Hagar's Climb

THE CREATOR of the Hagar family series, Dik (Richard) Browne (1917-89), was an American cartoonist. Browne told that the often confused Hagar was Norwegian - a reluctant taxpayer with amusingly imperfect success in dealing with his job—looting and pillaging—and home life, dealing with the comme il faut.

Hagar won worldwide recognition after being created and launched in 1973.

   

Now compare the slope scene above with a Taoist image.

1. To the right is the snow and it's intensely bright - it's heaven to skiers - (Chinese: yang)
2. To the left is the darkness of the world (night, cold, and so on) (Yin in Chinese)
3. "The "dividing line" or sloping line is called the Way." It can be a narrow track at times, going up and down. Some call it Tao (Dao). It matters to enter on it.
4. The "moon" to the left is light in the darkness of yin (Yang in Yin).
5. Similarly, the bumpy cave in the snow to the right is darkness in the "skier's heaven" (in the "snow") - (Yin in Yang)

You see the slopy illustration conforms in main outline to the traditional yin yang emblem, but for its squareness and the dividing or meeting zone between yin and yang. The traditional emblem has it curved, like a mirrored S.

Figure 3: Yin yang symbol

Figure 4: Two common ways to represent a whole - Finally the tangram figure is turned into a "slope scene" square too.

Now we have come round to a sort of "slope figure" again. Thus we have presented very basic outlooks in the gentle all-round lore that we are (all) for: The world darkness (yin), the heavenly brightness (yang), and a way of balance or reconciliations and much else: (Tao). The added words are deep Chinese terms that can be up to perfect matches at times, depending on the settings.

The very fit meditation, diving, that may go along with it, consists in digging into the mountain slope somewhat like a ice bear and thrive - find happiness inside by diving well into yang - and climb along as well. Climbing and diving are metaphors; they have been coupled. There is nothing wrong with that . . .

This bird's-eye'view from a formidable world philosophy (Taoism) is almost completed.

Best Things

A
A SEARCH matters. The most welcome answers may fit the heart too. The rest may not be as good as that. Little by little one may see it.

B.
THIS is quite a molesting viewpoint. Yet there are others. Buddha endoreses a way (here: climb) that avoids extremes, be they of fasting, merry-making, gambling, and so on.

C.
"TO WHAT key of happiness?" - There can be many odd disciplines, many kinds of trainees too. And the likeable one learns to ask for a second opinion to avoid getting stuck in the next best things of life.

The Persons of Tao are humble ...

On tiptoe your stance is unsteady;
Long strides make your progress unsure;
Show off and you get no attention;
Your boasting will mean you have failed;
Asserting yourself brings no credit;
Be proud and you will never lead.

- from Tao-te Ching, ch. 24, in Raymond Blakney's translation.

Bao: Blakney, Raymond Bernard. The Way of Life: Lao Tzu: A New Translation of the Tao Te Ching. New York: New American/Mentor, 1955.