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Posted by gar on 3/22/2008, 5:31 am, in reply to "The Bible of Taoism"
74.47.80.X
--Previous Message--
: Most Taoists recognize Lao Tzu's "Tao Te
: Ching", "The Classic on the Way
: and its Virtues", as the
: "Bible" of Taoism. But there are
: so many translations and versions sometimes
: I get confused about what the OldBoy was
: actually talking about. It seems to me that
: he was talking about bringing oneself into
: accord with the Way of the Tao to establish
: Virtue in one's life. The Virtuous Man
: follows the Way of the Tao. There is no
: other way to be virtuous.
:
: "The way that becomes a way
: is not the Immortal Way
: the name that becomes a name
: is not the Immortal Name
: the maiden of Heaven and Earth has no name
: the mother of all things has a name
: thus in innocence we see the beginning
: in passion we see the end
: two different names
: for one and the same
: the one we call dark
: the door to all beginnings".
:
: Verse 1, TTC, Red Pine translation.
:
: What is Verse 1 talking about? The way that
: becomes a way is not the Immortal Way?... TU
: ER-WEI says that Tao may have originally
: meant "Moon". The I Ching stresses
: the "Bright Moon", the yang moon.
: The TTC stresses the "Dark Moon",
: the yin moon. "The one we call dark,
: the door to all beginnings". The yin
: Moon is the first door to go through to come
: into accord with the Tao and the Way of its
: Virtue. Yin came before yang. The examined
: life begins as an inward journey. Let there
: be light. Before there was light and dark,
: there was the dark beyond dark. The Void.
: The Emptiness that is so empty it is empty
: even of emptiness. The OldBoy is pointing at
: the Emptiness, the dark beyond dark. At that
: which is beyond naming as this or that. The
: Eternal Tao.
:
: "Wu" is the state of emptiness
: that is the beginning of everything.
: "You" is the state of appearance
: of initial thinking which is the origin of
: the manifestation of things. According to
: Guan Cheng Sun the stable state of Wu is
: requirred for observing the secret of
: initial creation and things that continue to
: be created. And the stable state of You is
: requirred for observing and recognizing the
: false and the true. Both Wu and You issue
: forth from the same source,
: "Xuan"--the golden secret of all
: life. The stable state of Xuan is the gate
: of internal cultivation and realization, as
: well as external recognition and
: understanding.
:
: Lao Tzu's way is quiet sitting and internal
: observation. Lao Tzu wants us to learn from
: our own body rather than merely from the
: outside alone. To experience the state of Wu
: requires a quiet mind. A stable state of Wu.
: Stability comes with practice. From silence
: or stillness of mind arise new thoughts.
: Observing what comes and goes without
: becoming attached allows one to see many new
: possibilities and choices. Once a choice is
: made, it is the beginning of the state of
: You.
:
: But we aren't there yet, the OldBoy is
: pointing at a door or a state between Wu and
: You. The state of Xuan. This state allows
: the intellectual mind to integrate with the
: intuitive mind. Once one is able to remain
: in a stable state of Xuan one enters into a
: new gestalt--from local to non-local
: oneness. By using our body to enter into a
: state of Xuan one can learn from the
: infinite intelligence of the Tao by using
: one's own internal energy-information
: system.
:
: "Between Heaven and Earth
: is a space like a bellows,
: empty and inexhaustible,
: forever producing more.
:
: Too many words is exhausting.
: Hold fast to the center."
:
: TTC 5, Sam Hamill.
:
: "Xuanzhong", the internal bellows.
: The Gap.
:
: Lao Tzu recognizes that orthodox learning
: systems cannot teach one to learn to be in
: accord with the Way of the Tao. "Tao
: defined is not the constant Tao." The
: tao that can be named is not the eternal
: Tao. But the Way can be learned, and one can
: come into accord with the Tao. Just not in
: the usual way of learning.
:
: "Without going out the door
: Know the world". Verse 47.
:
: Without effort, Wu-Wei, without going
: outside of one's body/mind complex one can
: realize and understand the Way of the Tao by
: simply sitting quietly in meditation.
: Without great effort one can realize great
: understanding.
:
: Intellectual learning is limited by its
: linear nature. One piece of information at a
: time. The Way of Intuitive learning is
: "Panoramic" and has a non-local
: nature. Intellectual understanding without
: intuitive understanding is blind. Balance is
: fundamental.
:
: Wu-Wei does not mean there is nothing to do.
: Wu-Wei means that right action is only
: possible when one is in accord with the Way
: of the Tao. Skillful action. When one is
: able to sit still one can see clearly.
:
: "Achieve emptiness.
: Attain tranquility."
:
: Verse 16.
:
: It takes practice to reach a deep state of
: tranquility and remain stable. From the
: state of Xuan an internal understanding of
: Wu-Wei arises. "Knowing the cycle is
: understanding one's own fate... Not knowing
: leads to eternal disaster".
:
: "In depthless depths it is
: whose child--
: Born before Antiquity".
:
: Verse 4
:
: The Tao is the Source of existence.
:
: Though subtle the Tao can be observed
: through the practice of quiet sitting and
: internal observation. This is how I can know
: that I know. Wait, watch, and see.
:
: "Those who know don't talk
: those who talk don't know."
:
: Verse 56
:
: Those that meditate come to know even
: without a word being spoken. Without this
: internal experience one doesn't know, even
: if one is told repeatedly. The process of
: quiet sitting is called
: "Xuantong"--quiet sitting.
: "From the first totality is a unitive
: one". Hui-Neng.
:
: "Can you hold fast your crescent soul
: and not let it wander?"
:
: Verse 10
:
: "The sage's mind is so still, it can
: mirror Heaven and Earth and reflect the ten
: thousand things". Chuang Tzu
:
: Integrate your mind/body complex until it
: becomes a unitive one. Now one is ready to
: live a virtuous life.
:
: The virtue of oneness, "Xuan De",
: is the way of the man or woman that has
: brought themselves into accord with the Way
: of the Tao. The reason to cultivate is to
: become virtuous.
:
: "The expression of empty virtue
: comes from the Tao alone".
:
: Verse 21
:
: "Sages have it. So does everyone else.
: But because others are selfish and
: constrained, their virtue isn't empty".
: Sung Ch'and-Hsing.
:
: Only the Tao is constant.
:
: "What is planted right is not
: uprooted".
:
: Verse 54
:
: What we say and don't say, do and don't do,
: is a reflection of our internal reality.
:
: I think I will sit down and shut up for
: awhile.
:
: Be Whole,
:
: Butch
:
Greetings Butch,
Thank you for these words. What a wonderful way to start the day.
in peace,
gar
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"The Tao is basically utterly open. Utter openeness has no substance. It ends in endlessness, begins in beginninglessnes".
-Li Daoqun
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