Silly Old Bear
"Silly Old Bear!" Almost every child and adult has heard this phrase before which comes from the Winne the Pooh series written by A.A. Milne. In this series of books written about Winnie the Pooh, the "silly old bear," his friends, and their adventures together in the Hundred Acre Wood Forest, Milne captures the "incomparably and enduringly, the frolic and indolence, the sweetness and foolishness, of animals which are also people(Discovering Authors)." Many critics and people agree that Pooh is simply an ignorant little bear who is only interested in self-indulgence and is literally a "silly old bear." This statement, however, is not true. Through the use of his characters in the Winnie the Pooh stories, Milne is able to present both the good and bad qualities of people that make up the Chinese philosophy of Taoism. One may even say the Pooh is a master of Taoism. Born a Scotsman, Alan Alexander Milne spent most of his childhood in London where he grew up to be one of the most well known British authors of his time(Dennis). Today Milne is praised for his "accurate and sympathetic observations of child behavior, his wit, and his skill with language, especially wordplay and dialogue" which are easily recognizable i
Taoist immortals have been traditionally known for their young attitudes, appearances, and energies(Hoff 109). It is not the adult that achieves the highest level of development. It is the "clear-minded, all seeing Child. The wise are Children Who Know. Their minds have been emptied of the countless minute somethings of small learning, and filled with the wisdom of the Great Nothing, the Way of the Universe.(Hoff 151)." Pooh has been called the bear with little brain, but this is not a bad thing. Taoists believe that the brain can often send people off in the wrong direction. A brain can do all sorts of things, but the things that it can do are usually not the most important things. The masters of Taoism, like Pooh himself, listen to the voices within themselves, the voices of simple-mindedness and wisdom. These voices go beyond knowledge(Hoff 154). Pooh may be a simple-minded, childish bear, but his friends in the Hundred Acre Wood Forest have demonstrated that knowledge and cleverness can often lead to no accomplishment. All people possess an Owl, Tigger, Piglet, Eeyore, and Rabbit within themselves, but it is the "Silly Old Bear" that they must choose to follow. What is Taoism? Taoism is and ancient Chinese philosophy that began during the 300's B.C. The word tao originally meant way or road. The general idea behind Taoism is that reality consists of all the individual ways and that the characteristics and behaviors of each thing in the universe make it what it is(World Book 26). In terms of Pooh and his friends, the concern of Taoism is a particular way of appreciating, learning from, and working with whatever happens in everyday life. If one has mastered these simple ways of life, he or she will live a harmonious and happy life(Hoff 5). Another simple principle of Taoism is Inner Nature. This means that everything has its own place and function, or that everything has its limitations(Hoff 40). When one learns to respect his or her own Inner Nature, he or she knows where to belong and what he or she can do. This principle is demonstrated in Pooh's "Cottleston Pie" song. "Cottleston, Cottleston, Cottleston Pie,/ A fly can't bird, but a bird can fly./ Ask me a riddle and I reply:/ Cottleston, Cottleston, Cottleston Pie (Milne Winnie the Pooh 74)." The line about the bird and flying seems very obvious. A bird's function, so to speak, is to fly. According to Taoism, however, many people do not understand and violate this simple concept(Hoff 39). Many people do not listen to their Inner Nature and, therefore, do not understand themselves(Hoff 57). One character in the Winne the Pooh stories who does not know his limitations is Tigger. Everyone thinks of "nothing" as nothing. But to a Taoist, "nothing" is something. This is what Taoists call T'ai Hsu, or the Great Nothing(Hoff 143). An empty mind is good for finding things because it can see what is in front of it. An overstuffed mind, however, can not. A mind full of knowledge and intelligence tends to go chasing after things that do not matter and do not exist rather than appreciating and making use of what is right in front of it(Hoff 147). "Emptiness," as Hoff says, "cleans out the messy mind." Wu Wei does not have any accidents. Although things may go wrong at first, things will work out if a person just lets Wu Wei work them out. Eeyore's birthday is an excellent example of this. Pooh only knew that it was Eeyore's birthday because he had told him. Pooh then decided to go and find Eeyore a birthday present. On the way home he talked to Piglet who also decided to find something for Eeyore. Piglet found a big balloon and was very excited to give it to Eeyore. But Piglet was too excited, for when he was running to give the balloon to Eeyore, he tripped and the balloon burst. Pooh had found a jar of honey that he would give to Eeyore. But on the way to Eeyore's, Pooh finished all the honey inside. Things
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 2913
Approximate Pages = 12 (250 words per page double spaced)
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