Spirituality

René Girard, the French historian and philosopher, described mimetic desire in 1961* as the human impulse to imitate another, "the model", through focussing on acquiring an object that connects us with the status of the model. Girard says that there is always a triangular relationship of subject, model, and object. Through the object, one is drawn to the model, whom Girard calls the mediator. The mediator may be the hero in a novel or film. Maybe a celebrity or someone who is viewed as belonging to a higher social status.

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The Shanghai Daily used this picture (courtesy China Photo Press) to illustrate how young monks are complementing their sutra studies with online learning (and games). The Google issue is currently very sensitive in China as media stories swing from White House imposed internet dictatorship to "it's just a commercial and legal matter" not affecting Sino-US relations.

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Dr Zhao Jin, of Xiamen University's Department of Anthropology, recently conducted his fieldwork in the Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture . He stayed in a very remote village in the riverside of the upper reaches of the Yangtze River for two months.

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Taosim is one of the three ancient philosophies / spiritual traditions in China. It is China's only indigenous faith and its temples venerate great warriors and heroes from China's past. The temple at Xiamen has statues of Chinese medical doctors set alongside the steps leading to a hilltop peak.

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I am reading "Confucius from the Heart: Ancient Wisdom for Today's World" by Yu Dan (tr. Esther Tyldesley). Confucius's "Analects" are both simple, memorable and profound. The Analects are likely to have have been dismissed by the towering philosophical greats of the 19th century. Confucius wrote and spoke for the ordinary people as well as the gentry and the Emperor's court.

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This is Professor Lou Yulie who I met at a conference in Beijing recently. He carries a gracious aura with him and is clearly reverenced by the academic community. Professor Lou is a Chinese classical philosopher and exudes the wisdom of Chinese sages. In his speech he mentioned the growing interest by Chinese entrepreneurs in Buddhism, some even converting.

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