Mai figura architettonica; quanto il ponte; egrave; stata; nella storia; cosigrave; carica di significati metaforici. Esso non egrave; soltanto quel manufatto che permette di superare un ostacolo: egrave; molto di piugrave;. Egrave; un vero e proprio "simbolo"; vale a dire una figura ancipite; doppia; che "riunisce" in seacute; molti aspetti contrastanti: "unisce" e al tempo stesso "divide"; egrave; stabile; apparentemente; ma anche fragile e pericoloso - e questo elemento di insicurezza permane ancora e soprattutto nelletagrave; della Tecnica; egrave; "sospeso" tra due mondi; puograve; essere "isolato" e "abitato"; puograve; "crollare" e finanche "muoversi"; egrave; strumento della conquista del mondo da parte delluomo e; nello stesso tempo; lopera piugrave; sacrilega di tutte; percheacute; intacca; oltre la terra; anche lacqua; lelemento sacro per eccellenza in tutte le culture antiche. E non puograve; smettere di essere se stesso senza precipitare.
#3843948 in eBooks 2014-05-12 2014-05-12File Name: B00KAT852Q
Review
21 of 22 people found the following review helpful. Dark Enigma BoogieBy Ikkyu JonesDavid Hintonrsquo;s ldquo;Existence: A Story;rdquo; a followup to ldquo;Hunger Mountain;rdquo; continues his exploration of Chinese philosophy via painting; calligraphy; poetry; Taoism; and Chrsquo;an Buddhism. A tall order; and one he pulls off with finesse. Using an ethereal landscape painting by Shih-Trsquo;ao (1642-1707); Hinton manages to travel through the inner workings of the artistrsquo;s mind and explicate why such artwork provides us an opportunity for awakening in the most profound sense of the word.Any fan of ldquo;Hunger Mountainrdquo; will enjoy picking up the authorrsquo;s trek through some of the most profound ideas coursing through the human experience. But what makes ldquo;Existencerdquo; even more interesting is the sheer exuberance shining through in the new work. There seems to be no question that Hinton has hit his stride; each book pushing the envelope a bit further; probing into the underbelly of what Lao Tzu and the old Chrsquo;an masters have been trying to tell us for centuries. And thanks to Hinton; itrsquo;s possible that the ldquo;dark enigmardquo; will now seem a little less shadowy. Good stuff!18 of 19 people found the following review helpful. What a joy!By Rupert PeeneThis is like reading Zhuangzi in bed with a cold; crisp scotch and sodamdash;effervescent and intoxicatingmdash;the fizzy quality of emptiness; its possibilities; all those little moments that make you dance. It seems cosmic when emptiness embraces broad landscapes; and at the same time personal; as a puff of air bounces elemental particles against your facemdash;I do enjoy a breeze. David Hinton is a delight to read; and Shitao may be his best and most suitable project. I will bow respectfully toward his whereabouts in the morning; but for now; another page; another sip of emptiness.1 of 2 people found the following review helpful. UnsatisfactoryBy Edward C. CarpenterDavid Hinton seems to want to give us a summa of Asian mysticism. In doing this; he seeks to find everything in one painting by Shitao; accompanied by a poem by Yan-luuml;. While I have nothing but admiration for both the painter and the poet; I think Hinton reads an awful lot into the painting. This reminds me of others who attempted to explain too much -- R.H. Blyth and Alan Watts come to mind. Wordy illustrations obscure Asian wisdom. I prefer scholarship which seeks only to lay out the results of focused research and reflection and leaves us to come to personal understanding. Jonathan Hayrsquo;s treatment of Shitao is all we need.Another criticism I have is that Hinton tends to lump all Western philosophy together; simplifies it and overlooks or doesnrsquo;t care to know all its metaphysical insights. The mystery of existence; something originating in pre-Socratic philosophy and resurfacing in the scholastic philosophy of Thomas Aquinas and some who followed in his footsteps; gives priority to existence over ideas/concepts; and is radically anti-Cartesian. In his bias; Hinton is content to cite only Descartes as if he personified all Western philosophy and culture.A problem with some books published by Shambhala: they cater to the pseudo-mystical appetites of Westerners. I am not making any sort of unfavorable statement about Asian religion and philosophy; just the forms that these have taken in an atmosphere of Western consumerism.
