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Comment by isoprophlex

9 hours ago

"To be done with doing", from Ursula K. LeGuin's Earthsea novels, always struck me as such a powerful phrase. An entire state of mind boiled down to 5 words. But then again I remember her saying eastern philosophy greatly influenced her writing, if I'm not mistaken

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isoprophlex

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jdw64  8 hours ago

The 'Le Guin' series actually had similar kinds of stories in Asia before. There's a strong Taoist influence, you see—more specifically, Chinese-style Taoism rather than a Buddhist perspective.

From the viewpoint of '不立文字 (Bù lì wén zì): truth is not confined to language; language is merely the finger pointing at the truth' — this is closer to Taoism than to Zen. In fact, the Chinese worldview runs deep throughout her worldbuilding. Le Guin's take on 'magic' reflects a profound understanding of Eastern philosophy. The reason Ged doesn't use magic lightly is precisely a matter of balance, and (without giving away spoilers) the final confrontation between Ged and the Shadow is essentially about embracing one's own dark side — which shows a deep grasp of Taoist thought.

Personally, I also love the Earthsea series. The philosophy underlying that world is exactly the kind that resonates especially well with East Asian readers

  • isoprophlex  8 hours ago

    Ha, wow, thanks for the refinement. Indeed use of language (especially at the end with the dragons) is a very important theme.

    And I agree, it's more than excellent. The judicious magic, the way she manages to naturally - without it becoming a sermon - describe acts of kindness as the biggest miracles, is great.

    Highly recommended.

andai  7 hours ago

To be done with doing, would appear to require passive income?

  • jack_pp  5 hours ago

    No need for an income at all if you are going to be a monk.

    This is the problem with modern spirituality, we take teachings meant for ascetics and try to apply it without a teacher to our, very far from acetic life.

    Mediation s goal isn't to help you be more productive. Prayer isn't for getting a better car or in lieu of life insurance.

    • CamperBob2  1 hour ago

      There are some useful lessons to be drawn, though. One of them being that even the monks will kick you out if you just slack off all day.

  • bwfan123  4 hours ago

    > To be done with doing, would appear to require passive income?

    who is asking this question ?