Some books are not books at all. They’re sticks of dynamite.
Taoism
I made a comic! For the first time ever. It involves an angst-ridden human and a sorta-Zen tortoise and plenty of strangeness. I’ll leave it at that. I hope you enjoy. A version of this essay was first published at HighExistence. Refine The Mind is now on Patreon. For the cost of buying me a [...]
“Zen Buddhism is a way and a view of life which does not belong to any of the formal categories of modern Western thought. It is not religion or philosophy; it is not a psychology or a type of science. It is an example of what is known in India and China as a ‘way [...]
“Flow with whatever may happen, and let your mind be free: Stay centered by accepting whatever you are doing. This is the ultimate.” ― Chuang Tzu A sizable number of humans who hear the phrase, “go with the flow,” probably barely register it or associate it with some reductive hippie philosophy of yesteryear—a philosophy of laziness [...]
“Man is a mystery. It needs to be unravelled, and if you spend your whole life unravelling it, don’t say that you’ve wasted time. I am studying that mystery because I want to be a human being.” ― Fyodor Dostoyevsky I’m guilty, I confess: I love quotes. In our meme-saturated, sound-bite culture, it seems almost [...]
Zen Buddhism is pretty chill. Really, I daresay there are few beings as low-key and drama-averse as a Zen monk calmly sampling the fragrance of a rhododendron. Okay, maybe sloths. One particularly awe-conjuring Zen Buddhist is a fellow by the name of Thích Nhất Hạnh. A Vietnamese monk, teacher, author, poet, and peace activist, Nhất Hạnh has published [...]
“I would only believe in a god who could dance.” ― Friedrich Nietzsche Religion is like Rob Ford: intense, divisive, and running for political office. But seriously, religion. One word which encompasses a galactically colorful range of ideas and meanings. The quintessentially human phenomenon has been around forever, and virtually everyone has an opinion about it. I’m not here to put [...]
The Tao Te Ching is one old book. Like older-than-Jesus old. Written around the 6th century BC by the poet-philosopher Lao Tzu, the relatively short work is the fundamental text of Taoist philosophy. It’s also a stirring and delectable little read, 2600 years later. Taoist teachings (along with other Oriental philosophy) seem to calm, stimulate, and refresh me, [...]
“HOW ABOUT INSTEAD OF READING THIS TWEET U JUST GO SIT AND CONTEMPLATE THIS EARTH’S NATURAL BEAUTY” — KOOL A.D. Most humans who encounter his work would likely agree that Victor Vazquez, better known by the moniker “KOOL A.D.”, is a walking unclassifiable, an eccentric and enigmatic presence in the modern rap scene and society at [...]
“There was once a stonecutter who was dissatisfied with himself and with his position in life . . .” Recently, I read a book called The Tao of Pooh. This charming little book is centered on the premise that one can understand the fundamentals of Taoism through a close reading of Winnie the Pooh, the classic children’s book [...]