Morally Right

Tower of Babel

2011-07-06T17:19:00.008+08:00

Many generations after Noah, the whole earth still spoke the same language -- the whole earth had one language and one speech. The descendants of Noah traveled to a plain in the Middle East and settled there. Then they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly." They had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar. And they said,"Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, so we won't be scattered around the whole earth."

But The Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. And the Lord said,"Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them. Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another's speech."

So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city. Therefore its name is called Babel, which means confusion -- because there the Lord multiplied language on the earth, causing people to scatter abroad.

The Tower of Babel is an incredible story that falls in between Noah's flood and the call of Abraham. In the case of the flood, God has initially given up on the whole human race. Mankind had become wicked and his thoughts and inclinations were always evil. God finds in Noah hope for a new beginning, and so we get another shot at it. The rainbow is God's promise to all of the earth that a flood will never again be the tool of judgement.

The call of Abraham comes about as God decides to form a people of his own to carry the knowledge and worship of Him into the world. The Flood did not stem man's evil ways and the activities around the Tower of Babel showed that man loves himself more than God. The glory of man is what was sought with that tower, not the glory of God. So, in Abraham, God forms a people who will glorify Him.

The descendants of Noah spread eastward and found a fertile land called Shinar, which they settled there. They decided to build a city with a tower that can reach heavens -- because they wanted the tower to be a proud monument to themselves and a symbol that would keep them united as a powerful people.

Today, in every nation, we can see distinctive building and monuments that are special to them. For example, in Italy, you can see the Leaning Tower of Pisa, a recognizable landmark of Italy. There are just so many skyscrapers around us nowadays -- Taipei 101 and Petronas Twin Tower, just to name two. In Singapore, we even have a giant Ferris wheel , the Singapore Flyer, constructed on 25 September 2005 and completed on 1 March 2008, which is the tallest in the world.

Different nations speak different languages. In Italy, you have the Italian. In Singapore, we have so many races, speaking in different dialects even. Luckily, there is a common language that we know -- and that is English! If I go to this Italian website, http://www.garagedelparco.com, I would not understand a single word of it. Luckily, technology is so advance now. Not only are we able to communicate with the outside world at the convenience of our home using the computer, we can even effectively communicate with each other using a common language that we know. And with Google Translation tools, any words can be translated instantly. Auto usate milano??? Don't understand? Nevermind. Google Translation will help you -- http://translate.google.com/translate?js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=1&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.garagedelparco.com&sl=it&tl=en

With so many countries in this world and so many beautiful places to see in these countries, it is a necessity to get yourself a car if you need to travel around frequently. You can always rent or buy used cars (compro auto usate). The 'creation' of buildings had created jobs/revenues for people. It also adds beauty and value to the place. For this country, it further adds on to tourism. Experience and in business since 1978, Garage Del Parco shows professionalism and attentiveness to the needs of customer. Efficiency, competence and thoroughness are their trump cards to continue to offer service and assistance, safe, guaranteed and worthy of trust -- Customer satisfaction is well-assured as thus. Traveling around is made easier and faster with cars -- vendita auto usate or used cars for sale! Have a car and you can do your pilgrimage tour free and easy!

Leaving In Good Time

2009-11-03T09:50:00.005+08:00

Anthony was an intelligent boy who knew many Math answers. However, he is rather a greedy boy. Every morning, before leaving for school, he gets himself some bread and butter, packets of biscuits, lots of fruit and puts it all in his big lunch box.

One morning, he was longer than usual in the kitchen. "Hurry up, Anthony!" his mother cried out. "You will have to run if you don't want to be late for school."

Seeing the time, Anthony began running as fast as his legs could carry him, taking a short cut through the park for speed. And that was where he tripped up on a big stone!

Everything spilled out of his school bag, and without looking or stopping to think, Anthony just crammed the food back inside his lunch box!

Anthony just managed to get to school in time! The teacher was about to revise Algebra word problems with the class. Anthony, on the other hand, was so greedy, he could not wait until this lesson was over. Anthony dislikes Math problems, and he hope time can pass quickly so that he could eat his food.

Looking down at his school bag, he was amazed to see that it was moving! All eyes turned to see where the funny rustling noise was coming from! "A mouse!" cried Anthony in amazement. "How did it get inside my lunch box?" It's nibbling all my food!" How his friends laughed!

"It must have been when I fell over on my way to school," he told them. "Next time, I'll leave a bit earlier!"

Pride Comes Before A Fall

2009-10-12T08:28:00.019+08:00

"Pride comes(goes) before a fall" is a wise saying that means if you are too confident about your abilities, something bad will happen which shows that you are not as good as you think. This can be quoted from the Bible as well as in Proverbs 16:18.

Proverbs 16:18 - Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.

There are a few Aesop Fables which illustrate this wise sayings, but over here, I want to use my own life example.

A happy family is what I have always look forward to. Nothing is more happy than a family able to live in peace and harmony. A family always starts with a marriage couple and their procreation. It was said that 'Two is enough' by our government. Following that 'advice', my sister, my brother and I have two children in the family. (But now I have three children.) My sister could have more children in her family -- probably one or two more. However, her babies were not destined to come to this world. My own baby, some years back, was decided by me not to come to this world (to suffer) also. Life is not easy. Life is hard in fact -- having to work to support the family and to look after the welfare of the family as well. It is so difficult to have the best of everything in this world. You just cannot have everything perfect. But all I want is just a peaceful home to be filled with love.

I am a spiritual person. My husband, on the other hand, is a worldly person (I learned about this only during my Bible studies with Auntie Mary. I realized and understand a lot of things from Bible studies.) He enjoys 'looking at' magazines like FHM, sexy women photographs and websites and electronic stuff or gadgets like computers, netbook and handphones. He also loves to 'invest' in shares, which he believes will make him rich -- earn more money (A smarter way of working in life than to work for other people.).

Whenever we go shopping, he would love to frequent handphone shops. Looking at various models of handphones and even handphone stuff like iphone accessories and even iphone car charger is his hobbies even though he don't have a car. Every two years, he would change his handphone. He just cannot wait for the two years contract to end. Recently, he bought iPod Touch, a iphone comparable, just that it does not have a phone function.

A leopard is always a leopard. The spots on the leopard would not fade away. I just have to accept the spots on it. In the past, I would be very mad at him for wasting money on unnecessary stuff like that. He has so much debts, and yet he spent money on unnecessary items. But now, I would treat the black spots as 'gems'. My children get to enjoy them!

This is Isaac, learning Animals Sound from iPod Touch.

You have to read my other blogs to know about the details. I always think of him and put him in the first place but he said I am the 'king' but in actual fact, I have treated him like a 'king'. For him, all is money and money is everything. But I learned as well. Without something to compare, I would not know the meaning of life till this day. Having something to compare, I understand the meaning of blessed now.

Not knowing who is God and whether God (Jesus) is real or not real (or just imaginary like most people said), my prayer was answered. God appeared. I told him what I had experienced and he does not believe me. He always changed his subject and shun the topic when I told him about God or Jesus. He wanted to be rich but in the end he is debt rich.

Jesus said,

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. ~ Matthew 6:33 (KJV)

I went to church. I have such a clearer picture now what Christians means and are. To be specific, I am a Catholic. Jesus is telling me not to be afraid. He is 'come to help me pull through the deep' (yesterday when I attended 28th ordinary Sunday Mass). Yes, I am in deep trouble. It is raining now, and I am not bluffing. Two claps of thunder has gone as I typed this. The truth is revealed.

Pride Comes Before A Fall. Man is known to be egoistic, full of pride and always think that there is no God. That is why in the Bible history, there is so many downfall of mankind.

I came to this world with nothing and I cannot leave this world with all possessions. As long as we can live happily, and have the means to support the children, I am happy enough. When he had bought the iPod Touch (secretly), I did not utter a word. I did not buy a fanciful iphone case for him to put his iPod, but an ordinary $12 phone pouch that can suit any handphone. But I did not see him using it.....

What It Means To Be A Teacher

2008-08-26T20:03:00.000+08:00

These are my students at Boon Lay Garden Primary School... was intending to go in on 22nd August 2008, the day I went Boon Lay, but 'forbidden'......

I was a relief teacher. I was not a qualified teacher. Yet, I know what is called teaching, handling the class, teaching the class, 'projecting my voice', tried my best to impact my knowledge to them.

I was an untrained teacher, yet I had experienced how it would be like to teach full-time in the school. I had made the teacher's pledge before. I had forgotten about it. But I searched the web for it.

I am who I am today, because I have firstly, my mother, my father, my brothers and sister, and then the rest of the members (nephews, nieces and in-laws). I am who I am today, I must also thanked all my teachers, from Kindergarten to the University.

This is me, my first child, on the day I was supposed to be discharged from the hospital, Mount Alvernia Hospital. I was fat, so much overweight, but I DID NOT NEED TO GO any slimming centres AT ALL. I had NEVER need to go SLIMMING TREATMENT. Look at my weight now you can be your own judge whether what I am writing in my BLOGS are all the truth, from MY HEART.

Even though I am no more a teacher, Tell Me, what is a teacher? DO YOU NEED TO BE EMPLOYED to be a teacher?

MOE, Ministry of Education -- The Teachers' Pledge

Pledge By Teachers
We, the teachers of Singapore, pledge that:

We will be true to our mission to bring out the best in our pupils.

We will be exemplary in the discharge of our duties and responsibilities.

We will guide our pupils to be good and useful citizens of Singapore.

We will continue to learn and pass on the love of learning to our pupils.

We will win the trust, support and co-operation of parents and the community so as to enable us to achieve our mission.

Teachers’ Creed
We, the teachers of JWSS
Pledge that: We will be true to our mission of moulding the academic, social, physical and aesthetics lives of our pupils. We will work hand in hand with one another and with our stakeholders to maximize the potential of our pupils. We will conduct ourselves in a manner befitting this noble profession. We will continue in our quest to learn and pass the love of learning to our pupils.

Teachers have children themselves, teachers are people also. If what I had done is all LIES and COOKING UP STORIES, then I would not be called APOSTLE THERESA LIM POH CHOO, not fit to be a disciple of Jesus also, a coward I am if I allowed such companies 'to mislead' women. We did not see many on the net. How many ignorant women are internet savvy? There are more women who knows? If there is one, there would be two! But I would not want to make unjust remarks, but I MERELY wrote on MINE opinion, my experience, and NOT defame the company! Discernment, I am sure a wise person would know how to do that.

If MY baptism name, Theresa and my Confirmation name Theresa. If God's name is not holy, all the Saints and the faithful, the believer of Jesus Christ, who had died would be in vain.

What would be the reputation of our Singapore's Education?

I Love Quotes: We learn from each other. There is no end to education. Everyday we discover new things that we might have never seen before!

Belief is the key ingredient in my becoming an effective teacher. ~Shahul Hameed, Compassvale Sec

A teacher is not someone who merely teaches content, but also one who teaches ‘life’. ~Agnes Pang, Kuo Chuan Presbyterian Pri

I have chosen to celebrate little things in big ways and make each day count for [my students] and for myself. ~ Shikhvir Kaur, Zhangde Pri

Every teacher has a story to tell about his job and every teacher has a legacy he wishes to leave behind. ~ Jason Ng, Northland Pri

A teacher never stops being a teacher in the eyes of her students. ~ Shirley Bong, Montfort Junior

Protecting Our Country

Facial Company Sue Customer Matter:
Singapore I: The Divine Revelation; Moulding Our Nation
NUS REPUTATION:Singapore II: Answer Will Soon Be Out
Developing Courage
Do You Want To Save Your Mother
Unity Is Strength

Three Vinegar Tasters

2008-06-04T16:20:00.000+08:00

The Unity of the Three Creeds were popular in China from the tenth century onwards because of a movement called Neo-confucianism which incorporated elements of Buddhism and Taoism.

Three men are standing around a vat of vinegar. Each one has dipped his finger into the vinegar and has tasted it. The expression on each man's face shows his individual reaction. Since the painting is allegorical, we are to understand that these are no ordinary vinegar tasters, but are instead representatives of the "Three Teachings" of China, and that the vinegar they are sampling represents the Essence of Life. The three masters are Confucius, Buddha, and Lao Zi, author of the oldest existing book of Taoism. The first has a sour look on his face, the second wears a bitter expression, but the third man is smiling.

To Confucius, life seemed rather sour. He believed that the present was out step with the past, and that the government of man on earth was out of harmony with the Way of Heaven, the government of, the universe. Therefore, he emphasized reverence for the Ancestors, as well as for the ancient rituals and ceremonies in which the emperor, as the Son of Heaven, acted as intermediary between limitless heaven and limited earth. Under Confucianism, the use of precisely measured court music, prescribed steps, actions, and phrases all added up to an extremely complex system of rituals, each used for a particular purpose at a particular time. A saying was recorded about Confucius, "If the mat was not straight, the Master would not sit." This ought to give an indication of the extent to which things were carried out under Confucianism.

To Buddha, the second figure in the painting, life on earth was bitter, filled with attachments and desires that led to suffering. The world was seen as a setter of traps, a generator of illusions, a revolving wheel of pain for all creatures. In order to find peace, the Buddhist considered it necessary to transcend "the world of dust" and reach Nirvana, literally a state of "no wind." Although the essentially optimistic attitude of the Chinese altered Buddhism considerably after it was brought in from its native India, the devout Buddhist often saw the way to Nirvana interrupted all the same by the bitter wind of everyday existence.

To Lao Zi, the harmony that naturally existed between heaven and earth from the very beginning could be found by anyone at any time, but not by following the rules of the Confucianists. As he stated in his Tao Te Ching, the "Tao Virtue Book," earth was in essence a reflection of heaven, run by the same laws - not by the laws of men. These laws affected not only the spinning of distant planets, but the activities of the birds in the forest and the fish in the sea. According to Lao Zi, the more man interfered with the natural balance produced and governed by the universal laws, the further away the harmony retreated into the distance. The more forcing, the more trouble. Whether heavy or light, wet or dry, fast or slow, everything had its own nature already within it, which could not be violated without causing difficulties. When abstract and arbitrary rules were imposed from the outside, struggle was inevitable. Only then did life become sour.

To Lao Zi, the world was not a setter of traps but a teacher of valuable lessons. Its lessons needed to be learned, just as its laws needed to be followed; then all would go well. Rather than turn away from "the world of dust," Lao Zi advised others to "join the dust of the world". What he saw operating behind everything in heaven and earth he called Tao (Dao), "the Way".

A basic principle of Lao Zi's teaching was that this Way of the Universe could not be adequately described in words, and that it would be insulting both to its unlimited power and to the intelligent human mind to attempt to do so. Still, its nature could be understood, and those who cared the most about it, and the life from which it was inseparable, understood it best.

Over the centuries Lao Zi's classic teachings were developed and divided into philosophical, monastic, and folk religious forms. All of these could be included under the general heading of Taoism. But the basic Taoism that we are concerned with here is simply a particular way of appreciating, learning from, and working with whatever happens in everyday life. From the Taoist point of view, the natural result of this harmonious way of living is happiness. You might say that happy serenity is the most noticeable characteristic of the Taoist personality, and a subtle sense of humor is apparent even in the most profound Taoist writings, such as the twenty-five-hundred-year-old Tao Te Ching. In the writings of Taoism's second major writer, Zhuang Zi, quiet laughter seems to bubble up like water from a fountain.

In the painting, why is Lao Zi smiling? After all, that vinegar that represents life must certainly have an unpleasant taste, as the expressions on the faces of the other two men indicate. But, through working in harmony with life's circumstances, Taoist understanding changes what others may perceive as negative into something positive. From the Taoist point of view, sourness and bitterness come from the interfering and unappreciative mind. Life itself, when understood and utilized for what it is, is sweet. That is the message of The Vinegar Tasters.

Knowledge & Learning

2007-12-07T11:07:00.000+08:00

What The Master Said:

The subjects on which the Master did not speak were extraordinary things, feats of strength, disorder, and spiritual beings.

Knowledge & Learning

Those who are born with the possession of knowledge are the highest class of men. Those who learn and readily attain knowledge are the next. Those who are dull and stupid, and yet encompass learning, are another class next to these. As to those who are dull and stupid and do not learn, they are the lowest of people.

The superior man has nine things he considers thoughtfully: to see clearly when he uses his eyes; to hear distinctly when he uses his ears; to look benign; to be respectful in his demeanor; to be sincere in his speech; to be reverent in his doing business; to ask advice when he has doubts; to think of consequences when he is angry; to think of righteousness when he sees gain to be gotten.

Contemplating good and pursuing it as if they could not reach it; contemplating evil and shrinking from it, as they would from thrusting their hands into boiling water -- I have seen such men, as I have heard such words. Living in retirement to study their aims, and practicing righteousness to carry out their principles -- I have heard those words, but I have not seen such men.

I have spent the whole day without eating, and the whole night without sleeping, occupied with thinking. It was of no use. The better plan is to learn.

Learn as if you could not reach your object, and were always afraid lest you should lose it.

I am not one who was born in possession of knowledge; I am one who is fond of antiquity, and earnest in seeking it there.

The silent treasuring up of knowledge, learning without satiety, and instructing others without being wearied -- these things belong to me.

When a man's knowledge is sufficient to attain but his virtue is not sufficient to enable him to hold whatever he may have gained, he will lose again.

When his knowledge is sufficient to attain and his virtue enough to hold fast, if he cannot govern with dignity, the people will not respect him.

When his knowledge is sufficient to attain, when he has virtue enough to hold fast, and when he governs also with dignity, yet if he try to move the people contrary to the rules of propriety, full excellence is not reached.

Shall I teach you what knowledge is? When you know a thing, to hold that you know it; and when you do not know a thing, to allow that you do not know it -- this is knowledge.

I do not open up the truth to one who is not eager to get knowledge, nor help out anyone who is not anxious to explain himself. When I have presented one corner of a square to anyone, and he cannot from it learn the other three, I do not repeat my lesson.

The Master said, "Yu, have you heard the six words to which are attached six obfuscations?"

Yu replied,"I have not."

"Sit down," said the Master, "and I will tell them to you. There is the love of being benevolent without the love of learning: the obfuscation leads to foolishness. There is the love of knowing without the love of learning: the obfuscation here leads to lack of principle. There is the love of being sincere without the love of learning: the obfuscation here leads to an injurious disregard of consequences. There is the love of straightforwardness without the love of learning: the obfuscation here leads to rudeness. There is the love of boldness without the love of learning: the obfuscation here leads to insubordination. There is the love of firmness without the love of learning: the obfuscation here leads to recklessness."

Superior Man

2007-12-06T11:42:00.000+08:00

The Master said:

There are three things which the superior man guards against. In youth, when the physical powers are not yet settled, he guards against lust. When he is strong and the physical powers are full of vigour, he guards against quarrelsomeness. When he is old and the animal powers are decayed, he guards against covetousness.

Those who stand before a man of virtue and station are liable to three errors. They may speak before being spoken to; this is called rashness. They may not speak when spoken to; this is called concealment. They may speak without looking at the countenance of their superior; this is called blindness.

There are three things of which the superior man stands in awe. He stands in awe of the ordinances of Heaven. He stands in awe of great men. He stands in awe of the words of the sages. The inferior man does not know the ordinances of Heaven and consequently does not stand in awe of them. He is disrespectful to great men. He makes sport of the words of sages.

The object of the superior man is truth, not food. Even in farming there is sometimes famine. So with learning, compensation may be found in it. The superior man is anxious lest he should not get truth; he is not anxious lest poverty should come upon him.

He who does not anticipate attempts to deceive him or who does not presume he will not be believed yet understands these things readily when they occur -- is he not a superior man?

He whom neither slander that gradually soaks into the mind nor statements that startle like a wound in the flesh are successful may be called intelligent indeed. Yes, he with whom neither soaking slander nor startling statements are successful may be called far-seeing.

I cannot see a sage; could I see a man of real talent and virtue, that would satisfy me.

A good man is not mine to see; could I see a man possessed of constancy, that would satisfy me.

The superior man cannot be known in small matters, but he may be entrusted with great concerns. The inferior man may not be entrusted with great concerns, but he may be known in little matters.

Virtue is more to man than either water or fire. I have seen men die from treading on water and fire but I have never seen a man die from treading the course of virtue.

When the multitude dislike a man, it is necessary to examine into the case. When the multitude like a man, it is necessary to examine into the case.

A minister is serving his prince, reverently discharges his duties and makes his pay a secondary consideration.

The determined scholar and the man of virtue will not seek to live at the expense of injuring their virtue. They will even sacrifice their lives to preserve their virtue complete.

It is only the truly virtuous man who can love or hate others.

If superior man does not, even for the space of a single meal, act contrary to virtue. In moments of haste, he cleaves on it. In seasons of danger, he cleaves on it.

The superior man is modest in his speech but exceeds in his actions.

The superior man wishes to be slow in his speech and earnest in his conduct.

The way of the superior man is threefold, but I am not equal to it. Virtuous, he is free from anxieties; wise, he is free from perplexities; bold, he is free from fear.

When a man can be spoken to, not to speak to him is to waste the man. When a man cannot be spoken with, to speak to him is to waste our words. The wise err neither in regard to their man nor to their words.

Perfect Virtue

2007-12-05T12:12:00.000+08:00

Natural Virtues and Supernatural Virtues

Hsien asked what is shameful. The Master said,"When good government prevails in a State, to be thinking only of salary; and when bad government prevails, to be thinking, in the same way, only of salary -- this is shameful. When the love of superiority, boasting, resentments and covetousness are repressed, this may be deemed perfect virtue."

The Master said:

Virtue & Intelligence
Only the individual possessed of the most entire sincerity that can exist under Heaven can adjust the great invariable relations of mankind, establish the great fundamental virtues of humanity, and know the transforming and nurturing operations of Heaven and Earth. Does this individual depend on any being or anything beyond himself?

Call him man in his ideal; how earnest is he! Call him an abyss; how deep is he! Call him Heaven; how vast is he!

Who can know him, except he who is indeed quick in apprehension, clear in discernment, of far-reaching intelligence, and all-embracing knowledge, possessing all heavenly virtue?

Leaving virtue without proper cultivation; not thoroughly discussing what is learned; not being able to move towards what is right; and not being able to change what is not good -- these things cause me concern.

Specious words confound virtue. Want of forbearance in small matters confounds great plans.

To have faults and not to reform them, this indeed should be pronounced having faults.

I will not be concerned by men not knowing me. I will be concerned by my own lack of ability.

There may be those who act without knowing why, but I do not do so. Hearing much and selecting what is good and following it, and seeing much and keeping it in memory -- this is the second style of knowledge.

Benevolence: is to love all men. Knowledge: is to know all men. Employ the upright and put aside all the crooked; in this way, the crooked can be made to be upright.

Peer Pressure

2007-09-15T21:17:00.000+08:00

Daniel was waiting for his best friend, Sunil, outside the college gate. He had arranged with Sunil to walk home together as they lived in the same housing estate near the school. He had met Sunil at the age of seven. It was then their first day in school and they both felt lost and afraid. They had vowed to stick close to each other and had been the closest of friends since. Daniel especially enjoyed his walks home with Sunil for it was usually then that they had their heart-to-heart talks or exchanged ideas on various issues.

Daniel suddenly heard someone calling out to him from a corner of the school compound. He saw that it was Sunil, who was waving at him to go over. Feeling intrigued, Daniel walked towards his friend. Sunil was behaving suspiciously. He asked Daniel to go to a more secluded place.

Daniel was very curious about Sunil's mysterious behaviour. He followed him without question. Finally they stopped at a deserted staircase at the far end of school archives and storage block. Sunil took something out from his breast pocket. It was a crumpled and creased cigarette. Daniel's eyes opened wide in surprise. "Where did you get it from? Don't you know that it's illegal for minors like us to possess cigarettes?" Daniel asked incredulously. He could not believe that Sunil, who was so sensible and wise would do something so foolish.

"Come on...don't be a coward. Everybody smokes nowadays. It's hip and cool; it will prove that we are adults and people will respect us. Anyway, its only one cigarette. Let's try it together... we're best friends, aren't we?"

Sunil took out a box of matches from his pocket as he said this. Daniel was torn between loyalty to his friend and his own principles. Smoking was something which he had always felt strongly against for environment. Yet he could not help feeling that somehow what Sunil had said made some sense: everybody was smoking, so why should he be so moralistic?

Still, Daniel knew that he would be betraying his own ideas if he smoked simply to conform or to be accepted by others. He knew that what mattered most was that he did not want to smoke and that if Sunil was a true friend, then he would not force him to do something the did not want to do. Daniel did not want to disappoint his mother, who had always told Daniel about the harmful effects of smoking. What Daniel wanted was to achieve good examination results so as not to disappoint his mother. He wanted to have a successful career path after he graduated from his studies.

Daniel decided to put their friendship to the test after some deliberation and told Sunil how he felt. At first Sunil looked at Daniel in dismay, but the determined expression on Daniel's face stopped Sunil from striking the match. "You know something, Daniel?" Said Sunil thoughtfully. "You've just shown me what being hip and cool really means. It means standing up and doing the right thing under any circumstances, regardless of what people might say." With that, he squashed the cigarette and threw it away.

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When someone stands tottering at the edge, it takes only a whisper to pull them back to safety.

First Impression

2007-08-03T11:20:00.000+08:00

First impressions are important but they are by no means good guides to the true qualities of a person.

In any situation, there is always the cliché that first impressions are very important. Where first impressions are concerned, we do not look into a person's academic record. We do not know how well they fare for their Algebra or their Science. We judge a person according to what we see them when we first saw them. Thus strategies of personal management always stress on the need for a person to look presentable and smart to create a good lasting impression on anyone he meets. It is a sad but inevitable fact of life that many people have short term memories, thus a memorable first impression could lead to greater achievements because people are able to remember you amidst all the other faces in the crowd.

There are many ways with which an individual can make a lasting impact on the people he meets. Usually one way to attract attention is to dress smart and professional. Such a ploy is however tricky because looking good does not necessarily equate with real capabilities. Other superficial ways of making lasting impressions deal with ways and means of looking good; but the main failing of such a tactic is that it may not stand up to real testing especially in important situations like interviews.

A more lasting form of impact relies on cultivating good personal etiquette. In this case, things like courtesy matter more. For example, on a first date, the man would usually be tested for his etiquette in treating his female companion well like pulling the chair out for her in the dinner table and other little details.

Perhaps the best way to create good first impressions is to display the finer points of one's character. Certain traits like humour, confidence and intelligence are definite winners in any meeting with strangers. To be able to win over, for example, the interviewer based on the strengths of your character is a definite guarantee that you have made a favourable impact. Although comparatively, strength of character is the most important, first impressions come in a package; thus superficialities like dressing well cannot be totally ignored either.

In judging any person one meets, it is also necessary to look for more enduring traits rather than make hasty character appraisals based on very shallow criterion. For example, it is easy to dismiss a tutor who wears thick glasses and acts awkwardly in front of people as a nerd. However, such a hasty judgment is definitely unwarranted and it also shows how crude you are as a person. One should always seek to understand another person fully before deciding on his merits or vices.

Thus first impressions are important but they are by no means good guides to the true qualities of a person. One must always remember that most people put up their best front on first meetings which may be mere facades of their true selves. It is up to the discerning person to uncover the truth beneath the veneer.

Chinese Wisdom

2007-06-01T00:04:00.000+08:00

If you let cloudy water settle, it will become clear. If you let your upset mind settle, your course will also become clear. Let your mind become clear like a still forest pool.

If you take care of each moment, you will take care of all time.

Victory creates hatred, defeat creates suffering. Those who are wise strive for neither victory or defeat.

Let yourself be open and life will be easier. A spoon of salt in a glass of water makes the water undrinkable. A spoon of salt in a lake is almost unnoticed.

Weigh the true advantages of forgiveness and resentment to the heart. Then choose.

In the beginner's mind, there are many possibilities, in the expert's mind there are few.

Happiness comes when your work and words are of benefit to yourself and others.

Spiritual life should include a great measure of common sense.

We can be spacious, yet full of loving kindness; full of compassion, yet serene. Live like the strings of a fine instrument -- not too taut and not too loose.

If your compassion does not include yourself, it is incomplete.

Good-humoured patience is necessary with mischievious children and your own mind.

Life is so hard, how can we be anything but kind?

Our sorrows and wounds are healed only when we touch them with compassion.

Everything in moderation, including moderation.

There is only one time when it is essential to awaken. That time is now.

Through our senses the world appears. Through our reactions we create delusions. Without reactions the world becomes clear.

It is not our preferences that cause problems but our attachment to them.

The trouble is that you think you have time.

Some days we feel like strangers. When our heart opens, we will realize that we belongs just here. Those who are awake live in a state of constant amazement.

Common Faults of Men

2007-05-31T21:40:00.000+08:00

There are many weapons which cause harm to oneself, for example wine, sex, fame, benefit and power. Sword-play is also one of them. A minor skill does harm and is nothing to be conceited about.

According to Zhuang Zi, there are eight weaknesses and four shortcomings of men, which you must watch out for. These are:

The eight weaknesses of men

1. Meddling : To do something you ought not to do
2. Wheedling : Rambling on despite having your suggestion rejected
3. Fawning : Figuring out people's minds and pleasing them with words
4. Toading : Agreeing with others without judgment
5. Back-biting : Criticizing people's weakness behind their backs
6. Trouble-making : Breaking up friendship between two persons
7. Intriguing : Praising the vicious while ostracizing people we detest
8. Slippery : Not telling good from evil while being ingratiating

Outwardly these eight weaknesses create trouble for people, inwardly they can damage the true self. They are qualities which a man of wisdom keeps clear of.

The four Shortcomings of men

1. Ambitious : A penchant for talking on big jobs to seek credit and fame
2. Presumptuous : Being self-righteous and self-important
3. Stubborness : defending one's fault while resenting exhortation from others
4. Bigotry : Endorsing those with the same views as ours and condemning those with different views from ours

A man dressed in snow-white clothes is not necessarily clean at heart. It is better for one to remain poor than to get rich by wicked deeds.

Wisdom of Zhuang Zi

2007-05-30T22:31:00.000+08:00

There are ups and downs in one's life. When one's in a low ebb, one must observe with wisdom and wait quietly for changes to come.

Live every act fully, as if it were your last.

Love in the past is only a memory. Love in the future is a fantasy. Only here and now can we truly love.

Most of the sorrows of the earth humans cause for themselves.

Even loss and betrayal can bring us awakening.

Words have the power to destroy or heal. When words are both true and kind, they can change our world.

Every wakeful step, every mindful act is the direct path to awakening. Whenever you go, there you are.

Our own worst enemy cannot harm us as much as our unwise thoughts. No one can help us as much as our own compassionate thoughts.

In one's family, respect and listening are the source of harmony.

To give your cow or sheep a large, spacious meadow is the best way to control him.

The heart is like a garden. It can grow compassion or fear, resentment or love. What seeds will you plant there?

Do not blindly believe what others say. See for yourself what brings contentment, clarity and peace. That is the path for you to follow.

The mind contains all possibilities.

If you cannot find the truth right where you are, where else do you think you will find it?

Life is as fleeting as a rainbow, a flash of lightning, a star at dawn - knowing this, how can you quarrel?

Hatred never ceases by hatred; by love alone is it healed. This is the ancient and eternal law.

We are not independent but interdependent.

The artisan can only teach you the basic rules, not his success secret; the swordsman can only teach you the basic styles, not his skills. The intellectuals always value words printed in books, not knowing what's laid in between the lines are more valuable. That explains why people who memorise passages are not necessarily good readers.

No Pains No Gains

2007-03-05T19:49:00.000+08:00

Mary was a thrifty and hardworking girl. She worked in London English School. Mary, a receptionist, often wished that she could have some fun like other girls. Some of her friends whom she knew, always went to watch the latest movies, had meals in expensive restaurants and always wearing fashionable clothes. Diana, for example, had at least three party dresses and many designer gowns. "My life is all work!" Mary said to herself one day.

It was indeed all work, because Mary's mother was dead and so, as well as working hard all day in the London English School in the large town in which she lived, Mary had to look after her father. She cooked all his meals and kept the house spotlessly clean. But she did not want to spend all her life doing this and so one night, when everything else was done, she decided to improve herself. She wanted to be a good secretary in future. She wanted to get a better pay job and she wanted to improve her English. So Mary began to learn typing and shorthand. She enrolled herself English Courses in London too.

Weeks and months passed. Mary was working harder and harder than before. Work at the London English School was tiring. She was had to wake up early in the morning to go to work. Besides answering numerous phone calls, she had to help in some administrative duties as well. After work, she had to hurry to attend courses. At night, when she reached home, she had to do household chores and after which she had to revise her studies. However tiring and hard life is, she knew that she had to persevere, as she wanted to earn more money in her future.

"It will all pass, if I work hard enough," she thought as she walked with her shorthand book to the Commercial School, where she learnt shorthand and typing. The room was busy as she entered it. Other students were already seated behind the typewriters which were all new, since the school had only just opened. The pupils were putting long pieces of white papers into the machines and setting the spaces and margins. Soon the tap, tap, tap, of the keys could be heard as the class began its evening's work. Mary became absorbed in hers. She was very tired, but she tried her best to concentrate, looking all the time at the copy book lying beside her typewriter.

"You have a good touch." said a voice. "I have great hopes for you in the Diploma examination next week." She looked up to find the Principal of the School standing by her desk. This was indeed an honour. "Your shorthand speeds are good too," went on the Principal. "Try hard in your examination and then I will help you to find a good job. Remember to practice your shorthand at home. If you have no one to dictate to you, the voices on the radio can be used instead." He walked to the next desk leaving Mary to her work and wondering just what time she could find to fit in any more practice.

The Principal was right of course, as they usually are and Mary obtained her Diploma with very good marks. Her English improved drastically as well. She became the private Secretary to the Principal himself and had a pleasant job with a good salary. She engaged a private nurse to care for her aged father. Although she was still very industrious, she had time for pleasure and recreation. She worked hard to achieve her dreams. She knew that without pain there can never be any gain.

Right Or Wrong

2007-02-23T11:16:00.000+08:00

When do you know that you are doing the right thing and you are doing the wrong thing? Every religion, there is a set of 'rules' to follow for you to lead an acceptable life, a good disciple of God. In Christians, there are the Ten Commandments. In school, there are rules for you to obey, in the nation, there are rules and regulations to follow as well. When there is a standard for you to follow and you deviate from it, you are consider a bad person. Just like in school, if you disobey the teachers, if you bully other students, then you are bad, you are evil if you purposely do the actions knowing that it is wrong and that such actions bring you satisfaction. Such a person is morally wrong.

This is an article I have written at Helium:

Beyond the principles of good and evil
I never study philosophy before. What really is philosophy I am no expert in this field. I learned little about it through browsing the internet for information. And living life is an experience and learning journey. From young we are taught in school what is right and what is wrong. What are the things that we should do and what are the things that we should not do. And today, children are still learning these through civics and moral education.

Not all things can be taught and learn in school. As grown adults, even parents and teachers are not perfect beings. Teachers can only impart what they know. Not all people, like I say, is perfect. Nobody have knowledge of everything. So it is not possible for a whole class of students grasp what is good and evil at times.

To a little child, good is something that do not harm them. Good is something that they could be happy and probably comfortable with. Tell a child that something is evil. This child would not understand what is evil. Evil is something bad. Evil is something that harm you and cause you to be in pain, in grief or sadness. A person will appreciate what is good when faced with what is bad, in this case it could be something evil. Bad and evil? Evil seem more 'bad' than bad!

The existence of of religion governs people to be good. However, people err. People make mistakes. It is said that the nature of people is Good. But life is hard. To make a living and to fight for existence in this competitive world, people have to go beyond their own principles of good and evil. These people may even leading life with no principles at all. There are immoral people, swindlers, thief, robbers, etc who can do anything to bully people for thrill and for money.

Why people do bad things and ultimately they become evil? Through life circumstances, where there is love, there is hatred. Love becomes hate. When there is hatred, there is an urge to seek revenge on the person whom hurt you most. These will be evil thoughts in the mind on how to deal with this person. Evil thoughts lead to evil actions if the person cannot control themselves. Some people retort to other means to 'destroy' themselves.

When people are at odds ends, they can do anything such as killing people for revenge, blackmail people for money, plotting for bank robberies, raping to vent their frustration or anger, and so on.

At times when people are not sure what they did is right or wrong, good or evil, on first attempt, they might wonder and feel guilty. But on second attempt and subsequent attempt, they find ways and means to justify their actions. They find excuses and reasons to show why they do such actions. To viewers, they might be wrong and consider evil to people around them. To them, they are feeling fine and happy and is consider good to them. In this way, good and evil like what some other people say, are just view points. It is true. However, certain things is clearcut. When it comes to committing adultery or killing people, there is no excuse. It is clear that whatever reasons you support is not going to justify your actions for these. Even though it is common for married couples to have affairs and for people to kill people, yet this is clear that they are NOT SOMETHING GOOD and remarkable.

Whatever it is, this world is all about survival of the fittest. People are born with combination of genes pass down from ancestors. There are good genes and bad genes. There are circumstances that trigger the 'work' of the bad genes and there are more evil doers in the nation.

Read what others have written for this topic or write another article here

Read all topics I have written at Helium

Great Love

2007-01-24T17:28:00.000+08:00

The musty odour of mould hung heavily in the attic. Lynn is a career woman. She has an accounting job. Lynn could not remember when she had last entered the room. She know however that it was a place that always fascinated her when she was a child; it seemed to be a repository of strange and mysterious relics, each with a long and chequered history behind it.

She could recall how she was once scared out of her wits when she saw a fierce tiger staring intently at her, only to discover that it was a stuffed animal that her grandfather had bought when he was visiting a faraway place. There were also scrolls of maps, another legacy of her sailor grandfather, which showed in archaic design, strange lands with drawings of odd looking creatures at the fringes. She always thought that they were treasures at the fringes. She always thought that they were treasure maps leading to vast riches amassed by some infamous pirates.

As she walked through the litter of boxes in the attic, childhood memories flooded through her mind. They transported her back to the time when she was still naive and innocent; when everything in the attic was special and magical. Her eyes fell upon a dress hanging in one corner of the attic. It was a beautiful wedding gown. Although the pearls which lined the sleeves of the gown had lost their lustre, the immaculate craftsmanship of the gown was still unmistakable. The multitude of fine and intricate designs gave the gown a shimmering effect, even though it was old with age.

As Lynn bent down closer to examine the gown, she saw a quaint little book placed neatly under the folds of the dress. Curiosity overwhelmed her and she opened the book. She realized that it was her late grandmother's diary.

The writing was elegant and flowing, betraying the refined spirit of her grandmother. Lynn had never had a chance to meet her grandmother, who had a finance job. Her grandmother had passed away when Lynn was still a baby. However, the diary gave her a window into her grandmother's personality and Lynn found out how romantic her grandmother was.

Many of the pages were depictions of her love story with Lynn's grandfather, who had a finance career. (Visit AccountancyAgejobs.com for a list of finance jobs and accounting jobs in the UK. You can search for your favourite accountancy and finance jobs there.) Punctuated between the lines were poems she composed herself to describe the joys and sorrows of their courtship. They had fought against convention to be together and endured many bouts of forced separation during their tumultuous relationship. Never once, however, did she waver in her undying love for Lynn's grandfather.

Words of hope filled the pages when they were not together. Finally, on 21 September 1934, they were finally married. Lynn cried when she read the joyous lines on that particular page,"He came into my house with the gown in his hands and went down on bended knees to ask for my hand in marriage. My heart cried tears of joy. I never dared believe that this day was possible."

Although no guests attended the wedding, both families disapproved of the union -- it did not matter. The emptiness of the church was filled with the love of the married couple. They were together and nothing else mattered.

As Lynn shut the diary, she wished that she could have met her grandmother. She also finally understood why her grandfather always had a wishful look of loss in his eyes when she was a child. They must have truly loved each other.

True happiness consists in decreasing the distance between our desires and our powers, in extablishing a perfect equilibrium between power and will.

An Aged Student

2007-01-17T15:28:00.000+08:00

Sikaki was a skilled artist an artisan. With great expertise and interest, he made such a nice and beautiful inkpot that it could be presented to the king. He expected that, appreciating his artistic skill, the king would encourage him as far as possible. So, with countless hopes and thousand of desires, he presented that inkpot to the king. In the beginning the king was very impressed by his artistic skill but afterwards an unpleasant event occurred that caused an extraordinary change in Sikaki' s life and way of thinking.

When the king was observing the skilled artistry of the beautiful inkpot and Sikaki was lost in the world of thoughts, the people informed that a scholar-literary person or jury is about to enter the court. As soon as the scholar entered, the king got so much absorbed in welcoming and talking to him that he forgot Sikaki and his skilled artistry. This incident caused an adverse and deep effect on the heart of Sikaki.

He realized that now he would not receive the encouragement he had expected and all his desires and hopes are useless now. But Sikaki's high spirited mind did not allow him to be in peace, so he started thinking as to what should he do. He decided to do what the others have done and go on the same way that the others have gone (uptill now). Therefore, he decided to search for his lost hopes in the world of knowledge, literature and books. Although for a wise man who has passed the days of his young age, it was not easy to study with young children and to start right from the preliminary stage. But he did not have a choice . After all whenever the fish is taken out of water, it is fresh.

Worse than that, in the beginning he did not find any sort of interest in himself regarding reading and writing. Perhaps spending a long time in artistic works and handicraft was the reason for stagnancy in his scientific and literary talent. But neither his advanced age nor lack of capability, none of these could change his decision. With great enthusiasm and zeal for attaining knowledge, he strictly got busy with his studies, until another incident occurred:

The teacher who was teaching him Shafi 'I jurisprudence (fiqh Shafi 'I), taught him this lesson,"The teacher believes that the skin of a dog becomes clean (tahir) after tanning." Sikaki repeated this sentence a lot of times so that at the time of examination he should be able to succeed. But when he was asked to answer this question, he said, "The dog believes that the skin of a teacher becomes clean after tanning."

The audience upon hearing this answer started laughing. It was clear for everybody that this old man is absolutely incapable of reading and writing. After this incident Sikaki not only left the school , but he left the town and went towards the jungle. By chance, he reached the foot of a mountain, where he saw that the water is falling drop by drop from the top and due to the continuous falling of water, a hole had been formed in that hard stone. He reflected for sometime, a good idea crossed his mind like lightning. And he said, "Maybe my heart is not ready to accept (knowledge) but it is not harder than this stone. It is impossible that continuous studying and hard work would be ineffective."

Therefore, he came back and with hard work, he got busy in the attainment of knowledge. As a result he was reckoned as one of the popular scholars of his time.

Books are the gardens of learned. The man of learning is alive even after his death. The man of ignorance is dead even while he is alive. A person is never too old to learn anything. Whether you are a working business person or a retiree or students, you can learn additional language. You can be a take up Business Language Courses anytime. Language Trainers focuses on Business Language Courses. They offer all types of language training such as Spanish, English, Italian, French and others.

Story Of Crystal Ball

2007-01-15T22:56:00.000+08:00

In the south of Spain, there was a small village whose people were very joyful and lucky. The children played under the shade of trees in the gardens of their home. A shepherd boy whose name was Nasir, stayed near the village with his father, mother and grandmother. Early morning each day, he takes his herd of goats up the hills to find a suitable place for them to graze. In the afternoon he would return with them to the village. At night his grandmother would tell him a story. The story of stars. This story really interested Nasir. As usual, on one of these days, as Nasir was watching his herd and playing his flute he suddenly saw a wonderful light behind the flower bush. When he came towards the branches he saw a transparent and most beautiful crystal ball.

The crystal ball was glittering like a colorful rainbow. Nasir carefully took it in his hand and turned it around. With surprise suddenly he heard a weak voice coming from the crystal ball. It said, "You can make a wish that your heart desires and I will fulfill it." Nasir could not believe that he had actually heard a voice. But he became so engrossed in his thoughts for he had so many wishes but he must wish for something which was impossible like the wish to be able to fly. He said to himself, if I wait till tomorrow I will remember many things. He put the crystal ball in a bag and gathered the herd, happily returned back to the village. He decided that he would not tell anyone about the crystal ball. On the following day also, Nasir could not decide what to wish for, because he really had everything he needed.

The days passed as usual, and Nasir appeared to be very cheerful that the people around him were amazed to see his cheerful disposition. One day a boy followed Nasir and his herd and hid behind a tree. Nasir as usual sat in one corner, took out the crystal ball and for a few moments looked at it. The boy waited for the moment when Nasir would go to sleep. Then he took the crystal ball and ran away. When he arrived in the village, he called all the people and showed them the crystal ball. The citizens of that village took the crystal ball in their hand and turned it around with surprise. Suddenly they heard a voice from inside the crystal ball, which says, "I can fulfill your wish." One person took the ball and screamed, "I want one bag full of gold." Another took the ball and said loudly, "I want two chest full of jewelry."

Some of them wished that they would have their own palace with grand door made from pure gold instead of their old houses. Some also wished for bags full of jewelry, but nobody asked for gardens in their palaces. All their wishes were fulfilled but still the citizen of the village were not happy. They were jealous because the person that had a palace had no gold and the person that had the gold had no palace. For this reason, the citizens of the village were angry and were not speaking to each other. There was not even one garden which existed in the village where the children could play. The patience of the children was running out and they were uncomfortable. Nasir and his family were happy and pleased. Every morning and afternoon he would play the flute.

The children could not wait anymore and decided to return the crystal ball to Nasir. The parents and neighbours went to him. The children said to Nasir, "When we had a small village we all were happy and joyful." The parent also spoke,"In one way or another nobody is happy. The expensive palaces and jewelry only bring us pain." When Nasir saw that the people were really regretful, he said,"I have not wished till now, if you really want everything to return to its own place, then I will wish for it." Everyone happily agreed. Nasir took the crystal ball in his hand turned around and wished that the village become the same as it was before. Everyone quickly turned towards the village and saw it became the same old village with gardens full of trees and fruits. Once again the people started to live happily and the children played under the shade of trees. From the next day and everyday at sunset the sound of Nasir's flute could be heard in the village.

Moral

This story teaches us that we should be happy and content always, with whatever we have and not to be greedy, because of the following reasons (Wise Old Sayings):

Money can't buy Happiness
MONEY can buy bed, but not sleep;
MONEY can buy books, but not wisdom;
MONEY can buy food, but not appetite;
MONEY can buy medicine, but not health;
MONEY can buy finery, but not real beauty;
MONEY can buy paintings, but not the artistry;
MONEY can buy a house, but not a home;
MONEY can buy luxuries, but not culture;
MONEY can buy companions, but not friends;
MONEY can buy marriage, but not love;
MONEY can buy clothes, but not personality;
MONEY can buy anything, but not heaven;
MONEY can buy tombstone, but not death;
MONEY can buy almost everything, but not the dignity and respect of being who we are!

Stanford University

2007-01-14T23:50:00.000+08:00

A lady in a faded gingham dress and her husband, dressed in a homespun threadbare suit, stepped off the train in Boston and walk timidly without an appointment into the Harvard University President's outer office.

The secretary could tell in a moment that such backwoods, country hicks had no business at Harvard and probably didn't even deserve to be in Cambridge.

"We want to see the president," the man said softly.

"He'll be busy all day," the secretary snapped.

"We'll wait," the lady replied.

For hours the secretary ignored them, hoping that the couple would finally become discouraged and go away. They didn't and the secretary grew frustrated and finally decided to disturb the president, even though it was a chore she always regretted.

"Maybe if you see them for a few minutes, they'll leave," she said to him.

He sighed in exasperation and nodded. Someone of his importance obviously didn't have the time to spend with them, but he detested gingham dresses and homespun suits cluttering up his outer office.

The president, stern faced and with dignity, strutted toward the couple.

The lady told him, "We had a son who attended Harvard for one year. He loved Harvard. He was happy here. But about a year ago, he was accidentally killed. My husband and I would like to erect a memorial to him, somewhere on campus."

The president wasn't touched.... He was shocked.

"Madam," he said, gruffly, "we can't put up a statue for every person who attended Harvard and died. If we did, this place would look like a cemetery."

"Oh, no," the lady explained quickly. "We don't want to erect a statue. We thought we would like to give a building to Harvard."

The president rolled his eyes. He glanced at the gingham dress and homespun suit, and then exclaimed, "A building! Do you have any earthly idea how much a building costs? We have over seven and a half million dollars in the physical buildings here at Harvard."

For a moment the lady was silent.

The president was pleased. Maybe he could get rid of them now.

The lady turned to her husband and said quietly, "Is that all it costs to start a university? Why don't we just start our own?"

Her husband nodded.

The president's face wilted in confusion and bewilderment. Mr. and Mrs. Leland Stanford got up and walked away, traveling to Palo Alto, California where they established the University that bears their name, Stanford University, a memorial to a son that Harvard no longer cared about.

Stanford University By Landmark Publishing Corperation

You can easily judge the character of others by how they treat those who they think can do nothing.

Do Not Judge a Book by its Cover!

The Cats & Roosters Story

2007-01-12T07:40:00.000+08:00

Once upon a time in Africa, roosters ruled cats. The cats worked hard all day and at night they had to bring all they had gathered for the roosters. The king of the roosters would take all the food for himself and for the other roosters.

The roosters loved to eat ants. Thus, every cat had a purse hung round its neck, which it filled with ants for the king of the roosters.

The cats did not like the situation. They wanted to rid themselves of the king so that the food they gathered through hard work and great difficulty would be their own. But they were afraid of the roosters.

The roosters had told the cats that rooster's combs were made out of fire and that the fire of their combs would burn anyone who disobeyed them! The cats believed them and therefore worked from early morning until night for the roosters.

One night, the fire on the house of Mrs. Cat went out. She told her kitten, Fluffy, to bring some fire from Mr. Rooster's house.

When Fluffy went into the house of the rooster, she saw that Mr. Rooster was fast asleep, his stomach swollen with the ants he had eaten. The kitten was afraid to wake the rooster, so she returned home empty handed and told her mother what had happened.

Mrs. Cat said, "Now that the rooster is asleep, gather some dry twigs and place them near his comb. As soon as the twigs catch fire, bring them home."

Fluffy gathered some dry twigs and took them to the rooster's house. He was still asleep. Fluffy fearfully put the dry twigs near the rooster's comb but it was no use, the twigs did not catch fire. Fluffy rubbed the twigs against the rooster's comb again but it was no use they would not catch fire. Fluffy returned home without any fire and told her mother, "The rooster's comb does not set twigs on fire."

Mrs. Cat answered "Why can't you do anything right! Come with me I'll show you how to make fire with the rooster's comb." So together they went to the house of Mr. Rooster.

He was still asleep. Mrs. Cat put the twigs as near to the rooster's comb as she could. But the twigs did not catch fire. Then, shaking with fear, she put her paw near the rooster's comb and gently touched it. To her surprise, the comb was not hot, it was very cold, and it was just red colored.

As soon as Mrs. Cat realized that the roosters had lied to the cats about their combs, she joyfully went out and told the other cats about the rooster's tricks. From that day on, the cats no longer worked for the roosters.

At first, the king of the roosters became very angry and said to the cats, "I will burn all of your houses if you do not work for me!"

But the cats said, "Your comb is not made of fire. It is just the color of fire. We touched it when you were sleep. You lied to us.

When the king of the roosters found out that the cats knew that he had lied to them, he ran away. Now, whenever roosters see a cat, they scurry away, because to this very day they are afraid of cats.

Never Lie or Cheat

The Illusion Of Reflection

2007-01-11T00:35:00.000+08:00

We should open our minds and hearts to new information, ideas, and points of view, and be willing to change our paradigms when it becomes clear that they are wrong.

Once there was a king who had presented his daughter, the princess, with a beautiful diamond necklace. The necklace was stolen and his people in the kingdom searched everywhere but could not find it. Some said a bird might have stolen it. The king then asked them all to search for it and put a reward for $50,000 for anyone who found it.

The River was completely polluted. One day a clerk was walking home along a river next to an industrial area. This river was completely polluted, filthy and smelly. As he was walking, the clerk saw a shimmering in the river and when he looked, he saw the diamond necklace. He decided to try and catch it so that he could get the $50,000 reward. He put his hand in the filthy, dirty river and grabbed the necklace, but somehow missed it and did not catch it. He took his hand out and looked again and the necklace was still there. He tried again, this time he walked in the river and dirtied his pants in the filthy river and put his whole arm in to catch the necklace. But strangely, he still missed the necklace! He came out and started walking away, feeling depressed.

Then again he saw the necklace, right there. This time he was determined to get it, no matter what. He decided to plunge into the river, although it was a disgusting thing to do as the river was polluted, and his whole body would become filthy. He plunged in, and searched everywhere for the necklace and yet he failed. This time he was really bewildered and came out feeling very depressed that he could not get the necklace that would get him $50,000.

Just then a saint who was walking by, saw him, and asked him what was the matter. The clerk didn't want to share the secret with the saint, thinking the saint might take the necklace for himself, so he refused to tell the saint anything. But the saint could see this man was troubled and being compassionate, again asked the clerk to tell him the problem and promised that he would not tell anyone about it. The clerk mustered some courage and decided to put some faith in the saint. He told the saint about the necklace and how he tried and tried to catch it, but kept failing. The saint then told him that perhaps he should try looking upward, toward the branches of the tree, instead of in the filthy river. The clerk looked up and true enough, the necklace was dangling on the branch of a tree. He had been trying to capture a mere reflection of the real necklace all this time.

Moral of the story
Material happiness is just like the filthy, polluted river; because it is a mere reflection of the TRUE happiness in the spiritual world.

We can never achieve the happiness we are looking for no matter how hard we endeavor in material life. Instead we should look upwards, toward God, who is the source of real happiness, and stop chasing after the reflection of this happiness in the material world. This spiritual happiness is the only thing that can satisfy us completely.

The 99 Club

2007-01-10T21:22:00.000+08:00

Story About Contentment

Some time ago, there lived a King. This King should have been contented with his life, given all the riches and luxuries he had. However, this was not the case! The King always found himself wondering why he just never seemed content with his life.

Sure, he had the attention of everyone wherever he went, attended fancy dinners and parties, but somehow, he still felt something was lacking and he couldn't put his finger on it.

One day, the King had woken up earlier than usual to stroll around his palace. He entered his huge living room and came to a stop when he heard someone happily singing away... following this singing... he saw that one of the servants was singing and had a very contented look on his face.

This fascinated the King and he summoned this man to his chambers.

The man entered the King's chambers as ordered. The King asked why he was so happy?

To this the man replied, "Your Majesty, I am nothing but a servant, but I make enough of a living to keep my wife and children happy. We don't need too much, a roof over our heads and warm food to fill our tummy. My wife and children are my inspiration, they are content with whatever little I bring home. I am happy because my family is happy."

Hearing this, the King dismissed the servant and summoned his Personal Assistant to his chambers.

The King related his personal anguish about his feelings and then related the story of the servant to his Personal Assistant, hoping that somehow, he will be able to come up with some reasoning that here was a King who could have anything he wished for at a snap of his fingers and yet was not contented, whereas, his servant, having so little was extremely contented.

The Personal Assistant listened attentively and came to a conclusion. He said, "Your Majesty, I believe that the servant has not been made part of The 99 Club."

"The 99 Club? And what exactly is that?" the King inquired.

To which the Assistant replied, "Your Majesty, to truly know what The 99 Club is, you will have to do the following... place 99 Gold coins in a bag and leave it at this servant's doorstep, you will then understand what The 99 Club is."

That very same evening, the King arranged for 99 Gold coins to be placed in a bag at the servant's doorstep. Although he was slightly hesitant and he thought he should have put 100 Gold coins into the bag, but since his assistant had advised him to put 99 that is what he did.

The servant was just stepping out of his house when he saw a bag at his doorstep. Wondering about its contents, he took it into his house and opened the bag. When he opened the bag, he let out a great big shout of joy...Gold Coins... so many of them. He could hardly believe it. He called his wife to show her the coins.

He then took the bag to a table and emptied it out and began to count the coins. Doing so, he realized that there were 99 coins and he thought it was an odd number so he counted again, and again and again only to come to the same conclusion... 99 Gold Coins.

He began to wonder, what could have happened to that last 1 coin? For no one would leave 99 coins. He began to search his entire house, looked around his backyard for hours, not wanting to lose out on that one coin. Finally, exhausted, he decided that he was going to have to work harder than ever to make up for that 1 Gold coin to make his entire collection an even 100 Gold Coins.

He got up the next morning, in an extremely horrible mood, shouting at the children and his wife for his delay, not realizing that he had spent most of the night conjuring ways of working hard so that he had enough money to buy himself that gold coin. He went to work as usual - but not in his usual best mood, singing happily - as he grumpily did his daily errands.

Seeing the man's attitude change so drastically, the King was puzzled. He promptly summoned his assistant to his chambers. The King related his thoughts about the servant and once again, his assistant listened. The King could not believe that the servant who until yesterday had been singing away and was happy and content with his life had taken a sudden change of attitude, even though he should have been happier after receiving the gold coins.

To this the assistant replied, "Ah! But your Majesty, the servant has now officially joined The 99 Club." He explained,"The 99 Club is just a name given to those people who have everything but yet are never contented, therefore they are always working hard and striving for that extra 1 to round it out to 100!"

We have so much to be thankful for and we can live with very little in our lives, but the minute we are given something bigger and better, we want even more!

We are not the same happy contented person we used to be, we want more and more and by wanting more and more we don't realize the price we pay for it. We lose our sleep, our happiness; we hurt the people around us just as a price to pay for our growing needs and desires. That is what joining The 99 Club is all about."

Hearing this the King decided that from that day onwards, he was going to start appreciating all the little things in life.

Striving for more is always good, but let's not strive so hard and for so much that we loses all those near and dear to our hearts, we shouldn't compromise our happiness for moments of luxuries!

Philosophical Quotes II

2006-07-17T11:57:00.000+08:00

When I die, I will not see myself die, for the first time. ~Antonio Porchia

The foot feels the foot when it feels the ground. ~Buddha

We become aware of the void as we fill it. ~Antonio Porchia

If I make the lashes dark
And the eyes more bright
And the lips more scarlet,
Or ask if all be right
From mirror after mirror,
No vanity's displayed:
I'm looking for the face I had
Before the world was made.
~W.B. Yeats

Almost every wise saying has an opposite one, no less wise, to balance it. ~Santayana

The opposite of a correct statement is a false statement. But the opposite of a profound truth may well be another profound truth. ~Niels Bohr

Who is more foolish, the child afraid of the dark or the man afraid of the light? ~Maurice Freehill

I believe that men are generally still a little afraid of the dark, though the witches are all hung, and Christianity and candles have been introduced. ~Henry David Thoreau

Because they know the name of what I am looking for, they think they know what I am looking for! ~Antonio Porchia

Eggs cannot be unscrambled. ~American Proverb

A thing, until it is everything, is noise, and once it is everything it is silence. ~Antonio Porchia

The road was new to me, as roads always are going back. ~Sarah Orne Jewett

We used to think that if we knew one, we knew two, because one and one are two. We are finding that we must learn a great deal more about "and." ~Arthur Stanley Eddington

No snowflake ever falls in the wrong place. ~Zen

The moment a little boy is concerned with which is a jay and which is a sparrow, he can no longer see the birds or hear them sing. ~Eric Berne

Nearly all men die of their remedies, and not of their illnesses. ~Jean Baptiste Molière

The charm of history and its enigmatic lesson consist in the fact that, from age to age, nothing changes and yet everything is completely different. ~Aldous Huxley

Genuine tragedies in the world are not conflicts between right and wrong. They are conflicts between two rights. ~Georg Hegel

When I break any of the chains that bind me I feel that I make myself smaller. ~Antonio Porchia

We are spirits clad in veils. ~Christopher P. Cranch

If I am not pleased with myself, but should wish to be other than I am, why should I think highly of the influences which have made me what I am? ~John Lancaster Spalding

Before I travelled my road I was my road. ~Antonio Porchia

If a man will begin with certainties, he shall end in doubts, but if he will content to begin with doubts, he shall end in certainties. ~Francis Bacon

To believe with certainty we must begin with doubting. ~Stanislaus I of Poland

The world always makes the assumption that the exposure of an error is identical with the discovery of truth - that the error and truth are simply opposite. They are nothing of the sort. What the world turns to, when it is cured on one error, is usually simply another error, and maybe one worse than the first one. ~H.L. Mencken

The future influences the present just as much as the past. ~Friedrich Nietzsche

When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe. ~John Muir

One does what one is; one becomes what one does. ~Robert von Musil

You can't fall off the floor. ~Author Unknown

Philosophical Quotes I

2006-07-16T11:35:00.000+08:00

If you're going to tickle, use a feather not a whip. ~Audrey Foris

He who has seen present things has seen all, both everything which has taken place from all eternity and everything which will be for time without end; for all things are of one kin and of one form. ~Marcus Aurelius

If you chase two rabbits, you will not catch either one. ~Russian Proverb

The observer, when he seems to himself to be observing a stone, is really, if physics is to be believed, observing the effects of the stone upon himself. ~Bertrand Russell

Some people walk in the rain, others just get wet. ~Roger Miller

The obstacle is the path. ~Zen Proverb

It is better to know some of the questions than all of the answers. ~James Thurber

It is easy to stand a pain, but difficult to stand an itch. ~Chang Ch'ao

No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man. ~Heraclitus

You are fastened to them and cannot understand how, because they are not fastened to you. ~Antonio Porchia

One day, someone showed me a glass of water that was half full. And he said, "Is it half full or half empty?" So I drank the water. No more problem. ~Alexander Jodorowsky

What deep wounds ever closed without a scar? ~George Gordon, Lord Byron

Extreme remedies are very appropriate for extreme diseases. ~Hippocrates

It takes all the running you can do just to keep in the same place. ~Lewis Carroll

We waste a lot of time running after people we could have caught by just standing still. ~Mignon McLaughlin

You can't reason someone out of a position they didn't reason themselves into. ~Author Unknown

I slept with faith and found a corpse in my arms on awakening; I drank and danced all night with doubt and found her a virgin in the morning. ~Aleister Crowley

You can see a lot by just looking. ~Yogi Berra

Proverbs often contradict one another, as any reader soon discovers. The sagacity that advises us to look before we leap promptly warns us that if we hesitate we are lost; that absence makes the heart grow fonder, but out of sight, out of mind. ~Leo Rosten

Who depends on another man's table often dines late. ~John Ray

Things are entirely what they appear to be and behind them... there is nothing. ~Jean Paul Sartre

When the pain is great enough, we will let anyone be doctor. ~Mignon McLaughlin

A thousand men can't undress a naked man. ~Greek Proverb

I stop wanting what I am looking for, looking for it. ~Antonio Porchia

We often repent the good we have done as well as the ill. ~William Hazlitt

Quotes About Philosophy

2006-07-15T14:37:00.000+08:00

The point of philosophy is to start with something so simple as not to seem worth stating, and to end with something so paradoxical that no one will believe it. ~Bertrand Russell

Leisure is the mother of Philosophy. ~Thomas Hobbes

Philosophy is just a hobby. You can't open a philosophy factory. ~Dewey Selmon

The natural philosophers are mostly gone. We modern scientists are adding too many decimals. ~Martin H. Fischer

My definition of a philosopher is of a man up in a balloon, with his family and friends holding the ropes which confine him to earth and trying to haul him down. ~Louisa May Alcott

Philosophy begins in wonder. And, at the end, when philosophic thought has done its best, the wonder remains. ~Alfred North Whitehead

All are lunatics, but he who can analyze his delusion is called a philosopher. ~Ambrose Bierce

To live alone one must be a beast or a god, says Aristotle. Leaving out the third case: one must be both - a philosopher. ~Friedrich Nietzsche

Being a philosopher, I have a problem for every solution. ~Robert Zend

Metaphysics is a dark ocean without shores or lighthouse, strewn with many a philosophic wreck. ~Immanuel Kant

Nobody can have the consolations of religion or philosophy unless he has first experienced their desolations. ~Aldous Huxley

Philosophy, like medicine, has plenty of drugs, few good remedies, and hardly any specific cures. ~Nicolas Chamfort

Philosophers, for the most part, are constitutionally timid, and dislike the unexpected. Few of them would be genuinely happy as pirates or burglars. Accordingly they invent systems which make the future calculable, at least in its main outlines. ~Bertrand Russell

To teach how to live with uncertainty, yet without being paralyzed by hesitation, is perhaps the chief thing that philosophy can do. ~Bertrand Russell

Philosophy will clip an angel's wings. ~John Keats

What is the first business of philosophy? To part with self-conceit. For it is impossible for anyone to begin to learn what he thinks that he already knows. ~Epictetus

Philosophy is a state of fermentation, a process without final outcome. ~Esa Saarinen

To ridicule philosophy is really to philosophize. ~Blaise Pascal

We come late, if at all, to wine and philosophy: whiskey and action are easier. ~Mignon McLaughlin

Philosophy will clip an angel's wings,
Conquer all mysteries by rule and line,
Empty the haunted air, and gnomed mine -
Unweave a rainbow.
~John Keats

Philosophy triumphs easily over past evils and future evils; but present evils triumph over it. ~La Rochefoucauld

Philosophy: A route of many roads leading from nowhere to nothing. ~Ambrose Bierce

Aesop's Fables

2006-07-14T04:46:00.000+08:00

Fables are little anecdotes that show us life, values and principles fleshed out using humans, animals, or even objects as characters. Hence, fables are valuable tools for us to communicate messages of morality and values to the young.

Regarded by many as the father of all fables, Aesop's tales have shed light on many important issues in life. These whimsical fables vividly illustrate human nature and all its foibles that have remained unchanged through the centuries. Each tale entertains and amuses even as it instructs and inspires. You will grapple with age-old moral issues and find liberating insights. Click on the link below to read these fables.

1. Stories Related To Efficiency
The Astronomer
The Fox And The Goat
The Mice In Council
The Travellers By The Shore
The Widow And Her Maids
The Man, His Son And The Ass
The Farmer And His Sons
The Swan And The Master
The Piping Fisherman
The Greying Man And His Sweethearts
The Hunter And The Woodcutter
The Fortune-Teller The Trumpeter

2. Stories About Self-Control
The Deer and The Vine
The Coward and The Crow
The Goat And The Wolf
The Horse and The Boar
The Fox And The Monkey Who Was Chosen King
The Young Man and The Painted Lion
The Boy Hunting Locusts And The Scorpion
The Mouse And The Frog
Two Fighting Cocks and The Eagle
The Mice and The Weasels
The Wolf Who Is Proud Of His Shadow And The Lion

3. Stories Related To Foresight
The Fox Who Was Too Full
Mother Lioness And The Fox
The Cicada And The Ant
The Father And His Two Daughters
The Lion And The Hare
The Drowning Boy
The Milkmaid
The Boy And The Filberts
The Hare And The Tortoise
The Two Dogs
The Two Men Who Were Enemies
The Fowler And The Viper
The Mosquito And The Lion

4. Stories Related To Contentment
The Herdsman and the Lion
The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse
The Raven and the Pigeon
The Ass and His Master
The Snake, The Weasel and the Rats
The Goose Which Laid Golden Eggs
The Man Who Discovered the Golden Lion
The Ass and the Charger
The Dog and His Reflection
The Miser

5. Stories That Teach About Integrity
The Boy Who Cried Wolf
The Woman and Her Drunkard Husband
The Young Thief and His Mother
The Monkey and the Dolphin
The Man and The Lion
The Flea and the Man
The Frog Doctor and the Fox
The Wolf and the Lion
Venus and the Cat
The Kingdom of the Lion
The Old Woman and the Physician

6. Stories About Discernment
The Thief and The Watchdog
The Cicada and The Wolf
The Thief and The Cock
The Bald Knight
The Farmer and The Snake
The Sick Lion
The Stag and His Antlers
The Spendthrift and The Swallow
The Doe and The Lion
The Ass, The Cock and The Lion
The Lion Who Fell In Love
The Wolf and The Sheepdog
The Ant and The Fly

7. Stories About Cooperation
The Farmer and the Eagle
The Travellers and The Axe
The Wolf and the Crane
The Lion and the Dolphin
The Wolf and The Shepherd
The Goatherd and the Wild Goats
The Farmer and His Quarrelsome Sons
The Fox and the Bramble
The Gnat and the Bull
The Donkey and the Dog Who Travelled Together
The Horse and His Rider
The Lion and the Mouse

8. Stories Related To Creativity
The Travellers And The Plane-Tree
The Kid And The Piping Wolf
The Farmer And The Tree
The Salt Merchant And His Donkey
The Donkey And The Dog
The Hares And The Frogs
The Crow And The Pitcher
The Lamb And The Wolf
The Bat And The Weasels
The Fox And The Crow
The Wind And The Sun
The Wolf And The Sleeping Dog

About Aesop

2006-07-13T13:57:00.000+08:00

Aesop is the most famous among all tellers of fables, and deservedly so. Born around 620BC, he was a native of Phrygia in Asia Minor and was described as "flat-nosed... with lips, thick and pendulous and a black skin from which he contracted his name (Esop being the same with Ethiop )."

He began life as a slave but his second master reportedly gave him his freedom as a reward for his learning and wit.

Once freed, Aesop travelled widely, visiting Corinth, Athens and elsewhere. On the invitation of King Croesus, he remained in Sardis, the capital of Lydia, and served the wealthy king by giving advice on state affairs. During his service, he had the opportunities to meet up with learned men and great sages, including Solon the great lawgiver. Aesop so impressed the king with his wit that the latter applied to him an expression which had since become a proverb,"The Phrygian has spoken better than all."

On one of his missions, he went to Delphi with a large sum of gold for her citizens. But he was so turned off by their greed that he refused to divide the money and sent it back to the king instead. Enraged, the Delphians took a golden bowl from the temploe of Apollo and hid it in his baggage, before accusing him of theft and sacrilege. They sentenced him without a fair trial and threw him off a cliff.

Two hundred years after his death, a statue of Aesop was placed at Athens in front of those of the Seven Sages of Greece, in honour of the great man whose name and fables live on.

Stories About Efficiency

2006-07-11T18:23:00.000+08:00

There are all types of people in this world. Some people are extremely good and some are extremely bad. Some people fall in the middle category. Some people are given to hard work and some are lazy. While some people laze others are given to hard work. Some people can stick to their resolve while other some easily waver. There are also people who manage in life with average capacity to stick to resolve. Some people belong to the highest category, some to the middle and some to the lowest. From many points of view, human beings can be categorized in this order. These categories in return can be defined in many ways. Bhartrihari defined them as follows in terms of success of one’s work:

People of the lowest category do not begin any work at all. They are afraid of facing obstacles. People of the middle category make a beginning, but disheartened by obstacles, give up midway. People of the highest category do not lose heart despite repeated obstacles. They rest only after accomplishing the work they have begun."

Below are Aesop's Fables that are related to Efficiency.

The Astronomer
The Fox And The Goat
The Mice In Council
The Travellers By The Shore
The Widow And Her Maids
The Man, His Son And The Ass
The Farmer And His Sons
The Swan And The Master
The Piping Fisherman
The Greying Man And His Sweethearts
The Hunter And The Woodcutter
The Fortune-Teller
The Trumpeter

Efficiency

2006-07-10T18:02:00.000+08:00

Modern life is hectic. We are expected to do so much in so little time. Perhaps that is the reason why we value productivity and efficiency so highly in our society.

The dangers of working mindlessly is greater in our time than before because it is a side effect of the division of labour, a system of workng that every modern economy has adopted. Without the ability to understand the overall process of production, workers experience a loss of meaning and do not feel the significance of their work. Boredom and mistakes easily set in. In order for a person to practise creativity and wisdom in their work, it is necessary for the worker to first gain a broad understanding of the complete process.

The second dimension of efficiency is the ability to uncover alternatives. Thinking might seem deceptively like rest, but the mental energy spent thinking will result in efforts saved. A saying by Leonardo Da Vinci illustrates this well,"Men of lofty genius when they are doing the least work are most active." Another famous personality who believes in this is Victor Hugo. He supports this when he says,"A man is not idle because he is absorbed in thought. There is a visible labour and there is an invisible labour."

Since increasing efficiency through creativity can be achieved by looking for alternatives, one good way to gather ideas is through observation. Studying a competitor or a team-mate at work can generate ideas that are both direct and practical. The ability to see other ways of working will enable us to be a better judge of the efficiency of our own methods.

An effective person will not only consider the best method of accomplishing their task at the outset. Such a person will constantly be on the lookout for refinements to the process. Nothing can aid understanding of the job's demands like actually doing it. It is n o surprise that the creative and thinking worker finds involvement in the working process eye-opening.

Last but not least, efficiency is not something detached from daily living to be placed on a lofty pedestal and applauded. Jean Paul Richter exhorts us to "not wait for extraordinary circumstances to do good action; but to try to use ordinary situations." We will soon attain extraordinary efficiency if we possess the dual skill of creative reasoning and the ability to apply it in our daily lives.

The Trumpeter

2006-07-09T17:50:00.000+08:00

There once lived a trumpeter. He was caught by the enemy one day.

He cried out to his captors,"Please do not kill me. Besides blowing the trumpet, I do nothing else, and do not kill too."

They replied,"That's why you must die. Though you do not fight, your trumpet stirs all the others to battle."

Moral

A team is as efficient as each of its members.

The Fortune-Teller

2006-07-08T17:38:00.000+08:00

A fortune-teller was telling the fortunes of passers-by in the market place. A person suddenly ran up to him and said,"Your door was not locked properly. All your things have been stolen."

Without any delay, he ran home at once to take a look.

A woman who saw everything said to him," Mr Fortune-teller, since you can foretell the fortunes of others, how is it that you did not foresee your own?"

Moral
Always practise what you preach.

The Hunter And The Woodcutter

2006-07-07T17:22:00.000+08:00

A hunter, not very bold, was searching for the tracks of a lion.

He met a woodcutter. He asked the woodcutter,"Have you seen any lion tracks? I've been looking everywhere."

The woodcutter replied,"If you want a lion, I can take you to a lion's den."

The hunter turned pale, chattering with his teeth from fear, replied,"Oh no, it is only its tracks I am searching for, not the lion itself."

Moral

A hero is brave in deeds as well as in words. There are people bold only in words but not in deeds.

The Old Man And His Sweethearts

2006-07-06T17:03:00.000+08:00

A man, whose hair had begun to turn grey, had two lovers.

One lover was young and the other well advanced in years. The younger woman, not wishing to be the lover of an old man, was zealous in removing his white hairs. The older woman felt embarrassed to be courted by a young man, and often plucked away his black hairs.

After a few rounds, the man became bald.

Moral

It does not help to do things that do not fit one's identity. Those who seek to please everybody please nobody.

The Piping Fisherman

2006-07-05T16:51:00.000+08:00

A fisherman who was a skilled musician played his flute by the sea, in the hope that the fish, attracted by his melody, would jump up to him.

He blew in vain for a long time.

Finally, he put aside the flute, and cast his net into the sea. He made an excellent haul of fish, and they jumped briskly at the shore, and he said," O you most perverse creatures! When I piped, you would not dance. But now that I have ceased, you do so merrily."

Moral

Use the right method to achieve your goals.

The Man, His Son And The Donkey

2006-07-04T15:33:00.000+08:00

Once an old man and his son were walking with their donkey to the fair to sell it. They passed a group of people on the road. A countryman noticed that the donkey was walking alongside them and laughed, “You fools, why don't you let the ass carry you? You're silly!"

The man heard what they said, and put his boy on the donkey while he walked. They had not gone far before another group saw them. One of them said, "How can the young man ride the ass, while the old man walks? That's too much."

Hearing this, the old man ordered the boy to get off, and rode the donkey himself. Soon, they heard voices behind them. There were two women. One of them said to the other, "Why is it that only the father gets to ride the ass? He's torturing the boy."

The man didn't know what to do at first. He thought and thought and finally decided to put his son up in front of him on the donkey.

Soon they reached the town. There too the passers-by began to jeer and point at them. The man stopped and asked them what they were scoffing at. The people said, "How can two heavuy perople ride on an ass? Aren't you ashamed of yourself for overloading that poor donkey? You're torturing the animal!"

The man and the boy got off. They had to think of what to do all over again. At last they had an idea. They took a long pole and tied the donkey's feet to it. Then they raised the pole to their shoulders and carried the donkey upside down.

The passersby could not stop laughing at the silly pair. Frustrated, the old man threw the donkey into the river, and walked home empty-handed.

Moral

When you try to please everybody, you won't please anybody. Those with no opinion of their own can only follow others, incapable of deciding between right and wrong and achieving nothing in the end.

The Widow And Her Maids

2006-07-03T15:09:00.000+08:00

The Cock crows in the morning,
To tell us to rise,
And he that lies late will never be wise.
For early to bed and early to rise,
Is the way to be healthy,
And wealthy and wise.

An industrious widow hired many maids to help her.

She woke them up early every morning at cockcrow. The maids disliked waking up so early in the morning to work, thinking it was all the fault of the cock. The maids decided to kill the cock so that their mistress would not wake them up so early in the morning.

Yet, things did not go as planned....

Now, without the cock to tell the time, their mistress woke them up even earlier. The maids had to labour even harder than before.

Moral

A problem can only be solved when its root cause is rightly identified.

The Travellers By The Shore

2006-07-03T14:50:00.000+08:00

A group of travellers came to the shore and climbed up a high slope which allowed them to see far away.

They saw that there was a floating object out in the sea far from them. They thought it was a large ship. So they waited in the hope of seeing it enter the harbour.

But when the object came nearer, they realised that it was not a big vessel. It could at the most be a small boat and not a ship.

Then when it finally washed ashore, they saw that it was only a floating log, and one of the travellers said to his companions,"We wasted so much time waiting for this useless thing!"

Moral

Do not judge something by its appearance or one may be deceived.

The Mice In Council

2006-07-02T14:34:00.000+08:00

Long ago, the mice being distressed by the persecution of a cat, decided to call a meeting to discuss the best means of getting rid of this continual annoyance.

After several suggestions had been debated, a Mouse of some standing and experience got up and said,"I think I have hit upon a plan which will ensure our safety in the future, provided you approve and carry it out. I propose to hang a bell round the cat's neck. Then we'll always know her whereabouts and can escape in time."

This proposal was agreed to unanimously, and it had been already decided to adopt it, when an old mouse got upon his feet and said,"That was most ingenious and would no doubt be successful, but who are we sending to bell the cat?"

Hearing this, the mice got up and left one after another.

Moral

It is one thing to propose, another to execute.

The Fox And The Goat

2006-07-01T14:10:00.000+08:00

One day, a fox fell into a deep well and could find no means of escape.

A goat, overcome with thirst, came to the same well, and seeing the fox, inquired if the water was good. Concealing his sad plight under a merry guise, the fox indulged in a lavish praise of the water, saying it was excellent beyond measure and encourage him to descend. He said this to the goat,"The water here is simply great. Jump in!"

The Goat, thinking only of his thirst, thoughtlessly jumped into the well. Soon the goat's thirst was quenched. The fox informed him of the difficulty they were both in and suggested a scheme for their common escape. "If only you will help me, I have a good idea. You will place your forefeet upon the wall and bend your head down. I will run up your back and escape, and help you out afterwards." said the fox.

The goat readily assented and the fox leaped upon his back. Steadying himself with the goat's horns, he safely reached the mouth of the well. The fox had finally climbed out of the well. But he quickly made off as fast as he could.

When the goat upbraided him for breaking his promise, he turned around and cried out,"Mr Goat, if your wit was as much as the hairs in your beard, you would never have jumped down before you thought of a way to get out of the well."

Moral

Always anticipate the consequences before launching into action.

The Astronomer

2006-06-30T13:35:00.000+08:00

An astronomer used to observe the stars at night.

One evening, he wandered through the suburbs. Engrossed with the skies, he fell accidentally into a deep well.

He lamented and bewailed his sores and bruises, and cried loudly for help. A passerby heard his cries and rushed over to the well. The astronomer explained what had happened.

The passerby learning what had happened said, "Sir, in striving to pry into what is in heaven, why do you not manage to see what is on earth?"

Moral

Do not just fix your gaze in one direction; always look for alternative points of view.

The Proud Red Rose

2006-06-28T17:52:00.000+08:00

One beautiful spring day a red rose blossomed in a forest. Many kinds of trees and plants grew there. As the rose looked around, a pine tree nearby said, “What a beautiful flower. I wish I was that lovely.” Another tree said, “Dear pine, do not be sad, we can not have everything.”

The rose turned its head and remarked, “It seems that I am the most beautiful plant in this forest.” A sunflower raised its yellow head and asked, “Why do you say that? In this forest there are many beautiful plants. You are just one of them.” The red rose replied, “I see everyone looking at me and admiring me.” Then the rose looked at a cactus and said, “Look at that ugly plant full of thorns!” The pine tree said, “Red rose, what kind of talk is this? Who can say what beauty is? You have thorns too.“

The proud red rose looked angrily at the pine and said, “I thought you had good taste! You do not know what beauty is at all. You can not compare my thorns to that of the cactus.“

“What a proud flower“, thought the trees.

The rose tried to move its roots away from the cactus, but it could not move. As the days passed, the red rose would look at the cactus and say insulting things, like,” This plant is useless? How sorry I am to be his neighbor.”

The cactus never got upset and he even tried to advise the rose, saying, “God did not create any form of life without a purpose.“

Spring passed, and the weather became very warm. Life became difficult in the forest, as the plants and animals needed water and no rain fell. The red rose began to wilt. One day the rose saw sparrows stick their beaks into the cactus and then fly away, refreshed. This was puzzling, and the red rose asked the pine tree what the birds were doing. The pine tree explained that the birds got water from the cactus. “Does it not hurt when they make holes?” asked the rose.

“Yes, but the cactus does not like to see any birds suffer,” replied the pine.

The rose opened its eyes in wonder and said, “The cactus has water?“

The Cactus Wren, State Bird of Arizona

“Yes you can also drink from it. The sparrow can bring water to you if you ask the cactus for help.“

The red rose felt too ashamed of its past words and behavior to ask for water from the cactus, but then it finally did ask the cactus for help. The cactus kindly agreed and the birds filled their beaks with water and watered the rose’s roots.

Thus the rose learned a lesson and never judged anyone by their appearance again.

The Devoted Mother

2006-06-28T14:11:00.000+08:00

A mother duck and her little ducklings were on their way to the lake one day. The ducklings were very happy following their mother and quack-quacking along the way.

All of a sudden the mother duck saw a fox in the distance. She was frightened and shouted, "Children, hurry to the lake. There's a fox!"

The ducklings hurried towards the lake. The mother duck wondered what to do. She began to walk back and forth dragging one wing on the ground.

When the fox saw her he became happy. He said to himself, "It seems that she's hurt and can't fly! I can easily catch and eat her!"

Then he ran towards her.

The mother duck ran, leading the fox away from the lake. The fox followed her. Now he wouldn't be able to harm her ducklings. The mother duck looked towards her ducklings and saw that they had reached the lake. She was relieved, so she stopped and took a deep breath.

The fox thought she was tired and he came closer, but the mother duck quickly spread her wings and rose up in the air. She landed in the middle of the lake and her ducklings swam to her.

The fox stared in disbelief at the mother duck and her ducklings. He could not reach them because they were in the middle of the lake.

Some birds drag one of their wings on the ground when an enemy is going to attack. In this way they fool their enemies into thinking they are hurt. When the enemy follows them this gives their children time to escape.

The Bat And The Weasels

2006-06-26T18:13:00.000+08:00

A bat who fell upon the ground and was caught by a weasel, pleaded for his life.

The Weasel refused, saying,” I am by nature the enemy of all birds, and I can’t let you off. ”

The bat assured him that he was not a bird, but a mouse, and thus saved his life.

Shortly afterward the bat again fell on the ground, and was caught by another Weasel, whom he likewise entreated not to eat him. The Weasel said,” I hate mice! I’m going to kill you.”

The Bat assured him that he was not a mouse, but a bird. The Weasel replied,”If you’re a bird, show me you can fly.“

And thus the bat escaped death a second time escaped.

Moral

The ability to see alternative viewpoints is a great wisdom.

Short Notes about Weasels
Having the widest range of North American Weasels, Long-Tail Weasel adapts readily to many habitats. Not fussy, He rests in rocky crevices, under woodpiles, or in another animal’s burrow. Not only does He feeds on Rodents living in rocks, but also Chickens roosting in henhouses.

Busy at night, Long-Tail Weasel climbs rocks looking for Prey. With his keen sense, He smells an animal living underground. Hearing a slight sound, Long-Tail Weasel follows the noise to a burrow. Enabled by his skinny body and short legs, He pursues the unfortunate animal along narrow underground tunnels until He kills his Prey.

Long-Tail Weasel’s most distinctive characteristic is his black tail tip. This protects Him against Hawk, who flying high sees only the tip. Thinking it is Long-Tail Weasel’s head, Hawk swoops down intent on killing Him. Since it is only his tail, Long-Tail Weasel fools Hawk and escapes unharmed.

Long-Tail Weasel teaches courage and daring. If cornered, He fights his enemy instead of running away. Unafraid of people, He enters a hen house to steal Chickens. Learn courage and daring from Long-Tail Weasel, but do not get caught.

Long-Tail Weasel Teaching : Protection

Among the Karuk Indians of northwestern California, the Weasel is considered a teacher and protector. There are many stories about Weasel outwitting witches and serving as a crusader against the evil actions of those who are jealous, wicked, and mean. Weasel is a powerful animal ally called upon to protect oneself and one’s family against the challenges and attacks of sorcerers.

Important Long-Tail Weasel Teaching : Offering Truth

Look to weasel power to tell you the ‘hidden reasons’ behind anything. Observe who or what needs attention, or a solution and offer your assistance in your own quiet or discreet way.

Long-Tail Weasel’s Wisdom Includes :

How to be Cunning and Swift

How to Protect Yourself and Keep Safe

Using Your Intelligence

Employing All Your Senses

The Crow And The Pitcher

2006-06-25T18:11:00.000+08:00

A thirsty crow came upon a pitcher which contained only a little water.

He tried to lower his beak as far as it could go, but still couldn’t reach the water.

He tried everything he could think of to reach the water, but all his efforts were in vain.

At last he started to search for pebbles, and dropped them one by one into the pitcher.

The water level in the pitcher rose gradually, and the crow could get his drink at last.

Moral

Necessity is the mother of invention.

The Lamb And The Wolf

2006-06-24T18:10:00.000+08:00

A Wolf pursued a Lamb, which fled for refuge to a certain temple.

The Wolf called out to him and said,”If the priest should catch you, you’ll become a sacrifice.”

The Lamb replied, I would rather be sacrificed in the Temple than to be eaten by you.

Moral

Even if one has to die owing to circumstances, one should choose to die in glory.

Some Facts About Wolves
Nearly everything wolves do, they do together. Genetically programmed for cooperative living, a wolf begins learning the law of mutual dependence from the moment its mother licks it dry at birth, and group-consciousness dominates every feature of its life from then on: sibling play, the choice of hunting and denning grounds, breeding, feeding, and relations with ‘outside’ wolves and packs.

From packlife to work, wolves had to develop a wide range of ways to express their emotions, perceptions, and intentions, and they passed on much of that gift for communicating to their descendents, our dogs. The affection and loyalty of wolves toward their fellows - and the ability to convey them clearly - are the qualities we most value in our companion animals.

Packs can vary in size from a pair up to a recorded maximum of thirty-six. Most often, wolves in a pack are related by blood, because the bonds that hold packs together are strongest between parents and their pups, and among siblings from the same litter. Packs typically consist of a breeding pair - usually the ‘alpha’ male and female - a middle layer of subdominant wolves, whose relative positions may shift around and sometimes one or more very low-ranking wolves at the bottom. Wolf social organization is more dynamic than what we would have thought previously, they are responsive to individual personalities and circumstances. Roles may change over time and depending on the business at hand.

Since survival is a group effort, wolves need to communicate clearly in every aspect of life. Messages are conveyed vocally, through scent and most important, through a visual vocabulary of body movements and facial expressions. Displays of dominance and submission take place frequently in packs, reaffirming the social balance and reminding each wolf of its place. Territoriality amongst wolves operates at the pack-level: all members of a given pack share the same territory but usually shows intolerance for other packs or individuals that trespass. Wolves have two chief ways of declaring the territories: howling and scent-marking.

The Salt Merchant And His Donkey

2006-06-23T18:08:00.000+08:00

One day, a merchant loaded his donkey with bags of salt to go to the market in order to sell them. The merchant and his donkey were walking along together. They had not walked far when they reached a river on the road.

Unfortunately, the donkey slipped and fell into the river. Most of the salt was dissolved in the water. On rising, the donkey noticed that the bags of salt loaded on his back became lighter. There was nothing the merchant could do, except return home where he loaded his doneky with more bags of salt. As they reached the slippery riverbank, now deliberately, the donkey fell into the river and wasted all the bags of salt on its back again.

The merchant quickly discovered the donkey’s trick. He then returned home again but reloaded his donkey with bags of sponges.

The foolish, tricky donkey again set on its way. On reaching the river he again fell into the water. But this time the sponges filled with water and doubled his load. The merchant laughed at him and said,” You foolish donkey, your trick had been discovered, you should know that those who are too clever sometimes over reach themselves. “

The donkey could not stand up and he was drowned on the spot.

Moral

The same method may not apply to all situations.

Facts About Miniature Donkeys
The smallest members of the horse family, the domesticated ass is also called a donkey or burro. The animals stand 3 to 5 ft at the shoulder and have a brush-tipped tail about 17 in long; their weight ranges up to 570 lb. The coat is gray to reddish brown, and the wiry mane is dark. The ears are long and the feet small, with sharp hooves.

The donkey is an herbivorous mammal. The donkey is related to the horse, and, although smaller, it is capable of carrying a full-size human over a considerable distance. Often mistaken for the mule, the donkey is physically similar and has a loud bray. Hybrids of the horse and the donkey include the mule, the offspring of a male donkey and a female horse, and the hinny, the offspring of a male horse and a female donkey. Wild asses live in desert plains, where they can survive on little food or water for long periods.

Miniature Donkeys are members of the equine family. Jennets (female donkeys) are extremely devoted mothers, and are also protective and tolerant of other foals in the herd. They are very popular because so many people realize and value their unique qualities, they are also a good financial investment . . . an investment that you can love!

The miniature donkey is most popularly used as a pet. They are excellent pets for both children and adults can be trained to do many things. They are quick learners and can be easily trained to pull a small cart or wagon, singly or as a team. They can pack a moderate load of 50-100 pounds and can be trained for young children to ride. Many miniatures are used in special programs for the elderly, handicapped and petting zoos.

Some of the other popular uses include breeding for sale and showing.

Miniature donkeys can also be used as companions for other livestock, and protection animals; but this needs to be monitored closely as not all miniature donkeys are suitable for this job.

The Hares And The Frogs

2006-06-22T18:07:00.000+08:00

The Hares gathered together and lamented that their lives lacked security. One of the Hares said,” Danger is everywhere. Be it human, dogs, eagles or other animals, all want to kill us hares. We might as well kill ourselves.”

Having thus decided, the hares were prepared to drown themselves in the pond.

As they scampered off in large numbers to carry out their resolve, a troop of frogs, frightened by the approach of the hares, jumped immediately into the water for safety.

On seeing the rapid disappearance of the Frogs, one of the Hares cried out to his companions, “Stay, my friends, Let’s not be rash. All of us witnessed that. There are those more cowardly than we are and even less secure.”

Moral

We are encouraged by seeing others that are worse off than ourselves.
With Creativity, life will never come to a dead end.

Notes On Rabbits and Hares
Rabbits are furry-coated and short-tailed mammals. They have long ears and long back legs for running and jumping. Rabbits are herbivores with long front teeth for gnawing. Some make burrows or tunnels in the ground. Rabbits are smaller and have shorter ears than their hare relatives. A hare (pronounced hair) also has long, strong back legs. Unlike rabbits, their young are born with their eyes open and they live above ground.

Rabbits and hares are common names, often applied interchangeably, for small, furry mammals with long ears and legs, and short tails. In zoological classification, rabbits are distinguished by the helplessness of their offspring. Young rabbits are born naked with their eyes closed. With the exception of North America’s cottontail, rabbits live in underground burrow colonies. The cottontail builds its simple nest on the surface, usually in grass or brush, and rarely lives in social groups. Hares are generally larger and have longer ears with characteristic black markings. The skulls of rabbits and hares are also different.


Both rabbits and hares are distributed throughout the world and possess some common traits. They are often mistaken for each other. Various species and subspecies of rabbits and hares are found in brushy woods, plains and grasslands, mountains, deserts, around rivers and wetlands, and even in the Arctic tundra and snow. Both breed prolifically, bearing four to eight litters each year. A litter generally has three to eight young. They have a gestation period of about a month, are sexually mature in about six months, and live in the wild for about six years. Domestic rabbits may live to be over ten years old. Although rabbits and hares are valued as game by hunters both for their food and fur, they are also are pests to farmers and gardeners. They can destroy crops and trees.

The Donkey And The Dog

2006-06-21T18:06:00.000+08:00

A man had a dog and an ass, but he was always playing with his dog.

Each time he took a meal outside, he never forgot to bring some food for the dog.

Seeing this, the ass was envious and pranced about, imitating the dog. But it kicked the master accidentally! The master was very angry. He told the servant to take it away and give it a round of beatings.

Moral
Don’t imitate others blindly.

Donkey Terms

Foal
The young of a donkey or other equine species; either sex.

Colt
A young male of horse/equine species.

Filly
A young female/mare of a horse/equine.

Jennet/Jenny
Correct term for a female donkey.

Jack
Correct term for a male donkey.

Gelding
Proper term for a castrated male, an informal term is John.

Burro
A word taken from Spain. It means the common, everyday working donkey found in Spain and Mexico. It came into usage in the Western United States. As a general rule, the term burro is heard west if the Mississippi and the term donkey, east of the Mississippi. Both terms are used for the same animal.

Donkey
Taken from England, the derivation is uncertain, but most authorities think that the name comes from the “dun” (the usual color) and the suffix “ky” meaning small. Thus, “a little dun animal”. In earlier England the word Ass was taken from the Roman word for the animal. “Donkey” is a relatively recent variation of the species name.

Ass
The correct term for the animal commonly known as the donkey, burro, or jackstock. The term comes from the original Latin term for the animal which was Asinus. The scientific term for these animals is equus asinus. The term fell into disrepute through confusion with the indelicate term “Arse” meaning the human backside. You are never at fault when you refer to one of these animals as an ass, and the term is not improper unless you misuse it so yourself. The difference between asses and horses is a species difference. You might compare it to the differences between zebras and horses, different species but closely related and able to interbreed to a degree.

The Wolf And The Sleeping Dog

2006-06-20T18:06:00.000+08:00

A dog was sleeping in front of the barn when a wolf noticed him lying there.

The wolf was ready to devour the dog, but the dog begged the wolf to let him go for the time being. ‘At the moment I am thin and scrawny,’ said the dog, ‘but my owners are about to celebrate a wedding, so if you let me go now, I’ll get fattened up and you can make a meal of me later on.‘

The wolf trusted the dog and let him go.

When he came back a few days later, he saw the dog sleeping on the roof.

The wolf shouted to the dog, reminding him of their agreement, but the dog simply said, ‘Wolf, if you ever catch me sleeping in front of the barn again, don’t wait for a wedding!’

Moral

After one misfortune, the wise will take extra precautions for the rest of their lives.

Facts About The Wolf Pack
Wolves are an extremely social animal. They exist as a social unit called a pack.
Wolves travel and hunt in a group and perform almost all other activities in the company of fellow wolves.

The pack, the basic unit of wolf social life, is usually a family group. It is made up of animals related to each other by blood and family ties of affection and mutual aid.

The core of a pack is a mated pair of wolves - an adult male and female that have bred and produced young. The other members of the pack are their offspring: young wolves ranging in age from pups to two and three-year-olds.

Pack sizes vary, most packs have 6 or 7 members, although some may include as many as 15 wolves. The size depends on many variables including the current numbers of the wolf population, the abundance of food, and social factors within the wolf pack.

Within each pack is an elaborate hierarchy. It may consist of a single breeding pair, the Alpha male and female, a lower group consisting of non-breeding adults, each with its own ranking, a group of outcasts, and a group of immature wolves on their way up. Some of the younger wolves of the pack may leave to find vacant territory and a mate.

Individual wolves in a pack play different roles in relation to the others in the group. The parent wolves are the leaders of the pack - the alpha male and alpha female. (Alpha is the first letter in the Greek alphabet.) The alpha male and female are the oldest members of the pack and the ones with the most experience in hunting, defending territory, and other important activities.

The other pack members respect their positions and follow their leadership in almost all things, The alpha wolves are usually the ones to make decisions for the pack when the group should go out to hunt or move from one place to another.

The other Pack members all have positions in the hierarchy inferior to those of the alpha male and female. The young adult wolves, who are the grown-up offspring of the alpha pair, have their own special roles under the leadership or their parents. Some of them me able to “boss around,” or dominate, their sisters and brothers because they have established themselves as superior in some way. This superiority might be physical-larger size or greater strength - but it can be based on personality Dominant wolves in the pack usually have more aggressive and forceful personalities than their relatives of the same age.

The Wind And The Sun

2006-06-19T18:04:00.000+08:00

One day, the Wind and the Sun were having an argument.
“I’m stronger than you!” said the Sun.
“No you’re not,” said the Wind. “I’m much stronger than you!”

As they argued, they saw a man wearing a red cloak, walking along the road.
“I propose a test,” said the Wind. “Whichever one of us can tear the cloak from the back of that man is the stronger.”

The Wind took the first turn. He blew so hard that leaves and branches were torn from trees. Clothes hung out to dry were blown off the line. Everyone hurried indoors for shelter.

But the Wind could not take the cloak off the man. The man shivered and held tightly to his cloak.
“You have failed,” said the Sun. “And now it is my turn.”

The Sun shone. It was very warm. The man felt hot and thirsty. He stopped to drink a cup of water.

The Sun shone brighter and the man became hotter and hotter. He pulled off his boots. It was much too hot to wear them.

At last he came to a stream. He sat on the bank and dipped his feet in the cool water. But the Sun shone warmly on his back.

The man decided to lie down in the shade of a tree to rest. He took off his cloak and laid it across the grass.

“I have won,” said the Sun to the Wind.
“As you can see it is easier to influence people with gentleness than with force.”

Moral

Kindness effects more than severity.

Warm persuasion is better than brute force.

Facts About The Sun

The Sun is the center of our local solar system and the most influential object in that solar system. The Sun, a ball of hot gases, influences how this solar system works and how each planet in this solar system functions. Below are several facts about the Sun and its influence on our solar system.

Earth’s Dependence on the Sun
We are able to survive on Earth due, in a large part, to the Sun. According to NASA, the Sun gives us heat, light, food, and the air we breathe. The Sun powers the atmosphere to give us wind and rain. The coal and oil that generate electricity for light and power come from plants and animals that lived hundreds of millions of years ago and depended on the Sun for life.

The Sun provides heat for the land, oceans, and air. The Sun also evaporates water from lakes and oceans, which eventually causes rain and snow. This provides the moisture we need for drinking water and for plants to grow.

Statistics About the Sun
The Sun is made up of various gases. By weight, the Sun is 70% hydrogen, 28% helium, 1.5% carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen, and 0.5% all other elements. The Sun’s core temperature is 22.5 million degrees Fahrenheit (14 million degrees Celsius) and the surface temperature is 9,932 degrees Fahrenheit (5,500 degrees Celsius). The temperature of sunspots is about 7,232 degrees Fahrenheit (4,000 degrees Celsius).

A solar cycle is about eight to eleven years and the distance to the nearest star is about 4.3 light years away. The Sun is 4.5 billion years old and the diameter of the sun is about 870,000 miles (1.4 million km). Its rotation period at the equator is 25 Earth days while its rotation period at the poles is 35 Earth days.

Facts about the Sun in Relation to the Earth
The average distance from the Sun to the Earth is 93 million miles and it takes light eight and a half minutes to travel from the Sun to the Earth. The diameter of the Sun is 109 times larger than the Earth’s and its volume is big enough to hold over a million Earths. The mass of the Sun is 330,000 times that of Earth.

The Fox And The Crow

2006-06-18T18:04:00.000+08:00

A crow, having stolen a bit of meat, perched on a tree and was ab out to begin her feast… A fox saw everything and thought,”If I can make that piece of meat mine, I would have no worry for my dinner!”

Then he walked up to the foot of the tree and cried out to the crow,”Madam Crow, you are so beautiful today! Your feathers are so smooth and shiny. It’s just that I’ve never heard you sing. I wonder if your voice is better than the nightingale’s. If it is, you deserve to be considered the Queen of Birds!”

The crow enjoyed the flattering words. Eager to prove that she had a voice more beautiful than the nightingale’s, she gave a loud caw, at the same time dropping the meat, only to be snapped up by the fox.

“That will do,” said he. “That was all I wanted. In exchange for your meat I will give you a piece of advice for the future: Do not trust flatterers. If only you had some wits, you could become the Queen of Birds.“

Moral

Use creative ways to attain your goals.

Some Facts About The Red Fox
The red fox has orangish-red fur on its back, sides and head. It has white fur under its neck and on its chest. It has a long bushy tail tipped in white, pointed black ears and black legs and feet.

The red fox eats a wide variety of foods. It is an omnivore and its diet includes fruits, berries and grasses. It also eats birds and small mammals like squirrels, rabbits and mice. A large part of the red fox’s diet is made up invertebrates like crickets, caterpillars, grasshoppers, beetles and crayfish.

The red fox will continue to hunt even when it is full. It stores extra food under leaves, snow or dirt. The red fox is mostly nocturnal, although it will sometimes venture out in the day. The red fox, unlike other mammals, hears low-frequency sounds very well. It can hear small animals digging underground and will frequently dig in the dirt or snow to catch prey. The fox stalks its prey, much like a cat. It gets as close as it can and then pounces and chases its prey.

Except for breeding females, the fox doesn’t usually use a den. Sometimes it will sleep in the open, wrapping its bushy tail around its nose to stay warm. When it does use a den, it will usually find an abandoned rabbit or marmot den instead of making its own den.

The Travellers And The Plane-Tree

2006-06-17T18:03:00.000+08:00

Two Travellers were walking along a bare and dusty road in the heat of a summer’s day. Coming presently to a Plane-tree, they joyfully turned aside to shelter from the burning rays of the sun in the deep shade of its spreading branches.

As they rested, looking up into the tree, one of them remarked to his companion, “What a useless tree the Plane is! It bears no fruit and is of no service to man at all.”

The Plane-tree interrupted him with indignation. “You ungrateful creature!” it cried, “you come and take shelter under me from the scorching sun, and then, in the very act of enjoying the cool shade of my foliage, you abuse me and call me good for nothing!“

Moral

Many a service is met with ingratitude.

What is the Plane-Tree?
The plane-tree of Greek, Roman, and Hebrew legends was simply called Platanus. Botanically, this plane-tree is known as Platanus orientalis Linnaeus. The meaning of its ancient name is lost.

In The Herbal (1633 ed.), John Gerard wrote, “The Plane is a great tree, having very long and farre spreading boughs casting a wonderfull broad shadow…highly commended and esteemed among the old Romans…it beareth his name of the breadth.” But Gray’s Manual of Botanyplatys, broad(1950) offers “The ancient name, from the Greek, apparently referring to the large leaves.”

The plane was a tree of stories. The Old Testament says that for years, Jacob worked for Laban tending his flocks and increasing Laban’s wealth. When he asked leave of his labors, Jacob requested as wages only those animals which did not have solid colored coats.

“And Jacob took him rods of fresh poplar, and of the almond and of the plane-tree; and peeled white streaks in them…And he set the rods…in the gutters of the watering-troughs where the flocks came to drink; And the flocks conceived at the sight of the rods, and the flocks brought forth streaked, speckled, and spotted.” (Genesis 30: 37-39, Masoretic Text)

Legend says that Hippocrates II (Fifth Century BCE) taught medicine under a wide plane-tree on the island of Kos in the Mediterranean. Pliny the Elder recorded a famous plane-tree grew in the walks at the Academy of Athens and a celebrated plane grew in Lycia. Perhaps the most notorious belonged to Caligula.

“A third plane-tree is connected with the Emperor Gaius Caligula, who on an estate at Velitrae was impressed by the ‘flooring’ of a single plane-tree and the horizontal branches serving as seats; he held a banquet in the tree—the leaves provided partial awning—in a dining room spacious enough to hold fifteen guests and the servants. Caligula called this dining-room his ‘eyrie’.” (Pliny the Elder, Natural History, Book XII, pre-79 CE, trans. John F. Healy)

The Farmer And The Tree

2006-06-16T17:58:00.000+08:00

A farmer had a tree on his land that did not yield any sort of fruit whatsoever. Instead, it was a home to the sparrows and the cicadas who chirped and sang.

The farmer, however, thought that the tree was useless and decided he would cut it down.

He grabbed an axe and prepared to start chopping, but the cicadas and the sparrows all began to wail, shouting these words at the man, ‘’Please do not get rid of our resting place. We promise to sing sweet songs for you, so you’ll be happy.”

The man felt no pity for the creatures and showed them no mercy as he struck the tree three times with the axe’s blade. But no sooner had the man made a crack in the tree when he found there a hive of bees and honey. He took a taste and immediately dropped his axe, vowing to cherish this tree even more than his fruit-bearing trees.

Moral

Always look for new possibilities.

Facts about Honey
Ancient cave drawings show that honey has been used as a food by man for at least 20,000 years. To many people, honey is just a sweet substance collected by bees. Honey is, however, a complex substance that varies appreciably in its composition.

Honey starts out as a very thin, watery sugary fluid, known as nectar. Nectar is found in the nectaries of plants which are usually located in the base if the flowers. Nectar varies considerably in its sugar, protein, mineral and water content from one kind of plant to another.

In a honey bee’s quest for a single load of honey, she may visit anything from 500 to 1100 blossoms of a particular species of plant. In her lifetime the honey bee will fly approximately 800 kilometres and produce just half a teaspoon of honey; it takes approximately 2.5 million kilometres of flying by the bees in a hive to produce 1 litre of honey.

Inside the bee, the nectar is stored in a tiny compartment, known as the honey sac. This sac is like a little plastic bag fitted with a one way valve. Stored enzymes and juices in the sac convert the sucrose (disaccharide) to more simple sugars (mono-saccharides). It is upon this conversion that nectar becomes known as honey, consisting mainly of two simple sugars, dextrose and levulose.

The “unripe honey”, as the honey in the honey bee’s sac is called, is passed by the honey bee to a worker bee at the hive. The “unripe honey” is dried by bees exposing it as a thin film to the warm dry currents in the hive. When no more than 18-20% of water remains, the now “ripened honey” is sealed in a cell with a wax cap; where it is left to mature and finish
its ripening process.

At this stage it can be harvested by the beekeeper or eaten by the bee colony as food.

The Kid And The Piping Wolf

2006-06-15T18:00:00.000+08:00

A kid who had strayed from his flock was pursued by a wolf. Seeing that he could not escape, he turned round, and said to the wolf,” Mr Wolf, please stop and listen to me. Mr Wolf, I’ll definitely become your food. But please don’t let me die a pitiful death. Please play the flute and let me dance for you.”

So, the wolf played the flute and the kid began to dance. The sound of the flute attracted many dogs. The dogs chased the wolf away.

Turning to the kid, the wolf said,” Serves me right. I came for meat, and shouldn’t be playing the flute.“

Moral
Creativity saves the day.

Some Terms and Facts

Definitions
Goat - wild or domesticated bovid ruminants with hollow horns and cloven hooves, many with beard.
Billy goat / buck (wether castrated male) - adult male
Nanny goat / doe - adult female
Kid - young male or female

Kid - a young goat or occasionally, antelope

Sheep - the domesticated sheep which has heavy wool; any wide variety of bovid ruminants with horns in both sexes; edible flesh called mutton or lamb
buck - adult male
ewe - adult female
lamb - young

Sheep’s horns curl in flat loops on the sides of their heads, goats’ horns grow straight up.

Goats do not have tear ducts.
The gestation period of a sheep or goat is 5 months.

The Swan And The Master

2006-06-14T16:26:00.000+08:00

It was said that a swan could sing before its death. A man saw a swan on sale and paid for it.

One day, he was having a meal with his guest. He said to the guest,"Let my swan sing you a song!"

But the swan did not open its mouth. The master urged the swan to sing for his guest again, but the swan would not sing. At last, he said to himself,"This swan is worthless. I might as well kill it!"

The swan knew that death was coming and sang sadly. The master was so happy and said to the swan,"I only wanted you to sing. I've no intention of killing you."

Moral

Know what will motivate a person to perform.

The Farmer And His Sons

2006-06-13T15:59:00.000+08:00

A farmer, at the point of death, wished to show his sons the secret to successful farming. He gathered his sons round him and said,"My sons, I am about to leave this world. All that I've left for you can be found in the vineyard. Dig, and you will find the hidden treasures."

As soon as the old man was dead, the sons sweated and laboured, digging in the vineyard. They turned over the soil again and again, but could find no treasure.

However, the vines were strengthened and improved by this thorough tillage. The grapes that emerged were big and juicy, and produced the best vintage ever. This more than repaid the brothers for all their hard work.

Moral

Fortune does not come by itself. Industry in itself is a treasure.

Teaching Creativity

2006-06-12T15:45:00.000+08:00

ENCOURAGE CREATIVITY AND CREATIVE THINKING, DO NOT SUPPRESS IT.

"Successful people don't do different things, they do things differently."

Reality which we need to know about our kids

Unfortunately, the society and environment in which we all live today, focuses on children being seen and not heard. Conformity, discipline and neatness are emphasized, whereas curiosity is not only neglected but also suppressed. Our children today are expected to do research for their school homework, write essays, make projects and do assignments in a neat, organized and precise manner. If they do so, their work is appreciated and rewarded. Likewise all exam papers do not contain any real knowledge or ingenuity.

All the 50 children in a particular class learn the same set of notes they are give and if they directly reproduce it in papers they are sure to get good marks. Each of the exam papers look like mirror images of one another. There are no new thoughts, fresh ideas or solutions in the work and assignments being done. An interesting thing that one must notice is that it is at this age that children tend to be creative and they let their minds wander and think. They want to broaden their horizons and go on new ventures. But our society and educational pattern suppresses creativity and ingenuity at its very inception. Due to this behavior, how are our children supposed to achieve their dreams if all their feelings and tendencies are contained within them and clamped shut.

What happens in the future .......
When today's children grow up and become tomorrow's managers, working in big firms and MNC's , these same children who were suppressed in their childhood are expected to think of brilliant plans. They are expected to bring about new innovations and solutions and in addition to practicing creative thinking, they have to set such a pattern and inculcate it in the organizational culture. They have to optimize all the available resources and factors of production in order to maximize profits. All their life, these very same children have been suppressed and suddenly as they mature they are suddenly expected to shift over to being creative and using the right side of their brain where as for the past 25 years or so they have been using the left side of their brain.

Below are stories that teach about creativity. Click on the link to read the stories.

Stories About Creativity

Creativity

2006-06-12T01:15:00.000+08:00

"Creativity, it has been said, consists largely of re-arranging what we know in order to find out what we do not know." George Keller

Creative (or creativeness) is a mental process involving the generation of new ideas or concepts, or new associations between existing ideas or concepts. The products of creative thought (sometimes referred to as divergent thought) usually have both originality and appropriateness. Although intuitively a simple phenomenon, it is in fact quite complex. It has been studied from the perspectives of behavioural psychology, social psychology, psychometrics, cognitive science, philosophy, history, economics, design research, business and management, among others. The studies have covered everyday creativity, exceptional creativity and even artificial creativity. Unlike many phenomena in science, there is no single, authoritative perspective or definition of creativity. Unlike many phenomena in psychology, there is no standardized measurement technique.

Creativity has been attributed variously to divine intervention, cognitive process, soical environment, personality traits and chance ("accident" , "serendipity"). It has been associated with genius, mental illness and humour. Some say it is a trait we are born with; others say it can be taught with the application of simple techniques. Although popularly associated with art and literature, it is also an essential part of innovation and invention and is important in professions such as business, economics, architecture, industrial design, science and engineering.

Despite, or perhaps because of, the ambiguity and multi-dimensional nature of creativity, entire industries have been spawned from the pursuit of creative ideas and the development of creativity techniques. This mysterious phenomenon, though undeniably important and constantly visible, seems to lie tantalizingly beyond the grasp of most people.

Creativity and creative people have been regarded with wonder and admiration for most of human history. It is fair to say that without creativity, human beings would have remained in a palaeolithic existence. Creativity is a central and powerful mode of human activity and thought.

More than 60 different definitions of creativity can be found in the psychological literature, and it is beyond the scope of this article to list them all.

Colloquial definitions of creativity are typically descriptive of activity that results in producing or bringing about something partly or wholly new; in investing an existing object with new properties or characteristics; in imagining new possibilities that were not conceived of before; and in seeing or performing something in a manner different from what was thought possible or normal previously.

A useful distinction has been made by Rhodes between the creative person, the creative product, the creative process, and the creative 'press' or environment. Each of these factors are usually present in creative activity. This has been elaborated by Johnson, who suggested that creative activity may exhibit several dimensions including sensitivity to problems on the part of the creative agent, originality, ingenuity, unusualness, usefulness, and appropriateness in relation to the creative product, and intellectual leadership on the part of the creative agent.

Perhaps the most widespread conception of creativity in the scholarly literature is that creativity is regarded to have occurred when there takes place the production of a creative product (for example, a new work of art or a scientific hypothesis) that is both novel and useful.

Often implied in the notion of creativity is a concomitant presence of inspiration, cognitive leaps or intuitive insight as a part of creative thinking and acting.

Uses Of Philosophy III

2006-06-10T00:44:00.000+08:00

The Uses Of Philosophy In Non-Academic Careers

It should be stressed immediately that the non-academic value of a field of study must not be viewed mainly in terms of its contribution to obtaining one's first job after graduation. Students are understandably preoccupied with getting their first job, but even from a narrow vocational point of view it would be short-sighted to concentrate on that at the expense of developing potential for success and advancement once hired.

What gets graduates initially hired may not yield promotions or carry them beyond their first position, particularly given how fast the needs of many employers alter with changes in social and economic patterns. It is therefore crucial to see beyond what a job description specifically calls for. Philosophy need not be mentioned among a job's requirements in order for the benefits derivable from philosophical study to be appreciated by the employer, and those benefits need not even be explicitly appreciated in order to be effective in helping one advance.

It should also be emphasized here that - as recent studies show - employers want, and reward, many of the capacities which the study of philosophy develops: for instance, the ability to solve problems, to communicate, to organize ideas and issues, to assess pros and cons, and to boil down complex data. These capacities represent transferable skills. They are transferable not only from philosophy to non-philosophical areas, but from one non-philosophical field to another. For that reason, people trained in philosophy are not only prepared to do many kinds of tasks; they can also cope with change, or even move into new careers, more readily than many others.

Regarding current trends in business, a writer in the New York Times reported that "businessmen are coming to appreciate an education that at its best produces graduates who can write and think clearly and solve problems" (June 23, 1981). A recent long-term study by the Bell Telephone Company, moreover, determined that majors in liberal arts fields, in which philosophy is a central discipline, "continue to make a strong showing in managerial skills and have experienced considerable business success" (Career Patterns, by Robert E. Beck). The study concluded that "there is no need for liberal arts majors to lack confidence in approaching business careers." A related point is made by a Senior Vice President of the American Can Company:

Students with any academic background are prepared for business when they can educate themselves and can continue to grow without their teachers, when they have mastered techniques of scholarship and discipline, and when they are challenged to be all they can be (Wall Street Journal, February 2, 1981).

As all this suggests, there are people trained in philosophy in just about every field. They have gone not only into such professions as teaching (at all levels), medicine, and law, but into computer science, management, publishing, sales, criminal justice, public relations, and other fields. Some professionally trained philosophers are also on legislative staffs, and the work of some of them, for a senior congressman, prompted him to say:

It seems to me that philosophers have acquired skills which are very valuable to a member of Congress. The ability to analyze a problem carefully and consider it from many points of view is one. Another is the ability to communicate ideas clearly in a logically compelling form. A third is the ability to handle the many different kinds of problems which occupy the congressional agenda at any time. (Lee H. Hamilton, 9th District, Indiana, March 25, 1982.)

In emphasizing the long-range benefits of training in philosophy, whether through a major or through only a sample of courses in the field, there are at least two further points to note. The first concerns the value of philosophy for vocational training. The second applies to the whole of life.

First, philosophy can yield immediate benefits for students planning post-graduate work. As law, medical, business, and other professional school faculty and admissions personnel have often said, philosophy is excellent preparation for the training and later careers of the professionals in question. In preparing to enter such fields as computer science, management, or public administration, which, like medicine, have special requirements for postgraduate study, a student may of course major (or minor) both in philosophy and some other field.

The second point here is that the long-range value of philosophical study goes far beyond its contribution to one's livelihood. Philosophy broadens the range of things one can understand and enjoy. It can give one self-knowledge, foresight, and a sense of direction in life. It can provide, to one's reading and conversation, special pleasures of insight. It can lead to self-discovery, expansion of consciousness, and self-renewal. Through all of this, and through its contribution to one's expressive powers, it nurtures individuality and self-esteem. Its value for one's private life can be incalculable; its benefits in one's public life as a citizen can be immeasurable.

Uses Of Philosophy II

2006-06-09T00:38:00.000+08:00

Philosophy is the systematic study of ideas and issues, a reasoned pursuit of fundamental truths, a quest for a comprehensive understanding of the world, a study of principles of conduct, and much more. Every domain of human existence raises questions to which its techniques and theories apply, and its methods may be used in the study of any subject or the pursuit of any vocation. Indeed, philosophy is in a sense inescapable: life confronts every thoughtful person with some philosophical questions, and nearly everyone is often guided by philosophical assumptions, even if unconsciously. One need not be unprepared. To a large extent one can choose how reflective one will be in clarifying and developing one's philosophical assumptions, and how well prepared one is for the philosophical questions life presents. Philosophical training enhances our problem-solving capacities, our abilities to understand and express ideas, and our persuasive powers. It also develops understanding and enjoyment of things whose absence impoverishes many lives: such things as aesthetic experience, communication with many different kinds of people, lively discussion of current issues, the discerning observation of human behavior, and intellectual zest. In these and other ways the study of philosophy contributes immeasurably in both academic and other pursuits.

The problem-solving, analytical,judgmenta1 , and synthesizing capacities philosophy develops are unrestricted in their scope and unlimited in their usefulness. This makes philosophy especially good preparation for positions of leadership, responsibility, or management. A major or minor in philosophy can easily be integrated with requirements for nearly any entry-level job; but philosophical training, particularly in its development of many transferable skills, is especially significant for its long-term benefits in career advancement.

Wisdom, leadership, and the capacity to resolve human conflicts cannot be guaranteed by any course of study; but philosophy has traditionally pursued these ideals systematically, and its methods, its literature, and its ideas are of constant use in the quest to realize them. Sound reasoning, critical thinking, well constructed prose, maturity of judgment, a strong sense of relevance, and an enlightened consciousness are never obsolete, nor are they subject to the fluctuating demands of the marketplace. The study of philosophy is the most direct route, and in many cases the only route, to the full development of these qualities.

The Uses Of Philosophy In Educational Pursuits

The general uses of philosophy just described are obviously of great academic value. It should also be clear that the study of philosophy has intrinsic rewards as an unlimited quest for understanding of important, challenging problems. But philosophy has further uses in deepening an education, both in college an in the many activities, professional and personal, that follow graduation.

Understanding Other Disciplines. Philosophy is indispensable for this. Many important questions about a discipline, such as the nature of its concepts and its relation to other disciplines, do not belong to that discipline, are not usually pursued in it, and are philosophical in nature. Philosophy of science, for instance, is needed to supplement the understanding of the natural and social sciences which one derives from scientific work itself. Philosophy of literature and philosophy of history are of similar value in understanding the arts. Philosophy is, moreover, essential in assessing the various standards of evidence used by other disciplines. Since all fields of knowledge employ reasoning and must set standards of evidence, logic and epistemology have a general bearing on all these fields.

Development of Sound Methods of Research and Analysis. Still another value of philosophy in education is its contribution to one's capacity to frame hypotheses, do research, and put problems into manageable form. Philosophical thinking strongly emphasizes clear formulation of ideas and problems, selection of relevant data, and objective methods for assessing ideas and proposals. It also emphasizes development of a sense of the new directions suggested by the hypotheses and questions one encounters in doing research. Philosophers regularly build on both the successes and the failures of their predecessors. A person with philosophical training can readily learn to do the same in any field.

Uses Of Philosophy I

2006-06-08T00:35:00.000+08:00

General Uses Of Philosophy

Much of what is learned in philosophy can be applied in virtually any endeavor. This is both because philosophy touches on so many subjects and, especially, because many of its methods are usable in any field.

General Problem Solving. The study of philosophy enhances, in a way no other activity does, one's problem solving capacities. It helps one to analyze concepts, definitions, arguments, and problems. It contributes to one's capacity to organize ideas and issues, to deal with questions of value, and to extract what is essential from masses of information. It helps one both to distinguish fine differences between views and to discover common ground between opposing positions. And it helps one to synthesize a variety of views or perspectives into a unified whole.

Communication Skills. Philosophy also contributes uniquely to the development of expressive and communicative powers. It provides some of the basic tools of self-expression - for instance, skills in presenting ideas through well-constructed, systematic arguments - that other fields either do not use, or use less extensively. It helps one to express what is distinctive of one's view; enhances one's ability to explain difficult material; and helps one to eliminate ambiguities and vagueness from one's writing and speech.

Persuasive Powers. Philosophy provides training in the construction of clear formulations, good arguments, and apt examples. It thereby helps one develop the ability to be convincing. One learns to build and defend one's own views, to appreciate competing positions, and to indicate forcefully why one considers one's own views preferable to alternatives. These capacities can be developed not only through reading and writing in philosophy, but also through the philosophical dialogue, in and outside the classroom, that is so much a part of a thoroughgoing philosophical education.

Writing Skills. Writing is taught intensively in many philosophy courses, and many regularly assigned philosophical texts are unexcelled as literary essays. Philosophy teaches interpretive writing through its examination of challenging texts, comparative writing through emphasis on fairness to alternative positions, argumentative writing through developing students' ability to establish their own views, and descriptive writing through detailed portrayal of concrete examples: the anchors to which generalizations must be tied. Structure and technique, then, are emphasized in philosophical writing. Originality is also encouraged, and students are generally urged to use their imagination and develop their own ideas.

The Field Of Philosophy II

2006-06-07T00:28:00.000+08:00

Special Fields Of Philosophy

Many branches of philosophy have grown from the traditional core areas. What follows is a sketch of some of the major ones.

Philosophy of Mind. This subfield has emerged from metaphysical concerns with the mind and mental phenomena. The philosophy of mind addresses not only the possible relations of the mental to the physical (for instance, to brain processes), but the many concepts having an essential mental element: belief, desire, emotion, feeling, sensation, passion, will, personality, and others. A number of major questions in the philosophy of mind cluster in the area of action theory : What differentiates actions, such as raising an arm, from mere body movements, such as the using of an arm? Must mental elements, for example, intentions and beliefs, enter into adequate explanations of our actions, or can actions be explained by appeal to ordinary physical events? And what is required for our actions to be free?

Philosophy of Religion. Another traditional concern of metaphysics is to understand the concept of God, including special attributes such as being all-knowing, being all-powerful, and being wholly good. Both metaphysics and epistemology have sought to assess the various grounds people have offered to justify believing in God. The philosophy of religion treats these topics and many related subjects, such as the relation between faith and reason, the nature of religious language, the relation of religion and morality, and the question of how a God who is wholly good could allow the existence of evil.

Philosophy of Science. This is probably the largest subfield generated by epistemology. Philosophy of science is usually divided into philosophy of the natural sciences and philosophy of the social sciences. It has recently been divided further, into philosophy of physics, biology, psychology, economics, and other sciences. Philosophy of science clarifies both the quest for scientific knowledge and the results yielded by that quest. It does this by exploring the logic of scientific evidence; the nature of scientific laws, explanations, and theories; and the possible connections among the various branches of science. How, for instance, is psychology related to brain biology, and biology to chemistry? And how are the social sciences related to the natural sciences?

Subfields of Ethics. From ethics, too, have come major subfields.

Political Philosophy concerns the justification-and limits-of governmental control of individuals; the meaning of equality before the law; the basis of economic freedom; and many other problems concerning government. It also examines the nature and possible arguments for various competing forms of political organization, such as laissez-faire capitalism, welfare democracy (capitalistic and socialistic), anarchism, communism, and fascism.

Social Philosophy, often taught in combination with political philosophy (which it overlaps), treats moral problems with large-scale social dimensions. Among these are the basis of compulsory education, the possible grounds for preferential treatment of minorities, the justice of taxation, and the appropriate limits, if any, on free expression in the arts. The

Philosophy of Law explores such topics of what law is, what kinds of laws there are, how law is or should be related to morality, and what sorts of principles should govern punishment and criminal justice in general.

Medical Ethics addresses many problems arising in medical practice and medical science. Among these are standards applying to physician-patient relationships; moral questions raised by special procedures, such as abortion and ceasing of life-support for terminal patients; and ethical standards for medical research, for instance genetic engineering and experimentation using human subjects.

Business Ethics addresses such questions as how moral obligations may conflict with the profit motive and how these conflicts may be resolved. Other topics often pursued are the nature and scope of the social responsibilities of corporations, their rights in a free society, and their relations to other institutions.

Philosophy of Art (Aesthetics). This is one of the oldest subfields. It concerns the nature of art, including both the performing arts and painting, sculpture, and literature. Major questions in aesthetics include how artistic creations are to be interpreted and evaluated, and how the arts are related to one another, to natural beauty, and to morality, religion, science, and other important elements of human life.

Philosophy of language. This field has close ties to both epistemology and metaphysics. It treats a broad spectrum of questions about language: the nature of meaning, the relations between words and things, the various theories of language learning, and the distinction between literal and figurative uses of language. Since language is crucial in nearly all human activity, the philosophy of language can enhance our understanding both of other academic fields and of much of what we ordinarily do.

Other Subfields. There are many other subfields of philosophy, and it is in the nature of philosophy as critical inquiry to develop new subfields when new directions in the quest for knowledge, or in any other area of human activity, raise new intellectual problems. Among the subfields not yet mentioned, but often taught at least as a part of other courses, are Inductive Logic, Philosophy of Logic, Philosophy of History, Philosophy of Mathematics, Philosophy of Medicine, Philosophy of Education, Philosophy of Feminism, Philosophy of Linguistics, Philosophy of Criticism, Philosophy of Culture, and Philosophy of Film.

The Field Of Philosophy I

2006-06-06T00:20:00.000+08:00

Philosophy is a quest for a comprehensive understanding of human existence. The objective of philosophy is to consider the rational justification of logical inferences, human values, criteria for establishing the claims of knowledge and certainly, and intepretations of the nature of reality. The diverse insights of significant philosophers from ancient times to the present contribute resources to stimulate contemporary philosophical thinking in each of these areas.

A major in philosophy prepares students generally for careers in areas which require the ability to analyze problems and to think and write clearly. It is an appropriate major for students planning to continue their education for professional careers such as law, medicine and theology.

Philosophy is quite unlike any other field. It is unique both in its methods and in the nature and breadth of its subject matter. Philosophy pursues questions in every dimension of human life, and its techniques apply to problems in any field of study or endeavor. No brief definition expresses the richness and variety of philosophy. It may be described in many ways. It is a reasoned pursuit of fundamental truths, a quest for understanding, a study of principles of conduct. It seeks to establish standards of evidence, to provide rational methods of resolving conflicts, and to create techniques for evaluating ideas and arguments.

Philosophy develops the capacity to see the world from the perspective of other individuals and other cultures; it enhances one's ability to perceive the relationships among the various fields of study; and it deepens one's sense of the meaning and varieties of human experience.

This short description of philosophy could be greatly extended, but let us instead illustrate some of the points. As the systematic study of ideas and issues, philosophy may examine concepts and views drawn from science, art, religion, politics, or any other realm. Philosophical appraisal of ideas and issues takes many forms, but philosophical studies often focus on the meaning of an idea and on its basis, coherence, and relations to other ideas.

Consider, for instance, democracy. What is it? What justifies it as a system of government? Can a democracy allow the people to vote away their own rights? And how is it related to political liberty? Consider human knowledge. What is its nature and extent? Must we always have evidence in order to know? What can we know about the thoughts and feelings of others, or about the future? What kind of knowledge, if any, is fundamental? Similar kinds of questions arise concerning art, morality, religion, science, and each of the major areas of human activity. Philosophy explores all of them. It views them both microscopically and from the wide perspective of the larger concerns of human existence.

Traditional Subfields Of Philosophy
The broadest subfields of philosophy are most commonly taken to be logic, ethics, metaphysics, epistemology, and the history of philosophy. Here is a brief sketch of each.

Logic is concerned to provide sound methods for distinguishing good from bad reasoning. It helps us to assess how well our premises support our conclusions, to see what we are committed to accepting when we take a view, and to avoid adopting beliefs for which we lack adequate reasons. Logic also helps us to find arguments where we might otherwise simply see a set of loosely related statements, to discover assumptions we did not know we were making, and to formulate the minimum claims we must establish if we are to prove (or inductively support) our point.

Ethics takes up the meanings of our moral concepts-such as right action, obligation, and justice-and formulates principles to guide moral decisions, whether in private or public life. What are our moral obligations to others? How can moral disagreements be rationally settled? What rights must a just society accord its citizens? What constitutes a valid excuse for wrong-doing?

Metaphysics seeks basic criteria for determining what sorts of things are real. Are there mental, physical, and abstract things (such as numbers), for instance, or is there just the physical and the spiritual, or merely matter and energy? Are persons highly complex physical systems, or do they have properties not reducible to anything physical?

Epistemology concerns the nature and scope of knowledge. What does it mean to know (the truth), and what is the nature of truth? What sorts of things can be known, and can we be justified in our beliefs about what goes beyond the evidence of our senses, such as the inner lives of others or events of the distant past? Is there knowledge beyond the reach of science? What are the limits of self-knowledge?

The History of Philosophy studies both major philosophers and entire periods in the development of philosophy, such as the Ancient, Medieval, Modern, Nineteenth Century, and Twentieth Century periods. It seeks to understand great figures, their influence on others, and their importance for contemporary issues. The history of philosophy in a single nation is often separately studied, as in the case of American Philosophy. So are major movements within a nation, such as British Empiricism or German Idealism, as well as international movements with a substantial history, such as existentialism and phenomenology. The history of philosophy not only provides insight into the other subfields of philosophy; it also reveals many of the foundations of Western Civilization.

Another View Of Philosophy

2006-06-05T00:03:00.000+08:00

By Professor Walter Sinnott-Armstrong

What Is Philosophy?

Well, what do you think philosophy is? Most people can't answer this question. It's too abstract. It's also controversial. Philosophers themselves can't agree on any answer. Sure, the name "philosophy" derives from the Greek for "love of wisdom", but what's that? There has been a long and glorious history of people called philosophers, but they talk about all kinds of topics in all kinds of ways. It is not clear what, if anything, they have in common that makes them all philosophers.

Still, though many philosophers would dispute what I say, I will give you one model of philosophy. For me, philosophy is defined by a goal and a method.

Philosophy's goal is nothing less than a systematic world view. Other fields study particular kinds of things. Philosophy asks how it all fits together. For example, if you want to learn about bodies, take a course in physics or biology. If you want to learn about minds, take a course in psychology. But if you want to learn about how minds are related to bodies, or how physics is related to psychology, then philosophy (of mind) is for you. Similarly, economics, political science, and art and music courses study different values (welfare, justice, and beauty). Then moral philosophers ask how these values are similar or different, when one may be traded off against another, and where any of these values fit into the physical world. Again, historians try to discover knowledge of the past and astronomers try to discover knowledge of stars and planets, but only philosophers ask what makes any of these beliefs knowledge, and how (or whether) we can have any knowledge at all. Such philosophical questions are very abstract, but that is what enables them to cover so many different fields at once.

This goal also means that you can study anything under the name of philosophy. Philosophy encompasses subfields called philosophy of religion, of law, of economics, of biology, of physics, of mathematics, of computers, of psychology, of art, of music, of literature, and so on. Any and all of these topics can be studied in a philosophical way when one asks how they are related to each other in an overall world view.

When such disparate topics are raised, conflicts and paradoxes are bound to arise. One famous example is the paradox of freedom: Science, including psychology, leads us to believe that (1) Every act is determined by a prior cause. Law and common practices of blaming and punishing wrongdoers then lead us to believe that (2) Some acts are free. But the very definition of "free" suggests that (3) Nothing that is determined is free. Unfortunately, (1)-(3) cannot all be true, so any world view that includes all three of these claims is incoherent.

Paradoxes like this are both loved and hated by philosophers. Philosophers love them for their stimulation but hate them for their incoherence, so philosophers try hard to get rid of paradoxes. One prevalent way to resolve paradoxes is conceptual analysis. In response to the paradox of freedom, for example, some philosophers try to analyze freedom in a way that makes it compatible with determinism and thereby undermines (3). Other philosophers give accounts of blame and punishment that do not presuppose freedom, so they can reject (2). Still others analyze determinism and causation in ways that cast doubt on (1). One of these claims has to go. Conceptual analysis tries to help us decide which claim to give up.

The method of conceptual analysis might sometimes seem picky, but unclarity or imprecision in our concepts is often what leads us into paradoxes and incoherence in our world views. That is why the philosophical goal of a coherent overall world view makes philosophers adopt the method of conceptual analysis.

Philosophers use other methods as well. Many philosophers employ empirical discoveries in psychology, biology, and physics to illuminate traditional philosophical issues. (Can our moral beliefs be understood as a product of evolution?) Others use formal developments in logic and mathematics. (Does the incompleteness of arithmetic, proven by Gödel, show that computers cannot think in the way humans do?) Still others turn to literature and first-person narratives to express their ideas. (Is the position of oppressed groups best understood by listening to their own stories?) Since it is puzzling how the abstract world of numbers or the lived world of personal experience is related to the physical world of subatomic particles, the variety of methods used by philosophers reflects the issues that must be faced in formulating a coherent overall world view.

One feature is shared by almost all methods used by philosophers: Philosophers question authorities. Whereas legislators or judges have the authority to declare what the law is, and specific texts determine what is required by some religions, philosophers do not grant any special authority to anyone or anything. Every claim, no matter where it comes from, is subject to scrutiny. Even common sense is not taken for granted, which leads philosophers to put forward some very weird views.

In place of authorities, philosophers try to justify their views with arguments. Indeed, philosophers love arguments. One of the earliest examples of philosophy was an argument by Zeno, which runs like this: "The slow runner [a tortoise] will never be overtaken by the swiftest [Achilles], for it is necessary that the pursuer should first reach the point from which the pursued started, so that necessarily, the slower is always somewhat in advance." If you think about it for a while, Zeno's argument should be clear. What is not clear is how to respond. One popular reaction is, "That's silly. Of course, Achilles can overtake a tortoise. It happens all the time." Philosophers retort, "Everybody assumes that Achilles can overtake the tortoise, and it does appear that swift runners overtake slow runners, but how do you know what is really going on? And what is wrong with Zeno's argument to the contrary? You cannot reject the argument just because you don't like the conclusion." In such debates, philosophers try to uncover our basic assumptions, evaluate our reasons (if any) for these assumptions, and speculate on what our world view would be like if we gave up those assumptions. This process can be liberating and fascinating, even when (or maybe because) it leads to results that seem hard to believe.

In seeking this goal through these methods, philosophers address a wide variety of problems, which can be classified into three main areas:

Metaphysics or the theory of existence addresses the questions of whether God exists, whether we have free will, how our minds are related to our bodies, what reality is, and so on. Epistemology or the theory of knowledge asks whether and how we can know or be justified in believing anything; and it also investigates particular areas or sources of (supposed) knowledge, such as perception, memory, and science. Ethics or moral philosophy studies which acts are morally right or wrong and which people or character traits are morally good or bad; then other values, such as beauty, are studied in other areas of value theory, such as aesthetics. Some of the most exciting philosophical issues (such as those raised by existentialists, phenomenologists, feminists, and philosophers of language) do not fit neatly under any of these traditional categories.

True philosophers will not rest until they combine theories about all of these various topics into a single coherent system of thought that is justified without appeal to authority. Because this ideal is so demanding, the process of doing philosophy can be frustrating, but it is also something that can fill and fulfill one's entire life.

The Meaning Philosophy

2006-06-03T23:49:00.000+08:00

Philosophy studies the fundamental nature of existence, of man, and of man's relationship to existence. … In the realm of cognition, the special sciences are the trees, but philosophy is the soil which makes the forest possible.
—Ayn Rand, Philosophy, Who Needs It (p. 2)

A philosophy is a comprehensive system of ideas about human nature and the nature of the reality we live in. It is a guide for living, because the issues it addresses are basic and pervasive, determining the course we take in life and how we treat other people.

The topics that philosophy addresses fall into several distinct fields. Among those of fundamental concern are:

Metaphysics (the theory of reality).
Epistemology (the theory of knowledge)
Ethics (the theory of moral values)
Politics (the theory of legal rights and government)
Aesthetics (the theory of the nature of art)

The most widespread systems of ideas that offer philosophical guidance are religions such as Buddhism, Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Religions differ from philosophies not in the subjects they address, but in the method they use to address them. Religions have their basis in mythic stories that pre-date the discovery of explicitly rational methods of inquiry.

Many religions nowadays appeal to mystical faith and revelation—modes of belief that claim validity independent of logic and the scientific method, at least for the biggest questions. But most religions are in their origins pre-rational rather than anti-rational, a story-teller's account of philosophic issues rather than a scientist's.

In Greek, "philosophy" means "love of wisdom." Philosophy is based on rational argument and appeal to facts. The history of the modern sciences begins with philosophical inquiries, and the scientific method of experimentation and proof remains an instance of the general approach that a philosopher tries to bring to a question: one that is logical and rigorous. However, while today the sciences focus on specialized inquiries in restricted domains, the questions addressed by philosophy remain the most general and most basic, the issues that underlie the sciences and stand at the base of a world-view.

Philosophy raises some of the deepest and widest questions there are. Addressing the issues in each branch of philosophy requires integrating everything one knows about reality (metaphysics) or humanity (epistemology, ethics, politics, and aesthetics). Proposing reasonable positions in philosophy is therefore a difficult task. Honest philosophers have often disagreed about key issues, and dishonest ones have been able to slip their own positions into the mix as well. For this reason, there is not one philosophy worldwide, as there is one physics. Instead, there are many philosophies.

Over the course of history, philosophers have offered entire systems that pulled together positions in each of the branches of philosophy. Aristotle, the father of logic, authored such a system in ancient times, teaching that we could know reality and achieve happiness. In more modern times, philosophers such as John Locke and Immanuel Kant have written systematic accounts of their thought.

Most modern philosophers, however, have specialized in one area or another within philosophy, although some schools of philosophy have emerged that are marked by the general positions of their members on a variety of issues and the members' shared admiration for a chain of historical figures. These schools have included Pragmatism, Logical Positivism, and Existentialism, but are little-known outside of university classes in modern philosophy.

Today philosophic issues often enter public life through political or social movements, some religious in inspiration, such as Christian conservatism, and others secular, such as left-wing environmentalism and socialism. The ideas of such movements are often called ideologies. That term, "ideology," is another name for the systems of ideas we have been talking about. Though the focus of ideological movements is political, their political beliefs tend to be rooted in shared conceptions of reality, human nature, and values.

Philosophy - Wikipedia

Stories About Self-Control

2006-06-02T16:48:00.000+08:00

Self-control is the ability to make decisions about how and when we express our feelings, and which of our impulses to act on. This is a life-long process which is critical to the healthy development of children (and adults!)

Knowledge is a prerequisite for self-control. If knowledge is essential in order to have self-control, then the opposite of knowledge--lack of it--destroys self-control. Lack of knowledge is simply believing in false information. Further Reading About Self-Control

The Deer and The Vine
The Coward and The Crow
The Goat And The Wolf
The Horse and The Boar
The Fox And The Monkey Who Was Chosen King
The Young Man and The Painted Lion
The Boy Hunting Locusts And The Scorpion
The Mouse And The Frog
Two Fighting Cocks and The Eagle
The Mice and The Weasels
The Wolf Who Is Proud Of His Shadow And The Lion