Every culture around the world has a Great Deluge or Great Flood tale. For the Europeans, it was Noah's Flood and for the Hindus, it was the manvantara-sandhya. The Mesopotamians have their own flood stories that are very similar to the Native Americans in North America's recounting of a Great Flood. There is also the … Continue reading The Great Flood of 9,700 BC
Tag: philosophy
Ten Conditions for Beauty in Ancient Vietnam 2
(Continued from Ten Conditions for Beauty in Ancient Times 1) As promised, here are the remaining Requirements of an Ancient Beauty, as written by an ancient scholar of anonymity. 5. The Three Arts So far, the first four requirements are something that is beyond the scope and ability of any young beauty of the day to … Continue reading Ten Conditions for Beauty in Ancient Vietnam 2
Ten Conditions for Beauty in Ancient Vietnam 1
We all know what constitutes Beauty in our present-day world. The artificially constructed image created by the trillion-dollar beauty industry informs us in no uncertain terms, what is necessary to have in order to be considered Beautiful. The images show up everywhere we look to influence our lifestyle and to sell us things that we … Continue reading Ten Conditions for Beauty in Ancient Vietnam 1
Hexagram 18 – Poisonous Dark Sorcery
Hexagram 18 is a bit of a doozie. On the one hand, it has to do with creepy crawly critters, and on the other hand, it has to do with mountains and wind. Neither of these seem to go well together, but bear up with me for a bit. Since these are very disparate ideas, … Continue reading Hexagram 18 – Poisonous Dark Sorcery
My First Step onto the Taoist Path
To be honest, I never thought that anyone would be interested in how I got started on the Taoist path. It never seemed to be that interesting a process to me, but since I have had several queries by separate individuals asking about my own personal journey, please allow me to share my story with you, my precious … Continue reading My First Step onto the Taoist Path
144 Billion Bottles of Beer on the Wall
144 billion bottles of beer on the wall, 144 billion bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, one hundred forty-three billion nine hundred ninety-nine million nine hundred ninety-nine thousand nine hundred ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall. I wonder how long it's going to take to sing this song until we get to … Continue reading 144 Billion Bottles of Beer on the Wall
Karma Is so Passé
Karma---the heart and soul of the idea of cause-and-effect in action---is also one of Taoism's most basic tenets. There is no arguing its validity. Its footprint is seen in all aspects of physics and chemistry and mathematics. Newton's third law eloquently states that "for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction". Of course, he is talking … Continue reading Karma Is so Passé
The Copper-Nickel Alloy Oracle
Suprahuman intelligence has from the beginning made use of three mediums of expression---men, animals, and plants, in each of which life pulsates in a different rhythm. Chance came to be utilized as a fourth medium; the very absence of an immediate meaning in chance permitted a deeper meaning to come to expression in it. The … Continue reading The Copper-Nickel Alloy Oracle
Chu Dynasty I Ching
Yet another sojourn through space and time, into the vast distant reaches of the I Ching's various interpretations and compilations. I finally got a chance to crack open the two-volume Chu-Dịch written by Phan Bội Châu, which means The I Ching, during the era of the Chu Dynasty (周朝) Chou Ch'ao. The two short words that … Continue reading Chu Dynasty I Ching
Cô Đôi Thượng Ngàn
Per a request from a reader: After I posted an article which featured this song, I was asked to translate it, so I happily obliged. It also gives me the chance to tell you an ancient tale about Cô Đôi Thượng Ngàn. http://youtu.be/UrtagrBD5dY Cô Đôi Thượng Ngàn Ngọc Điện chốn kim môn cô ra vào Ngọc Điện … Continue reading Cô Đôi Thượng Ngàn