Dui

Dui, as a pool, wetland or reservoir, is a symbol of the collection of selves which constitutes a person, with particular reference to how this feels, on and beneath the surface. This feeling is a community, of wants and needs, desires and hungers, tastes and preferences, each jostling, striving and bargaining, in a kind of marketplace, for satisfaction. The Chinese had no problem with hedonism, as the Greeks defined it, so long as this pursuit of happiness was in accord with the due mean and balance. This accord was indicated by the persistence of joy and serenity. Discord and frustration might be called symptoms of bad taste, poor choices and ingratitude. The good life is rewarding: rewards should be enjoyed.