in taoism, the universal life force is expressed in

gibran is one of the best selling poets of all time, behind shakespeare and lao-tzu, the founder of taoismsuheil bushrui holds the kahlil gibran chair for values and peace at the university of maryland. >> i'm not saying that gibran is as great as shakespeare, but i'm saying that people who have a universal message, goethe, dante, shakespeare, the great poets of all time, because of their universal message, they resonate with every culture, every language and every people. >> gibran's widespread and lasting popularity has also been greeted with much critical derision. among the critics who least appreciate the poet is stefan kanfer. >> his work has always seemed to me, kahlil gibran's, like halva, which is a part of middle eastern cuisine which is almonds and honey, to the point where you really can't take more than a little bit of it. and sometimes i feel if you read enough of this kind of stuff, your appetite for real food goes. >> he gives numerous examples of what he calls gibran's "muzziness," and pseudo- paradoxes. >> here he is on marriage. this, by the way, from a man who never mar