Daniel

1. Finish up scholarship and knowledge "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 come into play in The Tao of Pooh with regard to scholars?

This quote means that scholars use words that normal people can't understand very well. They are like jargons. Pooh, who is the cuddly, naive "Taoist," cannot understand complex phrases or topics. Hoff uses Pooh's character to show that scholars are sometimes too hard to comprehend. As Hoff said, the scholar's knowledge and experience doesn't seem to exactly match up with our own thoughts. Scholars often use big words that people cannot understand, and through this, the scholars look more "superior." In the end, the Daoist's way makes people's lives much easier and simple, as some Taoists say nothing is doing.

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 seems to think about scholars as people who are always vague and seem to use words that he cannot understand too well. Also, the Confucianists seem to think too much. When the sky is blue, and they have nothing to do, they worry about who is what and what is who. In fact, these scholars might not even know what they are talking about. On the other hand, Taoists would just accept nature, and go with nature's natural flow.