The tao that can be told
is not the eternal Tao.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Layer upon layer
She finds deep in her own experience the central truths of the art of living, which are paradoxical only on the surface: that the more truly solitary we are, the more compassionate we can be; the more we let go of what we love, the more present our love becomes; the clearer our insight into what is beyond good and evil, the more we can embody the good. Until finally she is able to say, in all humility, "I am the Tao, the Truth, the Life." S. Mitchell
Translation of the Tao Te Ching by Stephen Mitchell, Harper & Row, 1988. In keeping with copyright law only the chapter under study is fulltext. All other chapters show only the first stanza.
Study Group Contac: Lissa Lord:lissalord@gmail.com
Tao in WordLayers
Layer upon layer
From my margin notes:
ReplyDelete"Free from desire, you realize the mystery." -- Let it unfold. The mystery is "drop it," just let it be.
Today's Example: the birth of my grandchild is overdue and I desire to know what is happening. My daughter is in Wisconsin. I can either call her every hour to see if labor has started or I can let the birth of her child unfold. This is one if the greatest mysteries in life and I have nothing to do with it. I think the Tao is saying: just let it play itself out, it is a mystery. And this does not mean I'm not interested! I think it means that I respect the process more than bothering my daughter with hourly phone calls.
If mystery and manifestation come from the same place (non-desire and desire)then, we are always on the right track? It all comes from darkness?
ReplyDeleteAs I think on this chapter during our study .. my read of the text has evolved from "getting it" to "that's non-sense!" to "Huh"? As an artist, I think on a Creative Spirit moving mind forward as heart-felt joy becomes un-stoppable. What is this forward momentum? I could easily call it desire. Without this creative desire there is no forward movement ... no evolution. Evolution seems to be the desire to continue ... to continue better. Perhaps "free from desire" as Tao reads, can be seen as open palms ready to receive the gifts of life and spirit rather than wanting (desire) to control the "things" that come.
ReplyDeleteCindy ... I wanted to double thank you for you comment the other day. I tuned into what you were saying. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI like this translation of chapter one by Chao-Hsiu-Chen: "Observe the mysteries of the Tao without longing. Survey its appearance with desire. Both mysteries and appearance come from the same origin but wear a different name; they are enigmatic. The greatest mystery is the gate to all mysteries."
ReplyDelete