Heaven and Earth and I were born at the same time, and all Life and I are one.

Chuang Tzu

My good friend The Valkyrie has posed a very stimulating question at her blog concerning a quote by Franz Kafka which likens a good book to an “ice-axe” that breaks up the “frozen sea inside of us”, challenging our views and not just simply telling us what we “want to hear”, but rather what we “need to hear.” Val asked us which books we saw as “ice axes” and if we re read those books often. I answered that the Tao Te Ching and Chuang Tzu were the first and foremost books on this list for me. I thought I may explain my answer more fully here.

The thoughts expressed within the Tao Te Ching (and later expounded upon by Chuang Tzu) are indeed, in my opinion, the very essence of what Kafka was talking about because they most definitely do not fall in line with the “average” mode of thinking. We tend to live our lives, whether consciously or unconsciously, with a preoccupation of the “self” at the fore. In the early Taoist classics, this very preoccupation and attachment to self interest comes under attack in every line that was written. It is a common theme in the Taoist classics that the things we attempt to nurture (i.e. wealth, fame, power, success, and any other form of self aggrandizement) are the very things we should strive against. It is most definitely not the avenue of thought that most of us want to venture down.

The TTC diametrically opposes the ideology that humanity has any “special” place within nature; it is representative of the idea that we are inextricably linked to all things around us, dependant on the Universe for our survival, and destined to return to an unknowable, indefinable Source which brings about everything. It is, in the ideology of the TTC, not our “purpose” to elevate humanity to some higher level of authority, nor to subjugate ourselves to any “higher power”, but simply to awaken to the reality that our wants and desires are often fed by egocentric and selfish motivations that are not only destructive to us, but indeed destructive to mankind and nature. The Tao, or the Way, of the TTC is not a deity or a god to be worshipped, but the Universal principle, the unspeakable, unbreakable, and unbiased law of the Universe at work within us and outside of us at all times.

We have two choices, according to the philosophy of the Tao; we can either see reality as it is, or attempt to go against it. To see reality as it really is, without any preconceived notions placed upon it by our own meddlesome, self-centered, and violent natures, is not an easy thing to do. We do not wish to view reality as something that is unchangeable; we hate to think that there is something that can not be moved by our intellectual contrivances. We shiver at the thought that we are not “all powerful” in the Universe. But, to attempt to go against this truth only brings about unrest within our minds, leading to harmful and often violent results. It is always our choice to make, however.

I do not study the TTC because it tells me what I want to hear. It is not, as is the common misconception in the minds of many people in Western civilization, a book of “self help” techniques, or “fluffy” mysticism. Within the 81 chapters of the TTC, I have found truths that relate to all of humanity on a psychological, social, political, and spiritual level that I have not found in any other book. The truth of the TTC, to me, is much like Kafka stated  in the quote Val posted on her blog;  “as with a fist pounding on my skull.” Obviously, the end result aimed at by the philosophy of Taoism is “inner peace and tranquility”, but I have found that it does not candy coat the truth in the least.

Okay, Miss V., there’s my book report. Please grade it kindly J!

peace, wayf

Today marks the first day of my 36^th year in this life. Invariably, when we reach these milestones, we start asking ourselves the same old questions: What have you accomplished? What have you done?

I have not accumulated much in the way of material wealth along the way. I most certainly am not “poor”, but couldn’t really qualify as “wealthy” either. I am not a “success” as concerns worldly matters. Some days, I wish things were different, but most days I am completely content with my humble status in the world.

I have accumulated wealth, in a very substantial way, however. Along my 36 year journey, I have begun to learn the arts of music, writing, and friendship. I have had the great pleasure of making the acquaintance of some very unique and fascinating individuals, both in the “real” and “cyber” realms. I have been fortunate enough in my life to find one thing that many people never do; someone who loves me for who I am with no questions asked. She is the greatest birthday gift I could have ever asked for.

What have I done? I have learned, I have grown, and I have loved. I have learned that we never stop learning, with each new day presenting some new facet of things we thought we already knew inside and out. I have learned that most of the time, growth is measured not by expansion, but by how much we are willing to shrink. I have found that love is the single most important thing we can do for each other in this world.

I am not an expert in anything, nor would I want to be. But, I have a couple of things that I would staunchly admonish anyone reading this to do; don’t take as much stock in your faults as you do your accomplishments, no matter how small your accomplishments may seem to you. Love yourself first, so that you may be able to openly and fully love those around you with no expectations.

This is just simply the first day of the rest of my life, and I look forward to many more years of learning.

peace, wayf

 Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha

“All that we are is the result of what we have thought. If a man speaks or acts with an evil thought, pain follows him. If a man speaks or acts with a pure thought, happiness follows him, like a shadow that never leaves him.”

“An idea that is developed and put into action is more important than an idea that exists only as an idea.”

“Better than a thousand hollow words, is one word that brings peace.”

“Hatred does not cease by hatred, but only by love; this is the eternal rule.”

“Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned.”

“I never see what has been done; I only see what remains to be done.”

“Virtue is persecuted more by the wicked than it is loved by the good.”

“Whatever words we utter should be chosen with care for people will hear them and be influenced by them for good or ill.”

“You can search throughout the entire universe for someone who is more deserving of your love and affection than you are yourself, and that person is not to be found anywhere. You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe deserve your love and affection.”

 Executive Order 9066

...May it serve as a constant reminder of our past so that Americans in the future will never again be denied their constitutional rights and may the remembrance of that experience serve to advance the evolution of the human spirit...
- Plaque at the Poston Relocation Center

How could such a tragedy have occurred in a democratic society that prides itself on individual rights and freedoms?... I have brooded about this whole episode on and off for the past three decades...
- Milton S. Eisenhower, in The President Is Calling

Dec. 7^th, 1941; “A day that will live in infamy.”

The Japanese Air force, in a surprise attack, took out the United States’ battleship force at Pearl Harbor, fearing that it may be an impediment in the Empire’s southward expansion. The result was terror, confusion, and fear amongst the American people. Fear and suspicion permeated the society, and soon, Americans began turning watchful eyes on Japanese Americans. If you were of Japanese descent in America during the early 1940’s you were in a sticky situation, indeed.  State representatives began putting pressure on President Roosevelt to take action against all those of Japanese descent living in the U.S.

On Feb. 19^th, 1942, Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066. Some 120,000 people were forced to evacuate their homes and placed in internment camps, under the conditions of Order 9066. The action was justified by the U.S., which said that people of Japanese descent were dangerous because they could be spies for the Japanese Empire. Over two thirds of those interned were American citizens and half of them were children. In some cases, families were separated and placed in different camps.

There were only ten people ever convicted of spying for Japan during WW2 in America. All ten were Caucasian.

Many of the Japanese were given only forty eight hours to evacuate their homes and were only allowed to take very few personal effects and being scammed by people offering far less than what their remaining goods were worth. “It was really cruel and harsh. To pack and evacuate in forty-eight hours was an impossibility. Seeing mothers completely bewildered with children crying from want and peddlers taking advantage and offering prices next to robbery made me feel like murdering those responsible without the slightest compunction in my heart." Joseph Yoshisuke Kurihara speaking of the Terminal Island evacuation.

This horrid and inhuman treatment of American citizens lasted two full years, until they were finally released and allowed to return to society. Some of the interned Japanese did stay in America, but others returned to Japan. Everyone who was in those internment camps was affected permanently, however. Imagine the dehumanizing effect of having someone remove you and your family from your home and force you into a prison camp based on your ethnicity.

I remember being an impudent high school kid and asking my World History teacher what the use was in my learning “a bunch of stuff that happened a long time ago.” He replied rather matter of factly, “The reason for learning history is so that people will not make the same mistakes twice.” Of course, my History teacher was right. Unfortunately, it seems that no one has learned this all too important lesson. Without looking at History with the intention to not repeat the same mistakes those before us did, we are almost certainly destined to repeat them ad infinitum.