Yuèyá Quán or Crescent Lake is an oasis in the Gobi desert some 3-4 miles from Dunhuang in Western China. The Crescent Lake Oasis fulfills the water needs of a small population of farmers and residents. Home to one of…
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Yuèyá Quán
Tagged with: Buddha, Buddhism, China, Christianity, Crescent Lake, desert, Dunhuang, Earth Religions, faith, Gobi desert, harmony, hermatige, Hinduism, journey, Judaism, Mogao Caves, nature, oasis, pathway, pilgramige, reflection, retreat, Silk Road, The Crescent Lake Oasis, Tribal Religions, Western China, Yuèyá, Yuèyá Quán, Zoroastrianism
Posted in Locations
Posted in Locations
The Tao of Forgiveness or The Potato Sack
The following Taoist Parable is taught by Dereck Lin. It illustrates the ideal and philosophy of forgiveness and how not forgiving transgressions affects our lives. One day, the sage gave the disciple an empty sack and a basket of potatoes. “Think…
Tagged with: calm, Dereck Lin, emotions, empty sack, forgiveness, harmony, learning, parable, patience, peace, potatoes, reflection, sage, self, sermon, symbology, tao, transgression
Posted in Informaitional, Musings
Posted in Informaitional, Musings
The Silk Road
The Silk Road was a series of routes leading from China to Western Civilization. Used primarily as trade routes, these heavily used pathways also allowed the transmission of Buddhism, Taoism, and other religious and cultural practices along its great length.…
Tagged with: Buddha, Buddhism, China, Dunham Caves, fellowship, individual, Islam, journey, Mogao Caves, pathway, reflection, self, shrine, Silk Road, Sugong, walking, walking meditaition
Posted in Locations
Posted in Locations
A Perspective of Peace
Much as conflict and war, peace is one of the most debated subjects in the social arena. Ranging from the total cessation of violence or conflict in the Western thought to the balance of harmony and needs of Eastern thought,…
Tagged with: community, diplomacy, Dr. King, ethics, Ghandi, lasting peace, life, Marx, non-conflict, non-violence, pathway, peace, perspective, reflection, self, social reality, symbology, transcendance
Posted in Musings
Posted in Musings
Robben Island
Located off the South Western tip of South Africa, Robben Island is an unlikely place to find solace. Used for centuries as a prison and center for slave trade, the island has been the long term “home” of political prisoners…
Tagged with: Bishop Njongonkulu Ndungane, Cape Town, emotions, individual, Jacob Zuma, journey, meditaition, Nelson Mandela, prayer, reflection, rememberence, Robben Island, self, solitude, South Africa
Posted in Locations
Posted in Locations
Self-Harmony
There are any number of paths and sermons that discuss harmony. Virtually every religion, philosophy, and/or sect has a view on who we should live in harmony with, how it should be done, and what force drives it. Many times…
Tagged with: harmony, life, moving forward, pathway, peace, reflection, self, self-actualizaition, self-harmony
Posted in Musings
Posted in Musings
Sun Thief
Winter soul frozen– Old diary lies open, Snow white raven flies.
Tagged with: emotions, Haiku, individual, journey, memories, raven, reflection, self, sun thief, white raven, winter
Posted in Poetry
Posted in Poetry
Mid-Autumn Festival
Mid-Autumn Festival (content shortened for space) by Elizabeth Reninger The Mid-Autumn Festival (Zhongqiu Jie) is a traditional Chinese holiday and Taoist festival that is celebrated on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month, around the time of the autumn…
Tagged with: beauty, caltrope, change, community, Elizabeth Reninger, Festival of Reunion, Lantern Festival, life, love, Mid-Autumn Festival, Moon Festival, mooncakes, reflection, snails, symbology, taoist, taro, Zhongqiu Jie
Posted in Informaitional
Posted in Informaitional
Miracles and Wonders
Many of us walk through life looking for the big miracles. Just like the parables and stories tell us, the light shining from the heavens, the true love in a tower, or the cure all for our ails. As we…
Tagged with: disbelief, doubt, journey, life, meditaition, miracles, reflection, simplicity, symbology, wonders
Posted in Musings
Posted in Musings
Nian Xióng Hall 