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.
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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
With each Tao chapter read, I ask myself, "How can this be applied to daily life?" Then, I study--a virtue or a vice learned from my mother, June. I read various translations throughout the days, yet my muddled thinking does not un-muddle. Understanding seems to exist underneath the surface of thinking mind. Given time, "it" moves up to the surface and is recognized as “an understanding” . . . an application of the Tao is put before me. "Do you have the patience to wait till your mud (muddled mind) settles and the water (thinking) is clear?" Yes, this is the way it works for me. In daily life, I sit with it. "It" can be a chapter of the Tao or a crying newborn baby or a project at work or the writing of my book. I absolutely know that if I sit my life happens. "Can you remain unmoving till the right action arises by itself?" Yes. I do remain unmoving while life continues to move. The energy of life is my journey and it keeps moving forward, always forward taking me with it. See? The journey is effortless. Life is lived whether I plan for it or not. There is absolutely no discipline required, no test to pass, no number of books to read or verses to memorize, no walking on my knees, etc. The miracle of the Tao happens and, I can see it. Whether lying down, sitting up, turning left or right, running the mile or jumping the high, I can observe the action of life and begin each day empty.
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