Funny Poems by Ogden Nash

Wah, it's been almost two weeks since I posted anything. Amidst all the "tension", I thought I just might post some humourous poetry by Ogden Nash instead. Enjoy!

A Word to Husbands

To keep your marriage brimming
With love in the loving cup,
Whenever you’re wrong, admit it;
Whenever you’re right, shut up. 

Reflections on Ice-breaking 

Candy
Is dandy
But liquor
Is quicker  

 To My Valentine

More than a catbird hates a cat,
Or a criminal hates a clue,
Or the Axis hates the United States,
That's how much I love you.

I love you more than a duck can swim,
And more than a grapefruit squirts,
I love you more than a gin rummy is a bore,
And more than a toothache hurts.

As a shipwrecked sailor hates the sea,
Or a juggler hates a shove,
As a hostess detests unexpected guests,
That's how much you I love.

I love you more than a wasp can sting,
And more than the subway jerks,
I love you as much as a beggar needs a crutch,
And more than a hangnail irks.

I swear to you by the stars above,
And below, if such there be,
As the High Court loathes perjurious oathes,
That's how you're loved by me.
 

Dialogue - Our Common Ground of Humanity

Continued here are the selections from Global Civilization: A Buddhist-Islamic Dialogue:

The Common Ground of Humanity

Ikeda: To borrow your metaphor, dialogue is a kind of light to illuminate one’s footsteps. The whole thing begins with one human being talking with another. Inter-civilizational dialogue is currently the focus of attention, but the point of departure or the prototype is human-to-human rapport.

Whenever I visited socialist or communist countries during the Cold War years, I was always guided by the conviction that “because there are people to talk with” it must be possible to build a bridge of friendship.

We must somehow break through the “friend vs. foe” pattern of relationship and talk with each other honestly and openly on the common ground of humanity. That, I was firmly convinced, would break the ice and lead to problem solving in the end.

...Just as once there were strong prejudices against the socialist countries, today many people, especially those in Europe and North America, hold on to stereotypical images and biased preconceptions about the Islamic world. This is very dangerous.

Tehranian: I, too, am deeply concerned about the current situation. But you have taken the initiative in pursuing activities to prevent specific countries from being isolated in the international community.

Ikeda: To know each other well is the first step toward intimate friendship. To appreciate one’s partner’s strong points and to be ready to learn from him or her—this is required of all of us who live in the world today. I hope this series of dialogues between the two of us, one with a Buddhist background and the other from the Islamic tradition, will help encourage people to follow our example.

Rules for Dialogue

Tehranian: As I said earlier, the Toda Institute has chosen “Dialogue of Civilizations for World Citizenship” for its motto. As we groped for the most effective way to conduct dialogue, we have developed a set of rules. They are suggestive more than exhaustive, but I would like to introduce them here.

There are ten points:

• Honor others and listen to them deeply with your heart and mind.
• Seek common ground for consensus, but avoid “group-think” by acknowledging and honoring the diversity
of views.
• Refrain from irrelevant or intemperate intervention.
• Acknowledge others’ contributions to the discussion before making your own.
• Remember that silence also speaks; speak only when you have a contribution to make by posing
   a relevant question, presenting a fact, making or clarifying a point, or advancing the discussion
   to more specificity or greater consensus.
• Identify the critical points of difference for further discussion.
• Never distort other views in order to advance your own; try to restate the others’ positions to their
  satisfaction before presenting your own differing views.
• Formulate agreements on each agenda item before moving on to the next.
• Draw out the implications of an agreement for group policy and action.
• Thank your colleagues for their contributions.

Ikeda: They are all important points. The common thread seems to be open dialogue based on respect for others. I think you have presented a highly valuable list of rules that will serve as a model for the kind of dialogue humankind should pursue from now on.

We Can't Give Up on Dialogue - part 2

Here are more selected passages from Global Civilization: A Buddhist-Islamic Dialogue, continuing from my previous post. Interestingly, this is from the first chapter titled "Why Dialogue?" Emphasis are all mine.

The Human Revolution: Source of Value Creation

Ikeda: “Transcend your personal worries and sufferings and transform yourself in such a way as to contribute your due share to society and humanity”—this is the motto of the SGI movement aimed at human revolution.

Tehranian: That’s where I find the name Soka, or “value creation”, particularly significant. Take Mahatma Gandhi or Martin Luther King—people who opened a new path for creation in history. They were invariably born and lived in an era when established values were in crisis. In order to live fully in an age of crisis and make “wisdom for creation” of new values shine forth, one must cultivate strong willpower and self-discipline so as to be able to cope with all adversity.

Generally, the better disciplined a person is, the more likely he/she will challenge the established authority and open up a new path of creation in the course of struggle against the old.

Ikeda: A path of value creation in an age of crisis requires well-tempered self-discipline— I could not agree more with the point you have just made.

Professor Nur Yalman of Harvard told me that he believes “sustained challenge is the fountain of great value creation”. As I interpret it, “sustained challenge” means that each man and woman must hone his or her wisdom to build up a network of solidarity among awakened people. Peace, for example, will remain an empty dream unless people have an ability to check any reckless moves of the power elite; the tragedy of war will never cease unless people unite to prevent it.

About the Title

Ikeda: As I recall it, you wanted to entitle this volume “Choose Dialogue” when we first talked about it.

Tehranian: Your two previous dialogues with two distinguished scholars, Arnold Toynbee and Johan Galtung, are titled “Choose Life” and “Choose Peace”, respectively. They both focused on how to preserve the sanctity of life through the pursuit of peace by peaceful means.

Those topics are problems as old as humanity itself, yet they remain of primary importance today. But we have now entered a stage of history during which “dialogue” is becoming as necessary as “life” and “peace”. In fact, dialogue may be the only means by which we can guarantee life and peace.

Ikeda: After all, the proof that human beings are human lies in the spirit of dialogue. The great Persian poet Sa'adi wrote in the 13th century, “Man is superior to the beast by being able to talk, but if you do not talk about good things, the beast will be superior.”

Tehranian: Globalization of markets and societies has brought different nations, cultures, and civilizations into intimate contact with each other on a massive scale. These contacts, on the other hand, have led to both competitive and cooperative economic and political formations, clashes in perceptions and interests, as well as
conversations and negotiations. To the extent that dialogue is absent in such contacts, as under conditions of violence and domination, the seeds of animosity will be sown for years, even decades, to come.

Ikeda: I suppose it is against the backdrop of such a situation that some scholars like Professor Samuel Huntington of Harvard have presented the “clash of civilizations” and other similar theses.

In my view, it is not only incorrect to assume a clash is inevitable but even dangerous because such a thesis might encourage fixation on the confrontational picture of the world. Even if a clash should occur, civilizations themselves are not to blame, for the true cause lies in the kind of barbarism that does not accept groups of people that are different from one’s own.

In order to prevent such a clash from taking place, we cannot emphasize too much the importance of the spirit of dialogue. For genuine dialogue requires an ultimate trust in the goodness people are endowed with and an effort to strike the right chord in their minds.

Tehranian: If dialogue is chosen as a method of dealing with our friends and foes, there is hope that we can better understand them and thereby the possibility of mutual accommodation of perceptions and interests.

Ikeda: Dialogue is the weapon of peace, and that is the fundamental spirit of Buddhism.

The Indian society of Shakyamuni’s time was, in a way, similar to the present-day world as it was in the period of transition and change. Values were in utter confusion, and various contending forces were engaged in violent struggles for power and influence.

Even at home, it is said, people had to have their weapons close at hand. Such social unrest notwithstanding, Shakyamuni literally traversed the country, preaching peace and demonstrating his teaching by action.

The weapon Shakyamuni used was none other than “nonviolent dialogue”. Through dialogue he taught the sanctity of life and tried to eliminate violence from society.

Tehranian: Without dialogue, we will have to walk in the darkness of self-righteousness.

More selections will follow.

We Can't Give Up on Dialogue

Here are some excerpts from the book Global Civilization: A Buddhist-Islamic Dialogue, which records the dialogue between Soka Gakkai International (SGI) President Daisaku Ikeda and Prof. Majid Tehranian, the former director of the Toda Institute for Global Peace and Policy Research. In the fallout over recent events in Malaysia, dialogue is more sorely needed than ever to heal the wounds and to reinforce our common ground.

From the foreword by David Chappell:

"Islam and Buddhism in dialogue? Of all the religions, these two seem the farthest apart despite over a thousand years of shared history. In recent years, some collaboration has emerged in Southeast Asia, but Muslim-Buddhist dialogue has still remained the last frontier, the least likely arena, for fruitful interfaith dialogue. But this apparent gulf is now bridged...what Buddhists and Muslims share in common is much more powerful than what divides them, and that people of good will must work together and be enriched by their diversity, not fearful of it, if we are to build landscapes of peace.

...Beyond the rich tapestry that they weave from the threads of Buddhism and Islam, their dialogue expresses the inspiration and exhilaration of crossing boundaries, of discovering kindred spirits across history, and of crafting new frameworks for building cultures of peace. After testing many paths in their own journeys, their inquiring minds offer dialogue as the best sure hope for the survival and flourishing of civilization. More personally, they inspire each of us to choose dialogue within our families and neighborhoods, within our workplace and our world, as the strongest and safest road for human cooperation and peace.

Islam and Buddhism may be worlds apart doctrinally and institutionally, but in their common work of liberation, justice, and wholeness, they are two wheels for the progress of civilization. But it is the warm friendship of Majid Tehranian and Daisaku Ikeda that ignites sparks of mutual recognition across these traditions, and the pain and poetry of their lives that transforms them into two wings for the bird of peace."

From Daisaku Ikeda's preface:

"Differences of race, nationality, or culture do not of themselves create division or confrontation. It is people’s hearts and minds that supply the energy that tears people apart. It is the task of religion to control the heart and mind and, while glorying in these mutual differences, to direct them towards the source from which all values are born. To fix one’s eyes on the eternal, the universally valid, and in this way to bring about a revival in human values—this, it seems to me, is the prime requirement of the kind of world religion demanded by our present age.

In a religion that recognizes variety as a natural manifestation of vitality, difference will be hailed as a welcome enrichment to human society, as wisdom in its most creative and worthwhile form.In these dialogues conducted by Dr. Tehranian and myself, we have traced the spiritual sources from which flow the traditions of Shakyamuni and Muhammad, the Buddhist and Islamic traditions, and to discover how the spirit underlying them can be revived in the present. In doing so, we noted not only their points of similarity, but their differences as well, believing that in an approach that transcends both of these lies the basis for the wisdom of humanity in the time to come."

"If one drop of the water of dialogue is allowed to fall upon the wasteland of intolerance, where attitudes of hatred and exclusionism have so long prevailed, there will be a possibility for trust and friendship to spring up. This, I believe, is the most trustworthy and lasting road to that goal. Therefore, I encourage the flow of dialogue not only on the political plane but also on the broader level of the populace as a whole.

In my small way, I have tried to do what I could by engaging in dialogue with intellectual leaders of the Christian, Hindu, and other religious traditions and of various cultural backgrounds, as well as with persons from countries that deny religion. My aim was to discover a road to peace through the common dimension of humanity that we all share."

More to come...

Your Religion, My Religion

The recent storm over the usage of "Allah" in The Herald has caused quite a storm in Malaysia. While on the surface it seems to be an issue between Muslims and Christians, I believe that practicioners of other faiths, or those who don't profess any religion, should think long and hard on how they can contribute to promoting dialogue and understanding among people of different beliefs.

It's good to hear that there are many parties, Muslims and Christians alike coming together to call for consultations and dialogue, like in this Malaysiakini report. The leaders of Persatuan Mahasiswa Islam University Malaya (PMIUM) and Persaudaraan Kristian Varsiti UM (PKVUM) have come together to sign a statement, stressing among other things that dialogue and discourse is the best respectable way of handling the issue.

The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Tan Sri Musa Hassan has come out to warn against any 'Allah' protest. Hot-headed action will only aggravate the situation. The Malaysian Bar Council has also expressed confidence that this issue can be resolved amicably.

Religious harmony cannot be taken for granted in a country like ours which is made up of a fabric of rich faiths. Dialogue is the surest way to resolve any differences among us. Soka Gakkai International President Daisaku Ikeda wrote, "Dialogue starts from the courageous willingness to know and be known by others. It is the painstaking and persistent effort to remove all obstacles that obscure our common humanity."

Interfaith pioneer Hans Kung also stressed, among other things, the importance of dialogue:



Dialogue is the air that humanity breathes in. If we refuse to commit ourselves to dialogue, the we will certainly drown in the stormy waters of hatred and bigotry.

Goals for the New Year

1.)   Pursue my Masters' degree.

2.)  Be a better son, brother, uncle, friend, employee, writer, leader, disciple and human being.

3.)  Read more classics, poetry and philosophical works.

4.)  Write more poetry and short stories.

5.)  Participate in more activities involving environmentalism, inter-faith/inter-belief, upholding human rights and abolition of war/nuclear weapons.

6.)  Live a healthier, more fulfilling life involving lower carbon emission and losing weight.

7.)  Be strong enough to face greater hardships and overcome all challenges through strengthening my Buddhist faith, practice and study.

All are important to me; they are not arranged in any particular order. Now that I've made it public, I guess I have no choice but to see it through :)) Hope I can count on your support! Do remind me if I have strayed from my goals.

Happy New Year once again!