Monthly Archives: November 2013

Tao Te Ching Chapter 5

Posted on November 25, 2013 by bobgriffith

 1. But for heaven and earth’s humaneness, the ten thousand things are straw dogs. But for the holy man’s humaneness, the hundred families are straw dogs.2. Is not the space between heaven and earth like unto a bellows? It is … Continue reading →

Posted in Tao Te Ching | Leave a comment

Tao Te Ching Chapter 4

Posted on November 25, 2013 by bobgriffith

The Tao is an empty vessel; it is used, but never filled. Oh, unfathomable source of ten thousand things! Blunt the sharpness, Untangle the knot, Soften the glare, Merge with dust. Oh, hidden deep but ever present! I do not … Continue reading →

Posted in Tao Te Ching | Leave a comment

Tao Te Ching Chapter 3

Posted on November 25, 2013 by bobgriffith

Translated by D. T. Suzuki & Paul Carus, 1880 Translated by Jane English & Gia-fu Feng, 1989 KEEPING THE PEOPLE QUIET.1. Not boasting of one’s worth forestalls people’s envy.Not prizing treasures difficult to obtain keeps people from committing theft.2. Not contemplating what kindles … Continue reading →

Posted in Tao Te Ching | Leave a comment

Tao Te Ching Chapter 22

Posted on November 25, 2013 by bobgriffith

Yield and remain whole Bend and remain straight Be low and become filled Be worn out and become renewed Have little and receive Have much and be confused Therefore the sages hold to the one as an example for the … Continue reading →

Posted in Tao Te Ching | Leave a comment

Mining The Tropes

Posted on November 23, 2013 by bobgriffith

Mining The Tropes Of Our Lives For Archetypes there we were again, inside, drawn down the narrow shaft of perspective past mind’s open maw into the pit of coal and diamonds where the empty ache of eons rests above, below, … Continue reading →

Posted in The Wandering Doggerel | Leave a comment

Wisdom

Posted on November 23, 2013 by bobgriffith

Confusions on the Path to Parity of Mind (Part Two) Wisdom is in the geese flying north in late October evening above the asphalt-shingled jails of geometry where the prisoners below, thumbs screwed, sinews twitching in the clicks of buttoned … Continue reading →

Posted in The Wandering Doggerel | Leave a comment

Words

Posted on November 23, 2013 by bobgriffith

Confusions on the Path to Parity of Mind (Part One) I return from mountain autumn in the woods and now am gorged with words like a tick embedded in a dictionary fat as a leech sucking on a lexicon this … Continue reading →

Posted in The Wandering Doggerel | Leave a comment

Mr. Flood’s Pal

Posted on November 23, 2013 by bobgriffith

Thrumbeat of the Rat Brain A 21st century soliloquy And so here we are again, Mr. Flood, dead drunk this night on this high hill beneath another autumn moon, and winter coming, winter coming, Winter coming, soon. I see again below … Continue reading →

Posted in The Wandering Doggerel | Leave a comment

“I don’t find this stuff amusin’ anymore…”

Posted on November 23, 2013 by bobgriffith

The title is taken from the Paul Simon song “You Can Call Me Al”, particularly the lyrics which go: All along along There were incidents and accidents There were hints and allegations… A man walks down the street It’s a … Continue reading →

Posted in Ruminations | Leave a comment

The Antipodes of the Dead Bang Mean

Posted on November 22, 2013 by bobgriffith

Sometimes on the front porch in the morning I ruminate on the value coffee has in my life. And pretty soon I am telling myself a story. Here’s the story I told myself this morning… My name is Ishmael Quark … Continue reading →

Posted in Ruminations | Leave a comment