4 The Tao is like a well:
used but never used up.
It is like the eternal void:
filled with infinite possibilities.
. . .
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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
Such a small chapter and so big an idea. "It is older than God." This is one of the most beautiful phrases I have ever heard. It does indeed blow my mind into spaciousness, limitlessness, timelessness. All is so much more than I once believed and it is foolish to pretend it's not. If I have based my belief on a God I defined as God, forget it, there is more. There is so much more than my old God. Actually, what a relief! My old God was really disappointing!
ReplyDeleteI'm back to see if there are any more comments since I last visited and commented myself and I don't see the comment I thought I left. Hmmmmm.....I guess this blogging isn't as easy as it looks. Anyway...
ReplyDeleteI do like this reading. Saying that the toa is older than god gets me thinking about how my idea of god has evolved. I've come to understand it as encompassing all of everything.
The Tao does cause me to expand my current understanding however. If the Toa preceeds all of everything, is even more than all of everything...Wow...
This is what the tao is for me. It takes all that I understand, questions it, and then pushes it even further.
I enjoyed our meeting. Thanks for instigating it Lisa...