February 11
YOGA II
The difference between man and man is in his capacity to translate understanding into action.
Among the automobiles the best made car is the one that runs the longest distance for the given fuel. This applies to man also. He is the best trained man who produces the maximum result with the minimum effort. It is due to execution being tuned with understanding.
Work done to perfection is verily Yoga.
--- Bhagavad Gita
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ROCHEFOUCAULD
RÉFLEXIONS OU SENTENCES ET MAXIMES MORALES
43
L'homme croit souvent se conduire lorsqu'il est conduit; et pendant que par son esprit il tend à un but, son coeur l'entraîne insensiblement à un autre.
44
La force et la faiblesse de l'esprit sont mal nommées; elles ne sont en effet que la bonne ou la mauvaise disposition des organes du corps.
Maxims 043-044.mp3 - Google ドライブ
Maxims 043-044g.mp3 - Google ドライブ
maxims 043-44x.mp3 - Google ドライブ
43.—A man often believes himself leader when he is led; as his mind endeavours to reach one goal, his heart insensibly drags him towards another.
44.—Strength and weakness of mind are mis-named; they are really only the good or happy arrangement of our bodily organs.
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Essay
No U-turn?
U ターン禁止？
I don’t drive, but I’ve found myself thinking a lot about U-turns recently.
In January, Singaporean “technopreneur” and inventor Sim Wong Hoo passed away suddenly. His company, Creative Technology, is famous for its Sound Blaster sound cards and personal entertainment products. He’s also famous for suing Apple over patent infringements in 2006. He walked away with a $100 million (\13 billion) settlement.
Sim was never afraid to speak his mind. One of his most famous essays, which strikes a chord with many Singaporeans, talks about U-turns, or what he dubbed the “No U-Turn Syndrome” – NUTS.
According to him, “NUTS is when you want to do something and you seek the approval of a higher authority. When there is no rule saying that you can do such a thing, then the standard answer is NO.”
In his 1999 book Chaotic Thoughts from the Old Millennium, he wrote about how the U.S. and Singapore take different approaches to U-turns. In the U.S., you can make a U-turn as long as there isn’t a road sign forbidding it. If a U-turn isn’t allowed, the authorities will put up a sign.
It’s the exact opposite in Singapore. Drivers can make a U-turn only if a sign explicitly says so. If there is no such sign, you are not allowed to make U-turns.
Sim felt that the social effects of that were significant. “In Singapore, the no U-turn without sign culture has permeated every level of our thinking and every segment of our life. This no U-turn culture has created a way of life that is based on rules. When there is a U-turn sign or when there is a rule, we can U-turn. … When there is no rule, we cannot do anything. We become paralyzed.”
He gave an example. His company wanted to name their corporate headquarters Creative Resource, but was told that all building names had to be submitted to an external authority for approval. Their submission was rejected because it did not include words like “Centre,” “Plaza” or “House.” To Sim, this was a typical case of NUTS – “resource” wasn’t in the official list, so the answer was no. He fought back by writing appeal letters and finally his application was approved.
While there are advantages to having clear rules and guidelines, I agree with Sim’s view that it’s important to be flexible and think outside the box. For instance, it may be mandatory for students to have an extra-curricular activity, but if nothing interests you, you should be able to create your own club. Be it at work or at school, there ought to be ways for us to pursue our goals without always having to refer to the rulebook first. (Tan Ying Zhen)
20230210-06x.mp3 - Google ドライブ
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Joshua 002
Chapter 2
***** Rahab and the Spies *****
1 And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two men to spy secretly, saying, Go view the land, even Jericho. And they went, and came into an harlot's house, named Rahab, and lodged there.
2 And it was told the king of Jericho, saying, Behold, there came men in hither to night of the children of Israel to search out the country.
3 And the king of Jericho sent unto Rahab, saying, Bring forth the men that are come to thee, which are entered into thine house: for they be come to search out all the country.
4 And the woman took the two men, and hid them, and said thus, There came men unto me, but I wist not whence they were:
5 And it came to pass about the time of shutting of the gate, when it was dark, that the men went out: whither the men went I wot not: pursue after them quickly; for ye shall overtake them.
6 But she had brought them up to the roof of the house, and hid them with the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order upon the roof.
7 And the men pursued after them the way to Jordan unto the fords: and as soon as they which pursued after them were gone out, they shut the gate.
8 And before they were laid down, she came up unto them upon the roof;
9 And she said unto the men, I know that the LORD hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you.
10 For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed.
11 And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the LORD your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath.
12 Now therefore, I pray you, swear unto me by the LORD, since I have showed you kindness, that ye will also show kindness unto my father's house, and give me a true token:
13 And that ye will save alive my father, and my mother, and my brethren, and my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death.
14 And the men answered her, Our life for yours, if ye utter not this our business. And it shall be, when the LORD hath given us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with thee.
15 Then she let them down by a cord through the window: for her house was upon the town wall, and she dwelt upon the wall.
16 And she said unto them, Get you to the mountain, lest the pursuers meet you; and hide yourselves there three days, until the pursuers be returned: and afterward may ye go your way.
17 And the men said unto her, We will be blameless of this thine oath which thou hast made us swear.
18 Behold, when we come into the land, thou shalt bind this line of scarlet thread in the window which thou didst let us down by: and thou shalt bring thy father, and thy mother, and thy brethren, and all thy father's household, home unto thee.
19 And it shall be, that whosoever shall go out of the doors of thy house into the street, his blood shall be upon his head, and we will be guiltless: and whosoever shall be with thee in the house, his blood shall be on our head, if any hand be upon him.
20 And if thou utter this our business, then we will be quit of thine oath which thou hast made us to swear.
21 And she said, According unto your words, so be it. And she sent them away, and they departed: and she bound the scarlet line in the window.
22 And they went, and came unto the mountain, and abode there three days, until the pursuers were returned: and the pursuers sought them throughout all the way, but found them not.
23 So the two men returned, and descended from the mountain, and passed over, and came to Joshua the son of Nun, and told him all things that befell them:
24 And they said unto Joshua, Truly the LORD hath delivered into our hands all the land; for even all the inhabitants of the country do faint because of us.
