Sunday, May 27, 2012


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TAO TE CHING of LAO TSU: TAO SIXTEEN

TAO TE CHING of LAO TSU: TAO SIXTEEN: Empty your mind of all thoughts Let your heart be at peace Watch the turmoil of beings, But contemplate their return. Each separate...

TAO TE CHING of LAO TSU: MONKEY PAW LUCKY HANDS: FIFTY-SIX

TAO TE CHING of LAO TSU: MONKEY PAW LUCKY HANDS: FIFTY-SIX: MONKEY PAW LUCKY HANDS: FIFTY-SIX : THE MYSTERIOUS EXCELLENCE One who knows doe not talk. One who talk does not know. Therefore the sa...

TAO FIFTEEN

The ancient masters were profound and subtle

Their wisdom was unfathomable.

There is no way to describe it;

All we can describe is their appearance.



They were careful

As someone crossing an iced-over stream.

Alert as a warrior in enemy territory.

Courteous as a guest.

Fluid as melting ice.

Shapable as a block of wood.

Receptive as a valley

Clear as a glass of water


Do you have the patience to wait

Till your mud settles and the water is clear?

Can you remain unmoving till the right action arises by itself?

The Master doesn't seek fulfillment.

No seeking, not expecting,

She is present, and can welcome all things.

LAO TSU

TAO FOURTEEN

Look, and it can't be seen,

Listen, and it can't be heard

Reach, and it can't be grasped



Above, it isn't bright

Below, it isn't dark

Seamless, unnamable,

It returns to the realm of nothing.

Form that includes all forms,

image without image,

Subtle, beyond all conception.



Approach it and there is no beginning;

Follow it and there is no end.

You can't know it, but you can be it,

At ease in your own life.

Just realize where you come from:

This is the essence of wisdom.

LAO TSU.

TAO THIRTEEN

Success is as dangerous as failure.

Hope is as hollow as fear.


What does it mean that success is a dangerous as failure?

Whether you go up the ladder or down it,

Your position is shaky.

When you stand with your two feet on the ground,

  you will always keep your balance.


What does it mean that hope is as hollow as fear?

Hope and fear are both phantoms

That arise from thinking of the self.

When we don't see the self as self,

What do we have to fear?



See the world as yourself

Have faith in the way things are

Love the world as your self;

Then you can care for all things.

LAO TSU.

TAO TWELVE

Colors blind the eye.

Sounds deafen the ear.

Flavors numb the taste.

Thoughts weaken the mind.

Desires wither the heart.


The Master observes the world

But trusts his inner vision.

He allows things to come and go.

His heart is open as the sky.


LAO TSU.

TAO ELEVEN

We join spokes together in a wheel,

But it is the center hole

That makes the wagon move.


We shape clay into a pot,

But it is the emptiness inside

That holds whatever we want.


We hammer wood for a house,

But it is the inner space

That makes it livable.


We work with being,

But non-being is what we use.

LAO TSU.


Saturday, May 26, 2012

TAO TEN

Can you coax your mind from its wandering and keep to the original oneness?

Can you let your body become supple as a new born child's?

Can you cleanse your inner vision until you see nothing but the light?

Can you love people and lead them without imposing your will?

Can you deal with the most vital matters by letting events take their course?

Can you step back from your own mind and thus understand all things?

Giving birth and nourishing having without possessing,

acting with no expectations, leading and not trying to control.

This is the Supreme Virtue.

LAO TSU.

TAO NINE

Fill your bowl to the brim

and it will spill

Keep sharpening your knife

and it will blunt.


Chase after money and security

and your heart will never unclench.

Care about people's approval

and you will be their prisoner.

Do your work, then step back.

The only path to serenity.

LAO TSU.

TAO EIGHT

The supreme good is like water

which nourishes all things without trying to.

It is content with the low places that people disdain.

    Thus it is like the Tao.

In dwelling, live close to the ground.

In thinking, keep to the simple.

In conflict, be fair and generous.

In governing, don't try to control.

In work, do what you enjoy.

In family life, be completely present.


When you are content to be simply yourself

and don't compare or compete,

everybody will respect you.

LAO TSU.

TAO SEVEN

The Tao is infinite, eternal.

Why is it eternal?

It was never born;

Thus it can never die

It has no desires for itself;

Thus it is present for all beings.


The Master stays behind;

That is why She is ahead

She is detached from all things;

That is why she is one with them.

Because she has let go of herself,

She is perfectly fulfilled.

LAO TSU.



TAO SIX

The Tao is called the Great Mother

empty yet inexhaustible,

it gives birth to infinite words


It is always present within you.

You can use it any way you want.

LAO TSU.

TAO FIVE

The Tao doesn't take side;

It gives birth to both good and evil.

The Master doesn't take sides

She welcomes both Saint and Sinners.

The Tao is like a bellows

It is empty yet infinitely capable.

The more you use it, the more it produces;

The more you talk to it, the less you understand

Hold on to the center.

LAO TSU.

TAO FOUR

The Tao is like a well

Used but never used up.

It is like the eternal void:

filled with infinite possibilities.

It is hidden but always present.

I don't know who gave birth to it.

It is everlasting.

TAO THREE

If you over esteem great men,

people become powerless.

If you over value possessions,

People begin to steal.


The Master leads by emptying people's minds

And filling their cones

By weakening their ambition

And toughening their resolve.

He helps people love everything.

They know, everything they desire,

and creates confusion in those who think that they know

Practice not doing

And everything will fall into place.

LAO TSU.

TAO TWO

When people see some things as beautiful,

Other things become ugly.

When people see some things as good,

Other things become bad.

Being and non-being create each other.

Difficult and easy support each other.

Long and short define each other.

High and low depend on each other.

Before and after follow each other.


Therefore the Master

Acts without doing anything

And teaches without saying anything

Things arise and She lets them go.

She has but doesn't possess,

Acts but doesn't expect.

When her work is done, she forgets it.

That is why it lasts forever.

LAO TSU.


TAO ONE

The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao.

The name that can be named is not the eternal name.

The unnamable is the eternally real.

Naming is the origin of all particular things.

Free from desire, you realize  the Mystery.

Caught in desire,  you see only the manifestations.

Yet mystery and manifestations

arise from the same source.

This source is called darkness.


Darkness within darkness

The gateway to all understanding.

LAO TSU.