Dongju+Lee

1. “My words are very easy to understand and very easy to put into practice” but “straightforward words seem paradoxical” what does this mean? How does it com into play in the Tao of Pooh with regards to schlars?

I think that this means that the first person (the Daoist’s) words are easier live by, because you can understand them. The Daoist isn’t trying to sound smart by using gigantic words, or making up complicated theories on how humans should behave. Unlike the Confucianist, they aren’t making up rules for how people should act with each other. They say what is understandable, and because you can understand it, it is easier to do.

2. Read the poem on page 30. What does Pooh seem to think about scholars? How does that relate to the Taoist view of knowledge?

Pooh thinks that scholars are people who are too smart for their own good. He says that they go around naming things but they don’t really know about them. The author says that they re good at providing information but lack information about what life is really about. The Taoists thought that the scholars were trapped by their own knowledge, because they became so confident of ‘knowing’ that they couldn’t admit to not knowing something, and could not embrace original human nature (and follow the Way).