Merging Western and Eastern
Thought
“Chinese
thought has always regarded ‘retreat’ as more fundamental than ‘advance,’”
while Western thought seems to switch the two (Neo-Confucian Manifesto
771). I feel like I am constantly
battling between the two, longing to escape from the hectic busy-ness of my
life’s schedule, but then also feeling the desire to pursue more goals and
better myself through hard work and determination. It very much reminds me of the concepts we
discussed during our “The Other Side of the Hedge” reading – we long for progress
as a civilization, and yet is inner peace only to be found by retreating into a
haven on this symbolic ‘other side’?
I
have yet to answer this question satisfactorily. I know, however, that right now I have little
or no “secure foundation underlying this feverish pursuit of progress…there is
a feeling of discontentment and of emptiness” (Neo-Confucian Manifesto
771). Why do I keep pushing myself to
achieve? Why do I run myself ragged with
appointments, schedules, to-do lists, and the like? What is the purpose of it all? I feel that I need to retreat from the battle
I’m facing right now in order to figure out what I’m fighting for.
The
new dilemma becomes how to retreat. Yes,
there are places like the