Cottleston, Cottleston, Cottleston Pie, A fly can't bird, but a bird can fly. Ask me a riddle and I reply: 'Cottleston, Cottleston, Cottleston Pie.'

It's about how to stay happy and calm under all circumstances

When you wake up in the morning, what's the first thing you say to yourself?

I wonder what's going to happen exciting today?

Wanders around asking silly questions, going through all kinds of adventures, without ever accumulating any amount of intellectual knowledge or losing his simpleminded sort of happiness

"A thousand-mile journey starts with one step."

Go to China for a moment. All we need to do is lean back, relax, and there we are

The three masters are K'ung Fu-tse (Confuscius), Buddha, and Lao-tse

Confucius has a sour look on his face, Buddha wears a bitter expression, but Lao-tse is smiling

To Confucius, life seemed rather sour. He believed that the present was out of 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. He emphasized reverence for the Ancestors, as well as for the acient rituals and ceremonies.

To Buddha, 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, transcend "the world of dust" and reach Nirvana, literally a state of "no wind." The way to Nirvana interrupted all the same by the bitter wind of everyday existence

To Lao-tse, the harmony that naturally existed between heaven and earth from the very beginning could be found by anyone at any time. As he stated in his Tao Te Ching, earth was in essence a reflection of heaven, run by the same laws—not by the laws of men. 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

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

Operating behind everything in heaven and earth he called Tao, "the Way"

This Way of the Universe could not be adequately described in words, and that it would be insulting both to its unlimited power to the intelligent human mind to attempt to do so. Its nature could be understood, and those who cared the most about it, and the life from which it was inseparable, understood it best

A particular way of appreciating, learning from, and working with whatever happens in everyday life. The natural result of this harmonious way of living is happiness. Happy serenity is the most noticible characteristic of the Taoist personality, a subtle sense of humor is apparent even in the most profound Taoist writings

Through working in harmony with life's circumstances, Taoist understandings changes what others may perceive as negative into something positive. Sourness and bitterness come from the interfering and unappreciative mind. Life itself, when understood and utilized for what it is, is sweet

P'u, the Uncarved Block

In the classic Taoist manner, we won't try too hard or explain too much, because that would leave the impression that it was all only an intellectual idea that could be left on the intellectual level and ignored

The essence of the principle of the Uncarved Block is that things in their original simplicity contain their own natural power, power that is easily spoiled and lost when that simplicity is changed

Chinese dictionary will give a definition of 'natural, simple, plain, honest.' P'u is composed of two separate characters combined: the first, the 'radical' or root-meaning one, is that for tree or wood; the second, the 'phonetic' or sound-giving one, is the character for dense growth or thicket. So from 'tree in a thicket' or 'wood not cut' comes the meaning of 'things in their natural state'

The basic Taoist principle applies not only to things in their natural beauty and function, but to people as well

No matter how he may seem to others, especially to those fooled by appearances, the Uncarved Block, is able to accomplish what he does because he is simpleminded

Simple minded does not necessarily mean stupid. The Taoist ideal is that of the still, calm, reflecting "mirror-mind" of the Uncarved Block

I couldn't hear them properly before, because Rabbit would talk

Rabbit is clever and has brain. That is why he never understands anything

Rabbit's little routine is that of Knowledge for the sake of Being clever

Owl's is that of Knowledge for the sake of Appearing Wise, Eeyore's is Knowledge for the sake of Complaining About Something

Eeyore Attitude gets in the way of things like wisdom and happiness, and pretty much prevents any sort of real Accomplishment in life

As I thought, no better from this side. But nobody minds. Nobody cares. Pathetic, that's what it is

The nicest thing about simplicity is its useful wisdom, the what-is-there-to-eat variety wisdom you can get at

Pooh can't describe the Uncarved Block to us in words; he just is it. That's the nature of the Uncared Block

When you discard arrogance, complexity, and a few other things that get in the way, sooner or later you will discover that simple, childlike, and mysterious secret known to those of the Uncarved Block: Life is Fun

From the state of the Uncarved Block comes the ability to enjoy the simple and the quiet, the natural and the plain. The ability to do things spontaneously and have them work, odd as that may appear to others at times. "Pooh hasn;t much Brain, but he never comes to any harm. He does silly things and they turn out right"

Searching for answers to questions of one sort or another

"The wise are not learned; the learned are not wise"

While the scholarly intellect may be useful for analyzing certain things, deeper and broader matters are beyond its limited reach

How then can a scholar understand the Toa? He is restricted by his own learning

Taoism, the way of the Whole Man, the True Man, the Spirit Man

Scholarly Owl—the Brain, the Academician, the dry-as-dust Absentminded Professor. Far from the reflecting the Taoist ideal of wholeness and independence, this incomplete and unbalanced creature divides all kinds of abstract things into little categories and compartments, while remaining rather helpless and disorganized in his daily life. Rather than learnn from Taoist teachers and from direct experience, he learns intellectually and indirectly, from books. Since he doesn't usually put Taoist principles into practice in an everyday sort of way, his explanations of them tend to leave out some rather important details, such as how they work and where you can apply them

It is very hard to find any of the spirit of Taoism in the lifeless writings of the humorless Academic Mortician

The Confusionist, Desiccated Scholar is one who studies Knowledge for the sake of Knowledge, and who keeps what he learns to himself or to his own small group, wiriting pompous and pretentious papers that no one else can understand, rather than working for the enlightenment of others

Spelling isn't everything

One sometimes gets the impression that those intimidating words are there to keep us from understanding. That way, the scholars can appear Superior, and will not likely be suspected of Not Knowing Something. After all, from the scholarly point of view, it's practically a crime not to know everything

Sometimes the knowledge of the scholar is a bit hard to understand because it doesn't seem to match up with our own experience of things

Knowledge and Experience do not necessarily speak the same language. Isn't the knowledge that comes from experience more valuable than the knowledge that doesn't?

A lot of scholars need to go outside and sniff around—walk through the grass, talk to animals

Lots of people talk to animals, not very many listen

There is more to Knowing than just being correct

Quite often, struggling like a scholar over relatively unimportant matters can make one increasingly Confused

To the desiccated scholars, putting names on things is the most vital activity in the world. Tree. Flower. Dog. But don't ask them to prune the tree, plant the flower, or take care of the dog, unless you enjoy unpleasant surprises. Living, growing things are beyond them, it seems

Scholars can be very useful and necessary, in their own dull and unamusing way. They provide a lot of information. It's just that there is Something More, and that Something More is what life is really all abbout

Knowledge it always wants to blame the mind of the Uncarved Block—what it calls ignorance—for problems that it causes itself, either directly or indirectly, through its own limitations, nearsightedness, or neglect

A means learning

The plan failed, as Clever Plans do, sooner or later

Cleverness has its limitations. It doesn't look very deeply into things to begin with. It has to change its opinions later on because of what it didn't see when it was forming them

Ignoring the clear reality that Things Are As They Are

Everything has its own place and function

When you know and respect your own Inner Nature, you know where you belong. You also know where you don't belong. One man's food is often another man's poison, what is glamorous and exciting to some can be a dangerous trap to others

Everyone's different

I have certain limitations, and I know what they are. Such a mind would act accordingly

There can be lots of things wrong with blindly trying to do what you aren't designed for

Some people aren't so wise, and end up causing big trouble for themselves and others

That doesn't mean that we need to stop changing and improving. It just means that we need to recognize what's there. If you face the fact that you have weak muscles, say, then you can do the right things and eventually become strong

The wise know their limitations; the foolish do not

Those who know what's wrong with them and take care of themselves accordingly will tend to live a lot longer than those who consider themselves perfectly healthy and neglect their weaknesses

A weakness of some sort cann do you a big favor, if you acknowledge that it's there

Once you face and understand your limitations, you can work with them, instead of having them work against you and get in your way, which is what they do when you ignore them, whether you realize it or not. You will find that, in many cases, your limitations can be your strengths

Why does a chicken do what it does? You don't know? Neither do we. Neither does anyone else

We don't know

We don't need to play an abstract philosopher, asking unnecessary questions and coming up with meaningless answers. What we need to do is recognize Inner Nature and work with Things as they are

No two people are the same. Everything has its own inner nature. People are easily led away from what's right for them, because people have Brain, and Brain can be fooled. Inner nature, when relied on, cannot be fooled. But many people do not look at it or listen to it, and consequently do not understand themselves very much. Having little understanding of themselves, they have little respect foor themselves, and are therefore easily influenced by others

Rather than be carried along by circumstances and manipulated yb those who can see the weaknesses and behavior tendencies that we ignore, we can work with our own characteristics and be in control of our own lives. The way of self-reliance starts with recognizing who we are, what we've got to work with, and what works best for us

We are bound to discover some things abbout ourselves that we don't like. Once we see they're there, we can decide what we waant to do with them

Instead of struggling to erase what are referred to as negative emotions, we can learn to use them in positive ways

Each of us has something Special, hidden inside somewhere. But until we recognize that it's there, what can we do but splash around. The wise are who they are. They work with what they've got and do what they can do

There are things about ourselves that we need to get rid of; there are things we need to change. But at the same time, we do not need to be too desperate, too ruthless, too combbative. Along the way to usefulness and happiness, many of those things will change themselves, and the others can be worked on as we go. The first thing we need to do is recognize and trust our own inner nature, and not lose sight of it

In each of us is something special, and that we need to keep

There is no hurry. We shall get there some day

Wu Wei means "without doing, causing, or making." Without meddlesome, combative, or egotistical effort. No going against the nature of things; no clever tampering; no Mokeying Around

The efficiency of Wu Wei is like that of water flowing over and around the rocks in its path. One that evolves from an inner sensitivity to the natural rhythm of things

I began to learn while very young, and grew up practicing it. I am certain of success. I follow it and forget myself. I survive because I don't struggle against the water's superior power. That's all

When we learn to work with our own Inner Nature, and with the nnatural laws operating around us, we reach a level of Wu Wei. We work with the natural order of things and operate onn the principle of minimal effort. Since the natural world follows that principle, it does not make mistakes. Mistakes are made—or imagined—by man, the creature with the overloaded Brain who separates himself from the supporting network of natural laws by interfering and trying too hard

I don't do much of anything. They just sort of happen

Tao does not do, but nothing is not done

Tao doesn't force or interfere with things, bbut lets them work in their own way, to produce results naturally. Then whatever needs to be done is done

Do without doing

Things happen by themselves, spontaneously

It;s not the clever mind thats responsible when things work out. Its the mind that sees whats in front of it, and follows the nature of things

When you work with Wu Wei, you put the round peg in the round hole and the square peg in the square hole. No stress, no struggle. Egotistical desire tries to force the round peg into the square hole and the sqaure peg into the round hole. Cleverness tries to devise craftier ways of making pegs fit where they don't belong. Knowledge tries to figure out why round pegs fit round holes, but not square holds. Wu wei doesn't try. It doesn't think about it. It just does it. And when it does, it doesn't appear to do much of anything. But things get done

He tried too hard. When you try too hard, it doesn't work

The animals in the forest don't think too much; they just are

I think, therefore I am confused

If people were superior to animals, theyd take better care of the world

Through the centuries, man has developed a minnd that separates hum from the world of reality, the world of natural laws. This mind tries too hard, wears itself out, and ends up weak and sloppy. Such a mind, even if of high inntelligence, is inefficient. It goes here and there, backwards and forwards, and fails to concentrate on what it's doing at the moment

When you work with Wu wei, you have no real accidents. Things may get a little odd at times, but they work out. You donnt have to try very hard to make them work out; you just let them

Things just happen in the right way, at the right time. At least they do when you let them, when you work with circumstances insntead of saying, 'this isn't supposed to be happening this way' and tryinng hard to make it happen some other way. If you're in tune with the way things work, then they work they way they need to, no matter what you may think about it at the time. Later on, you can look back and say 'Oh, now I understand. That had to happen so that those could happen, and those had to happen in order for this to happen...' Even if you'd tried to make it all turn out perfectly, you couldn't have done better, and if you'd really tried, you would have made a mess of the whole thing

It all worked out

Wu wei flows like water, reflects like a mirror, and responds like an echo

Lets just see what happens

Using wu wei, you go by circumstances and listen to your own intuition. 'This isn't the bbest time to do this. I'd better go that way' When you do that sort of thing, people may say you have a sixth sense or something. All it really is though is bbeing sensitive to circumstances. That's just natural. It's only strange when you don't listen

One of the most convenient things about this sensitivity to circumstances is that you don't have to make so many difficult decisions. Instead, you can let them make themselves

Nothing to it. No stress, no mess

Wear the opponent out either by sending his energy back at him or by deflecting it way, in order to weaken his power, balance, and position-for-defense

You need to let your mind flow along and relfect what it sees. Then it can respond with the answer

Wu wei overcomes force by neutralizing its power, rather than bby adding to the conflict. With wuwei, you fight fire with water

If you want to be healthy, relaxed, and conntented, just watch what a bisy backson does and then do the opposite

All work and no play makes backson a dull boy

The bisy backsonn is always going somewhere, somewhere he hasn't beenn. Anywhere but where he is

A way of life that keeps saying, "around the next corner, above the next step" works against the natural order of things and makes it difficult to bbe happy and good that only a few get to where they would naturally have been in the first place—good and happy—and the rest give up and fall by the side of the road, curing the world, which is not to blame bubt which is there to help show the way

Working in harmony with the earth's rhythms. Now you plant; now you relax. Now you work the soil; nonw you leave it alone

Rigid, combative fanatic that he is, the tightfisted backson is just too hard on himself, too hard on others, and too hard on nthe world that heroically attempts to carry on in spite of what he is doing to it

Real progress involves growing and developing, which involes changing inside, but thats something the inflexible backson is unwilling to do. The urge to grow and develop, present inn alll forms of life, becomes perverted in the bisy backson's mind into a constant struggle to change everything and everyone else but himself, and interfering with, including practically every form of life on earth

You're important. Relax and enjoy yourself

It's really great fun to go someplace where there are no timesaving devices because when you do you find that you have lots of time

The main probblem with this great obsession for saving time is very simple: you can't save time. You can only spend it. BBut you can spend it wisely or foolishly. The bisy backson has practically no time at all, because he's too busy wastinng it bby trying to save it. And bby trying to save every bit of it, he ends up wasting the whole thing

Why should we live with such hurry and waste of life? We are determined to bbe starved before we are hungry. Men say that a stitch in time saves nine, and so they take a thousand stitches to-day to save nine tomorrow

One of the most intriguing things about taoism is that it not only contains respect for the old and wise, but also for the figure known as the youthful immortal

Exercise which stains and tires the minnd and body shortens life

"Walking lightly"

"Sit like a turtle, walk like a pigeon, and sleep like a dog"

"inner quiet"

The honey doesn't taste so good once it is being eatenl the goal doesn't mean so much once it is reached; the reward is not so rewarding once is has been given. If we add up all the rewards in our lives, we won't have very much. But if we add up the spaces between the rewards, we'll come up with quite a bibt. And if we add up the rewards and the spaces, then we'll have everything—every minute of the time we spent

Each time the goal is reached, it becomes not so much fun, and we're off to reqach the next one, then the next one, then the next

Goals count because they cause us to go through the process, and it's the process that makes us wise, happy, or whatever. If we do things in the wrong sort of way, it makes us miserable, angry, confused, and things like that. The goal has to be right for us, and it has to be beneficial, in order to ensure a beneficial process. But aside from that, its really the prcoess thats important. Enjoyment of the process is the secret that erases the myths of the great reward of saving time

Awareness is when we become happy and realize it if only for an instant. By enjoying the process, we can stretch that awareness out so that its no longer only a moment, bubt covers the whole thing. Then we cann have a lot of fun

When we take the time to enjoy our surroundings and appreciate being alive, we find that we have non time to be bisy bbacksons anymore

Being bisy backsons is a tremendous waste of time

The clouds above us join and separate, the breeze in the courtyard leaves and returns. Life is like that, so why not relax? Who can stop us from celebrating?

Everyone is special

No matter how useful we may be, sometimes it takes us a while to recognize our own value

In order to take control our lives and accomplish something of lasting value, sooner or later we need to learn to believe. We don't need to shift our responsibilities onto the shoulders of some deified spiritual superman, or sit around and wait for fate to come knocking at the door. We simply need to believe in the power that's within us, and use it. When we do that, and stop imitating others and competing against them, things begin to work for us

He was now free to take risks, to initiate action on his own and by doing so to help others

Committed himself to the work that he believed the universe wanted him to do, instead of what he had been taught to do. He watched the laws of the natural world and altered his own living patterns accordingly, eventually changing his life completely. Those laws were to inspire and support him in his greatest achievements. But without his bbelieving and taking a chance, his contributions to humanity would never have been made, and no one would have come to respect the name of Buckminster fuller

The play it safe pessimists of the world never accomplish much of anything, because they don't look clearly and objectiviely at situations, they dont recognize or belive in their own abilities and they wont stretch those abilities to overcome even the smalles amount of risk

Once we see what the situation is and what we can do about it, we need to utilize everything we find along the way in order to accomplish whatever is required. The things we need are there already; all we have to do is make use of them

From caring comes courage. It also comes wisdom. Those who have no compassion have no wisdom. Knowledeg, yes; cleverness, maybe; wisdom, no. A clever minnnd is not a heart. Knowledge doesn't really care. Wisdom does

He had more courage than he had though he had

A lot of people try to buy happiness and importance in the same sort of way. But you can be happy and important without doing that you know

We can stop our desperate clinging to hollow life-substitutes, and set ourselves free

Do you want to bbe really happy? You can bbegin by beinng appreciative of who you are and what you've got. Do you want to be really miserable? You can begin by being discontented

A tree as big around as you can reach starts with a small seed; a thousand mile journey starts with one step

Wisdom, happiness, and courage are not waiting somewhere out beyond sight at the end of a straight line; they're part of a continuous cycle that begins right here. They're not only the ending, but the beginning as well. They more it snows, the more it goes, the more it goes on snowing

It is widely recognized that the courageous spirit of a single man can inspire to victory ann army of thousands. If one concerned with ordinary gain can create such an effect, how much more will be produced byb one who cares for greater things

What I like doing best is nothing

What are you going to do. Oh nothing, and then you go and do it

To have no thought and put forth no effort is the first step towards understanding the tao. To go nowhere and do nothing is the first step towards finding peace in the tao. To start from no point and follow no road is the first step towards reaching the tao

Nothing. To the taoist, nothing is something, and something is really nothing at all

Knowledge was unable to understand it

Distance vision was unable to see it

Eloquence wqas unable to describe it

Empty mind came back with the pearl

An empty sort of mind is valuable for finding pearls and tails and things because it can see whats in front of it. An overstuffed mind is unable to. While the clear mind listens to a bird singing, the stuffed full of knowledge and cleverness mind wonders what kind of bird is singing. The more stuffed up it is, the less it can hear through its own ears and see through its own eyes. Knowledge and cleverness tend to concern themselves with the wrong sorts of thinns and a mind confused bby knowledge cleverness and abstract ideas tends to go chasing off after thins that donnt matter or that dont even exist, instead of seeing, appreciating, and making use of what is right in front of it

Emptiness ceans out the messy mind and charges up the bbatteries of spiritual energy

Many people are afraid of empiness however because it reminds them of loneliness

To attain knowledg, add things everyday. To attainn wisdom remove things everyday

The power of a clear mind is beyond description

Astoke of genius! completely unheard of. A revolutionary approach

When awe are children, helpless but aware of things, enjoying what is around us

The end of the cycle is that of the independent, clear-minded, all-seeing child. That is the level knnown as wisdom

Return to the beginning become a child again

Why do the enlightened seem filled with light and happiness liek children? Why do they sometimes even look and tlak like children? because they are. The wise are children who know. Their minds have been emptied of the countless minute somethings of small learning, and filled with the wisdom of the great nothing, the way of the universe

Just take the path to nothing, and go nowhere until you reach it. Because the enchanted place is right where you are, and if you're friendly with bears, you can find it

Is brain all that important? Is it really brain that takes us where we need to go? or is it all too often Brain that sends us off in the wrong direction, following the echo of the wind in the treetops, which we think is real, rather than listening to the voice within us that tells us which way to turn?

A brain can do all kinds of things, but the things that it can do are not the most important things. Abstract cleverness of mind only separates the thinker from the world of reality, and that world, the forest of real life is in a desperate condition. too many think too much and care too little

Learn to value wisdom and contentment

We can no longer afford to look so deperately hard for something in the wrong way and in the wrong place

The masters of life know the way, for they listen to the voice within them, the voice of wisdom and simplicity, the voice that reasons bbeyond cleverness and knows beyond knowledge. That voice is not just the power and property of a few, bbut has been given to everyone. Those who pay attention to it are too often treated as exceptions to a rule, rather than as examples of the rule in operation, a rule that can apply to anyone who makes use of it

IF we are smart, we will choose the way of pooh. As if from far away, it calls to us with the voice of a childs mind. It may be hard to hear at times, bubt it is important just the same, because without it, we will never find our way through the forest

To know the way, we go the wayl we do the way the way we do the things we do. It's all there in front of you but if you try too hard to see it, youll only become confused. I am me, and you are you, as you can see; bubt when you do the things that you can do, you will find the way, and the way will follow you