We used to have our favorite Chinese restaurant in town. By we, I mean my spouse and I, our children and, when she was alive, my mother. Every couple of weeks it seemed we would make our pilgrimage to that spot of Chinese culinary delights for an evening meal. Of...

In a selection from the Confucian Analects usually discussed as a description of Confucius' personality and character, there stands a very short passage (Analects VII: 9) that tells us a good deal about his feelings for others in times of tragedy and how he expresses such feelings. What better response...

I had not heard the commonly expressed idiom YOLO ("you only live once") until my son mentioned it to me recently in a conversation saying, "So what does Confucius have to say about that!"

As I understand the phrase, it is used to suggest a lifestyle that...

Here in Colorado its that time of the year again: shorter days, longer nights. It may not be so obvious in its physical appearance in a world dominated by technology to address our every need and convenience -- after all, we are able to keep much of the darkness and...

Apart from the numbing reading and rereading of election news, there appears to have been little else in our journalistic media for what seems far too long this election cycle. But if we can look beyond the political rhetoric, there have been several pieces suggesting the shear overload of not...

The topic of nature and religion is one now discussed frequently, be it in the popular press or in more scholarly venues. Obviously much of the attention is in response to the issues of climate change and the recognition of the destructive path humankind has embarked upon in its limitless...

As with every religious tradition, there are often stereotypes associated with the founder or just with the tradition in general that frequently belie the subtlety or complexity of a worldview to the detriment of a full understanding of its teachings and practices.

Let's begin with a swiping view of...

For the Confucian tradition, and Confucius specifically, there is no time that is not a time for learning. Every event, every activity, every encounter is yet another occasion for learning, and to think of them in any less a fashion is to shortchange our capacity to engage always in the...

The drinking of two beverages -- sweet Kool-Aid and bitter hemlock, has portrayed suicide in Western culture, but with profound differences in the meaning of the act. In their utilization, far beyond the particular historical circumstances surrounding either Kool-Aid or hemlock, they have assumed roles larger than life. Becoming profound...

Civility and contemporary society -- have they not simply become antithetical to each other?

Most of the time "civility" appears to be nothing but an old fashioned and out-of-fashion reminiscence of a by-gone era.

What has taken the place of civility in contemporary society may well represent "freedom...

Wendell Berry, one of the original proponents of the principle of sustainability and a major social critic of 20th and now 21st century American society, has made surprisingly repeated references to Confucius and Confucian writings in his works. I say "surprisingly" because Berry, at first glance, might not seem like...

I enjoy reading David Brooks, the op-ed columnist at the New York Times. I don't always agree with him, however I find his arguments cogent if not at times compelling, articulating views I like to take seriously and ponder.

Brooks' How to Fight the Man is a fascinating piece about...

The irony is delightful, maybe even a bit whimsical -- "bowling alone" with Confucius. The point, however, is poignant -- an insight into contemporary American society we might all stop and consider for a moment!

When the sociologist Robert Putnam first published his now well-known work Bowling Alone in 2000,...

It's that time of year again when we find ourselves making those infamous resolutions for the New Year. While some may be of the most banal sort -- to lose weight, to drink less coffee, to take that dream vacation. Most, we might hope, suggest a focus upon the betterment...

As we come into the holiday season, regardless of one's background or perspective, thoughts have a way of turning to the ideals we all seek, ideals that would make us all better people and the world a better place, ideals of generosity and love.

Sure, there are the Grinch...

In a nation where the term "family values" has virtually become a bell weather gage for one's political affinities, the value of such values seems incapable of support without the implication of conservative or right wing political leanings.

But do family values have to have a political position? Can't...

Campaign 2012 is well underway with Republicans jockeying for place in the sweepstakes of the nomination process.

Certainly a memorable moment in the Republican debates occurred when Governor Perry was asked about the number of executions carried out in the state of Texas, a number far...

Ah, the beginning of fall and with the change of seasons, the yearly ritual of the return to school.

The first sentence of the first passage of the Confucian Analects reads, "Is it not a joy to learn with a constant effort and application?" (Analects I:1): a statement that...

Whatever one's political persuasion, one thing is very obvious today -- the government in this country seems not to be working well, and that might be the kindest thing that can be said!

And what would Confucius say?

Actually, Confucius has a good deal...

The English philosopher Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) describes the outlook of the mature intellectual -- from his point of view, an atheist, staring into the void -- as "heroic fatalism." The void, so described, is not the Buddhist Void (sunyata), but the void created by the intellectual knowledge humanity has acquired...