The Tao Te Ching was written by Lao Tzu, and according to legend, he wrote the book for a stranger who asked him to help him become wise. Lao Tzu communicated what he had learned when he left society to live by himself, and the result is an illuminating text that continues to be relevant … Read more
One of the most difficult things is to recognize that fear is a result of your own expectations. When you learn to have no goal, to embrace nothing, you will have no fear. CHAPTER 38: No Expectations The Master doesn’t try to be powerful;thus he is truly powerful.The ordinary man keeps reaching for power;thus he … Read more
Rather than try to influence others, study and manipulate them, focus on knowing yourself. There is nothing wrong with studying others, but it is insufficient. True power comes from knowing yourself. When you know yourself, you can overcome anxiety, and you can understand human nature more deeply. CHAPTER 33 Knowing others is intelligence;knowing yourself is … Read more
This idea is about nothingness, particularly emptying the mind of its preconceptions about the world. Zen Master Seung Sahn, when commenting on the mud reference in the below excerpt said, Our mind is like a glass of clear water. If we put salt into the water, it becomes saltwater; sugar, it becomes sugar water; shit, … Read more
A central theme in the Tao Te Ching is to be soft, fluid, changeable. To be fluid means to be like a child, who has not yet developed self-awareness. Because the child is not self-aware, he does not question his movements and does not lose presence. The more self-conscious you become, the less fluid you … Read more
We are used to classifying behavior as good or evil, but Lao Tzu urges us to reconsider this tendency. Since change is inevitable, so it is impossible for evil to remain evil and for good to remain good. People are capable of amazing transformation in either direction. The Tao, being the natural order of things, … Read more
Chess grand masters win because they don’t make a mistake. Poker players win because they don’t lose their stack. Investors get rich because they don’t go broke when others do. Athletes become stars because they don’t get injured. It is wiser to follow advice that warns you of what not to do rather than tells … Read more
Behave is a book by Robert Sapolsky about the biological underpinnings of human behavior. The Triune Brain Model Your Brain is Part Reptilian, Part Emotional and Part Neocortex A good way to understand how the human brain works is the Triune Brain Model, which divides the brain into 3 parts: 1) The Reptilian Brain (responsible … Read more
In a memorable graduation speech, the writer David Foster Wallace explained the real purpose of a liberal arts education. It is not to download literary and historical data into your brain, but to teach you something much more fundamental: to give you the power to choose what you want to think about at every moment. … Read more
Imagine losing everything you own, your health, and everyone you love. Too depressing, I know. But for the Stoics, this was a daily routine. And not for nothing, the Stoics realized that there was something about human psychology that worked against us. We lose a sense of urgency and relish for life when things are … Read more