View the following video at least twice. As you view it, note any questions, thoughts, or Aha! moments that you may have. There is a great deal of information shared. As a comment to this video, indicate your thoughts in a brief few sentence response.
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Saturday, February 5, 2011
Taoist Poetry
Read the following poems with the eye of an academic reader. Select one to comment on. In your comment address how the poetry relates to Taoism. (this necessitates that you explain Taoism as you understand it.) Select a specific line(s) that demonstrate your conclusion. For the poem that you select indicate when the writer composed his/her poem and how this may or may not be important or relative to the poem's content.
FIRST POEM SELECTION;
Vision
by Elizabeth Reninger
Go out after midnight
with the sky trembling
in snowy light --
each star holding its filament
of desire. Merge
your mind with the spiraling
galaxies -- with a movement so
large only Your
heart can encompass it.
Drop your prayer into the ear
of God. Write a poem to help
her hear it.
Notice the moon grow
more distant and
diffuse -- Reappear
as your Beloved
looking out through eyes
vast as a Winter
Sky...
SECOND POEM SELECTION:
Stone Gate Temple in the Blue Field Mountains
by Wang Wei
Creeks and summits are brilliant at sunset.
I laze in a boat, my way in the wind's hands.
Watching wild landscapes I forget distance
and come to the water's edge.
Gazing at lovely far woods and clouds
I guess I've lost my way.
How could I know this lucid stream
would turn, leading me into mountains?
I abandon my boat, pick up a light staff
and come upon something wonderful,
four or five old monks in contemplation,
enjoying the shade of pines and cypresses.
Before the forest dawns they read Sanskrit.
Their nightly meditation quiets the peaks.
Here even shepherd boys know the Dao.
Woodcutters bring in worldly news.
They sleep at night in the woods
with incense, on mats clean as jade.
Their robes are steeped in valley fragrances;
the stone cliffs shine under a mountain moon.
I fear I will lose this refuge forever
so at daybreak I fix it in my mind.
People of Peach Tree Spring goodbye.
I'll be back when flowers turn red.
(If in your exploration, you find a poem you would like to share or other thoughts, please include them in a separate comment and we will discuss it.)
FIRST POEM SELECTION;
Vision
by Elizabeth Reninger
Go out after midnight
with the sky trembling
in snowy light --
each star holding its filament
of desire. Merge
your mind with the spiraling
galaxies -- with a movement so
large only Your
heart can encompass it.
Drop your prayer into the ear
of God. Write a poem to help
her hear it.
Notice the moon grow
more distant and
diffuse -- Reappear
as your Beloved
looking out through eyes
vast as a Winter
Sky...
SECOND POEM SELECTION:
Stone Gate Temple in the Blue Field Mountains
by Wang Wei
Creeks and summits are brilliant at sunset.
I laze in a boat, my way in the wind's hands.
Watching wild landscapes I forget distance
and come to the water's edge.
Gazing at lovely far woods and clouds
I guess I've lost my way.
How could I know this lucid stream
would turn, leading me into mountains?
I abandon my boat, pick up a light staff
and come upon something wonderful,
four or five old monks in contemplation,
enjoying the shade of pines and cypresses.
Before the forest dawns they read Sanskrit.
Their nightly meditation quiets the peaks.
Here even shepherd boys know the Dao.
Woodcutters bring in worldly news.
They sleep at night in the woods
with incense, on mats clean as jade.
Their robes are steeped in valley fragrances;
the stone cliffs shine under a mountain moon.
I fear I will lose this refuge forever
so at daybreak I fix it in my mind.
People of Peach Tree Spring goodbye.
I'll be back when flowers turn red.
(If in your exploration, you find a poem you would like to share or other thoughts, please include them in a separate comment and we will discuss it.)
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