tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5842932455093396534.post8127645949216119639..comments2023-10-11T05:53:28.724-06:00Comments on Diary of a Daoist Hermit: Inward Training: the Nei-YehThe Cloudwalking Owlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12753861683491740903noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5842932455093396534.post-89684990363741521312012-01-23T23:58:12.762-06:002012-01-23T23:58:12.762-06:00True Taiosts act upon things and are not acted upo...True Taiosts act upon things and are not acted upon by things.<br />Because they grasp the guiding principle of the one.<br /><br />Mr Kirkland can write whatever he likes: it does not make it so.<br />Words are just words and cannot describe the one.<br /><br />Long before I went to live in China I had discussions with 3rd and 4th generation Taoists. They accepted me as Taoist and invited me to address their temple members.<br />If Mr Kirkland had more than an academic understanding of the Way he would know that we 'self proclaimed Taoists' do not need, nor seek his approval.Wu Minghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10701011946441454719noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5842932455093396534.post-45392049246440313042010-08-04T17:33:12.461-06:002010-08-04T17:33:12.461-06:00Nice to see kudos for Harold Roth's work on th...Nice to see kudos for Harold Roth's work on the Nei Yeh.IMO, a complete understanding of this work is essential to total understanding of Tao.TaoBoxerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03987601479014277567noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5842932455093396534.post-75968899386702586772010-02-08T07:49:47.026-06:002010-02-08T07:49:47.026-06:00Interesting! I work with academics also, but I hav...Interesting! I work with academics also, but I haven't had quite your negative experience ...<br /><br />also I'm so glad you have a similar opinion to myself about Ursula Le Guin and her 'rendition' of the tao te ching.Martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5842932455093396534.post-89053393297794790282010-02-07T15:10:43.982-06:002010-02-07T15:10:43.982-06:00I suspect that Kirkland is like a lot of academics...I suspect that Kirkland is like a lot of academics. I work with them and spent a lot of time in graduate school. Many of them have very few social skills and a profound inability to put themselves in other people's shoes. (It always amazed me that a paper that would get an "A" from one professor would get a "F" from the one in the next office---and none of them saw any problem with this state of affairs.) <br /><br />Much as I agree with Kirkland's position with regard to Daoism, I find some of the things he writes somewhat hard to defend. I think the thing that bugged me the most was what he has had to say about Ursuala Leguin's version of the Dao De Jing. <br /><br />Leguin is, IMHO, a very wise woman and an accomplished poet. Moreover, she is very humble in her estimation of her understanding of the text. Moreover, she worked with a professor of Chinese studies on her manuscript in order to avoid any "whoppers". <br /><br />Yet Kirkland goes to the point of singling her out when he complains about the way in which modern non-Chinese readers publish their own Dao De Jings. Surely there are better examples for him to get angry about----.The Cloudwalking Owlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12753861683491740903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5842932455093396534.post-73276479540965406492010-02-07T06:16:30.789-06:002010-02-07T06:16:30.789-06:00Glad you talked about Russell Kirkland. I had stum...Glad you talked about Russell Kirkland. I had stumbled across one of his books and as it seemed a good scholarly production, bought a copy. (I recycle my books regularly and it has long gone to a charity shop so I can't rememeber the title).<br /><br />I was totally put off a proper reading by the 'supercilious' tone you have identified. It seemed puzzling, inadequately explained and uneccessary. I had become interested enough to read a book about taoism because of western authors (not especially Benjamin Hoff, but I couldn't see that he was *that* bad) - but he seemed to be implying that I was some sort of booby for even having read them. I certainly don't call myself a taoist, but I still felt rather insulted. <br /><br />So it was good to hear your point that Kirkland is really an excellent scholar, albeit with a justifiable bee in his bonnet about culture.Martinnoreply@blogger.com