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This blog explores my life as a father, Buddhist and Japanophile among other things. I like to share information and help make the Internet a better place.
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Category Archives: Taoism
Taboo in the Heian Period of Japan
Recently, while reading reading the Gossamer Years, I found the book contained a thorough explanation of the notion of “taboo” and “purification” in the Heian Court in Japan. I wanted to share this with others. Aristocrats and the Heian Court … Continue reading
Posted in Buddhism, Confucius, Literature, Shinto, Taoism, Zelazny
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A Brief Glance At Ancient Roman Religion
Normally, when I talk about religion on this blog (a favorite topic of mine), I usually talk about Japanese/Korean religion, with Buddhism in particular. But since I also study Latin a little bit as a hobby, I also got curious … Continue reading
Need Some Focus
Hunchback of Chu: “…No matter how huge heaven and earth, or how numerous the ten thousand things, I’m aware of nothing but cicada wings. Not wavering, not tipping, not letting any of the other ten thousand things take place of … Continue reading
Yokohama Chukagai: Adventures in Japan’s Chinatown
On the same day that I visited Sojiji Temple with “Johnl”, we had some time left over, but not enough to visit another temple, so John led me to Yokohama’s famous Chinatown called chūkagai (中華街). The name basically just means … Continue reading
Leaving your mark upon Life
Another bit of sagely advice from Confucius comes from the Analects of Confucius, book 16, verse 12, courtesy of Prof. Charles A.C. Muller’s online translation: [16:12] Duke Ching of Qi had a thousand teams of horses, but when he died, … Continue reading
Posted in Confucius, Religion, Taoism
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Living the Simple Life
As faithful readers will no doubt have noticed, I read a lot. I read on the bus, read on my lunch break at work, I used to read in the car when Baby was one-year old and would take extended … Continue reading
Posted in Buddhism, Confucius, Religion, Taoism
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The Trouble with Power
This is one of the last poems found in the Hyakunin Isshu anthology. I found it thought-provoking: [93] 世の中は Yo no naka wa つねにもがもな Tsune ni mo ga mo na なぎさこぐ Nagisa kogu あまの小舟の Ama no obune no 綱手かなしも Tsuna … Continue reading
Posted in Dune, Japan, Religion, Taoism
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Memories of Hanoi, part two: the Perfume Pagoda
Following my recent post about Hanoi, I wanted to show some pictures from my little adventure at the time to the famous Perfume Pagoda, or Chùa Hương in Vietnamese.1 As mentioned previously, I took these in 2001, with a cheap … Continue reading
Posted in Buddhism, Taoism, Travel, Vietnam
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Solving a Chinese restaurant mystery
This is something that’s frequently piqued my interest, but I had nowhere to turn to solve this little mystery. In Chinese and Vietnamese restaurants here in the US, and certainly elsewhere, you’re likely to see an altar like this one: … Continue reading
There’s Religion and Then There’s Religion
While reading Professor Yao’s book which provides an overview of Confucianism, I was struck by one section with grappled with the question: is Confucianism a religion or a code of ethics? What struck me with this section, is how Professor … Continue reading
