Disappearing Into The Tao
What a session last night at Starbucks. At least fifteen of us were seated around a table of a size to accommodate ten people. The room was echoing with voices, with the cacophony of the cappuccino machine used by the baristas. Nevertheless the group intently listened to chosen readings from the Tao te Ching. Participants shared their reason for selecting a paragraph, what the text ignited for them personally. The evening was a rare session of introspection as each of us examined the basis of our lives in the present, listening for the voice of the Tao.
At the end of session Barry summed it up for everyone. He asked how does one get past the stress of incessant worry over all of the things that might go wrong, the intimations of disaster that crowd into our awareness? According to Lao Tsu life is nothing more than the journey and there is no single answer to that question. The answer will be provided for each of us as we pay attention to our journey.
Here are some selections from the Tao te Ching, and a great tune for your enjoyment of the tao.
1.
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.
5
The Tao doesn’t take sides;
it gives birth to both good and evil.
The Master doesn’t take sides;
she welcomes both saints 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 of it, the less you understand.
Hold on to the center.
9
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.
13
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,
you 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 your self.
Have faith in the way things are.
Love the world as your self;
then you can care for all things.
15
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.
Not seeking, not expecting,
she is present, and can welcome all things.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcQYT8QHFPs
DISAPPEAR
Say I’m crying
I’m looking at what’s on TV
Pain and suffering
And the struggle to be free
It can’t ever be denied
And I never will ignore
But when I see you coming
I can take it allYou’re so fine
Lose my mind
And the world seems to disappear
All the problems
All the fears
And the world seems to disappearSay you’re mine
And give yourself to the feelings that you know
I’m needing all that you can give me
All the things that you do so well
Words are healing
Sweet anticipation
Making spells as the shadows close in
Fall across all our yesterdaysYou’re so fine
Lose my mind
And the world seems to disappear
All the problems
All the fears
And the world seems to disappearYou’re so fine
Lose my mind
And the world seems to disappear
All the problems
All the fears
And the world seems to disappear
Disappear
Disappear
Disappear
Disappear
Disappear
Disappear
DisappearSay if I could
Look into myself and reason
But I could never never see
Or make sense of the dealings
Turn around
Am I looking at salvation
Make me realize all that I am
You put the light inside this manYou’re so fine
Lose my mind
And the world seems to disappear
All the problems
All the fears
And the world seems to disappearYou’re so fine
Lose my mind
And the world seems to disappear
All the problems
All the fears
And the world seems to disappearYou’re so fine
Lose my mind
And the world seems to disappear
All the problems
All the fears
And the world seems to disappearSongwriters: Michael Hutchence / Jonathan James Farriss
2 thoughts on “Disappearing Into The Tao”
When I read #27 from the Mitchel translation I couldn’t help but add two lines:
A good traveler has no fixed plans
and is not intent upon arriving.
A good artist lets his intuition
lead him wherever it wants.
A good scientist has freed himself of concepts
and keeps his mind open to what is.
A good biker pays no mind to a destination
he just follows the front wheel.
Gary I think that you have grasped the spirit of the text. So simple but so difficult. A friend who is a master glass blower was asked by a prospective customer how long did it take him to make a vessel. He answered, “About thirty years.”