with me.  Being aware of breathing, or just being present in the moment, is a thing we’ve discussed in earlier chapters.  Taoism focuses on the NOW not the past or the future. But in order to focus on the NOW, we must develop consciousness.

I remember being a kid and doing nothing. I’d play in the yard, or swing on the swings, not worried about pain or suffering, not thinking about the past or worried for the future.  I feel children are in touch with consciousness and that over time it’s taught out of them.   And then they are forever making plans for the future. (Plan your college major, plan your career, plan who you’re going to marry, plan how many kids you’ll have. Plan, plan, plan. . .etc); All this planning- this laying down of a future- at the expense of the present. At the expense of consciousness.

Hoff describes it as Chuang-Tse wrote: “ On his way back from the K’un-lun Mountains, the Yellow Emperor lost the dark pearl of Tao. He sent Knowledge to find it, but Knowledge was unable to understand it. He sent Distant Vision, but Distant Vision was unable to see it. He sent Eloquence, but Eloquence was unable to describe it.  Finally he sent Empty Mind and Empty Mind came back with the pearl.”

 Pooh demonstrates this “empty mind” consciousness when he had to look for Eeyores tail.

“…  Then Pooh went off to find it. First, he went to Owls house, and Owl told him in twenty-five thousand monotonous words or more that the Thing To Do would be to Issue a Reward, which would involve writing out a . . . . (yawn). . . notice, and putting it . . . (YAWN). . . all over the  . . . (Umm) Oh yes- wre were we? All over the forest. And then they went outside. . . .

And Pooh looked at the knocker and the notice below it, and he looked at the bell rope . . . and the more he lookd at the bell rope the more he felt that he had seen something like it, somewhere else, sometime before.

‘Handsome bell-rope, isn’t it?’ said Owl.

Pooh nodded.

‘It reminds me of something,. . . ‘

Aha. So Pooh returned the tail to Eeyore and after it had been put back in place, Eeyore felt much better.”

The idea of the Empty Mind that Pooh demonstrates is beneficial here because it allows someone to see clearly what is right in front of them instead of being bogged down with knowledge for showing off or being clever, and confused by stray thoughts or plans, etc.

“. . . While the clear mind listens to a bird singing, the Stuffed-Full-of-Knowledge-and-Cleverness mind wonders what kind of bird is singing. The more Stuffed Up it is, the less it can hear through its own ears and see through its own eyes. Knowledge and Cleverness tend to concern themselves with the wrong sorts of things, and a mind confused by Knowledge, Cleverness, and Abstract Ideas . . . . (can’t) see, appreciate, and make) use of what is right in front of them.”

 The idea of being present in the moment at all times; developing consciousness; is something very interesting to me.  My Karate instructor use to discuss these ideas of higher levels of consciousness and is basing his higher black belt levels on these concepts- how exactly these ideas of consciousness apply to a PRACTICAL way to test for 2nd.3rd, etc degree black belt; I don’t really know. But this idea of being present, being ‘Awake” as the Buddha would say, is really an interesting thing to stride for.    But I feel like the Buddhist who asks his teacher “am I meditating?” and thus defeating his goal of meditation; this idea of “Am I conscious, yet?” would be a bit self-defeating. (I know that’s not a perfect example but one that came to my mind as I am writing this and remembering the “Alan Watts teaches Meditation” essay from the IP)

Perhaps the lesson I should take from this is that I shouldn’t worry as much (among all the other lessons learnt while reading this book) and I should just strive to be conscious?   I feel that’s a very honorable thing to strive for especially in our “go go go go; buy buy buy; distraction distraction distraction.- society”  Taking a moment every so often to breath and reaffirm that “I am awake- I am aware” would do a lot for me in terms of being more appreciative to the beauty of the world around me. Hoff actually discusses this idea I’m trying to get at a lot better than I can. 

“Many people are afraid of Emptiness, however, because it reminds them of Loneliness. Everything has to be filled in, it seems- appointment books, hillsides, vacant lots- but when all the spaces are filled, the Loneliness really begins. Then the Groups are joined, the Classes are signed up for, and the Gift-to-Yourself items are bought. The television Set is turned on to make it go away. But it doesn’t go away. So some of us do instead, and after discarding the emptiness of the Big Congested Mess, we discover the fullness of Nothing.” (p147-148)

The usefulness of Nothing is actually quite important. Hoff describes a story of the Chinese Emperor during a very busy frantic day coming to a meeting hall only to find it empty and,  bowing to the space, the emperor comments,  “We should schedule more appointments like this,” he told them, ‘I haven’t enjoyed myself so much in a long time.” (P. 148)

                In this example, the use of nothing is relaxing and meditative. It gives the Emperor a moment to breathe and relax. It allows him to be calm in the Present chaos of his schedule, and it allows him to have some peace of mind.  That’s pretty impressive to me for something so little as Nothing at all.

“ In the forty-eighth chapter of the Tao Te Ching, Lao-tse wrote, ‘ To attain knowledge, add things every day. To attain wisdom, remove things every day.” Chuang-tse described the principle in his own humorous way:

                ‘ I am learning,’ Yen Hui said.

                ‘How?’ the Master asked.

                ‘I forgot the rules of Righteousness and the levels of Benevolence,” he replied

                ‘ Good, but could be better,” the Master said.

                A few days later, Yen Hui remarked, ‘ I am making progress.’

                ‘How?’ the Master asked.

                ‘I forgot the Rituals and the Music,’ he answered

                ‘ Better, but not perfect.’ The Master said

                Some time later, Yen Hei told the Master, ‘Now I sit down and forget everything.’

                The Master looked up, startled. ‘ What do you mean, you forget everything?’ he quickly asked

                ‘I forget my body and senses, and leave all appearance and information behind,” answered Yen Hue. ‘ In the middle of Nothing, I join the Source of All Things.”

                The Master bowed. ‘You have transcended the limitations of time and knowledge.  I am far behind you. You have found the Way!’

This is a wonderful little parable to teach the importance of Nothing with regards to Taoism.  Nothing doesn’t actually mean “Nothing”, in this example it means the detachment from the “stuff” we use to define us, and by detaching oneself from the labels we place upon the world, we can touch a deeper spiritual truth, or inner self.   I am not my body, I am not the rituals I perform, I am not the facts stored in my brain, I AM those things but I am also so much more (or so much less, depending) and in meditation, and accepting that “Nothing” is an actual thing or spiritual concept, I can start to transcend the labels I and society place on myself and the world around me and become one with my inner self.

Lastly Hoff discusses the idea of “ideas that come from Nothing” and from becoming a child again.

“Let’s say you get an idea- or,as Pooh would more accurately say, it gets you. Where did it come from? From this something, which came from that something? If you are able to trace it all the way back to its source, you will discover that it came from Nothing. And chances are, the greater the idea, the more directly it came from there. . . . Practically everyone has gotten some sort of an idea like that sometime, most likely after a sound sleep when everything was so clear and filled with Nothing that an Idea suddenly appeared in it.  But we don’t have to fall asleep for a few hours for that to happen. We can be awake- instead- Completely awake. . . . It starts when we are children, helpless but aware of things, enjoying what is around us. Then we reach adolescence, still helpless but trying to at least appear independent. When we outgrow that stage we become adults- self sufficient individuals able and mature enough to help others as we have learned to help ourselves.

But the adult is not the highest stage of development. The end of the cycle is that of the independent, clear minded, all-seeing Child. That is the level known as wisdom. When the “Tao Te Ching” and other wise books say things like, ‘ Return to the beginning; become a child again,” that’s what they’re referring to. Why do the enlightened seem filled with light and happiness, like children? Why do they sometimes even look and talk like children? Because they are.  The wise are Children Who Know. Their minds have been emptied of the countless minute somethings of small learning, and filled with the wisdom of the Great Nothing, the Way of the Universe.”

I hadn’t thought about “enlightened” as a childlike returning but as Hoff explains it now, I find a beauty in that simplicity. A simplicity that is exemplified in many of the chapters in this book; simple and direct. But back to the enlightened child idea.

When I envision enlightened humans, I often think of Buddhists or Taoist monks, living in the word but simply and finding happiness in the most mundane things.  Perhaps, as I now suspect, it’s because they can find the beauty in even the smallest of life’s details. The beauty of a single flower or insect. The acceptance and embracement of the interconnectedness of all things. Or the happy child; empty of worry, duties, and the burden of the “knowledge” the wise owl guards so tenaciously; filled with “wisdom of the Great Nothing” and at peace with the world.

I have minimal experience with this; when working on creating the levels of my martial arts program I will have days where I agonize over how to structure the classes in such a way that my students will be able to learn the curriculum in the time frame I’ve outlined without the fear of them losing interest.  But then I’ll have a break through – often when working on other non-martial arts related things such as this assignment or reading “Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance” or doing mundane day-to-day things like laundry or cooking dinner- Then things seem to fall into space.   

Another example is the years of poetry I’ve written. I’ve rarely sat down with the idea of writing poetry, maybe I’ll have a line or two knocking around my head for a few days- and when I sit down to write them down so I don’t go insane often full length poems emerge.  Sometimes they meander or end where I didn’t expect them to go but somehow seem to be “Right” like that’s where the universe meant for them to become.   Something beautiful out of nothing; and a peace or calmness at their completion.   It’s quite beautiful.

 A Thought occurs to me that has left me finishing this assignment smiling, that Perhaps I’ve been a Taoist all along without even realizing it?

Chapter 7: That Sort of Bear  (1:57:11-2:24:22)  (6/06/15;06/07/15; 06/08/15)

This chapter is about the uniqueness of an individual. Whether it be recognizing ones creativity – such as Pooh’s “ode to joy” lyrics- or the stonecutter.     Within the stonecutter story; a man’s dissatisfaction with his lot in life/ envy of others; magically changes into the things/people that he envied only to find something else to be dissatisfied with.    Finally becoming a strong, immovable stone; he sees a stonecutter who- like he was- is able to change the shape of that mighty stone with his tools; thus completing the cycle only to be back where he began (perhaps wiser this time).

“In order to take control of our lives and accomplish something of lasting value, sooner or later we need to learn to Believe.  We don’t need to shift our responsibilities onto  . . . some deified Spiritual Superman, or sit around and wait for fate. . . We simply need to believe in the power that’s within us, and use it. “ (2:03:33-2:03:52)

 Hoff harkens to this idea of Taoism many, many times in this book. The idea that we are our guru; we simply need to be honest with ourselves and who we are inside. I feel a lot of people (myself included) spends way too much time worrying about the outer personality then just being transparent. Meaning a person is who they are when they are who they are; and regardless of what they’re doing; they’re doing it honestly and in tune with their inner selves. 

Hoff illustrates this with 2 examples; The first being Buckminster Fuller and the second being Thomas Edison.

Buckinster Fuller- a name I found familiar but couldn’t place- was a genius inventor and philosopher who was born at the end of the 19th century and lived until 1983.  Known for trying to improve human shelters through geodesic domes, the ideas of synergetics, and dymaxion world. (among other things that warrant their own post at a later date.)    

Buckminster Fullers, after losing everything and near suicide, he had an epiphany that he was now free to focus on what “he believed the universe wanted him to do, instead of what he had been taught to do. He watched the laws of the natural world and altered his own living patterns accordingly, eventually changing his life completely.”  (2:04:36- 2:04:50)

“ In 1854, a boy was withdrawn from school in Port Heron, Michigan, for ‘causing trouble.” He had been there for three months. That was to be the only formal education of his life. He later worked as a laboratory assistant. The job ended when he blew up the laboratory. His employer picked him up and threw him out into the dust, saying that he would never amount to anything. But he had a plan, and he wasn’t going to let a little problem or two stop him . . . He eventually became the foremost inventor in American history, with over thirteen hundred domestic and foreign patents registered in his name, a name synonymous with problem-solving genius, the name of Thomas Edison.”  (2:05:04- 2:005:48)

                These two examples of men lifted to greatness simply by being optimistic and overcoming obstacles because they were in tune with their vision; their drive, and courage.   They were Go-getting optimists; as opposed to what Hoff calls the “play-it-safe pessimists of the world.”   While I know about Thomas Edison – all kids growing up studied his theories and achievements at some point of their life, I had to google Buckminster Fuller and was quiet impressed and baffled by his accomplishments. I’m not going to write it here but might have to do some independent study on these two great men of history.

The lesson is, as hoff put it, “The play-it-safe pessimists of the world never accomplish much of anything, because they don’t look clearly and objectively at situations, they don’t recognize or believe in their own abilities, and they  stretch those abilities to overcome even the smallest amount of risk. “

2:06:26-2:09:37

Like during the expedition to find the North Pole, after Roo fell into the stream, Eeyore simply dangling his tale in the water to “help” Roo, long after it would have been effective, so that he could “get credit for having tried something. Of course, he didn’t really expect it to do any good, and of course it didn’t.”

“Who was going to rescue Roo? Panicky Piglet was jumping up and down and making noises. Ineffective Owl was instructing Roo to keep his had above water. Concerned Kanga was asking if he was alright. Captain Rabbit was calling out commands . . . . But Positive Pooh was looking at the situation, seeing what he could do about it, and trying something:

Two pools below Roo he was standing with a long pole in his paws, and Kanga came up and took one end of it, and between them they held it across lower part of the pool; and Roo, still bubbling proudly, “Look at me swimming,” drifted up against it, and climbed out.

                “Did you see me swimming?” squeaked Roo excitedly, while Kanga scolded him and rubbed him down, “Pooh, did you see me swimming? That’s called swimming, what I was doing. Rabbit, . . . .Swimming! Christopher Robin, did you see me------“

But Christopher Robin wasn’t listening. He was looking at Pooh.

“Pooh,” he said, “ where did you find that pole?”

Pooh looked at the pole in his hands.

“I just found it,” he said. “I thought it ought to be useful. I just picked it up.”

“Pooh,” said Christopher Robin solemnly, “the Expedition is over. You have found the North Pole!”

As Pooh found out with the North Pole, once we see what the situation is and what we can do about it, we need to utilize everything we find along the way in order to accomplish whatever is required. More often than not, the things we need are there already; all we have to do is make use of them.”

 Hoff goes on to give a second example of this idea with the story of Piglet being trapped by a flood.  Piglet throws a message in a bottle in hopes that someone will come and save him.  Pooh, unable to read the message, uses a honey pot as a boat to go get Christopher Robin, who- upon reading the note- figures they need a bigger boat (using an upturned umbrella) in order to save Piglet.  And they, with their upturned umbrella boat, save Piglet.

2:10:45-2:11:55

“The two fearless rescues just mentioned bring us to one of the most important terms of Taoism: Tz’u, which can be translated as “caring” or “compassion” and which is based upon the character for heart.  . . . Lao-tse named it as his “first treasure,” and then wrote “From caring comes courage.” We might add that from it also comes wisdom. It’s rather significant, we think, that those who have no compassion have no wisdom. Knowledge, yes; cleverness, maybe; wisdom, no. A clever mind is not a heart. Knowledge doesn’t really care. Wisdom does. We also consider it significant that Cor, the Latin word for “heart,” is the basis for the word Courage.

 Piglet put it this way; “ She isn’t Clever, Kanga isn’t, but she would be so anxious about Roo that she would do a Good Thing to Do without thinking about it.” Tz’u not only saved Roo, discovered the North Pole, and rescued Piglet; it also gave Piglet the courage to go get help for Pooh and Owl when owl’s house blew over.”. . .  .p.129

Hoff goes into another story set in the hundred acre woods when in Piglet and Pooh are visiting Owl- because it’s Thursday- and Owl, as always, starts going on about some random story about a relative when there was a loud cracking noise and the branch that held owls house breaks.

Owl, Pooh and Piglet find themselves trapped in Owls broken house. Owl divises a plan to pull piglet in a basket up to the letter slot and have him squeeze through.  While scared, Piglet went through with the plan.

                “ . . And at last . . . . He squeezed and he squoze, and then with one last sqooze he was out. Happy and excited he turned round to squeak a last message to the prisoners.

‘It’s all right,” he called through the letter-box. ‘Your tree is blown right over, Owl, and there’s a branch across the door, but Christopher Robin and I can move it, and we’ll bring a rope for Pooh, and I’ll go and tell him now. . . . Good-bye, Pooh! . . . . “ (p132)  (2:14:52-2:15:31)

This example of Tz’u is important because of the fact that Piglet is often the least courageous of the characters.  But when his friends are in trouble the caring he has for his friends can make him courageous.  

The next thing Hoff discusses is the “Tiddely-pon Principle” from another song by Pooh. 

(2:17:56-2:18:58)

“The more it snows

                                (Tiddely Pom),

The more it goes

                                (Tiddely Pom),

The more it goes

                                (Tiddely Pom),

                On Snowing.”

“ It’s sometimes referred to a the Snowball Effect, . . . and soon everyone was talking about the Huge Snowball that you let get completely out of control. . . and that may be why we prefer to think of it as the Tiddley-Pom Principle, instead.

                Now, the principle can work negatively or positively. It can promote cynicism as easily as it can encourage hope. It can build hardened criminals or courageous heroes, stupid vandals or brilliant creators. The important thing is to make it work for yourself and for the benefit of others, or face the Ugly Consequences. Working with the Tiddley-Pon principle you use respect to build respect. The more it snows the more it goes. . . ”  (2:18:58)

                This seems similar to the glass half empty;- glass half full ideas. If you feed one habit –such as showing respect to get respect; you put your time in and you will see results.   I actually really like this idea; while not entirely similar it does remind me of karma and the idea of instant-karma.  Feeding into negativity –like Eeyore does- only adds to the negativity in your life and in the world. Whereas if you feed into positivity in the face of opposition, you have the chance to change yourself and thus change your world.   Just got to get the right snow ball rolling down the right cliff.  The chapter ends with another great example of this.

(2:21:10-2:22:06)

“Do you want to be really happy? You can begin by being appreciative of who you are and what you’ve got. Do you want to be really miserable? You can begin by being discontent. As Laotse wrote, ‘A tree as big around as you can reach starts with a small seed; a thousand-mile journey starts with one step.’ Wisdom, Happiness, and Courage are not waiting somewhere out beyond sight at the end of aa straight line; they’re part of a continuous cycle that begins right here. They’re not only the ending, but the beginning as well. The more it snows, the more it goes, the more it goes on snowing."

"Chuang-tse described it this way:   It is widely recognized that the courageous spirit of a single man can inspire to victory an army of thousands. If one concerned with ordinary gain can create such an effect, how much more will be produced by one who cares for greater things!”

The smallest things can grow into stupendous things, in the same way the smallest acts and ideas (either positive or negative) can grow over time.  So feed the positive. Focus on the present and find the joy in the moment.   I chose to try to change this in my life. I usually feed negativity and self-sabotage my own happiness.  Through this training, meditations on Taoism, and changing my focus to a more selfless one that helps others (I.e. my patients, or my students) I have started to get a lot of inner positivity. I’m not perfect and that’s okay. I can celebrate my imperfections and be Courageous at what makes me unique.

Chapter 6: Bisy Backson (1:31:14 -1:57:10 ) ( 5/4/15;  5/6/15)

If the Pooh way is that of going with the flow, the Bisky Baskson way is just the opposite.

This chapter starts with a quaint little story of Rabbit wishing to see his friend Christopher Robin, only to find a sign saying “Gon out, boackson, bisy backson. C.R” (Gone out, back soon, busy, back soon)  While Christopher Robin simply wished to tell his friends that he wasn’t there and that he’d soon return. Rabbit missed something in the translation.

(1:32:29- 1:34:46)

“ Rabbit didn’t know what a Backson was- in spite of the fact he is one- so he went to Owl. Owl didn’t know, either. But we think we know, and we think a lot of other people do, too. Chuang-tse described one quite accurately:

                ‘There was a man who disliked seeing his footprints and his shadow. He decided to escape from them, and began to run. But as he ran along, more footprints appeared, while his shadow easily kept up with him. Thinking he was going to slowly, he ran faster and faster without stopping, until he finally collapsed from exhaustion and died.

                If he had stood still, there would have been no footprints. If he had rested in the shade, his shadow would have disappeared.’

                “You see them almost everywhere you go, it seems. On practically any sunny sort of day, you can see the Backsons stampeding through the park, making all kinds of lout Breathing Noises.  Perhaps you are enjoying a picnic on the grass when you suddenly look up to find that one or two of them just ra over your lunch . . . The Bisy Backson is almost desperately active. . .”

This is quite a wonderful little lesson on the applications of Taoism in real life.   Taoism teaches a way of existence in tune with the truths of life. The “bisy backsons” of this world spend their time fretting about their day-to-day activities and their own self interests. Blind to the beauty of the world and the simple beauty of being in the here and now that Taoism teaches.

Expounding on this lesson, Hoff writes the following:  (1:36:02-1:37:44)

“ Let’s put it this way: if you want to be healthy, relaxed, and contended, just watch what a Bisy Backson does and then do the opposite. There’s one now, pacing back and forth, jingling the loose coins in his pocket, nervously glancing at his watch. He makes you feel tired just looking at him. The chronic Backson always seems to have to be going somewhere, at least on a superficial, physical level. He doesn’t go out for a walk, though; he doesn’t have time. . . The Bisy Backson is always going  Somewhere, Somewhere he hasn’t been. Anywhere but where he is.” (p.96-97; 1:37:45)

While listening and reading this chapter I found quite a few examples in my own life where I’m a “Bisy Backson” always fretting about the future, or the plans for the day, never able to relax or take time to do “nothing.”  Whether I’m prepping class notes for my self defense program, keeping busy with household chores, perhaps obsessing upon these assignments for my Jedi Master and Apprentice Training, practicing my TKD forms, practicing my Shotokan forms, my mind is always racing- jumping from one thing to another and back again.   Very rarely does anything actually “get done” though.  Worrying about the future, or fretting about past mistakes, seems to rob me of my present- the “here and now”; taking away my ability to live life “The Pooh Way”.

The rest of this chapter reiterates these “dangers” of being a bisy backson; relating the religious movements of the Puritans, working tirelessly- pushing themselves towards their own deaths laboring in fields.  The only saving grace was when the wiser natives showed them how to work in harmony with the world instead of working as a slave driver, forcing the world to work for them (and failing)

(1:41:34 – 1:42:18)

“ . . . They were actually starving until the wiser inhabitants of the land showed them a few things about working in harmony with the earth’s rhythms. Now you plant; now you relax. Now you work the soil; now you leave it alone.  The Puritans never really understood the second half, never really believed in it. And so, after two or three centuries of pushing, pushing, and pushing the once-fertile earth, . . . we have apples that taste like cardboard, oranges that taste like tennis balls, and pears that taste like sweetened styrofoal. All products of soil that is not allowed to relax. We’re not supposed to complain, but There It Is.”

(1;42:19- 1:43:56)

“Say, Pooh, what are You busy?” I said.

“Because it’s a nice day,” said Pooh.

“Yes,but-----“

“why ruin it?” he said.

“But you could be doing something Important,” I said

“I am,” Said Pooh

“Oh? Doing what?”

“Listening,” He said.

“Listening to what?”

“To the birds. And that squirrel over there.”

“What are they saying?” I asked

“That it’s a nice day,” said Pooh.

“But you know that already.” I said

“Yes, but it’s always good to hear that somebody else thinks so, too,” he replied.

“Well, you could be spending your time getting educated by listening to the radio, instead,” I said.

“That thing?”

I broke this section up into two parts for a specific reason.  To write a bit about the “uncarved Block” principle and my feelings of this Taoist ideal of Pooh.   The world we live in is actually quite a beautiful hypocrisy. The media –with it’s sensationalism and fear peddling- can destroy a persons inner peace and while verbally promoting the radio- news; tv;etc- as a way to stay “in the know” about the world, exactly the opposite occurs.  We hear about pain and suffering, death and disease, fear, fear, fear, fear; and the result for some- when faced with such things- is isolation, inner turmoil and disconnection from the world.

Yes, there are wars, and disease, famine, and poverty and these are all terrible things and should be known about but –if I can continue this rant- I feel focusing 100% on the problem won’t solve anything.  Perhaps by taking a second and breathing; a person can find some inner calm or peace and try to see the interconnectedness of everything (similar to what was written in “Mindwalk” review) and sorta “see the forest through the trees” – the bigger picture- the beauty of the world.

My biggest problem with the media is this ever increasing negativity peddling, without balance.  I wonder often why can’t the news shed equal light on the good things of the world? Tell us about the hungry or the poor but give us (the citizens of the world) an outlet to help; spread awareness not in hopes of adding fear into our social consciousness but to spread awareness of how we as individuals can actually CHANGE these situations.  I personally can’t change the outcome of natural disasters, I don’t believe in fighting or war for oil and vengeance, I would however LOVE to see the world united in helping each other as brothers and sisters.   I apologize for the rant as it doesn’t exactly fit here but these are the feelings these teachings have spurred in my mind and so I feel it justified to write them here as they are happening.  

(1:43:56- 1:45:39)

“The hard headed followers of the previously mentioned Party-Crashing Busybody religion failed to appreciate the beauty of the endless forest and clear waters that appeared before them on this fresh green continent of the New World. Instead, they say the paradise that was here and the people who lived in harmony with it as alien and threatening, something to attack and conquer- because it all stood in the way of the Great Reward. . . From the Miserable Puritan came the restless pioneer, and from him, the Lonely Cowboy always riding off into the sunset, looking for something just down the trail.  From this rootless, dissatisfied ancestry has come the Bisy Backson,  . . . Rigid, combative fanatic that he is, the tightfisted Bisy Backson is just too hard on himself, too hard on others, and too hard on the world that heroically attempts to carry on in spite of what he is doing to it. It’s not surprising, therefore, that the Backson thinks of progress in terms of fighting and overcoming. “ (p.103-104)

The Bisy Backson personality is one that goes Against the natural world; whether it’s in the Puritans in their war on “Witches” and natural religions of their time; The Bisy Backson effectively disconnects with their inner selves and the natural world; thus leading to the personality of the Lonely Cowbow who is never content in the world because they are not content with themselves.  Which is the end result of the Bisy Backson lifestyle; A life of Things and control over the natural world; and an effective disconnection from the natural world and thus a disconnection from their true inner selves.

(1:45:39-1:46:18)

“ Of course, Real progress involves growing and developing, which involves changing inside, but that’s something the inflexible Backson is unwilling to do. The urge to grow and develop, present in all forms of life, becomes perverted in the Bisy Backson’s mind into a constant struggle to change everything (The Bulldozer Backson) and everyone (The Bigoted Backson) else but himself, and interfere with things he has no business interfering with, including practically every form of life on earth. . . . ”

This immovable object that the Bisy Backson seems  to be will not budge off of his mission to control the natural world, and thus lacks the focus to put their efforts into “deeper” pursuits in life. The need to change becomes twisted in the Backsons mind as a need to “Play God” and do the changing for others.  This is in complete opposition to the Taoist view point- The “Pooh Way”- who moves with the changes of their lives andseeks balance in themselves with the world around them; not as a tyrant who bends it to his own will and thus robbing it of it’s beauty.    Instead, Hoff recommends that we enjoy the processes of life; suggesting (Much like Watts did during his Meditation Paper) that the journey is the important part of reaching a goal.

(1:55:34 -1:56:14)

                “Enjoyment of the process is the secret that erases the myths of the Great Reward and Saving Time. Perhaps this can help to explain the everyday significance of the world Tao, The Way. What could we call that moment before we begin to eat the honey? Some would call it anticipation, but we think it’s more then that. We would call it awareness. It’s when we become happy and realize it, if only for an instant. By Enjoying the Process, we can stretch that Awareness out so that it’s no longer only a moment, but covers the whole thing. Then we can have a lot of fun. Just like Pooh.”

The lesson I take from this chapter so far is that all things need to be balanced; a person cannot be completely selfish and unruly because they will not grow; and will most likely regress into a winy child or immature individual that feels isolated, and out of control.  Seeking balance within ones self with the world around you is, in my opinion, the KEY of Taoism.  Enjoying the process of life instead of the “rewards”; we can see the inner happiness that can be reached and, by shifting our focus, we can get the whole picture,or as Hoff puts it:

(1:56:45-1:57:10)

“When we take the time to enjoy our surroundings and appreciate being alive, we find that we have no time to be Bisy Backsons anymore. But that’s alright, because being Bisy Backsons is a tremendous waste of time. As the poet Lu Yu wrote:

                                The clouds above us join and separate,

                                The Breeze in the courtyard leaves and returns.

                                Life is like that, so why not relax?

                                Who can stop us from celebrating?”

Chapter 5: The Pooh Way (4/09/15; 4/22/15;4/28/15;5/01/15)  (1:07:02-1:31:13)

(*Note this is going to be the hardest of chapters so far to not just copy paste because almost everything is conversation and/or so simply stated that I am having quite a bit of trouble paraphrasing or putting these things in my own words.  I will do my best to describe the Wu Wei/ Pooh Way and will be inserting a personal reflection on how this lesson impacts or could impact my life at the end in order to make this a more personal reflection just in case it includes “too many” quotes. – Senseimitpen)

This chapter begins with a description of Wu Wei.

 “ By the time it came to the edge of the Forest the stream had grown up, so that it was almost a river, and, being grown-up, it did not run and jump and sparkle alone as it used to do when it was younger, but moved more slowly. For it knew now where it was going, and it said to itself, “There is no hurry. We shall get there some day.” ‘ (1:07:02- 1:07:25)

When we work with our own inner nature and the laws of the world around us we reach the level of Wu Wei. “. . . It is also the most characteristic element of Pooh-in-action.  . . . So we will call it the Pooh Way.”

This entire chapter is about this concept of the Wu Wei and it’s personification within the character of Winne the Pooh. The simple minded, and happy little bear of Pooh Corner.

(1:08:19-1:08:33)

“The efficiency of Wu Wei is like that of water flowing over and around the rocks in the past-not the mechanical, straight-line approach that usually ends up short-circuiting natural laws, but one that evolves from an inner sensitivity to the natural rhythm of things. . . . (1:08:33)

 Hoff goes into an example of this from the teachings of Chuang-tse where Kung fu-tse seeing an old man stuck in the turbulence of a pool.  Calling to his disciples, they ran to rescue the man but once they got there, the man had already climbed out of the riverbank and was merrily continuing on his journey.  When Kung Fu-tse approached the man asking of what power the man had to survive such a turmoil. The man replied. “Nothing special, I began to learn while very young, and grew up practicing it. Now I am certain of success. I go down with the water and come up with the water. I follow it and forget myself. I survive because I don’t struggle against the water’s superior power. That’s all.”

When we learn to work with our inner nature and with the natural laws operating around us, we reach the level of Wu Wei. . . Since the natural world follows that principle, it does not make mistakes. Mistakes are made-vor imagined- by man, the creature with the overloaded Brain who separates himself from the supporting network of natural law by interfering and trying too hard. . .

“Just how do you do it pooh?

“Do what,” asked Pooh.

“Become so effortless”

“I don’t do much of anything,” he said.

“But all those things of yours get done.”

“They just sort of happen,” he said.

“Wait a minute. That reminds me of something from the Tao Te ching: . . . ‘Tao does not do, but nothing is not done.’

‘  . . . It means that Tao doesn’t force or interfere with things, but lets them work in their own way, to produce results naturally. Then whatever needs to be done is done.”

This explanation of Wu Wei,  this way of going with our inner nature and the laws of the universe, is a fundamental Taoist teaching. From previous chapters we learn that Pooh is the personification of this j principle- in that his simple minded nature focuses on the here and now and doesn’t force things into existence and by going with the flow of the world, Pooh is happy.

The next little story – for sake of minimizing quoting a lot of “dialogue”- centers around a game of Pooh Sticks that turns into helping Eeyore when he gets trapped in the river.

        “ I didn’t know you were playing,” said Roo.

        “I’m not,” said eeyore.

“Eeyore, what are you doing there?” said Rabbit.

“I’ll give you three guesses,Rabbit. Digging holes in the ground? Wrong. Leaping from branch to branch of a young oak-tree? Wrong. Waiting for somebody to help me out of the river? Right. Give Rabbit time, and he’ll always get the answer.”

“Then Pooh got an idea. They could drop some stones into the river. . . make waves, and the waves would wash Eeyore over to the river bank. Rabbit thought it was a good idea. Eeyore didn’t.

                ‘Suppose we hit him by mistake?’ said Piglett anxiously.

               “Or supposing you missed him by mistake,” said Eeyore. “Think of all the possibilities, Piglet, before you settle down to enjoy yourself.”

But Pooh had got the biggest stone he could carry, and was leaning over the bridge, holding it in his paws.

“I’m not throwing it, I’m dropping it, Eeyore.” He explained. . . .

Rabbit began to feel that it was time he took command.

“Now, Pooh,” he said, “ when I say ‘Now!’ you can drop it. Eeyore, when I say ‘Now!’ Pooh wil drop his stone.”

“Thank you very much, Rabbit, but I expect I shall know.”

“ . . . Are you ready, Pooh?. . . . ”

“ No,” said Eeyore.

“Now!” said rabbit.

Pooh dropped his stone. There was a loud splash, and Eeyore disappeared. . . .

. . . . And then, just as Pooh was beginning to think that he must have chosen the wrong stone or the wrong river or the wrong day for his Idea, something grey showed for a moment by the river bank. . . and it got slowly bigger and bigger. . . and at last it was Eeyore coming out.

With a shout they rushed off the bridge, and pushed and pulled at him; and soon he was standing among them again on dry land.

“Oh, Eeyore, you are wet!” said Piglet, feeling him.

Eeyore shook himself, and asked somebody to explain to Piglet what happened when you had been inside a river for quite a long time.

“Well done, Pooh,” said Rabbit kindly, “That was a good idea of ours.”

“When you work with Wu Wei, you put the round peg in the round hole and the square peg in the suare hole. No stress, No struggle. . . knowledge tries to figure out why round pegs fit round holes, bu not square holes. Wu Wei doesn’t try. It doesn’t think about it. It just does it. And when it does, it doesn’t appear to do much of anything. But Things Get Done.”

This Taoist teaching of going with the flow is repeated many times during this chapter and this book.  Going with your instincts, flowing with the river, focusing on the present, and learning to simply appreciate life is a fundamental teaching of Taoism.     While I was reading this chapter I kept thinking back to martial art principles I’ve been taught (and teaching) for many years now, a fundamental idea of going WITH your opponents’ energy/force in order to combat them and keep yourself safe.   This is a teaching reverberated in Juijitsu, wing chun, kung fu, and is also most often associated with Tai Chi Chung.

I was quite pleasantly surprised that this chapter also sees and mentions the tai chi chuan principle; towards the end of the chapter.   I feel I’ve explained this principle and reflected upon it well and thus leave you with the explanation quote of the Wui Way.

“The Wu Wei Principle underlying T’ai Chi Ch’uan can be understood by striking a piece of cork floating in the water. The harder you hit it, the more it yields; the more it yields, the harder it bounces back. Without expending energy, the cork can easily wear you out. So, Wu Wei overcomes forces by neutralizing its power, rather than by adding to the conflict. With other approaches, you may fight fire with fire,, but with Wu Wei, you fight fire with water.”

Chapter 4: Cottleston Pie 37:38- 1:07:02   (11/19/14;01/07/15; 1/21/15; 4/3/15)

·         This chapter is all about understanding ones limitations.

This chapter uses the song “Cottleston Pie” written by Alan Alexander Milne (The creator of Whinnie the Pooh) which was sung by none other then Whinnie the Pooh in his book “Whinnie the Pooh”, While not originally meant to be a deeply thought provoking song and instead was meant to be-and is- whimsical and cheerful sung by pooh in an attempt to cheer up gloomy Eeyore.  This nonsensical song about understanding ones inner nature; the author goes through every line of this whimsical song and applies the lines to Taoist thinking.

My biggest concern for this chapter was not just copy-pasting the explanations into this assignment but will include the lyrics for the song “Cottlestone Pie” as I discuss the Taoist concepts covered by Benjamin Hoff.

“Cottleston, cottleston, cottleston pie

A fly can’t bird, but a bird can fly.

Ask me a question and I reply:

Cottlestone, Cottlestone, Cottlestone Pie                              everything has its place and function.

Cottleston, cottleston, cottleston pie

A fish can’t whistle and neither can I.

Ask me a riddle, and I reply:

Cottleston, cottleston, cottleston pie                       I have certain limitations and I know what they are

Cottleston, cottleston, cottleston pie,

Why does a chicken, I don’t know why.

Ask me a riddle, and I reply:

Cottleston, cottleston, cottleston pie.”                   “instinct is another way of saying ‘we don’t know why’ ”

The first part of this song  (“A fly can’t bird, but a bird can fly”)  is actually pretty understandable as a fact disguised as a simple image.   This discusses the problem of “trying to fit a square peg in a round hole, ignoring the clear reality that Things Are As They Are.”

This is a fundamental principle of Taoist teachings of seeing the world as it is and not what our opinions and feelings tell us it is or should be.   Knowing where one belongs and, more importantly knowing where we don’t feel we belong, is respecting our Inner Nature.   Hoff describes this with an example from the life of Chuang-tse:

 In order to not simple retype the entire story; the basic storyline is that when sitting along the banks of the P’u River, Chuang-tse was approached by representatives of the prince, offering him a position in court.   Ignoring them, focused on the flow of the river, he remarks: “I am told that the Prince has a sacred tortoise, over two thousand years old, which is kept in a box, wrapped in silk and brocade.”  When the officials affirmed this fact, Chuang-tse went on to say, “ If the tortoise had been given a choice which do you think he would have liked better- to have been alive in the mud, or dead within the palace?” “ To have been alive in the mud, of course,” the men answered, “ I too prefer the  mud,” said Chuange-tse. “Good bye.”

This example of a tortoise being used as a pet and refined with human pleasantries, and décor teaches that one shouldn’t get trapped in such things when everything has its own place and nature which needs to be appreciated for what it is and not what we wish to dress it up as.

The next part of this song (“ A fish can’t whistle and neither can I “ ) Speaks to understanding our own limitations; much like that there can be terrible consequences for acting outside of ones limitations.  Having a good understanding of your limitations allows you to overcome the ones that and grow as a person and spiritual being.

Hoff demonstrates this through the character of Tigger who is quite boastful because he doesn’t know or except his limitations. (p.44)

“Roo and Tigger were walking through the Forest one morning, and Tigger was talking about all the things that Tiggers can do. . . . (Good at flying; good at swimming and good at climbing)  . . . And the next thing they knew, they were stuck in the tallest pine tree. Well, well. Not so good.

But then Pooh and Piglet came along, and of course Pooh realized right away just what was happening. Well, not right away . . . .

                “It’s a Jagular,” he said

                “What do Jagulars do?” asked Piglet, hoping that they wouldn’t.

                “They hide in the branches of trees, and drop on you as you go underneath,” said Pooh, “Christopher Robin told me.”

                “Perhaps we better hadn’t go underneath, Pooh. In case he dropped and hurt himself.”

                “They don’t hurt themselves,” said Pooh,”They’re such very good droppers.”

                “Piglet still felt that to be underneath a very good dropper would me a Mistake.”

Tigger finds himself in a tall pine tree, pooh and piglet here him and mistake him for a Jagular when Tigger called for assistance. But Eventually Christopher Robin comes and the three of them were able to create a net and when tigger jumped they became a big pile with Eeyore underneath everyone.

“Quite a bit of trouble you put everyone through, wasn’t it, Tigger?”

“I learned from this experience, though.” he said, a bit evasive.

“Oh, did you?”

“Of course. You won’t find me doing anything like that again,” he said in a confident sort of way.

I inferred that this story showed the fact that Tigger doesn’t understand his limitation and needs to learn them in a trial-and-error type of experience. That being said, there’s no reason to believe that Tigger won’t find himself into yet another predicament someday down the road.

49:16- 50:10

“ A saying from the area of Chinese medicine would be appropriate here: “One disease, long life; No disease, short life.” In other words, those who know what’s wrong with them and take care of themselbes accordingly will tend to live a lot longer than those who consider themselves perfectly healthy and neglect their weaknesses. So, in that sense at least, a Weakness of some sort can do you a big favor, if you acknowledge that it’s there. The same goes for one’s limitations, whether Tiggers know it or not- and Tiggers usually don’t. That’s the trouble with Tiggers, you know: they can do everything. Very unhealthy.  Once you face and understand your limitations you can work with them, instead of having them work against you and get in your way, which is what they do when you ignore them. . . your limitations can be your strengths.”

Okay, this is a long quote: so let’s take it a piece at a time.  The major theme of this quote is that people who know what the problems in their lives are, are more able to overcome them.  Tiggers over active confidence- or “no disease”/ no limitations outlook on life- are a big hinderance because without accepting his short comings he can’t grow as an individual and without personal growth Tigger will never reach an inner calm or deeper spiritual connection.

Believing one can do everything also has the shortcoming of hindsight, because once the over active- over confident being (i.e. Tigger) fails at anything the shock could destroy a bit of his confidence.  

50:26- 51:29

The Next part of the principle: “ Why does a chicken, I don’t know why.” Why does a chicken do what it does? You don’t know? . . Neither does anyone else. Science likes to strut around and Act Smart by putting its labels on everything, but if you look at them closely, you’ll see that they don’t really say much. . .  The important thing is we don’t really need to know. We don’t need to imitate nearsighted science, which peers at the world. . . looking for answers it will never find and coming up with more questions instead. . . What we need to do is recognize Inner Nature and work with Things As They Are. When we don’t, we get into trouble."

This reminded me of Watts discussion about labeling things in his book “Taboo”; where we are confounded by our need to label everything as a way to understand the world around us.  What Hoff is suggesting here- much like Watts- is that that doesn’t actually matter, and instead we should look deeper into ourselves and see the world like the Taoist- as in how the world actually is.

This is where we get to the Cottlestone Pie imagery.  According the hoof (as Pooh) Cottleston pie stands for inner nature.(56:36)  And that everything has their own inner nature which needs to be relied upon.    

“ . . .because people have brain, and Brain can’t be fooled. Inner Nature, when relied on, cannot be fooled. . .   But many people do not look at it (inner nature) or listen to it, and consequently do not understand themselves very much. Having little understanding of themselves, they have little respect for themselves, and are therefore easily influenced by others. . . But . . . we can work with our own characteristics and be in control of our own lives. The Way of Self Reliance starts with recognizing who we are, what we’ve got to work with, and what works best for us.” (57:29- 58:08)

SO here we are near the end of this section and I find myself rehashing much of the same message of understanding our limitations.  I hope this won’t sound like an over simplification but honestly there is only so many ways to say the same thing, and that is that the message of this chapter is all about seeing and recognizing our limitations. (as well as the consequences of not doing so).  Once we acknowledge that we are ignoring our inner selves and stop doing so. We start working with our own inner selves and become self-reliant, and responsible for our own happiness in life.

“In the story of the Ugly Duckling, when did the ugly duckling stop feeling ugly? When he realized that he was a swan. Each of us has something Special, a Swan of some sort, hidden inside somewhere. But until we recognize that it’s there, what can we do but splash around, treading water? The Wise and Who They Are. They work with what they’ve got and do what they can do. . . The first thing we need to do is recognize and trust our own Inner Nature, and not to lose sight of it. For within the Ugly Duckling is the Swan, inside the bouncing Tigger is the Rescuer who knows the Way, and in each of us is something Special, and that we need to keep.” (1:05:28- 1:06:27)

I really loved how this chapter kept sort of picking on Tigger for his abrasiveness but ended up with this serene little scene by the river bank of Pooh and Piglet talking and- understanding Tiggers’ limitations- accepting things as they are.   Very Taoist of the little Pooh bear and his little Piglet shaped friend.

Chapter 3: Spelling Tuesday 23:20-37:27 (11/15/14)

This is a pretty short chapter: The main thing discussed here is "Knowledge versus Wisdom"; or the scholar of the West; versus the practiotioners of the East.  Owl represents the scholar of west; the learned man of university who thinks in facts and scholarly pursuits. 

24:55- 25:44

“From the Taoist point of view. . .  A Well frog cannot imagine the ocean, nor can a summer insect conceive of ice. How then can a scholar then understand the Tao he is restricted by his own learning? . . . .  It seems rather odd, somehow, that Taoism, the way of the Whole Man, the True Man, the spirit Man.  . . . Is interpreted in the west (as) the Scholarly Owl- the Brain, the Academician, the dry-as-dust Absentminded Professor.”

25:46-26:19

“ Far from reflecting the Taoist ideal of wholeness and independence, this incomplete and unbalanced creature divides all kinds of abstract things into little categories and compartments, while remaining rather helpless and disorganized in his daily life.  . . Since he doesn’t usually put Taoist principles into practice in an everyday sort of way, his explanations of them tend to leave out some rather important details, such as how they work and where you can apply them.”

Throughout this chapter Hoff discusses the difference in point of view between understanding the Tao as a scholarly idea, and understanding the Tao a practitioner’;.  The inherent difficulty of seeing this “Wise Old Owl” image is that you lose the connection to the spiritual aspects of Taoism.  To use medical knowledge (because it’s both fun and personal) this is similar to the difference between understanding the signs or symptoms of an illness and actually experiencing the illness.  Not having that personal connection to the information only paints a black-and-white picture of the circumstances and lacks depth or the difference between knowledge and wisdom. Knowledge is such as knowing that a blood pressure higher than 130 is considered High (hypertension) but can’t explain the feeling of having high blood pressure (such as dizziness, increased heart palpitations, blurred vision, etcetera)

 This chapter’s main focus is about what Hoff calls “the Confucianist, dedicated scholar” and through analogies and discussion about what exactly the “dedicated scholar’s” perspective is.

Honestly one pitfall of this amazing book is that there is so many examples and so much discussed that I  find myself wanting to simply quote the whole book which of course defeats the purpose.  That being said I would like to discuss the differences in “the dedicated scholar” (owl) versus “the uncarved block” (Pooh).

While Scholarly pursuits allow for a great deal of enjoyment and learning; understanding of the world on  a fact basis is only part of the picture, whereas, “The Uncarved Block”; or this way of living life as life is, and seeing the world without ego and just living.

Apprentice Exercise #2: 

The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff

Chapter 2: The Tao of Who?  8:01- 23:19 (11/15/14)

This chapter tackles the Taoist teachings of “Pu” or “The uncarved block.”

The simplicity of the uncarved block; the wisdom of just being present; is a wonderful lesson of this chapter; one I’ve had trouble internalizing throughout my life (but more on that at the end of this section). The author compares the outlooks of Pooh to Rabbit (Knowledge for the sake of Cleverness) and Eeyore (Knowledge for the sake of complaining about something)

9:09- 10:12

“So here we are. About to try to explain P’u, the Uncarved Block.  . . Before we bring in our resident expert in for a few illuminating remarks, let’s explain something.  The essence of the principle of the Uncarved Block is that things in their original simplicity contain their own natural power, power that is easily spoiled and lost when that simplicity is changed.  . . The typical Chinese dictionary will give a definition of ‘natural, simple, plain (and) honest.’ ”

The two characters that make up “P’u” are the radical, root word meaning “tree” or “wood”, the second . . . is the character for dense growth or thicket. So from ‘Tree in a thicket’ or “wood not cut” comes the meaning of things in their natural state”- what is explained to western philosophers as “The uncarved Block”.

While Winnie the Pooh (the uncarved block) is able to accomplish what he does because he is simpleminded this is the significates of Winnie the Pooh is the main character and hero of Winnie-the-pooh and The House on Pooh corner.

( 15:14 –16:00)

“We’ve come to wish you a happy Thursday,” said Pooh. . .

“Why, what’s going to happen Thursday?” asked Rabbit. . . “Oh I thought you’d really come about something.”  . . .

“Rabbit’s clever,” said Pooh thoughtfully.

“Yes,” said Piglet, “Rabbit’s clever.”

“And he has Brains.”

“Yes,” said Piglet, “Rabbit has brains”

There was a long pause.

“I suppose,” said Pooh, “that that’s why he never understands anything.” (16:00)

While Rabbit is seen as quite clever, he is too tied down by his own cleverness and is unable to see beyond his knowledge of things. He views life as a series of events of great importance; one after another from awaking until sleep.  His life is quite orderly and precise. And this precision, this constant planning and routine is what makes him happy but as my understanding of Taoism increases I can see this as quite a hindrance to seeing the world as it IS.  Rabbit seems to personify that which is orderly, and precise, and what has been- with his routine rarely changing day to day- and there is happiness within that but not spiritual enlightenment.

16:00- 16:35

“. . . And if Clever Rabbit doesn’t quite have what it takes, Abrasive Eeyore certainly doesn’t either. Why not? Because of what we could call the Eeyore attitude. . . Eeyore’s is knowledge for the sake of Complaining about something.g  As anyone who doesn’t have it can see, the Eeyore Attitude gets in the way of things like wisdom and happiness, and pretty much prevents any sort off real accomplishment in life.”

The Eeyore attitude; or the constant looking on the world as a glass half empty is not a very joyous existence.  Much like the Buddha who saw the world as bitter and something to rebel against, the Eeyore attitude drains the simplicity, wisdom, and joy out of life.

In nursing (and medicine in general), we often talk about a patients “Quality of Life”; meaning their current state of overall health, survivability and their adjustments to the often inevitable, slow degradation of bodily function.  A lot of healing has to do with a persons’ outlook on their circumstances.

Let’s take a hypothetical injury to explain this: That of a broken leg. A patient who sees the world like Eeyore will wither away and dampen the healing processes simply based on attitude, under what some would see as a very survivable and adjustable injury.  While someone with the more Pooh outlook on the injury, would see the discomfort as a way for the body to slow down in order to heal and get stronger.  A Pooh attitude (or Taoist attitude) would be able to see the present set back as a positive and look to the future, where he is healed and happier.

(18:35-19:20)

“What is it about Pooh that makes him so lovable?

“Well to begin with-------“said Pooh

“--Yes, well, to begin with, we have the principle of the Uncarved Block. After all, what is the most appealing thing about Pooh? What else but----“

“Well to begin with----------“

“-----Simplicity. The Simplicity of the Uncarved Block? And the nicest thing about that simplicity is its useful wisdom, the what-is-there-to-eat variety- wisdom you can get at. Considering that, let’s have Pooh describe the nature of the Uncarved Block.”

“Alright Pooh, what can you tell us about the uncarved block?”

“Pooh can’t describe the uncarved block in words, he just IS it. ‘. . . .

The characters discuss their inability to describe the uncarved block. Simple minded Pooh insists he hasn’t done it, Piglet, in his constant nervous overtones insists “I didn’t do it. . . .It wasn’t me!” Rabbit pops his head in to tell us quickly that he hasn’t seen it and goes off to ask Owl before anyone can explain.  Upon the narrators’ explanation that it’s just a figure of speech, Pooh- with his simplicity- just accepts this.

“Oh is that all?” said Piglet

“I wondered,” said Pooh.

(22:43- 23:08)

“From the uncarved block comes the ability to enjoy the simple and the quiet, the natural and the plain.  Along with that comes the ability to do things spontaneously and have them work, odd that may appear at times. As piglet put it in Winnie-the-pooh, “Pooh hasn’t much Brain, but he never comes to any harm. He does silly things and they turn out alright.” . . .

 While this chapter is about the Taoist teachings of the Uncarved Block; I found a Buddhist quote I’d like to take a second and explain as a parallel to this teaching about the nature of the world.

“When you realize how perfect everything is you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky.”-Buddha

The character of Winnie the Pooh; with his simple outlook on life and his personification of the uncarved block has; from that view point; the ability to see the world as it is. Perfect in its imperfections, and peaceful in its chaos.  Melding with the wind of the earth, instead of battling against it.

I deeply appreciated this chapter (as I will probably appreciate the rest of this book) as it helped me to take this idea of “The Uncarved Block”; or the simple minded clarity of the world and relax a bit.  I find myself often fretting about goals, and life, and events I have little to no control over. I, as well as others, spend much too much time worrying about the future or regretting the past that I never have a good grasp on the present.  I will strive to stop worrying so much.   Much like another great fictional teacher (Yoda) said, “Do or do not. There is no try.”  I will find inner peace by realizing that it’s not about the search but the acceptance of what IS that allows one to be at peace.  I may have strayed a bit from the teachings in this chapter but that’s what I will take from it at this stage of my life. 

Apprentice Exercise # 2:

The Tao of Pooh By Benjamin Hoff

Chapter 1: The How of Pooh?  0:00 – 8:00  (11/13/14)

          The Vinegar Tasters and what it teaches about Taoism. Confucianism and Buddhism.

This wonderful little book that I picked up at my local Barnes and Nobel for $15; and found in the humor section; is at times quite silly; and at times deeply insightful.  I was born about 15 years too early to enjoy the late 90s-early 2000s revival of the beloved character of Winnie the Pooh on the Disney channel but in reading this book as well as remembering reading the stories to my step daughter years ago I fell in love with Christopher Robin and all the wonderful characters of the 100 acre woods.  Now as an apprentice and a more mature adult, I’m very happy to return to the memories of my childhood while learning a new way of looking at my once beloved friends and hopefully achieving a better understanding of the teachings of Taoism and how they can relate to my life.

In all my previous book related lessons during the Initiate Program, I used a “quote- response- quote- response” type of essay in order to make it easier for anyone who may have not read those works for a while to still understand what I’m reflecting on exactly.   Well, while there will still be quotes within this reflection I’m going to focus mainly on each chapters lessons and less on the actual quotes from the text.  I used a mix of the actual text and an unabridged audio YouTube. Any time stamps are from the YouTube video.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

The Vinegar Taster demonstrates the three prevalent eastern philosophers and their inherent differences in view of the world and philosophy.

 “To K’ung Fu-tse, life seemed rather sour. He believed that the present was out of step with the past, and that the government of man on earth was out of harmony with the Way of Heaven, the government of the universe . . . under Confucianism, the use of precisely measured court music, prescribed steps, actions, and phrases, all added up to an extremely complex system of ritual, each used for a particular purpose, at a particular time. . . .   To Buddha . . . life on earth was bitter, filled with attachments and desires that led to suffering.  . . In order to find peace, the Buddhist considered it necessary to transcend “the world of dust” and reach Nirvana. Literally a state of “no wind”.  

The whimsical nature of this teaching about the way Taoism, in comparison to the two other well-known Chinese philosophies, is actually quite beautiful.  Instead of needing to do away with attachments as the Buddha taught, or participate in an endless amount of rituals as Confucianism teaches, the Taoist simply needs to see the world as it is and accept it as such. (There is more to it than that but that’s a good starting point)

“To Lao-tse, the world was not a setter of traps but a teacher of valuable lessons. Its lessons needed to be learned, just as it laws needed to be followed; the all would go well. Rather than turn away from “the world of dust,” Lao-tse advised others to “join the dust of the world.” . . . over the centuries Lao-tse’s classic teachings were developed and divided into philosophical , monastic, and folk religious forms.  . . . But the basic Taoism that we are concerned with here is simply a particular way of appreciating, learning from, and working with whatever happens in everyday life. “

The painting of the “Vinegar Tasters”; the vinegar (life) must have an unpleasant taste as anyone who’s ever tasted vinegar can attest, but it’s the Taoist who can take the world as it is and accept the bad taste as just another part of what makes up the world and in accepting that has no need to detest it.  “Life itself, when understood for what it is, is sweet.” That is the main teaching of this first chapter of “The Tao of Pooh.”

In my confessed rushed assignment on Taoism towards the end of the IP, I didn’t delve too deeply into the differences of the Taoist teachings and hope that working through this wonderful and humorous book I will get a deeper understanding, and be able to see the world as what it is, and not just what I hope it could be. And in seeing the world as it is; I will-like the vinegar tasting painting- be able to find the sweetness in everyday life.

Apprentice Exercise # 1 (11/09/14)
“Write about why you decided to become a Jedi Knight; your motivations; and what you plan to do once you become a Jedi Knight.”

HISTORY:

I started the Initiate program on a whim. I’ve been researching religions for years and during one of my searches on alternative religions the link to this website came up. I checked it out and, with my background in religious studies and ethics, felt I could get a lot of knowledge by studying the IP curriculum.

Sometimes my progress through the Initiate Program was grueling and slow moving, sometimes life got in the way, but I stuck with it and most of the time it was quite enlightening and wonderful!!!! I got quite a wide view on ethics, religion, philosophy, and had the opportunity to have my previous views questioned with me eyes and either changed or reinforced through meditations; Beyond the actual lesson plans within the IP; I also got the ability to better self-motivate myself and set goals (and more important; achieve said goals even if not in the original time frame I had hoped)

As I continued through the studies and through getting to know the many wonderful people here I started to feel more like this temple with its cyber walls, and text boxes, was more like a spiritual family then any of the communities in physical churches I had searched for before finding this temple; and now as I start my apprenticeship I feel like this is my spiritual home.

WHY I WISH TO BE A JEDI KNIGHT:

I want to continue on in my studies as an apprentice until reaching knighthood in order to continue learning in this community, and hopefully helping others who may find my history beneficial to their own spiritual path. My main motivations are still what they were when I started just more focused. I wish to continue learning, applying the Jedi teachings to my everyday life, and grow as a more spiritual person.

LOOKING TOWARDS THE FUTURE:

Once completing my apprenticeship I hope to be able to work towards moving through the ranks to Jedi Master and help my own apprentices along their own journeys. I also plan to move on to the Clergy as well as a way for my history in theology to greater benefit myself and those in this community and bind my past studies within and before finding this temple in a way to better live my life as a spiritual person.

Initiate exercise #10 (written: 11/25/12-12/03/12)

Symbolism of Sword and how it relates to Jedi/Jediism

When people hear the word “Jedi” they may picture men and women of different races as well as strange creatures of all shapes and sized, dressed in lightweight brown (or tan) robes roaming a “Galaxy far, far away”.

They may think of terms such as: Peace, Meditation, wisdom, knowledge, excitement, and explosions. Presently the majority of people, especially children, will think of Asoka Tano and Anakin Skywalker of the computer animated “Clone Wars” show, or they may hear Frank Oz’s voice imparting wisdom through the ancient, Kind-eyed pint sized, green Jedi Master Yoda, with his distinctive “object-agent-verb” speech pattern, but if you ask enough questions, quite quickly the iconic image of the “lightsaber” inevitably comes up.

This brings me to the last initiate essay exercise on the symbolism of the lightsaber, the symbolism and history of the sword through history, The relationship to Jediism and the possible reasons for creating a lightsaber hilt replica, and reasons for if I plan on creating one in the future or not.

HISTORY

First lets talk a bit about the history of edged blade weaponry. For this section I’ve chosen to write on the ancient Samurai of Japan, as compared to the historic and myths of the ninja; as well as a section of symbolism of swords in modern American armed forces.

JAPAN’S SAMURAI WARRIORS

Jedi, as far as George Luca’s creations, seem to be half warrior “peace keepers” and half secular monk, used for various missions from protection of important people such as senators, or district leaders, etc. to maintain peace throughout their galaxy through acts of diplomacy, negotiation and when necessary warfare.

Which is very similar to the ancient samurai of Japans medieval feudal era from the late twelfth century to the late nineteenth century)

The Samurai of Japan dedicated their lives to following a strict code of honor known as “Bushido”, which translates to the “way of the warrior.”

In Japanese culture, Bushido is defined as “A unique philosophy that spread through the warrior class from the chusei period.”

The Bushido code is typically separated by seven virtues, and is included in this assignment due to the close relationship they had in how a Samurai viewed the world. These were as follows: 1.Righteousness, 2.Courage. 3. Benevolence, 4.Respect, 5.Honesty, 6.Honor, and 7.Loyalty.

The Samurai were trained in a martial art that has been lost but present day has a form influenced by the Samurai know as Kendo, or “way of the sword.”

SAMURAI/JEDI CONNECTION:

The main connections are the dedication to a set of principles and in how they viewed their weapons.

Within the Star Wars Universe a lot of emphasis on the spiritual nature of the creation of a lightsaber is given, which I feel is directly influenced by the great spiritual reverence the Samurai placed in the creation and use of their swords.

They viewed the sword as an extension of themselves, or as a deeply trusted “friends” (given that their life was so focused on fighting and training, their swords were their best known “friends”) Samurai even went to the extent to impart “souls” into their katanas which were see as the source of the samurai warriors spirit, often being passed down from father to son as a family legacy.

NINJITSU

Unlike the Samurai warriors, Ninjitsu is mainly seen as stealth based fighting, associated with covert warfare, assassination and criminal activity. Developed by groups of people mainly from the Iga Province and Koka, shiga of Japan, Ninja or Shinobi have long been associated with stealth activities’ and assassinations.

Ninjitsu used the katana; an array of darts, spikes, knives, and sharp shuriken (star shaped discs of different size) Kama’s, and were not bound by a strict code of conduct.
While they used swords, the commonly known short, black blade known as a ‘Ninjato” has no real historical origin, and is most likely a creation from present day or ninja mythology and legend.

MODERN SWORD/ARMED FORCES

With the invention of bigger and better guns and destructive weaponry, the sword is now mainly used as a symbol for warriors as opposed to a battle ready devise of bloodshed.

All branches of the United States Armed Forces are trained in the uses of edge weapons (knives, machete, daggers, kukri, etc) in combat during basic training, but as far as historical, traditional swordsmanship, the united states Marine Corp is the only branch around using full sized sabers.

The United States Marine Corp (founded in 1775) NCO sword is a weapon awarded to enlisted Marines who reach the rank of Corporal. While trained in combat uses, and carried in warfare as a back up close-quarter weapon, the sword symbolizes the crucial leadership role the NCOs play in the field.

JEDIISM; or how the symbol of the sword relates and is incorporated into Jediism:

The Lightsaber seems to be an essential symbol of Jedi; Swords are used in the knighting ceremony as an important symbol of warfare, and nobility.

The main religious symbolism of a lightsaber:

1.Nobility: Status as a “Jedi” in Lucas’ universe, Shows a balance between nobility, and piety and being humbled.

2. Skill: Lightsabers (if they were real) would take a formidable amount of skill to use effectively. Similar to the ancient samurai warriors; whose skill with katana’s made them the greatest sword-wielders of their time, the ability to defend oneself against blasters or superior firepower, takes a great deal of skill and practice.

3. Used as a parallel to the swords of Arthurian legend/knighting.

Wearing a sword openly and proudly shows honor, and skill. In fact, the greatest indignation to the ancient samurai wasn’t the mass slaughter under superior firepower, but was when the nationwide sword ban occurred. No longer were these proud Samurai able to wear what amounted to their religious symbol openly, robbing them of a reverent part of themselves- a defining part of their identity and spirituality, and to an extent, robbing them of a part of their souls.

The lightsaber, similar to the Samurai sword, can be seen as a religious fetish, being defined as:

Fetish: (noun) 1: An object regarded with awe as being the embodiment of habitation of a potent spirit or as having magical potency; 2: Any object, idea, thought, etc. eliciting unquestionable reverence, respect, or devotion.

My opinion of the Jedi Lightsaber replica:

The Jedi lightsaber replica is, in my opinion, holds the same importance as a Jewish Star of David, or a Crucifix, or a Pentacle. The lightsaber is something of reverence worn to show belonging to the spiritual ideals of the Jedi.

Construction of a lightsaber replica can be not just a physical practice, but a spiritual one as well. The time used collecting the parts, as well as the actual construction can be given the same spiritual importance that Pagans use when performing ceremonial magick, or when priests perform Sunday mass. It is that reverence for the task at hand that gives the symbol its power, it’s importance, and it’s spiritual empowerment.

The construction of the lightsaber within the George Lucas world of “Star Wars” was a pivotal step in becoming a Jedi, where as within our earthly society we can see this as an initiation ritual: A symbolic culmination of completing our basic studies, or apprenticeships, or as a dedication to the Jedi lifestyle. (Depending on if and when an individual chooses to create a lightsaber replica)

I personally haven’t created a lightsaber hilt replica, and haven’t truly decided of if I will or won’t. Once I’m finished with the initiate program and while I wait to be chosen by a knight or master to apprentice under, I will meditate and decide then.

Sources:
1.Bushido definition: www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bushido
2.Bushido basics: www,wikipedia.org/wiki/Bushido_Code#section_2
3. Samurai warrior info: www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samurai#_ (and various subsets within this entry)
4.Ninjitsu: www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katana
4.2 www,wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja#section_1 (through Ninja#section_7)
5.Military:
www.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Marinie_Corps
www.ehow.com/about_5094989_historyusmc-noc-sword.html
6.”Fetish”Definition: www.dictionary.com/d/?q=fetish&o=0&1=dir