The+Now+of+Pooh+-+James,+Shawn,+Daniel+-+Asian+Studies+B+Block


 * Tao of Pooh Wikipost Group Work - 'The Now of Pooh'**



__Summary - Daniel Park__

Although Pooh is not clever or knowledgeable, we enjoyed watching his adventure in the Forest when we were young. Pooh may not have a powerful brain, but he follows the voice of wisdom and simplicity within himself. Instead of listening to the voice of wisdom and simplicity in ourselves, we depend on our brains to manage our lives, which are in a desperate condition as a result. Although we may believe that cleverness and knowledge would help us survive in this world, they separate us from the world of reality. If such a pattern of thinking too much and being detached from the real world continues, we will soon have a great disaster. We have to listen to the voice of wisdom and simplicity within us, as the masters of life followed the Way. Instead of trying to devise a clever way to escape our troubles like an Owl and a Rabbit or complaining about the world like Eeyore, we should follow the way of Pooh, listening to the voice of a child's mind, or the voice of wisdom and simplicity.

__Discussion Questions - James Chae__

1. Is Brain (knowledge and cleverness) really important? Does it really bring us to what we want?

2. Does Brain mislead and blind us from seeing the truth and reality of the world?

3. Can true knowledge and cleverness be achieved by education and effort?

4. Does everybody really have the 'voice of wisdom and simplicity'? Do you think they are aware of it / are fully using it?

5. Is the majority of our world really 'Owls' and 'Rabbits'? What role do people with the characteristics of 'Pooh' take in our current society?

6. Do you think a society can continue to maintain harmony and peace if it only consists of 'Owls' and 'Rabbits'? What about only 'Poohs'?

__Thematic Analysis - Shawn Paik__

According to Hoff “A brain can do all kinds of things, but the things that it can do are not the most important things”, meaning that the true value of life, or the most important thing, does not lie within the knowledge nor cleverness; it’s the wisdom and contentment. Knowledge and “abstract cleverness of mind only separate the thinker from the world of reality, and that world, the Forest of Real Life, is in a desperate condition now because of too many who think too much and care too little” In fact, the number of ‘thinkers’ increase more and more to choose the knowledge to approach wisdom and contentment. They are doing it in the wrong way, and in the wrong place, and because of this bad decision, the world is in a desperate position to maintain it’s core value and what is now minority, the Taoists. “The masters of life know the Way, for they listen to the voice within them, the voice of wisdom and simplicity, the voice that reasons beyond Cleverness and knows beyond Knowledge.” Taoists, or the masters of life who know the Way, use their inner voice of wisdom and simplicity beyond knowledge. The power is not limited; in fact, it is given opportunity to everyone. Often times the ones who realized the power and stepped forward get worshipped and get called ‘the selected people who rule the others’, but this is not true. They just learned it earlier than others. So anyone, despite the social position or wealth or personality, everyone can reach it in a matter of time with right amount of effort.