the treasure of the nation
“we never fired a shot, but still achieved our goals”
The general
who advances without
coveting fame, who retreats without
being ashamed, whose concern is to keep the
people safe and honor the sovereign —
he will be the treasure of
the nation.
from The Art of War, Chapter VIII
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serve
Reconsider
your definitions.
We are prone to judge
success by the index of our salaries
or the size of our automobiles rather
than by the quality of our service
and relationship to
mankind.
the king is dead, long live the king
On
waking
after the accident I
was presented with the
“whole picture” as they say,
magnificently detailed, a child’s
diorama of what life appears to be:
staring at the picture I became drowsy
with relief when I noticed a yellow dot of light
in the lower right-hand corner. I unhooked the machines
and tubes and crawled to the picture, which turned out to be a
miniature tunnel at the end of which I could see mountains and stars
whirling and tumbling, sheets of emotions, vertical rivers, upside down
lakes, herds of unknown mammals, birds shedding feathers and
regrowing them instantly, snakes with feathered heads eating
their own shed skins, fish swimming straight up, the
bottom of Isaiah’s robe, live whales on dry ground,
lions drinking from a golden bowl of milk,
the rush of night, and somewhere in
this the murmur of gods —
a tree-rubbing-tree music,
a sweet howl of water and
rock-grating-rock, fire
hissing from fissures,
the moon settled
comfortably on
the ground,
beginning
to roll.
December 11, 1937 – March 26, 2016
The Theory and Practice of Rivers,
great bodhisattvas strive to liberate others
Great bodhisattvas
arrive at consummate skill in means;
they are always concerned with the welfare of all
sentient beings, they do not reject the realm of common
ignorance, do not seek individual escape, do not cling to their own
happiness. They only strive to edify and liberate others; they are
able to enter and exit meditations and liberations, and have
attained mastery of all concentrations. They come
and go in birth and death as though
roaming through a park,
never getting sick
of it.