"The Classic of Highest Peace, a second-century Taoist text. Chang Tzu/Chueh, 'the good doctor of great wisdom,' healed people using 'water and words.' Strange: Searching for books has led me to bones, water, clouds, choreography. Taoists walked in patterns on and around pyramids. 'People approaching one another will let their arms hang by their sides, and put them together only in greeting.' Joy is the means to peace. 'Joy prevails even among worms and flies.' 'Help a ruler to go about joyfully all his days, and he will not suffer harm. No one will suffer harm. Greatest, brightest joy and highest peace prevail among all beings.' The joyful ruler, though peacefully sleeping, yet preserves order, spreads joy, brings highest peace. Chang and his students had dialogues like Socrates and his students. 'Have you stupid fellows understood, or not?' 'We have.' 'Giving one thousand gold pieces to the state is less valuable than a single important word.'

"Peace begins in thought. Thoughts enworded go from mind to mind, and mind makes the world. Peace, illusive, abstract, negative Yin, dream, would take a long writing-out to make real. Its book has to be longer than war books — longer than a bumper sticker, longer than a sound bite. As we read, neuropeptides in the brain grow longer, longer than in nonreaders. Thought becomes body. Sudden fast change is a method of war. The logic of peace has to be spoken of at length."