12 Colors blind the eye,
Sounds deafen the ear.
Flavors numb the taste.
Thoughts weaken the mind.
Desires wither the heart.
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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
In 12 I see the dysfunction of sensory overload. The most pleasurable of sensations can be over-done. I see one color at a time—more is a blur, I hear one sonata at a time—more is noise. Likewise flavors, possessions, searches for excitement, New Year’s resolutions and good intentions—too much of anything is overwhelming and overwhelmed is not where I want to be.
ReplyDeleteI want to be in the bath of un-noticed water—not too cold not too hot. I enjoy a comfortable chair when its chair-ness fades. A “good read” is when I loose notice of reading. The symphony I heard from the way-up-high-cheap-seat behind a stone pillar was privately powerful.
Chapter 12 gives me the Tao as sensual simplicity: attention when the “too much” is gone ... when over stimulation of color and movement, music and noise, lecture and conversation, is turned off.
Tao sits exactly in the first moment of nothing ... the first moment of turn-off.
Thanks small fish. With few words you have enlightened me. Really!
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