The Sword and Laser discussion

Wellllll...I finished the book early in the month and have already said about everything I wanted to about it. So what to do...What. To Do? How about an alt-pick? And speaking of Tao, I've been wanting to reread a classic of the genre. Which one? Why, there's so many! Oh, bother. How about...The Tao of Pooh?

(And if peeps want to riff on another one like, say, the Tao of Physics, why not?)

First up: Overthinking. The following is after Rabbit keeps Pooh from listening to his instincts, leading to them being stuck near a pit as they try over and over again to find their way back. Finally Pooh sends Rabbit away long enough to orient himself, and they find their way out.

"Rabbit's clear," said Pooh thoughtfully.

"Yes," said Piglet. "Rabbit's clever."

"And he has Brain."

"Yes," said Piglet. "Rabbit has Brain."

There was a long silence.

"I suppose," said Pooh, "that's why he never understands anything."

Coincidentally, this just showed up in my instagram a minute ago:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DKW8-5...

Great segue, as the book is just getting into the characters and what they represent. Of course Pooh is the Uncarved Block, the being that avoids sophistication and can therefore go straight to the truth. A fair representation.

What I would argue with is the take on Eeyore. The book has Eeyore as a perennial jaundiced view:

"You might say that while Rabbit's little routine is that of Knowledge for the sake of Being Clever, and while Owl's is that of Knowledge for the sake of Appearing Wise, Eeyore's is Knowledge for the sake of Complaining About Something. As anyone who's doesn't have it can see, the Eeyore Attitude gets in the way of things like wisdom and happiness, and pretty much prevents any sort of real Accomplishmebt in life."

Anyway, I disagree with that part. I'm much more with the meme that Eeyore is continually depressed (for whatever reason) and his friends don't try to force him into cheeriness. Rather, Eeyore's friends are there for him and include him despite his ongoing gloom. Want to help your friend who's feeling down? Just be there for them.

Have been mulling a topic and think it would work better split up than one long post. There's even a part that's relevant to the BOTM! So, moving on...

The Tao of Pooh opens with a description of major schools of thought in Asia. Along the way it posits Confucianism as necessarily opposed to Taoism. Confucianism posits (or so it take from the book, I am by no means an expert) that there was a past harmonious state, and to deal with the imperfect modern world we must find ways back to that past state. Along the way Confucianism deals with identifying and labeling the world. Taoism takes the world as it is, acknowledges that it is imperfect (so it shares that with Confucianism) and instead seeks to find the good in the current world. There is no perfect past, just the eternal now.

It's all very much like the journey in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, in which Aristotlean logic is opposed to the Socratic search for archetypal truth. There isn't a "horse," there's the archetypal form of a horse, in which individual horses participate.

The division between defining / labeling methods of thinking and intuitive grasp of reality has been going on for millenia and affects every part of the world. We see it down to today. Windows with its menus and trees vs Apple's more intuitive feel. One is good for finance bros and the other for graphic artists. In another sense the labeling aspect is living in the conscious mind while the intuitive is within the subconscious.

These are presented as necessarily opposed methods in both books, but are they actually? Again, civilizations across the world have dealt with these for lengthy periods of time. From my time in the martial arts, the shorthand was "karate" (empty hand) but the full name was "karate-do." Our manual was called "Karate-Do Kyohan." Kyohan is a bit hard to translate, "feel oneness" is one fair translation. Overall it is taken as "The Way through techniques."

So through 19 Katas, a dozen Kihon (basics) and various forms of ritual sparring, the practicioner eventually develops a feeling for the Way. It's Confucian to start and Taoist over time. Nor should this be taken as outgrowing the techniques; they are required parts of practice throughout a lifetime. (On his deathbed Gichin Funakoshi was reported to have said "You know, I think I finally understand Oi-Zuki (front-punch) at which point his followers despaired because they knew he was at his end.)

But then to take a small example from Western Civ: The American slogan "E Pluribus Unum." Out of many, one. Yes, it refers to states becoming a union, but also reflects how a group of disparate elements can achieve unity.

So nah, thanks Tao of Pooh, thanks Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Appreciate the walk through philosophic history. But these two modes of thought are not necessarily opposed. They just have different uses.

Is this relevant to the BOTM? Why yes! Yes, I think it is. Prophus represents the Taoist thought, trying to leap to a unity with humanity. (I'm not going to argue this at length. The Prophus narrator is named Tao. They're trying to avoid war and go directly to peace and unity. Team building is important to the Prophus. They are considerate to hosts.)

Meanwhile the Genjix try to bring individual humans to a form of ultimate expression of their abilities. Usually for war, each human is pushed to be their best. They are labeled, made to be a particular way, and forced into a category.

It's not that one way of thinking is right and the other wrong. Both have been taken to excess. The Genjix are more wrong but the Prophus are hardly innocent.

What's the solution? Not for one to beat the other, but for both to come to an accomodation. A union of opposites.

Hm, might be worth reading the other two books to see if any of this comes true...

Hm, what great timing! Was trying to work in a Zen Koan above and it just didn't fit. Aaaand what comes up in the book but the serendipity of the Taoist Way. And not forcing it.

Small had gotten lost. Small was short for Very Small Beetle, and he disappeared around a gorse bush. They began a search but despite their efforts they turned up nothing. Pooh, of course, got lost and fell in a hole.

"Help-help!"

"There you are! I say things when I'm not trying. So it must be a very bad Accident." And then he thought that perhaps when he did try to say things he wouldn't be able to; so, to make sure, he said loudly: "A Very Bad Accident to Pooh Bear."

"Pooh!" squeaked the voice.

"It's Piglet!" cried Pooh eagerly. "Where are you?"

"Underneath," said Piglet in an underneath sort of way.

"Underneath what?"

Well, after that had been straightened out...

"Pooh!" he cried. "There's something climbing up your back."

"I thought there was," said Pooh.

"It's Small!" cried Piglet.

Aaand what's the Zen Koan in question? Well, it's about trying to force things.

A young boy traveled across Japan to the school of a famous martial artist. When he arrived at the dojo, he was given an audience by the Sensei.

"What do you wish from me", the master asked.

The boy replied, "I wish to be your student and become the finest Karate practitioner in the land. How long must I study?"

"Ten Years at least", the master answered.

The boy then said, "Ten years is a long time. What if I studied twice as hard as all your other students?"

The master's reply... "Twenty Years."

Confused, the boy replied "Twenty???... what if I practice day and night with all my effort?"

The master's reply... "Thirty Years."

Still confused, the boy asked the master "Why is it that each time I say I will work harder, you tell me that it will take longer?"

Immediately, the master told him, "The answer is clear. When one eye is fixed upon your destination, there is only one eye left with which to find the Way."

Today's reading includes the idea of the of right action just coming to you in the Taoist Way. As Roo floats by in the river, Rabbit, Owl and others engage in a frenzy of activity that does nothing to help. Pooh spots a long branch lying around and he and Kanga use it to stretch across the river, whereupon Roo uses it to climb out. So by being calm in the moment, Pooh is able to take useful action.

There's also the concept of the Young Immortal. Taoism has a long history of claiming exceptionally long-lived adherents. The author mentions a 250 year old person, "proven" by documentation. Nice idea, that by living in harmony with your environment you can achieve long life. But if it were even close to true at least a few of these people would be studied in an actual provable situation. I saw the same claims in Iron & Silk, a martial arts memoir, and rolled my eyes at them then as well.

But (now on topic for BOTM) what could lead to such claims? I had always assumed it was one person taking on the identity of another and acting as if they were the same person. As one grows old, the younger one takes over.

Or...if you're a Quasing host, your Quasing could go from one host to the next using similar bodies. You'd be able to answer questions that only the first person would know. Over the span of centuries you could portray the same person, and be mostly correct in your claims.

The Hundred Acre Wood applies to everyone. For instance, teachers: https://youtube.com/shorts/AOGDdzqprL...

Yeah, the Hundred Acre Wood is doing quite well for a century old property. The archetypes hit just right.

So, is Pooh the Uncarved Block of Tao of Pooh? Or, riffing off the YouTube vid, does Piglet represent the anxiety of Pooh, placed on another? In which case, thinking back to my readings of Carl Jung, could Pooh be laying his Shadow on Piglet, to the point where Pooh *appears* placid but is putting his problems on another?

Or, random thought, perhaps I'm placing my own reading / philosophical journey into these stories and using them as a framework. Say, maybe Benjamin Hoff is doing the same.

Which would mean these archetypal figures help us understand the world around us.

No, that can't be it...

Aaand the last 30 pages. Some good stuff in there.

But first, a bit about fronting. The book shows Piglet believing he's brave because a song says he's brave. So he tries to be brave. It's the "Tiddely Pom" principle:

"The more it snows (Tiddely pom),
The more it goes (Tiddely pom),
The more it goes (Tiddely pom)
On snowing"

Fake it 'til you make it, not a bad way to go. But it can be overdone. Previous parts of this book talked about the centuries-old Taoists which, well, is misleading the followers. From my own experience, in Karate-Do Kyohan the student is admonished not to allow overblown statements. The example given is the long-standing myth that with extended practice the martial arts practitioner can pierce the skin of opponents with his bare hands and, well, graphic gruesomeness usually follows. Funakoshi says to not even stay silent if it is said around you and allow the implication to stand that it is true and you're just being discreet.

And yet, if fatigued in practice it is good to struggle through without complaint; if hit during sparring practice, don't react and show the opponent. So fronting can be good. Until it's not.

Is there an example where even in failure fronting is for the overall good? Yes. We can take Mother Teresa. Long seen as an example of God's love made manifest as she tended the poor of Calcutta's slums, she actually felt no such connection for decades. In letters revealed after her death, Mother Teresa felt no connection with God. She continued her charity work regardless. She did not mislead her followers but simply kept going, doing the good she could do in the world.

Front where it makes sense or does good. But not in all situations.

And then the...Grand? finale. Except it's not grand. The point is not to be grand.

(Following a story about Chuang-Tse going on a journey to find no help along the way): What Chuang-Tse, Christopher Robin, and Pooh are describing is the Great Secret, the key that unlocks the doors of wisdom, happiness, and truth. What is that magic, mysterious something? Nothing. To the Taoist, Nothing is something, and Something-at least the sort of thing that many consider to be important-is really nothing at all.

Benjamin Hoff closes with a poem:
To know the Way
We go the Way
We do the Way
The way we do
The things we do
It's all there in front of you
But if you try too hard to see it
You'll only become Confused

I am me
And you are you,
As you can see,
But when you do
The things that you can do
You will find the Way
And the Way will follow you.

You can find the Way in any particular thing. It needn't be a complicated philosophical tract. A children's book will do.

Aaand closing up with a koan. From memory, I read 3+ decades back and Google is full of similar ones that don't quite fit memory. The book is regrettably lost in my many moves since that day.

-------------------

Two Zen students were discussing their masters. The first student said, "My master does amazing things. He can walk across the river without even his feet getting wet. He can start a fire just by looking at the logs."

The second student nodded and replied, "My master is also amazing. When he eats he eats, and when he sleeps he sleeps."

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Hmmm, kinda like Pooh when he finds a smackerel of Hunny...

The Way that can be spoken of

is not the constant Way