At the end of a conversation with Yen Hui, one of his favorite disciples, Confucius articulated the value of a Taoist ideal:
"It is easy to stand still and leave no trace, but it is hard to walk without touching the ground. If you follow human methods, you can get away with deception. In the way of Tao, no deception is possible.""
"You know that one can fly with wings: you have not yet learned about flying without wings. You are familiar with the wisdom of those who know, but you have not yet learned the wisdom of those who know not.""
"Look at this window: it is nothing but a hole in the wall, but because of it the whole room is full of light. So when the faculties are empty, the heart is full of light. Being full of light it becomes an influence by which others are secretly transformed."
Excerpted from "The Fasting of the Heart" in
"The Way of Chaung Tzu" by Thomas Merton
New Directions Publishing Corporation
© Abbey of Gethsemani 1965
Merton's view on a Confucian/Taoist image of a 'window as a light-enabling hole in the wall' supports the Ojibwe practice of 'holding seven generations as an ideal'.
Simply entertaining the possibility of ensuring sustainability for the next 150 years, requires one to consider a rather uncommon view ... to open the curtain of an imaginary window and let the unique light it enables shine on the subject of sustainability. Efforts made in considering such a view allow for unique insights.
YESSS contestants are encouraged to gain such insights and allow their research efforts to be influenced by whatever passion they may feel to design gifts for future generations.