From: laelth@yabbs
To: abort@yabbs
Subject: What you read
Date: Thu Feb  3 12:42:14 1994

My dear friend abort:
    I think what you read means a great deal.  In fact, I think that
a lot of what's wrong with our society can be traced to the prime-time-tv 
garbage in which most Americans wallow every day.  Not surprizingly, I've 
read everything on JasonLee's list, and nothing on yours. 
    I do, on the other hand, know a little about Chinese mysticism, Taoism
in particular.  The "path" of the Tao is beautiful, sublime if you will.  
It is an essential part of the Chinese way of life.  However, the Chinese 
recognize that an active spiritual life is not enough.  That is why Kung 
Fu Tse and his teachings (Confucianism) sprang up in connection with the 
Tao.  Along with serene spirituality, Kung Fu Tse argued that people must 
also act ethically in social, political, and economic affairs.  He 
recognized that people are inherently social and political animals, that 
we act together as groups, and that we needed some system, some code, to 
regulate our interactions with one another.
    So, here's what I'm driving at.  It's great that you've read Lao-Tsu.
But that alone is not enough.  The Chinese recognized this over two 
millennia ago.  This, by the way, is the source of the notion of yeng and 
yang, that both, the spiritual, and the socio/political are necessary 
components of human existence.  Lao-Tsu is incomplete without Kung-Fu-Tse.
If you're interested in bringing some balance to your deeply spiritual 
life, you might want to start with _The Analects_ of Confucious.
    Happy reading!

    -laelth