| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Soul of the Far East by Percival Lowell: end the two are one. Now, while clearness of head is all-important,
kindness of heart is none the less so. The first, perhaps, is more
needed in our communings with ourselves, the second in our commerce
with others. For, dark and dense bodies that we are, we can radiate
affection much more effectively than we can reflect views.
That Christianity is a religion of love needs no mention; that
Buddhism is equally such is perhaps not so generally appreciated.
But just as the gospel of the disciple who loved and was loved the
most begins its story by telling us of the Light that came into the
world, so none the less surely could the Light of Asia but be also
its warmth. Half of the teachings of Buddhism are spent in
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Tao Teh King by Lao-tze: conquer; and a tree which is strong will fill the out-stretched arms,
(and thereby invites the feller.)
4. Therefore the place of what is firm and strong is below, and that
of what is soft and weak is above.
77. 1. May not the Way (or Tao) of Heaven be compared to the (method
of) bending a bow? The (part of the bow) which was high is brought
low, and what was low is raised up. (So Heaven) diminishes where
there is superabundance, and supplements where there is deficiency.
2. It is the Way of Heaven to diminish superabundance, and to
supplement deficiency. It is not so with the way of man. He takes
away from those who have not enough to add to his own superabundance.
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Eryxias by Platonic Imitator: SOCRATES: True, if he could find some one who preferred such a house to
the wisdom of Nestor. But if there are persons who set great store by
wisdom like Nestor's and the advantages accruing from it, to sell these, if
he were so disposed, would be easier still. Or is a house a most useful
and necessary possession, and does it make a great difference in the
comfort of life to have a mansion like Polytion's instead of living in a
shabby little cottage, whereas wisdom is of small use and it is of no
importance whether a man is wise or ignorant about the highest matters? Or
is wisdom despised of men and can find no buyers, although cypress wood and
marble of Pentelicus are eagerly bought by numerous purchasers? Surely the
prudent pilot or the skilful physician, or the artist of any kind who is
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