Modern Ronin Reflections is a collection of essays on engineering, learning, discipline, and life from Dr. Jack Yeh, exploring the mindset of a modern-day ronin.
Modern Ronin Reflections
Many people believe that a book should be read from the first page to the last. But in my experience, a book can be read from beginning to end, or it can be read selectively. Because a book is written by a human, and human knowledge is rarely indivisible. Yet
Modern Ronin Reflections
It is almost impossible for a person to live without labels. Our names are labels. Our professions are labels. Even our culture and nationality are labels. So the real question is not whether labels exist, but how large they are. Some people choose to define themselves within a small pond—
Modern Ronin Reflections
Real happiness does not come from comfort. It comes from overcoming something difficult. Without struggle and growth, life would lose much of its joy and meaning. 真正的快樂 並不是來自於舒適。 它來自於克服困難的那一刻。 如果人生沒有痛苦與成長， 生活就會少了很多 樂趣與意義。
Modern Ronin Reflections
Meditation has helped me realize something very clearly: I am not my brain. I am not the thoughts in my mind. I am not my emotions. I am the one observing all of them. Once you see this clearly, you begin to realize that many thoughts are just noise produced
Modern Ronin Reflections
My wife often asks me why I’m not interested in collecting things the way many men do—cars, figures, or other collectibles. I usually tell her that I might be a little different. I don’t really like collecting objects, because to me, objects are lifeless. In the end,
Modern Ronin Reflections
I often find myself reflecting on a question. In a cultural framework shaped largely by Confucian ethics, social relationships are traditionally organized around hierarchy and obedience. Among the Five Relationships, only friendship approaches equality; the others are structured as superior-to-subordinate relations. If the underlying structure of a culture
Modern Ronin Reflections
In many cultures influenced by Confucian traditions, filial piety is treated as a fundamental virtue. Children are constantly reminded of the sacrifices their parents made and are expected to repay that “debt.” But this raises a deeper question. Before parents bring a child into this world, the child was never
Modern Ronin Reflections
Through mindfulness meditation, one can clearly see a simple truth: the thoughts and emotions that arise in the mind are not who we truly are. During meditation, you can observe thoughts appearing and disappearing, and emotions rising and fading. What can be observed cannot be the observer. Isn’t this
Modern Ronin Reflections
From a young age, many of us are taught to be responsible at work. But few people remind us that responsibility itself is also limited. Our time, energy, and attention are finite. If most of our sense of responsibility is given to a company, there will be less left for
Modern Ronin Reflections
Through mindfulness meditation, one can begin to observe the unconscious patterns within the mind. The unconscious is, in many ways, a composite of our past experiences, emotions, environments, and cultural influences. It shapes much of our thinking and behavior, yet most people are hardly aware of its existence. Carl Jung
Modern Ronin Reflections
Modern life creates enormous mental noise. Many people are not exhausted because of work itself, but because their mind and energy are constantly misaligned. Different traditions have discovered similar truths about the human mind. Buddhism speaks about awareness and non-attachment. Jungian psychology speaks about the unconscious and integration. Meditation
Modern Ronin Reflections
Attention, the Real Currency of Growth I have always believed that attention is even scarcer than time. Time is certainly precious. Once it passes, it never comes back. But if a person wants to achieve true compound growth, time alone is not enough — it also requires focused attention. Attention acts