I am so humbled and inspired when I read the words of the Tao. I feel it speaks so deeply to the truth of the way things really are. I wanted to share some of my thoughts on this, one of my favorite passages from Stephen Mitchell’s translation of the Tao Te Ching.Can you coax your mind from its wanderings and keep to its original course?
Can you let your body become supple as a newborn child's?
Can you cleanse your inner vision until you see nothing but the light?
Can you love people and lead them without imposing your will?
Can you deal with the most vital matters by letting events take their course?
Can you step back from your own mind and thus understand all things?
Giving birth and nourishing, having without possessing, acting with no expectations, leading and not trying to control: this is the supreme virtue.
Can you coax your mind from its wanderings and keep to its original course?
It is the nature of the mind to wander, isn’t it? Can any of us control our thoughts for long? They seem to come one after another, one leading to the next, until something distracts us from our thoughts and brings us back to the moment. How many times have you caught yourself wondering, “why was I thinking about that?” We have so little control over our thoughts.
Our thoughts also try so hard to make us believe that they are so important. A thought comes telling us to do something or believe something and we believe it, as if it were the Gospel. But how reliable are our thoughts. I think its safe to say most of our thoughts aren’t that reliable. How often do we misjudge or underestimate or get ourselves into trouble by believing that our thoughts are so right?
This is not to say that thinking isn’t a powerful tool. It is perhaps the most powerful tool in the Universe. It is from our thoughts that imagination arises and its from the power of our imagination that everything in the human-made world has been created. Everything from art to music, to this very computer you’re staring at started in someone’s imagination. But our thoughts can also be quite destructive, full of self-criticism, doubt, fear and anger. All of the world’s wars, holocausts and weapons also started with someone’s imagination.
Is it then possible to coax our mind from its wanderings? Is it possible to control our thoughts rather than being controlled by them? It is of course possible. To free ourselves from our thoughts we can practice is to stepping back and observing our thoughts. If we can slow down and become the observer of our thoughts rather than their hurried servant we can be free to choose which thoughts we want to follow This is what the practice of meditation is all about, the practice of stepping back, observing our thoughts and then being liberated to choose which path to follow. We can then come back to the original course which is the way of harmony, peace, happiness and fulfillment. We can lead the lives we want to lead.
A child is always in the moment. It may be happy or sad, demanding or giving, but it is always in the moment, unhindered with judgements about the past and the future. And because it doesn’t hold onto the past or future it is alive to the fullness of life in this moment, the only moment that truly exists. It is free from worry, tension and anxiety which we as adults pile onto ourselves, becoming more and more rigid and tense. To be in the moment means to be supple, to be flexible, open-minded and free from attachments to the past and future. We can all learn a lot about this from small children.
Can you cleanse your inner vision until you see nothing but the light?
Honestly, this is the one I have the most difficulty with. What does it mean to see the light? We can go so many different ways with this. A lot of people describe their peak spiritual experience as being filled with light. Perhaps everything is light but we just don’t see it. Scientists say everything is energy. That is Einstein’s E=MC2. All matter is energy and energy is interchangeable with light. Light is energy that is moving along what’s called the electro-magnetic spectrum. We can only see a tiny band of the EM spectrum with our eyes but everything is radiating some light, mostly at parts of the spectrum that we can’t see. The body radiates light too. Perhaps when we are still, quiet to the truth beyond our thoughts, it is possible to see this light.
Can you love people and lead them without imposing your will?
Can we be still, until the obvious course of action comes forth. When we think we know best we feel right about imposing our will upon others. But when we know that our thoughts are limited, that at best we can have only some glimpse of the truth, then we are humble. With this humility, we open ourselves to love. We open ourselves to love and accept others for who they are and to love and accept ourselves as well. When we lead with this love others naturally follow because they feel loves embrace, its unconditional acceptance. They feel the truth of love and they know that it only works for their ultimate happiness and fulfillment.
Can you deal with the most vital matters by letting events take their course?
When we let things take their natural course don’t they usually work out? By trying to force things we waste so much time and energy and create stress. Can we accept things as they are and know that they will change as everything does?When we are patient and act from love, change happens effortless and for the good. When we are impatient and try to force change by exerting our will or opinion onto things how well do things work out? We usually only create resistance. Isn’t that where so many of our current problems come from?
Can you step back from your own mind and thus understand all things?
When we can observe our thoughts and stay present in the moment we open ourselves up to see the truth of the universe, what it truly is: One. Before we believe the thoughts that arise in our mind, everything in the universe is undivided, inseparable, part of an one, interconnected whole. It is not until we look at a tree and believe the thought that labels it “tree” do we divide the world. What is a tree before we label it “tree?” It is indescribable, infinitely complex and inseparable from everything around it. We create the label “tree” by associating it with memories of other things we have called “tree” which are only thoughts about the past. But can we really know for sure that any of our thoughts about the past are true? Try this as an experiment. Go for a walk outside and try not to label any of the things you see. You will see them in a new light, with the openness and spontaneity of a child. This is how we can understand the truth of how things really are.
Giving birth and nourishing, having without possessing, acting with no expectations, leading and not trying to control: this is the supreme virtue.
This is the way of the Tao (the Way) moving and loving in the world without possessing. What is there to possess? You are already one with everything. Everything is constantly changing and all that comes into your hands will someday pass out of them. So what is there to grasp onto? Perhaps it is this grasping that is the source of all suffering. When we are free we can act without grasping, without expectation of the result because we know that ultimately we really have no control over the result. We can only act the best way we can and the result we want will come or it will not. This is a letting go of control, of the illusion of control. This is the supreme virtue for it sets us free!
Thanks for reading. I hope you liked it. I value your comments, suggestions, feedback and criticisms.
Charlie
2 comments:
love the Tao dude! Love the non-labeling, not possessing, letting go, unconditional love and seeing the light.. Very much so. lots of love
On the subject of the "light".
You are probably familiar with techniques for producing a steady breathing rate, if so, try the following. Try relaxing in a darkened room and just watching and listening. When a verbal thought arises listen to it, when an imagination occurs, watch it. It often helps to ask "who is speaking?" when you hear your verbal thoughts. After a few sessions you will be adept at this and the verbal thoughts etc. can be literally "observed away", after a week or two they can be cleared for at least for 30 secs or so. A problem that can arise is that the focus of your attention is in your chest, solar plexus or genitals, if so, use the technique of moving it up the body with each breath.
Now use the Taoist method of moving your eyes downward and slightly crossing them during the meditation. You will find that this can generate an internal light that appears to be about 10 cm behind your eyes.
In China there were monks who reckoned they could get anyone to the inner light within 100 days by pursuing this type of alchemy. They would start with an erection and move the attention up the body, if you have practiced meditation you should not need such tricks (which can fail for many people). Taoist monks tended to be mercenary and would offer mystical achievement for just a few yuan each. (They still do in the revived temples in China that I have visited).
What is the inner light? I am with the buddhists, such meditational fireworks seem like a delusion to me, part of the early path but to be seen for what it is.
Post a Comment