posted February 25, 2008 07:21 PM         

"Let’s imagine that we have walked down a narrow street in a large Chinese city and have found a small shop that sells scrolls painted in the classic manner. We go inside and ask to be shown something allegorical--something humorous, perhaps, but with some sort of Timeless Meaning. The shopkeeper smiles. "I have just the thing,", he tells us. "A copy of The Vinegar Tasters!" He leads us to a large table and unrolls the scroll, placing it down for us to examine. "Excuse me--I must attend to something for a moment," he says, and goes into the back of the shop, leaving us alone with the painting.

Although we can see that this is a fairly recent version, we know that the original was painted long ago; just when is uncertain. But by now, the theme of the painting is well known.

We see three men standing around a vat of vinegar. Each has dipped his finger into the vinegar and has tasted it. The expression on each man's face shows his individual reaction. Since the painting is allegorical, we are to understand that these are no ordinary vinegar tasters, but are instead representatives of the "Three Teachings" of China, and that the vinegar they are sampling represents the Essence of Life. The three masters are K'ung Fu-tse (Confucius), Buddha, and Lao-tse, author of the oldest existing book of Taoism. The first has a sour look on his face, the second wears a bitter expression, but the third man is smiling."

See the conclusion here: http://www.spiritsite.com/writing/benhof/part1.shtml

Here is more on the subject: http://www.just-pooh.com/tao.html

posted February 25, 2008 07:31 PM           

A young man, a disciple of Confucius,
having heard of the teachings of Jesus,
inquired of his master in this way:

"Master K'ung Fu-tse," said he,
"It is taught by a man in the West
that we should have love for the sinner.
What do you think of that?"

Confucius replied,
"What then shall we have for the saint?"

posted March 11, 2008 01:38 PM         

There's also the Te of Piglet.