Belief has long been foundational in China. Folk spirits, the teachings of Confucius and Mencius, Daoism, Buddhism, and often a combination thereof were worshiped and venerated. The Chinese people believed. They practiced. They lived closely with a connection to something beyond themselves. Many hundreds of millions still do. Prominent within this belief ecosystem is Buddhism and, more particularly, Manjusri, the Bodhisattva of Wisdom. Throughout much of Buddhism’s almost 2,0

“‘ The tendency of human nature to do good is like that of water to flow downward .’” 1 This 2,300-year-old statement by Mencius, second only to Confucius in the Confucian pantheon, would have been relatable, yet not, to Daoists Laozi and Zhuangzi who believed that the Way of nature is balanced. This distinction is representative of the freewheeling philosophical “Hundred Schools of Thought” discourse for hearts and minds that blossomed in the Chinese heartland during the hal

(photo by Glenn Carstons Peters, www.unsplash.com ) My mentor often asks me if I have an outline of topics mapped out for future Substack posts. My answer is the same every time. No. There are many good reasons to do so, but it does not come easy for me. So, where do my writing ideas come from? What is my inspiration? I read a lot and something always hits me and sends me down a new path. This past weekend (before a blizzard knocked me back to the stone ages for several days)