A No-No Nse-Nse by Bā-bē-bi-bo-bu There once was a lad named Judas SpreeWhose heart was overflowing with glee His spirits were so high He thought he could flyAnd he leaped off a cliff for all to see. He glided aloft, tumbled end over end,And so gyred and gamboled on the wind That birds were amazed Spectators were dazedAs they… Continue reading Judas Spree
Month: July 2023
The Uncertainty Principle: Heisenberg or Dōgen?
Hyatt Carter Way back in the thirteenth century, over 700 years ago, Zen Master Dōgen expressed an insight that seems a foreshadowing of Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle: When one side is illumined, the other is darkened.* 一方ヲ證スルトキハ。一方ハクラシ。(Ippo o shosuru toki wa, ippo wa kurashi.) This does not entail dualism, nor, in denying dualism, does it imply… Continue reading The Uncertainty Principle: Heisenberg or Dōgen?
A Zany Bloke in a Harlequin Cloak
A No-No Nse-Nse by Bā-Bē There once was a zany bloke in a long harlequin cloakWhose only gist he daily spoke was a jesting gibberish joke One morn while rhapsodizing utterly In sounds so barmy sweet and butterly That cuckoos swarmed round him flutterly Leaving him thereafter quite stutterlyFrom this avian absurdity he never awoke And the next day… Continue reading A Zany Bloke in a Harlequin Cloak
Whitehead’s Letter to Hartshorne
Here is a facsimile, in four parts, of a letter from Alfred North Whitehead to Charles Hartshorne written in 1936: The facsimiles appear as Front Matter in Charles Hartshorne’s book Whitehead’s Philosophy: Selected Essays, 1935-1970. Here is a transcription of the handwritten letter: 504 Radnor Hall784 Memorial DriveCambridge, Mass.Jan. 2nd, 1936 Dear Hartshorne First, I… Continue reading Whitehead’s Letter to Hartshorne
Adventures with Rev. Arthur at Founder’s
Hyatt Carter During our 21-year stay in Southern California, my wife Linda and I enjoyed many adventures. Two of those adventures were of special importance. First, our finding of Founder’s Center for Positive Spirituality and becoming part of that community under the inspiring leadership of Senior Minister Rev. Dr. Arthur Chang whom I sometimes refer… Continue reading Adventures with Rev. Arthur at Founder’s
Liuhebafa (六合八法)
Liùhébāfǎ (六合八法) I’ve just begun looking into a form of Qigong called Liuhebafa (六合八法). In a primary text it is said that . . . The essence of our mind-intention art is that the six unions provide the theory.吾宗心意法。六合為體。 . . . and then gives this interesting progression: 六合The Six Unions （一）體合於心1. Body unites with… Continue reading Liuhebafa (六合八法)
The Philosophers at Finnegans Wake
The Philosophers at Finnegans Wake The following are sixty-five (plus one) philosophers present at the Wake. They appear here chronologically by date of birth. Several associates of philosophy are included, such as Darwin, Freud, and Einstein, as they have had significant influence on philosophy. Numbers following the names represent page and line numbers in FW.… Continue reading The Philosophers at Finnegans Wake
A Ba-ba-babble-ing Song
A No-No Nse-Nse by Bā-bē I’ll sing for Thee a simple song,That You may listen all day long: May I wonder all wise humblehow a bee so wee can bumbleor a bug in glee can tumbleand wind in a seashell mumbleawesome thunder roar and rumblelightning zigzag hiss and grumblelofty mountains rise and crumblesummer storms jostle… Continue reading A Ba-ba-babble-ing Song
Muddleheaded and Simpleminded
How is it that people, even very smart people, even people of genius, can come to hold radically contrasting worldviews? Alfred North Whitehead and Bertrand Russell, two pivotal intellectual figures of the 20th century whose fundamental views were as different as night and day, present an illustrative case. In their younger days, Whitehead and Russell… Continue reading Muddleheaded and Simpleminded
The Lord’s Prayer in Wakese
“Let outers pray” (482.18):oura vatarsthat arred in Himmal,harruad bathar namas, (599.5-6)In kingdome goneor power to comeor gloria be to them farther? (213.31-32Bring us this days our maily bag! (603.7-8)the foregiver of trosstpassers (345.28)I have not left temptation (311.13)That they take no chill (259.5)Forsin. Thy thingdome (18.21)in guilt and in glory (627.23-24)her heavens for ever (29.14)… Continue reading The Lord’s Prayer in Wakese