Sunday, May 8, 2011

Grigori Perelman

Russian mathematician Grigori Perelman turned down the highest recognition in mathematics, the Fields Medal and US$1 million award. He said, "I'm not interested in money or fame." He also mentioned that the knowledge gained is worth more than the financial reward.

Obviously he gets more famous because he declined the Fields Medal which is the dream of every mathematician. According to his birth data (with hour missing):

Day      Month     Year
Gui 癸   Jia 甲   Bing 丙
Mao卯   Wu午   Wu  午

wealth is strongest and most abundant in his chart. The flow from the Day Master Gui to Jia wood and then to Bing fire indicates that he is capable of using his talents to generate wealth. However, the weak body does not allow him to enjoy the worldly wealth. He can only enjoy the knowledge he gained through his work. This is an excellent illustration of:

名可名  非常名

JY

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Dao 道

There are many different translations of the Dao De Jing 道德經. In one of these translations, the first chapter reads:

The truth that may be told is not the everlasting Truth.
The name given to a thing is not the everlasting Name.

道可道  非常道
名可名  非常名

Dao was translated as "truth".

I am thinking, "Dao can be translated but the translation is not the original meaning of Dao."

As for the second line, there is a close relative in English:
A rose by another name smells as sweet.

JY