TO: Rev. Fr. Edilberto H.

Jarapa
FR: Sem. Wayne P. Roales
RE: Reflection Paper in Eastern Philosophy
DT: October 12, 2011

Live life
‘To remain whole, be twisted;
to become straight, let yourself be bent;
to become full, be hollow;
be tattered that you may be renewed;
those that have little may get more;
those that have much are but perplexed.’
-Taoist teaching

Living a simple life is but what Taoists taught, and true enough, life should be simple.

Man, throughout history, has always been so obsessed with that of progress, there is nothing

appalling with that, as it proved to be beneficial to man, but along with such desire, man heaved

up more; power, wealth…man became insatiable.

Man has always feared, if not angered by ‘brutes,’ as but heard in stories of old, those

ravenous, self-centered creatures of the mind and of reality, and even up until now. And

ironically, all throughout this time, he has always been what he feared the most, what angered

him the most, no wonder such stories are kept alive and made anew…simply for the reason that

‘fiends’ themselves are still here.

The Taoists preferred balance, to go with the flow of time and the unknown, to value life

and that of simplicity; nothing wrong with this also, as it is where life is supposed to be patterned,

though they went too far to repute that of progress, and to value that of mediocrity. Wisdom of

old should really be valued, remembered, put to heart and mind, and be criticized, and from
that…learn. The same goes with the line of thought of the present era, it did not come to such for

no reason, it matured to such for they found that of old as flawed, then again, so was theirs.

That of old and new lines of thought should be criticized so as to be found anew, be

balanced, and thus, be more beneficial for man; to be strong and unwavering, one must bend and

learn from his past and the present, from the fool and the wise; to be knowledgeable, one must

empty himself, be open, and critical; be low so as to see the beauty of the above, but not stay

below lest one be buried in the depths of ones own despair, dreams, and folly, strive for the best,

but do not forget humility, learn from both ends.

Life is to be lived simply, but not of mediocrity, it should be accompanied by progress;

and progress with simplicity and humility. Life is a journey, one may stay simple and humble,

and yet still advance. In simplicity and humility, one finds beauty at its peak, that of nature,

works of man, himself, and God; he finds power at its crest, that of respect; he develops and

advances in all aspects, that of knowledge, as one sees clearly, that of buildings, machinery, and

the like, as he puts into mind that of for the benefit of others, that of respect, dignity, equality,

passion, and progress. Simplicity does not hinder progress, nor that of glory, but rather, it boosts

one up to its pinnacle, as one values his own worth, that of others, and that of everything else;

neither is progress an impediment to simplicity, as in advancement one exercises more his being

simple, humble, and love for else that is.