“Colors blind people's eyes;
sounds deafen their ears;
flavors spoil people's palates,
the chase and the hunt craze people's minds;
goods hard to obtain make people's actions harmful.
Therefore sages work for the middle and not the eyes,
leaving the latter and taking the former.”
(Tao Te Ching, Verse 12, Thomas Cleary Translation)
I believe that Scripture teaches subjugation of the self to the perfect, transcendent will of God and that inasmuch as we are conformed to God’s will we will exhibit the fruit of the spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control) – I believe these things and have believed them for a long time, but it was the Tao that made sense of them for me – taught me the why and how of my subjugation of self (I’m still not very good at it) – today, I heard a brief interview with Lorin Maazel on NPR – he’s a 78 year old conductor, violinist and composer – Maazel conducted the New York Philharmonic once again on their landmark visit to Pyongyang, North Korea in February – in the interview he was asked how he manages his schedule at his age (evidently, he’s something of a slave-driver in rehearsals, sometimes practicing for up to eight hours at a time) and he said something that caught my attention (especially in light of the way I’ve been feeling lately) – he said the key was to completely prepare oneself ahead of time mentally and physically – one must be completely relaxed and without tension if one is going to be able to maintain the intensity of focus that is required of a conductor – he said that his training as a violinist had been especially useful because violinists had to learn relaxation techniques in order to practice and perform – the interviewer asked if he could share an example of one of the techniques he uses and he described this breathing method that included intentionally going over every muscle in the body and relaxing it and then he said that after one has completely relaxed every muscle of the body one must say to oneself, “what I do is of no importance whatsoever – I am here as a servant – and if I’m nervous it’s because I think that what I’m doing is important, and that is an egocentricity which no interpreter can allow himself the luxury of – you’re there to serve the music and you have to be in the best position psychologically and physiologically to do so – which means no tension – no nerves – yes, exhilaration – yes enthusiasm – yes, focused energy, but no nervousness because that's counterproductive” – then the most amazing thing happened (at least to me) the interviewer asked, if he did these exercises backstage before the performance and he said that he doesn’t do any of it anymore because it’s become so much a part of who he is that he just breaths and is as a matter of course – I was filled with exhilaration – this, again is wei-wu-wie – he has practiced it so long that he has become it – I don’t know what he believes about the universe, but what he said is the most beautiful thing I’ve heard in a long time:
“what I do is of no importance whatsoever – I am here as a servant – and if I’m nervous it’s because I think that what I’m doing is important, and that is an egocentricity which no interpreter can allow himself the luxury of – you’re there to serve the music and you have to be in the best position psychologically and physiologically to do so – which means no tension – no nerves – yes, exhilaration – yes enthusiasm – yes, focused energy, but no nervousness, because that's counterproductive”
I’ll leave you, as always, with Siji Tzu’s commentary:
“Is a sunset beautiful to a blind man? Is a songbird harmonious to a deaf? Thoughts of this will weaken your mind. Be like a tree bending to the wind. Observe the world, but do not desire it.”
Friday, December 31, 2010
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Tao Te Ching, Verse 11, Part I
“The empty hub at center
Allows a wheel to roll
The vacancy within defines
The function of a bowl
The openness within a house
Provides location to reside
The open space that is my heart
Is where ten thousand things abide”
(Tao Te Ching, Verse 11, Jim Clatfelter Translation)
I’ve been trying to think of a way to discuss this that would make sense and finally it occurred to me that it’s all about nouns – in English I we discuss the difference between concrete nouns and abstract nouns (remember a noun is a person, place, thing, or idea) – concrete nouns are the people, places, and things (if you had a bucket big enough to hold the universe, concrete nouns are the stuff you could put in the bucket); abstract nouns are the ideas (you can’t put ideas in a bucket) – last month I wrote, “our spirits chafe under the burden of the consumerism of our materialistic culture – it rarely gives us what we want and never gives us what we need – what we need, what we’ve always needed is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control – everything else is just a distraction” – I think that the idea of this verse is that “things” are not the “THING” – the nouns of real importance are the abstract nouns – even people are not important unless we include the abstract nouns of love, relationship, kindness, nurture, etc. . . to them – I think our culture teaches us to focus on the stuff and ignore the abstract nouns that really matter.
I’ll leave you, as always, with Siji Tzu’s commentary:
“Wei is what we do. Wu-wei is how we live. We put a roof over our heads to protect us from the elements. But it is the space inside where our family grows. I have a wooden vessel to carry water from my well to my house. But it is the inside that contains the elixir. It is what we don't see that makes us full.”
Allows a wheel to roll
The vacancy within defines
The function of a bowl
The openness within a house
Provides location to reside
The open space that is my heart
Is where ten thousand things abide”
(Tao Te Ching, Verse 11, Jim Clatfelter Translation)
I’ve been trying to think of a way to discuss this that would make sense and finally it occurred to me that it’s all about nouns – in English I we discuss the difference between concrete nouns and abstract nouns (remember a noun is a person, place, thing, or idea) – concrete nouns are the people, places, and things (if you had a bucket big enough to hold the universe, concrete nouns are the stuff you could put in the bucket); abstract nouns are the ideas (you can’t put ideas in a bucket) – last month I wrote, “our spirits chafe under the burden of the consumerism of our materialistic culture – it rarely gives us what we want and never gives us what we need – what we need, what we’ve always needed is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control – everything else is just a distraction” – I think that the idea of this verse is that “things” are not the “THING” – the nouns of real importance are the abstract nouns – even people are not important unless we include the abstract nouns of love, relationship, kindness, nurture, etc. . . to them – I think our culture teaches us to focus on the stuff and ignore the abstract nouns that really matter.
I’ll leave you, as always, with Siji Tzu’s commentary:
“Wei is what we do. Wu-wei is how we live. We put a roof over our heads to protect us from the elements. But it is the space inside where our family grows. I have a wooden vessel to carry water from my well to my house. But it is the inside that contains the elixir. It is what we don't see that makes us full.”
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Tao Te Ching, Verse 10, Part I
“Can you unify hun and p'o into one and not let them be divided?
Can you concentrate on your breathing to reach harmony and become as an innocent babe?
Can you clean the dark mirror within yourself and let nothing remain there?
Can you love the people and govern the state and do so without interference?
Can you enter and leave the realm of Non-being and let these actions take place by themselves?
Can the clear illumination radiate to all directions without your having knowledge of it?
Cultivate it, and nourish it,
Produce it, but do not possess it,
Labor on it, but do not depend on it,
Lead it, but do not manage it.
This is called the mystic attainment.”
(Tao Te Ching, Verse 10, Chang Chung-yuan Translation)
I recently purchased the “Joseph Campbell and The Power of Myth with Bill Moyers” DVD – it’s basically a 360 minute conversation between Moyers and Campbell in the last months of Campbell’s life – many of you are undoubtedly aware of Joseph Campbell and his work – he was a truly amazing man and remains the preeminent authority on comparative mythology to this day – I’ve been working my way though the hour-long episodes slowly and his insights are adding to my understanding of the Tao – this verse is among my favorite b/c of what it says about love (that we ought not try to impose our will on the people we love and that we should act without expecting reciprocation or even thanks) – it’s the third part, “deal with the most vital matters by letting events take their course” that has always given me pause – while watching the DVD recently something Campbell said made the idea click – basically, we have no choice other than to “deal with the most vital matters by letting events take their course” – this is not to say that we don’t work to make things better – we ought to always do that – it simply means that we don’t worry or monitor or manipulate – we do what we can and then we walk away b/c it’s as good as it can be and anything else we might add would only mar it in some significant way
I’ll leave you, once again, with Siji Tzu’s commentary:
“The sun and moon will rise each day. We do not meddle. Have a nice home, but do not possess it. Give to those in need, but do not wait for a thank you. Show your family happiness without forcing them to your defined path of happiness. This is the ultimate virtue.”
Can you concentrate on your breathing to reach harmony and become as an innocent babe?
Can you clean the dark mirror within yourself and let nothing remain there?
Can you love the people and govern the state and do so without interference?
Can you enter and leave the realm of Non-being and let these actions take place by themselves?
Can the clear illumination radiate to all directions without your having knowledge of it?
Cultivate it, and nourish it,
Produce it, but do not possess it,
Labor on it, but do not depend on it,
Lead it, but do not manage it.
This is called the mystic attainment.”
(Tao Te Ching, Verse 10, Chang Chung-yuan Translation)
I recently purchased the “Joseph Campbell and The Power of Myth with Bill Moyers” DVD – it’s basically a 360 minute conversation between Moyers and Campbell in the last months of Campbell’s life – many of you are undoubtedly aware of Joseph Campbell and his work – he was a truly amazing man and remains the preeminent authority on comparative mythology to this day – I’ve been working my way though the hour-long episodes slowly and his insights are adding to my understanding of the Tao – this verse is among my favorite b/c of what it says about love (that we ought not try to impose our will on the people we love and that we should act without expecting reciprocation or even thanks) – it’s the third part, “deal with the most vital matters by letting events take their course” that has always given me pause – while watching the DVD recently something Campbell said made the idea click – basically, we have no choice other than to “deal with the most vital matters by letting events take their course” – this is not to say that we don’t work to make things better – we ought to always do that – it simply means that we don’t worry or monitor or manipulate – we do what we can and then we walk away b/c it’s as good as it can be and anything else we might add would only mar it in some significant way
I’ll leave you, once again, with Siji Tzu’s commentary:
“The sun and moon will rise each day. We do not meddle. Have a nice home, but do not possess it. Give to those in need, but do not wait for a thank you. Show your family happiness without forcing them to your defined path of happiness. This is the ultimate virtue.”
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Tao Te Ching, Verse 9, Part I
“It is better to leave a thing alone
Than to hold it and keep it full to the brim.
If you sharpen the blade and use it,
It will not remain sharp for long.
When gold and jade fill the temple,
No one can protect them.
When wealth and honor come together with pride
Self-destruction quickly joins them.
After the goal has been achieved
and the objective has been honorably accomplished,
The Tao of heavenIs to retire from everything.”
(Tao Te Ching, Verse 9, Chou-Wing Chohan Translation)
It’s like this verse was written specifically for me – Mr. White builds fly fishing rods from scratch – he turns the wood for the handles, sets all the guides, all of it – not too long ago, he and I were talking about our struggles with perfectionism and he mentioned that when he is finishing the wood or working with epoxy, there is a point (right before it’s completely ruined forever) that it is as good as it can be and at that point, you just have to walk away, because if you don’t, if you do one more thing, you risk ruining it forever – I always want to do the one more thing – always – whether it’s the last word in an argument or one more practice run before I allow my students to do a project on there own – I always want to do the thing that could screw it up forever – it’s taken me a long time to learn to do just enough and then walk away, but I’m much better at it now and it really does lead to peace
I’ll leave you, as always, with Siji Tzu’s commentary:
“As I have said before, a teacup can hold a set amount of water. You can pour in all you like, but it will eventually spill over and much will be lost. At a certain level you can be satisfied. The water in the cup is all you need. That which is still in the pot is desires like fame and fortune. Chase it and your cup will spill.”
Than to hold it and keep it full to the brim.
If you sharpen the blade and use it,
It will not remain sharp for long.
When gold and jade fill the temple,
No one can protect them.
When wealth and honor come together with pride
Self-destruction quickly joins them.
After the goal has been achieved
and the objective has been honorably accomplished,
The Tao of heavenIs to retire from everything.”
(Tao Te Ching, Verse 9, Chou-Wing Chohan Translation)
It’s like this verse was written specifically for me – Mr. White builds fly fishing rods from scratch – he turns the wood for the handles, sets all the guides, all of it – not too long ago, he and I were talking about our struggles with perfectionism and he mentioned that when he is finishing the wood or working with epoxy, there is a point (right before it’s completely ruined forever) that it is as good as it can be and at that point, you just have to walk away, because if you don’t, if you do one more thing, you risk ruining it forever – I always want to do the one more thing – always – whether it’s the last word in an argument or one more practice run before I allow my students to do a project on there own – I always want to do the thing that could screw it up forever – it’s taken me a long time to learn to do just enough and then walk away, but I’m much better at it now and it really does lead to peace
I’ll leave you, as always, with Siji Tzu’s commentary:
“As I have said before, a teacup can hold a set amount of water. You can pour in all you like, but it will eventually spill over and much will be lost. At a certain level you can be satisfied. The water in the cup is all you need. That which is still in the pot is desires like fame and fortune. Chase it and your cup will spill.”
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Tao Te Ching, Verse 8, Part I
“The greatest good is like water.
Water is of benefit to every living thing
and does not contend with them.
It flows in lowly places disdained by all mankind,
and so comes close to DAO.
In where you live, choose solid ground;
in how you think, go deep within your mind;
in your relationships, show loving-kindness;
in what you say, hold to the truth;
in governing, be just;
in how you work, do what is best;
in what you do, be timely.
What gives a house its value is where it is;
what gives a mind its value is its depth;
what gives relationship its value is its love;
what gives words their value is their truth;
what gives a government its value is its justice;
what gives work its value is its skill;
what gives action its value is its timeliness.
Do not fight, and there will be no blame.” (Tao Te Ching, Verse 8, Tim Chilcott Translation)
Here’s what I find in my own life – everything distracts me from what I believe is actually important – everything screams for my attention calling me away from time with the people I love, time with myself, and time with God – a million distractions divert me from enjoying my work and living simply – I become confused and begin to think that I want things that I have no use for – that I need things that won’t do anything to improve my life and if I don’t consciously take a moment to clear my head of this nonsense, I become even more confused and begin to act on these irrational impulses – to want things – to buy things – to invest my time in pursuits that do nothing but sap my strength and leave me less capable than when I began to become confused
I’ll leave you once again with Siji Tzu’s commentary:
“Behind me are tall mountain peaks. Behind you is a valley river. The water makes its way from the sky to the peaks. The peaks to the river. Along its journey, a doe will sip from it. A tree will sink its roots into it. A murderer will wash the blood from his hands in it. The water does not care. This is like the Dao. Keep to the simple in thought, in work, in pleasure, in living. When you are content like the river, you will have admiration. But that does not matter.” (Siji Tzu)
Water is of benefit to every living thing
and does not contend with them.
It flows in lowly places disdained by all mankind,
and so comes close to DAO.
In where you live, choose solid ground;
in how you think, go deep within your mind;
in your relationships, show loving-kindness;
in what you say, hold to the truth;
in governing, be just;
in how you work, do what is best;
in what you do, be timely.
What gives a house its value is where it is;
what gives a mind its value is its depth;
what gives relationship its value is its love;
what gives words their value is their truth;
what gives a government its value is its justice;
what gives work its value is its skill;
what gives action its value is its timeliness.
Do not fight, and there will be no blame.” (Tao Te Ching, Verse 8, Tim Chilcott Translation)
Here’s what I find in my own life – everything distracts me from what I believe is actually important – everything screams for my attention calling me away from time with the people I love, time with myself, and time with God – a million distractions divert me from enjoying my work and living simply – I become confused and begin to think that I want things that I have no use for – that I need things that won’t do anything to improve my life and if I don’t consciously take a moment to clear my head of this nonsense, I become even more confused and begin to act on these irrational impulses – to want things – to buy things – to invest my time in pursuits that do nothing but sap my strength and leave me less capable than when I began to become confused
I’ll leave you once again with Siji Tzu’s commentary:
“Behind me are tall mountain peaks. Behind you is a valley river. The water makes its way from the sky to the peaks. The peaks to the river. Along its journey, a doe will sip from it. A tree will sink its roots into it. A murderer will wash the blood from his hands in it. The water does not care. This is like the Dao. Keep to the simple in thought, in work, in pleasure, in living. When you are content like the river, you will have admiration. But that does not matter.” (Siji Tzu)
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Tao Te Ching, Verse 7, Part I
“Heaven and earth are long lasting (chiu).
The reason why heaven and earth are long lasting:
Because they do not live for self (pu tzu sheng).
Therefore they last long.
Thus the sage puts his body (shen) behind,
Yet his body is in front.
He regards his body as external,
Yet his body remains in existence (ts'un).
Is it not because he is selfless (wu szu),
That he can fulfill himself (ch'eng ch'i szu).” (Tao Te Ching, Verse 6, Ellen M. Chen Translation)
Christ and Lao Tzu both tell us that if we want fulfillment, peace, enlightenment, etc. we’ve got to stop looking for it in stuff and start following truth – why is it easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven? – b/c very few people get rich by accident and no one stays rich by accident – you’ve got to want to stay rich – you’ve got to care and focus and pay attention to your wealth – when you’re paying attention to your wealth, it’s impossible to pay attention to the truth – I thought about including that scene from fight club again, but maybe I’ll just touch on some of the key passages, no I want to include it:
JACK: There's always that. I don't know, it's just...when you buy furniture, you tell yourself: that's it, that's the last sofa I'm gonna need. No matter what else happens, I've got that sofa problem handled. I had it all. I had a stereo that was very decent, a wardrobe that was getting very respectable. I was so close to being complete.
TYLER: Shit, man, now it's all gone.
JACK: All gone.
TYLER: Do you know what a duvet it?
JACK: Comforter.
TYLER: It's a blanket, just a blanket. Now why guys like you and I know what a duvet is? Is this essential to our survival? In the hunter-gathered sense of the word? No. What are we then?
JACK: You know, consumers.
TYLER: Right. We're consumers. We're by-products of a lifestyle obsession. Murder, crime, poverty -- these things don't concern me. What concerns me is celebrity magazines, television with five hundred channels, some guy's name on my underwear. Rogaine, Viagra, Olestra.
JACK: Martha Stewart.
TYLER: Fuck Martha Stewart. Martha's polishing the brass of the Titanic. It's all going down, man! So fuck off, with your sofa units and your string green stripe patterns. I say never be complete. I say stop being perfect. I say let's evolve and let the chips fall where they may. But that's me, I could be wrong, maybe it's a terrible tragedy.
JACK: No, it's just stuff.
TYLER: Well, you did lose a lot of versatile solutions for a modern life.
JACK: Fuck, you're right. . . My insurance will probably cover it, so...
TYLER STARES AT HIM
JACK: What?
TYLER: The things you own, end up owning you. But do what you like, man. [FIGHT CLUB]
The reason why that movie strikes such a strong chord for so many of us isn’t so much because of the fighting – it’s because our spirits chafe under the burden of the consumerism of our materialistic culture – it rarely gives us what we want and never gives us what we need – what we need, what we’ve always needed is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control – everything else is just a distraction
I’ll leave you with a bit of wisdom from George Savile:
“Children and fools want everything, because they lack the wit to distinguish; there is no stronger evidence of a crazy understanding than the making too large a catalogue of things unnecessary.” (George Savile)
The reason why heaven and earth are long lasting:
Because they do not live for self (pu tzu sheng).
Therefore they last long.
Thus the sage puts his body (shen) behind,
Yet his body is in front.
He regards his body as external,
Yet his body remains in existence (ts'un).
Is it not because he is selfless (wu szu),
That he can fulfill himself (ch'eng ch'i szu).” (Tao Te Ching, Verse 6, Ellen M. Chen Translation)
Christ and Lao Tzu both tell us that if we want fulfillment, peace, enlightenment, etc. we’ve got to stop looking for it in stuff and start following truth – why is it easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven? – b/c very few people get rich by accident and no one stays rich by accident – you’ve got to want to stay rich – you’ve got to care and focus and pay attention to your wealth – when you’re paying attention to your wealth, it’s impossible to pay attention to the truth – I thought about including that scene from fight club again, but maybe I’ll just touch on some of the key passages, no I want to include it:
JACK: There's always that. I don't know, it's just...when you buy furniture, you tell yourself: that's it, that's the last sofa I'm gonna need. No matter what else happens, I've got that sofa problem handled. I had it all. I had a stereo that was very decent, a wardrobe that was getting very respectable. I was so close to being complete.
TYLER: Shit, man, now it's all gone.
JACK: All gone.
TYLER: Do you know what a duvet it?
JACK: Comforter.
TYLER: It's a blanket, just a blanket. Now why guys like you and I know what a duvet is? Is this essential to our survival? In the hunter-gathered sense of the word? No. What are we then?
JACK: You know, consumers.
TYLER: Right. We're consumers. We're by-products of a lifestyle obsession. Murder, crime, poverty -- these things don't concern me. What concerns me is celebrity magazines, television with five hundred channels, some guy's name on my underwear. Rogaine, Viagra, Olestra.
JACK: Martha Stewart.
TYLER: Fuck Martha Stewart. Martha's polishing the brass of the Titanic. It's all going down, man! So fuck off, with your sofa units and your string green stripe patterns. I say never be complete. I say stop being perfect. I say let's evolve and let the chips fall where they may. But that's me, I could be wrong, maybe it's a terrible tragedy.
JACK: No, it's just stuff.
TYLER: Well, you did lose a lot of versatile solutions for a modern life.
JACK: Fuck, you're right. . . My insurance will probably cover it, so...
TYLER STARES AT HIM
JACK: What?
TYLER: The things you own, end up owning you. But do what you like, man. [FIGHT CLUB]
The reason why that movie strikes such a strong chord for so many of us isn’t so much because of the fighting – it’s because our spirits chafe under the burden of the consumerism of our materialistic culture – it rarely gives us what we want and never gives us what we need – what we need, what we’ve always needed is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control – everything else is just a distraction
I’ll leave you with a bit of wisdom from George Savile:
“Children and fools want everything, because they lack the wit to distinguish; there is no stronger evidence of a crazy understanding than the making too large a catalogue of things unnecessary.” (George Savile)
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Tao Te Ching, Verse 6, Part I
“The valley spirit never dies,
It is the mysterious female.
The gate of the mysterious female,
Is the root of Heaven and Earth.
It exists forever in continuum,
And using it, it is inexhaustible.” (Tao Te Ching, Verse 6, Cheng Translation)
I recently started reading Walking on Water, by Madeleine L’Engle. I’ve been so inspired by my recent fiction experiments that I decided to begin working my way through the writing section at our public library. this was the first book in the section, so I checked it out. the subtitle is “Reflections on Faith and Art.” I’ve only just begun to read it and it’s much, much more than I suspected. you may remember my attempt to explain the principle of wei wu wei (doing-not-doing). I think this is the principle that God is trying to hammer into my brain at present because it’s being reinforced everywhere around me all the time. I don’t have any idea if L’Engle has even ever heard of wei wu wei, but she sums it up so well that I felt that I had to make her today’s primary speaker:
“When the artist is truly the servant of the work, the work is better than the artist; Shakespeare knew how to listen to his work, an so he often wrote better than he could write; Bach composed more deeply, more truly, than he knew; Rembrandt’s brush put more of the human spirit on canvas than Rembrandt could comprehend.
When the work takes over, then the artist is enabled to get out of the way, not to interfere. When the work takes over, then the artist listens.
But before he can listen, paradoxically, he must work. Getting out of the way and listening is not something that comes easily, either in art or in prayer.
Before I can listen to God in prayer, I must fumble through the prayers of words, of willful demands, the prayers of childish, “Gimmes,” of “Help mes,” of “I want…” Until I tell God what I want, I have no way of knowing whether or not I truly want it. Unless I ask God for something, I do not know whether or not it is something for which I ought to ask, and I cannot add, “But if this is not your will for me, then your will is what I want, not mine.” The prayers of words cannot be eliminated. And I must pray them daily, whether I feel like praying or not. Otherwise, when God has something to say to me, I will not know how to listen. Until I have worked through self, I will not be able to get out of the way.
Someone wrote, ‘The principle part of faith is patience,” and this applies, too, to art of all disciplines. We must work every day, whether we feel like it or not; otherwise when it comes time to get out of the way and listen to the work, we will not be able to heed it” (L’Engle 17 and 18).
I’ll leave you with once again with Siji Tzu’s commentary:
“As told by the ages, everything is of the Dao. Everything is not the Dao. We are all born with it. We are all born without it. If you will use it, then use it.” (Siji Tzu Commentary)
It is the mysterious female.
The gate of the mysterious female,
Is the root of Heaven and Earth.
It exists forever in continuum,
And using it, it is inexhaustible.” (Tao Te Ching, Verse 6, Cheng Translation)
I recently started reading Walking on Water, by Madeleine L’Engle. I’ve been so inspired by my recent fiction experiments that I decided to begin working my way through the writing section at our public library. this was the first book in the section, so I checked it out. the subtitle is “Reflections on Faith and Art.” I’ve only just begun to read it and it’s much, much more than I suspected. you may remember my attempt to explain the principle of wei wu wei (doing-not-doing). I think this is the principle that God is trying to hammer into my brain at present because it’s being reinforced everywhere around me all the time. I don’t have any idea if L’Engle has even ever heard of wei wu wei, but she sums it up so well that I felt that I had to make her today’s primary speaker:
“When the artist is truly the servant of the work, the work is better than the artist; Shakespeare knew how to listen to his work, an so he often wrote better than he could write; Bach composed more deeply, more truly, than he knew; Rembrandt’s brush put more of the human spirit on canvas than Rembrandt could comprehend.
When the work takes over, then the artist is enabled to get out of the way, not to interfere. When the work takes over, then the artist listens.
But before he can listen, paradoxically, he must work. Getting out of the way and listening is not something that comes easily, either in art or in prayer.
Before I can listen to God in prayer, I must fumble through the prayers of words, of willful demands, the prayers of childish, “Gimmes,” of “Help mes,” of “I want…” Until I tell God what I want, I have no way of knowing whether or not I truly want it. Unless I ask God for something, I do not know whether or not it is something for which I ought to ask, and I cannot add, “But if this is not your will for me, then your will is what I want, not mine.” The prayers of words cannot be eliminated. And I must pray them daily, whether I feel like praying or not. Otherwise, when God has something to say to me, I will not know how to listen. Until I have worked through self, I will not be able to get out of the way.
Someone wrote, ‘The principle part of faith is patience,” and this applies, too, to art of all disciplines. We must work every day, whether we feel like it or not; otherwise when it comes time to get out of the way and listen to the work, we will not be able to heed it” (L’Engle 17 and 18).
I’ll leave you with once again with Siji Tzu’s commentary:
“As told by the ages, everything is of the Dao. Everything is not the Dao. We are all born with it. We are all born without it. If you will use it, then use it.” (Siji Tzu Commentary)
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Tao Te Ching, Verse 5, Part I
“Heaven and Earth treat all creatures as they treat a straw dog:
with great kindness.
The sage treats the people as he treats a straw dog:
with great kindness.
Between Heaven and Earth there is a big void;
it is like a bag without a seam,
it is like the hole in a bamboo flute.
This void cannot be overpowered:
the more it moves, the more it yields.
Many words lead to less understanding, therefore it is best to guard the void.”
(Tao Te Ching, Verse 5, Chao-Hsiu Chen Translation)
One of the most basic facts about the universe is that it is indifferent, which reminds me of the Stephen Crane poem:
A man said to the universe:
"Sir I exist!"
"However," replied the universe,
"The fact has not created in me
A sense of obligation."
The first couple of lines in verse five acknowledge this indifference – throughout the tao, what one sees is Lao Tzu acknowledging a fact about life the universe and everything and then showing the master’s response to that fact – in this case, just as the universe is impartial and dispassionate, so is the master impartial and dispassionate – I think the key idea here is impartiality and tolerance for benign differences in others, which would be a beneficial quality to inject into world around us – the more I talk of it, the less I’ll understand, so I’ll leave you with once again with Siji Tzu’s commentary:
“Nature does not make one species evil or another pleasant. Nor does she judge the species of their actions. A bird of prey can pounce on a harmless mouse. A doe can sip from the river. Each is the same. It does not matter.”
with great kindness.
The sage treats the people as he treats a straw dog:
with great kindness.
Between Heaven and Earth there is a big void;
it is like a bag without a seam,
it is like the hole in a bamboo flute.
This void cannot be overpowered:
the more it moves, the more it yields.
Many words lead to less understanding, therefore it is best to guard the void.”
(Tao Te Ching, Verse 5, Chao-Hsiu Chen Translation)
One of the most basic facts about the universe is that it is indifferent, which reminds me of the Stephen Crane poem:
A man said to the universe:
"Sir I exist!"
"However," replied the universe,
"The fact has not created in me
A sense of obligation."
The first couple of lines in verse five acknowledge this indifference – throughout the tao, what one sees is Lao Tzu acknowledging a fact about life the universe and everything and then showing the master’s response to that fact – in this case, just as the universe is impartial and dispassionate, so is the master impartial and dispassionate – I think the key idea here is impartiality and tolerance for benign differences in others, which would be a beneficial quality to inject into world around us – the more I talk of it, the less I’ll understand, so I’ll leave you with once again with Siji Tzu’s commentary:
“Nature does not make one species evil or another pleasant. Nor does she judge the species of their actions. A bird of prey can pounce on a harmless mouse. A doe can sip from the river. Each is the same. It does not matter.”
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Tao Te Ching, Verse 4, Part I
“Tao is empty (like a bowl).
It may be used but its capacity is never exhausted
It is bottomless, perhaps the ancestor of all things.
It blunts its sharpness.
It unties its tangles.
It softens its light.
It becomes one with the dusty world.
Deep and still, it appears to exist forever.
I do not know whose son it is. It seems to have existed before the Lord.”
(Tao Te Ching, Verse 4, Chan Translation)
I have a close friend that is in the midst of a very difficult time in his life. The life he’d been building for himself has fallen apart. I went through a similar time in the early ‘90s. When it happened to me, my life fell apart because it wasn’t based on anything. I had no foundational beliefs on which to base my behavior or opinions, so that when trouble came (and it always comes), my poorly constructed house of cards toppled. Foundation is everything. Jesus tell us as much in Matthew 7:24-27
"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."
What Lao Tzu is doing in these early chapters is building a foundation for teaching. What I want to do over the next couple of days is to review the first three chapters to see what that foundation consists of.
It may be used but its capacity is never exhausted
It is bottomless, perhaps the ancestor of all things.
It blunts its sharpness.
It unties its tangles.
It softens its light.
It becomes one with the dusty world.
Deep and still, it appears to exist forever.
I do not know whose son it is. It seems to have existed before the Lord.”
(Tao Te Ching, Verse 4, Chan Translation)
I have a close friend that is in the midst of a very difficult time in his life. The life he’d been building for himself has fallen apart. I went through a similar time in the early ‘90s. When it happened to me, my life fell apart because it wasn’t based on anything. I had no foundational beliefs on which to base my behavior or opinions, so that when trouble came (and it always comes), my poorly constructed house of cards toppled. Foundation is everything. Jesus tell us as much in Matthew 7:24-27
"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."
What Lao Tzu is doing in these early chapters is building a foundation for teaching. What I want to do over the next couple of days is to review the first three chapters to see what that foundation consists of.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Tao Te Ching, Verse 3, Part I
“Stop looking for rare, moral persons (hsien) to put in power.
There will be jealousies among people, jealousies and strife.
If we cease to set store by products that are hard to get, there will be less outright thieves.
If the people never see such things as excite desire, their hearts can remain placid and undisturbed.
Therefore the wise one rules by emptying their hearts [like the clown].
He fills their bellies, weakens their brightness and toughens their bones,ever striving to make the people without knowledge.
He sees to it that if there are any who are bright and clever, they dare not interfere.
Through his non-do actions all [such subjection] runs well [for some time].”
(Tao Te Ching, Verse 3, Byrn Translation)
If you ever wonder if ancient texts (the 6th century BC) can be relevant today, look at the first stanza above – it’s our culture in a nutshell, which only goes to prove that “there is nothing new under the sun.” I think it’s time for a bit of spiritual history. I grew up in a relatively strict fundamentalist Christian household in the Midwest. To this day, most of my friends and family are hard-core rightwing conservatives. They are social conservatives, which means that they are always “looking for rare, moral persons to put in power.” They are Fox News devotees. Somehow a television channel has managed to supplant or least become equal to the Bible as their guide to belief and behavior. They are not alone in this and thus our country is awash in the foolishness of talking points – jealousies and strife. It’s my opinion that the only way for one to break free of this cycle is to get back to the texts. The Bible is my guide for belief and behavior. I believe that it’s absolutely (if not always literally) true. I view the Tao, on the other hand as philosophy. It helps me make sense of the world and in today’s world I need all the sense I can get.
There will be jealousies among people, jealousies and strife.
If we cease to set store by products that are hard to get, there will be less outright thieves.
If the people never see such things as excite desire, their hearts can remain placid and undisturbed.
Therefore the wise one rules by emptying their hearts [like the clown].
He fills their bellies, weakens their brightness and toughens their bones,ever striving to make the people without knowledge.
He sees to it that if there are any who are bright and clever, they dare not interfere.
Through his non-do actions all [such subjection] runs well [for some time].”
(Tao Te Ching, Verse 3, Byrn Translation)
If you ever wonder if ancient texts (the 6th century BC) can be relevant today, look at the first stanza above – it’s our culture in a nutshell, which only goes to prove that “there is nothing new under the sun.” I think it’s time for a bit of spiritual history. I grew up in a relatively strict fundamentalist Christian household in the Midwest. To this day, most of my friends and family are hard-core rightwing conservatives. They are social conservatives, which means that they are always “looking for rare, moral persons to put in power.” They are Fox News devotees. Somehow a television channel has managed to supplant or least become equal to the Bible as their guide to belief and behavior. They are not alone in this and thus our country is awash in the foolishness of talking points – jealousies and strife. It’s my opinion that the only way for one to break free of this cycle is to get back to the texts. The Bible is my guide for belief and behavior. I believe that it’s absolutely (if not always literally) true. I view the Tao, on the other hand as philosophy. It helps me make sense of the world and in today’s world I need all the sense I can get.
Friday, February 19, 2010
Tao Te Ching, Verse 2, Part IV
“People through finding something beautiful
Think something else unbeautiful,
Through finding one man fit
Judge another unfit.
Life and death, though stemming from each other, seem to conflict as stages of change,
Difficult and easy as phases of achievement,
Long and short as measures of contrast,
High and low as degrees of relation;
But, since the varying of tones gives music to a voice
And what is the was of what shall be,
The sanest man
Sets up no deed,
Lays down no law,
Takes everything that happens as it comes,
As something to animate, not to appropriate,
To earn, not to own,
To accept naturally without self-importance:
If you never assume importanceYou never lose it.”
(Tao Te Ching, Verse 2, Bynner Translation)
“The sanest man sets up no deed, lays down no law, and takes everything that happens as it comes.”
I’d intended to wrap this up in the first fifteen days of the month, but I didn’t. Now I’m out of time. Too bad. I really do believe that eventually I’ll fall into a rhythm, eventually these posts won’t be ill-prepared, poorly written bits of nonsense. For now, that’s the best I can do. Luckily the ideas that I’d intended to address this month are recurring themes in the Tao, so there’ll be other chances. Since I seem to lack the ability to adequately comment on verse 2, I’ll leave you with the commentary of Siji Tzu:
"Walk through a garden. Do you see beautiful flowers? If they are beautiful to the eye and nose, then you must also label what is ugly. Describe a neighbor as a good person and another person becomes bad. Loud and quiet. Soft and hard. Before and after. The existence of each creates the other. Teach without word. Study and then forget. Let the tide ebb and flow."
Think something else unbeautiful,
Through finding one man fit
Judge another unfit.
Life and death, though stemming from each other, seem to conflict as stages of change,
Difficult and easy as phases of achievement,
Long and short as measures of contrast,
High and low as degrees of relation;
But, since the varying of tones gives music to a voice
And what is the was of what shall be,
The sanest man
Sets up no deed,
Lays down no law,
Takes everything that happens as it comes,
As something to animate, not to appropriate,
To earn, not to own,
To accept naturally without self-importance:
If you never assume importanceYou never lose it.”
(Tao Te Ching, Verse 2, Bynner Translation)
“The sanest man sets up no deed, lays down no law, and takes everything that happens as it comes.”
I’d intended to wrap this up in the first fifteen days of the month, but I didn’t. Now I’m out of time. Too bad. I really do believe that eventually I’ll fall into a rhythm, eventually these posts won’t be ill-prepared, poorly written bits of nonsense. For now, that’s the best I can do. Luckily the ideas that I’d intended to address this month are recurring themes in the Tao, so there’ll be other chances. Since I seem to lack the ability to adequately comment on verse 2, I’ll leave you with the commentary of Siji Tzu:
"Walk through a garden. Do you see beautiful flowers? If they are beautiful to the eye and nose, then you must also label what is ugly. Describe a neighbor as a good person and another person becomes bad. Loud and quiet. Soft and hard. Before and after. The existence of each creates the other. Teach without word. Study and then forget. Let the tide ebb and flow."
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Tao Te Ching, Verse 2, Part III
“Beauty doesn’t exist; Ugliness doesn’t exist: except through the other. Good doesn’t exist; bad does’t exist: except through the other. Long doesn’t exist; short doesn’t exist: except through the other. High doesn’t exist; low doesn’t exist: except through the other. Before doesn’t exist; after doesn’t exist: except through the other. Inside doesn’t exist; outside doesn’t exist: except through the other. Profit doesn’t exist; loss doesn’t exist: except through the other. Therefore the master acts without setting a goal, and teaches that there is no teaching. Freedom from duality resides with him. Everything is his, but he has nothing. Every act is his, but he expects nothing. This is his accomplishment, which can never be destroyed.” (Tao Te Ching, Verse 2, Bullen Translation)
Verse 2 deals with continuums. I believe that much of what we try to box up into categories (good and bad, left and right, faith and reason) are actually continuums. The first two stanzas of verse two are about continuums and I suspect that we’d all pretty much agree with them. There are people who think of good and evil as absolutes w/o nuance, but I doubt any of them are reading this. The interesting part for me is the third stanza. It begins with the word “therefore,” in other words: since everything is a continuum, the Master does these things in the third stanza. What does the Master do, since everything is a continuum?
ITEM I: The Master acts without doing anything
ITEM II: The Master teaches without saying anything.
ITEM III: Things arise and she lets them come; things disappear and she lets them go.
ITEM IV: She has but doesn't possess, acts but doesn't expect.
ITEM V: When her work is done, she forgets it. That is why it lasts forever.
I’m out of time – I’ll have to deal with the items tomorrow
Verse 2 deals with continuums. I believe that much of what we try to box up into categories (good and bad, left and right, faith and reason) are actually continuums. The first two stanzas of verse two are about continuums and I suspect that we’d all pretty much agree with them. There are people who think of good and evil as absolutes w/o nuance, but I doubt any of them are reading this. The interesting part for me is the third stanza. It begins with the word “therefore,” in other words: since everything is a continuum, the Master does these things in the third stanza. What does the Master do, since everything is a continuum?
ITEM I: The Master acts without doing anything
ITEM II: The Master teaches without saying anything.
ITEM III: Things arise and she lets them come; things disappear and she lets them go.
ITEM IV: She has but doesn't possess, acts but doesn't expect.
ITEM V: When her work is done, she forgets it. That is why it lasts forever.
I’m out of time – I’ll have to deal with the items tomorrow
Monday, February 8, 2010
Tao Te Ching, Verse 2, Part II
“Since the world points up beauty as such,
There is ugliness too.
If goodness is taken as goodness,
Wickedness enters as well.
For is and is-not come together;
Hard and easy are complementary;
Long and short are relative;
High and low are comparative;
Pitch and sound make harmony;
Before and after are a sequence.
Indeed the Wise Man's office
Is to work by being still;
He teaches not by speech
But by accomplishment;
He does for everything,
Neglecting none;
Their life he gives to all,
Possessing none;
And what he brings to pass
Depends on no one else.
As he succeeds,
He takes no credit
And just because he does not take it,
Credit never leaves him.” (Tao Te Ching, Verse 2, Blakney Translation)
The reason why I brought up the issue of translation is because there is a great deal of variance among the translations. One of the reasons why I begin each new entry with a different translation is to illustrate and celebrate that fact. It gives us a wider picture of the dimensions of the Tao. There have been occasions when I find that I must disagree with some of the choices made by the translators. I’ve already mentioned my affinity for Stephen Mitchell’s translation, but I disagree with his version of the first stanza of this verse:
“When people see some things as beautiful, other things become ugly. When people see some things as good, other things become bad.”
Now maybe Mitchell does not mean to imply that identifying something as beautiful or good causes other things to be identified as ugly or bad; and thereby imply that there’s really no such thing as good, bad, beauty, or ugliness there’s only the labeling and false perception of these things. Maybe he doesn’t mean to imply this, but that’s what I infer from my reading of his translation and if I’m right then in this instance the translation is flawed because the Tao as a whole does acknowledge good (things in synch with the Tao) and bad (things out of synch with the Tao). So in this instance I prefer Beck’s translation:
“When the people of the world all know beauty as beauty,there arises the recognition of ugliness.When they all know the good as good,there arises the recognition of bad.”
And I much prefer my own version:
“When one begins to recognize beauty as beauty,There arises the recognition of ugliness.When one begins to recognize the good as good,There arises the recognition of evil.”
I’m out of time. More tomorrow.
There is ugliness too.
If goodness is taken as goodness,
Wickedness enters as well.
For is and is-not come together;
Hard and easy are complementary;
Long and short are relative;
High and low are comparative;
Pitch and sound make harmony;
Before and after are a sequence.
Indeed the Wise Man's office
Is to work by being still;
He teaches not by speech
But by accomplishment;
He does for everything,
Neglecting none;
Their life he gives to all,
Possessing none;
And what he brings to pass
Depends on no one else.
As he succeeds,
He takes no credit
And just because he does not take it,
Credit never leaves him.” (Tao Te Ching, Verse 2, Blakney Translation)
The reason why I brought up the issue of translation is because there is a great deal of variance among the translations. One of the reasons why I begin each new entry with a different translation is to illustrate and celebrate that fact. It gives us a wider picture of the dimensions of the Tao. There have been occasions when I find that I must disagree with some of the choices made by the translators. I’ve already mentioned my affinity for Stephen Mitchell’s translation, but I disagree with his version of the first stanza of this verse:
“When people see some things as beautiful, other things become ugly. When people see some things as good, other things become bad.”
Now maybe Mitchell does not mean to imply that identifying something as beautiful or good causes other things to be identified as ugly or bad; and thereby imply that there’s really no such thing as good, bad, beauty, or ugliness there’s only the labeling and false perception of these things. Maybe he doesn’t mean to imply this, but that’s what I infer from my reading of his translation and if I’m right then in this instance the translation is flawed because the Tao as a whole does acknowledge good (things in synch with the Tao) and bad (things out of synch with the Tao). So in this instance I prefer Beck’s translation:
“When the people of the world all know beauty as beauty,there arises the recognition of ugliness.When they all know the good as good,there arises the recognition of bad.”
And I much prefer my own version:
“When one begins to recognize beauty as beauty,There arises the recognition of ugliness.When one begins to recognize the good as good,There arises the recognition of evil.”
I’m out of time. More tomorrow.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Tao Te Ching, Verse 2, Part I
“When the people of the world all know beauty as beauty,
there arises the recognition of ugliness.
When they all know the good as good,
there arises the recognition of bad.
Therefore being and non-being produce each other;
difficult and easy complete each other;l
ong and short contrast each other;
high and low distinguish each other;
sound and voice harmonize with each other;
beginning and end follow each other.
Therefore the wise manage affairs without interfering
and teach beyond the words.
All things rise, and they do not turn away from them.
They give them life, but do not take possession of them.
They act, but do not rely on their own ability.
They accomplish, but claim no credit.
Because they claim no credit,their accomplishment remains with them.”
(Tao Te Ching, Verse 2, Beck Translation)
Now seems a good time to bring up the issue of translation. According to Russian translator, Yevgeny Yevtushenko, “Translation is like a woman. If it is beautiful, it is not faithful. If it is faithful, it is most certainly not beautiful.” Translation is always difficult, but the difficulties become nearly exponential when it comes to classical Chinese.
According to Wikipedia:
“The Tao Te Ching is written in classical Chinese, which can be difficult to understand completely, even for well-educated native speakers of modern Chinese. In fact, in learning classical Chinese, native speakers can be at a disadvantage relative to non-native speakers, as native speakers often have difficulty with Chinese characters whose older meaning differs from the modern language. Classical Chinese relies heavily on allusion to a corpus of standard literary works to convey semantic meaning, nuance, and subtext. This corpus was memorized by highly-educated people in Laozi's time, and the allusions were reinforced through common use in writing, but few people today have this type of deep acquaintance with ancient Chinese literature. Thus, many levels of subtext are potentially lost on modern translators. Furthermore, many of the words that the Tao Te Ching uses are deliberately vague and ambiguous.”
Classical Chinese, in other words is full of nuance and layers of allusion and meaning and thus very difficult to translate into English. A friend of mine once told me that he’d come across a classical Chinese scholar who'd said that if you read every single English translation of the Tao, you will have only the beginning of an inkling of the true meaning of the text. There are well over one hundred English translations of the Tao. In fact there are 112 English translations of the Tao on a website devoted to collecting translations of the Tao.
I’m out of time for now – more tomorrow.
there arises the recognition of ugliness.
When they all know the good as good,
there arises the recognition of bad.
Therefore being and non-being produce each other;
difficult and easy complete each other;l
ong and short contrast each other;
high and low distinguish each other;
sound and voice harmonize with each other;
beginning and end follow each other.
Therefore the wise manage affairs without interfering
and teach beyond the words.
All things rise, and they do not turn away from them.
They give them life, but do not take possession of them.
They act, but do not rely on their own ability.
They accomplish, but claim no credit.
Because they claim no credit,their accomplishment remains with them.”
(Tao Te Ching, Verse 2, Beck Translation)
Now seems a good time to bring up the issue of translation. According to Russian translator, Yevgeny Yevtushenko, “Translation is like a woman. If it is beautiful, it is not faithful. If it is faithful, it is most certainly not beautiful.” Translation is always difficult, but the difficulties become nearly exponential when it comes to classical Chinese.
According to Wikipedia:
“The Tao Te Ching is written in classical Chinese, which can be difficult to understand completely, even for well-educated native speakers of modern Chinese. In fact, in learning classical Chinese, native speakers can be at a disadvantage relative to non-native speakers, as native speakers often have difficulty with Chinese characters whose older meaning differs from the modern language. Classical Chinese relies heavily on allusion to a corpus of standard literary works to convey semantic meaning, nuance, and subtext. This corpus was memorized by highly-educated people in Laozi's time, and the allusions were reinforced through common use in writing, but few people today have this type of deep acquaintance with ancient Chinese literature. Thus, many levels of subtext are potentially lost on modern translators. Furthermore, many of the words that the Tao Te Ching uses are deliberately vague and ambiguous.”
Classical Chinese, in other words is full of nuance and layers of allusion and meaning and thus very difficult to translate into English. A friend of mine once told me that he’d come across a classical Chinese scholar who'd said that if you read every single English translation of the Tao, you will have only the beginning of an inkling of the true meaning of the text. There are well over one hundred English translations of the Tao. In fact there are 112 English translations of the Tao on a website devoted to collecting translations of the Tao.
I’m out of time for now – more tomorrow.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Tao Te Ching, Verse 1, Part V
“The TAO, or Principle of Nature, may be discussed [by all]; it is not the popular or common Tao.
Its Name may be named [i.e., the TAO may receive a designation, though of itself it has none]; but it is not an ordinary name, [or name in the usual sense of the word, for it is a presentment or ειδωλον of the Infinite].
Its nameless period was that which preceded the birth of the Universe.
In being spoken of by name, it is as the Progenitrix of All Things.
It is therefore in habitual passionlessness that its mystery may be scanned; and in habitual desire that its developments may be perceived.
These two conditions, the Active and the Quiescent, alike proceed [from TAO]; it is only in name that they differ. Both may be called profundities; and the depth of profundity is the gate of every mystery.”
(Tao Te Ching, Verse 1, Balfour Translation)
In the spring of 2004, around the time I started including verses from the tao in my emails, a friend of mine wrote:
“I find the tao stuff creepy, to be honest, after all the tao that can be understood is not the true tao, so therefore isn’t the rest of lao tzu’s little book pointless? It’s like saying that the truth cannot be spoken, but the tragic thing is that you had to speak to me to tell me that…or like saying that there is no absolute truth…”
His comments were on the paradox in the passage above passage, but they make me wonder if he wasn’t also aware of the paradox in verse 56:
“Those who know don't talk. Those who talk don't know.”
The entire text, like life, is full of paradox. The question one must ask is why did Lao Tzu write this? This is the first verse of the tao and it’s functioning as an introduction and like many introductions, it includes a disclaimer. When Lao Tzu writes, “The tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao. The name that can be named is not the eternal Name. The unnamable is the eternally real. (or one of the various alternative among the various translations)” I don’t think that he’s claiming that the truth can’t be spoken or that there is no absolute truth. Quite the opposite, I think that he’s saying that there is absolute truth, but this truth transcends the maximum capabilities of mere words. In essence he’s saying, “look, I’m going to tell you what I know about the integral truth of the universe and the virtuous application of such high, subtle knowledge, but my words aren’t going to be the thing – the thing is out there, the universe and everything in it – the thing is in here, deep inside each one of us – the thing is not me or this book or the teachings in this book – those are all just arrows pointing the way.” A map of Albania is not Albania, but it can help you find your way. It’s also like Magritte’s painting of a pipe with the caption, “Ceci n’est pas une pipe” (This is not a pipe.). It’s also like Plato’s allegory of the cave. It’s what the apostle Paul was talking about in I Corinthians 13:12, “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.” There is REALITY and TRUTH, but the reality we perceive and the truth we understand are not really THE REALITY and THE TRUTH. I mentioned earlier that I was initially drawn to the tao because I found it provocatively absurd and paradoxical. But the more I’ve read it and copied it and written about it, the more I find it truly practical. In verse 14, Lao Tzu declares that you can’t know the Tao, but you can be it. If I had to sum up verse 1, it would be: Words cannot describe the absolute REALITY of the universe, but they can point you toward it and you can experience it.
Siji Tzu was another ancient (possibly mythical) Chinese mystic like Lao Tzu, who wrote commentary on each verse of the Tao. He wrote the following for verse one:
“Green tea is wonderful. There are many words that can describe its aroma, its flavor. I can tell you of the temperature of the tea as I sip it from its cup. The smells that fill my nose just as my tongue tastes the first drips. I can explain to you the benefits of the tea. But, you still have not experienced the tea. You only have a rude concept of what it might be. Unless you sip from the cup yourself, you are not experiencing the real. And this is true with the Dao.”
Its Name may be named [i.e., the TAO may receive a designation, though of itself it has none]; but it is not an ordinary name, [or name in the usual sense of the word, for it is a presentment or ειδωλον of the Infinite].
Its nameless period was that which preceded the birth of the Universe.
In being spoken of by name, it is as the Progenitrix of All Things.
It is therefore in habitual passionlessness that its mystery may be scanned; and in habitual desire that its developments may be perceived.
These two conditions, the Active and the Quiescent, alike proceed [from TAO]; it is only in name that they differ. Both may be called profundities; and the depth of profundity is the gate of every mystery.”
(Tao Te Ching, Verse 1, Balfour Translation)
In the spring of 2004, around the time I started including verses from the tao in my emails, a friend of mine wrote:
“I find the tao stuff creepy, to be honest, after all the tao that can be understood is not the true tao, so therefore isn’t the rest of lao tzu’s little book pointless? It’s like saying that the truth cannot be spoken, but the tragic thing is that you had to speak to me to tell me that…or like saying that there is no absolute truth…”
His comments were on the paradox in the passage above passage, but they make me wonder if he wasn’t also aware of the paradox in verse 56:
“Those who know don't talk. Those who talk don't know.”
The entire text, like life, is full of paradox. The question one must ask is why did Lao Tzu write this? This is the first verse of the tao and it’s functioning as an introduction and like many introductions, it includes a disclaimer. When Lao Tzu writes, “The tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao. The name that can be named is not the eternal Name. The unnamable is the eternally real. (or one of the various alternative among the various translations)” I don’t think that he’s claiming that the truth can’t be spoken or that there is no absolute truth. Quite the opposite, I think that he’s saying that there is absolute truth, but this truth transcends the maximum capabilities of mere words. In essence he’s saying, “look, I’m going to tell you what I know about the integral truth of the universe and the virtuous application of such high, subtle knowledge, but my words aren’t going to be the thing – the thing is out there, the universe and everything in it – the thing is in here, deep inside each one of us – the thing is not me or this book or the teachings in this book – those are all just arrows pointing the way.” A map of Albania is not Albania, but it can help you find your way. It’s also like Magritte’s painting of a pipe with the caption, “Ceci n’est pas une pipe” (This is not a pipe.). It’s also like Plato’s allegory of the cave. It’s what the apostle Paul was talking about in I Corinthians 13:12, “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.” There is REALITY and TRUTH, but the reality we perceive and the truth we understand are not really THE REALITY and THE TRUTH. I mentioned earlier that I was initially drawn to the tao because I found it provocatively absurd and paradoxical. But the more I’ve read it and copied it and written about it, the more I find it truly practical. In verse 14, Lao Tzu declares that you can’t know the Tao, but you can be it. If I had to sum up verse 1, it would be: Words cannot describe the absolute REALITY of the universe, but they can point you toward it and you can experience it.
Siji Tzu was another ancient (possibly mythical) Chinese mystic like Lao Tzu, who wrote commentary on each verse of the Tao. He wrote the following for verse one:
“Green tea is wonderful. There are many words that can describe its aroma, its flavor. I can tell you of the temperature of the tea as I sip it from its cup. The smells that fill my nose just as my tongue tastes the first drips. I can explain to you the benefits of the tea. But, you still have not experienced the tea. You only have a rude concept of what it might be. Unless you sip from the cup yourself, you are not experiencing the real. And this is true with the Dao.”
Monday, January 4, 2010
Tao Te Ching, Verse 1, Part IV
“Nature can never be completely described, for such a description of Nature would have to duplicate Nature. No name can fully express what it represents.
It is Nature itself, and not any part (or name or description) abstracted from Nature, which is the ultimate source of all that happens, all that comes and goes, begins and ends, is and is not. But to describe Nature as 'the ultimate source of all' is still only a description, and such a description is not Nature itself. Yet since, in order to speak of it, we must use words, we shall have to describe it as 'the ultimate source of all.'
If Nature is inexpressible, he who desires to know Nature as it is in itself will not try to express it in words.
Although the existence of Nature and a description of that existence are two different things, yet they are also the same.
For both are ways of existing. That is, a description of existence must have its own existence, which is different from the existence of that which it describes; and so again we have to recognize an existence which cannot be described.” (Tao Te Ching, Verse 1, Bahm Translation)
One of the regular exercises I make my students do in their journals is quotation analysis. The steps I’ve given them for analyzing a quote are as follows: 1) write it in your own words, 2) write down what you think it means 3) write down whether you agree or disagree with what you think it means, 3) give reasons for why you agree or disagree with what you think it means, and then if you need more lines (15 lines of 8 to 10 words each per journal), give evidence from experiences you’ve had or heard of to support the reasons for why you agree or disagree with what you think it means. The whole idea is to give them tools for approaching things that they are unsure how to approach. We do at least one of these a week and I give them about ten minutes for each. I’m telling you this because on occasions when I get stuck, I’m going to follow a similar formula: 1) I’m going to put it in my own words, 2) I’m going to write down what I think it means 3) and then I’m going to give reasons for why that is what I think it means, and then if I need more lines (15 lines of 9 point, TIMES NEW ROMAN), I’m going to give evidence from experiences you’ve had or heard of to support the reasons for why that is what I think it means. Not only will this help me to write when I don’t feel like it or when I’ve nothing to say, it will also help me to better identify with my students (which is always one of my goals). It’s also occurred to me to just write about my day or whatever and see if it ties in to whatever the tao says in the given verse. You’d be surprised how often that sort of approach can work. Perhaps tomorrow, I’ll actually start writing about verse 1.
It is Nature itself, and not any part (or name or description) abstracted from Nature, which is the ultimate source of all that happens, all that comes and goes, begins and ends, is and is not. But to describe Nature as 'the ultimate source of all' is still only a description, and such a description is not Nature itself. Yet since, in order to speak of it, we must use words, we shall have to describe it as 'the ultimate source of all.'
If Nature is inexpressible, he who desires to know Nature as it is in itself will not try to express it in words.
Although the existence of Nature and a description of that existence are two different things, yet they are also the same.
For both are ways of existing. That is, a description of existence must have its own existence, which is different from the existence of that which it describes; and so again we have to recognize an existence which cannot be described.” (Tao Te Ching, Verse 1, Bahm Translation)
One of the regular exercises I make my students do in their journals is quotation analysis. The steps I’ve given them for analyzing a quote are as follows: 1) write it in your own words, 2) write down what you think it means 3) write down whether you agree or disagree with what you think it means, 3) give reasons for why you agree or disagree with what you think it means, and then if you need more lines (15 lines of 8 to 10 words each per journal), give evidence from experiences you’ve had or heard of to support the reasons for why you agree or disagree with what you think it means. The whole idea is to give them tools for approaching things that they are unsure how to approach. We do at least one of these a week and I give them about ten minutes for each. I’m telling you this because on occasions when I get stuck, I’m going to follow a similar formula: 1) I’m going to put it in my own words, 2) I’m going to write down what I think it means 3) and then I’m going to give reasons for why that is what I think it means, and then if I need more lines (15 lines of 9 point, TIMES NEW ROMAN), I’m going to give evidence from experiences you’ve had or heard of to support the reasons for why that is what I think it means. Not only will this help me to write when I don’t feel like it or when I’ve nothing to say, it will also help me to better identify with my students (which is always one of my goals). It’s also occurred to me to just write about my day or whatever and see if it ties in to whatever the tao says in the given verse. You’d be surprised how often that sort of approach can work. Perhaps tomorrow, I’ll actually start writing about verse 1.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Tao Te Ching, Verse 1, Part III
“The Ineffable, about which is spoken, is not the eternal Ineffable
A name for the Unnameable, is but a name
The Unnameable is what makes everything what it is
By naming things you divide the Indivisible
Only one who gives up all his desires can experience the Indivisible
One who still cherishes desires, will experience only dissension
Both will see the same reality, but experience it differently
One who goes from the false reality into the other,
Will pass through the narrow gate and receive the secret of true life”
(Tao Te Ching, Verse 1, Anonymous Translation)
This is essentially an experiment and I’m not entirely sure how I want to go about it. One of the difficulties I’ve had with blogging in the past is the struggle with the desire to present a well-reasoned finished product. I simply do not have time for that and it is precisely that sort of desire that has inhibited my previous attempts to write about the tao. So I’m going to have to try a different approach. My thought is that I will approach each verse from a bunch of different directions until I feel like I’ve dealt with it adequately. I’m going to deal with one verse a month and I’m going to try to write for at least ten minutes a day until I feel like I’ve dealt with it adequately. If I can do that in one post, so be it; if it takes thirty-one, that’s just the way it goes. School’s about to start up again and once again I will be very busy, so most of these posts will be extemporaneous. Many of them will not be very good and I suspect that it’s going to take me a while to figure out what I’m doing. That’s ten minutes, so if nothing else, these posts will be short.
A name for the Unnameable, is but a name
The Unnameable is what makes everything what it is
By naming things you divide the Indivisible
Only one who gives up all his desires can experience the Indivisible
One who still cherishes desires, will experience only dissension
Both will see the same reality, but experience it differently
One who goes from the false reality into the other,
Will pass through the narrow gate and receive the secret of true life”
(Tao Te Ching, Verse 1, Anonymous Translation)
This is essentially an experiment and I’m not entirely sure how I want to go about it. One of the difficulties I’ve had with blogging in the past is the struggle with the desire to present a well-reasoned finished product. I simply do not have time for that and it is precisely that sort of desire that has inhibited my previous attempts to write about the tao. So I’m going to have to try a different approach. My thought is that I will approach each verse from a bunch of different directions until I feel like I’ve dealt with it adequately. I’m going to deal with one verse a month and I’m going to try to write for at least ten minutes a day until I feel like I’ve dealt with it adequately. If I can do that in one post, so be it; if it takes thirty-one, that’s just the way it goes. School’s about to start up again and once again I will be very busy, so most of these posts will be extemporaneous. Many of them will not be very good and I suspect that it’s going to take me a while to figure out what I’m doing. That’s ten minutes, so if nothing else, these posts will be short.
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Tao Te Ching, Verse 1, Part II
“Who would follow the Way
must go beyond words.
Who would know the world
must go beyond names.
Nameless, all things begin.
Named, all things are born.
Empty of intent, one may be filled with awe.
Full of intent, one may know what's manifest.
One source, different fonts.
Wonders both.
From wonder into wonder,
existence opens.”
(Tao Te Ching, Verse 1, Douglas Allchin Translation)
Supposedly, Lao Tzu lived during the 6th century BC and was keeper of the ancient dynasty archives. All of this is probably apocryphal. Lao Tzu was thus well versed in the wisdom and knowledge of China’s greatest sages before the time of the Yellow Emperor (2697 BC). When the tao speaks of the ancient masters, it’s talking about those guys. In his old age Lao Tzu became disgusted with cultural chaos and ethical disintegration of the society around him (a feeling that I can frequently identify with) and decided to leave and live in harmony with nature. Thus he rode westward on the back of a water buffalo. When he came to the Han Gu pas at the border of China, he was requested by the pass official to write down the essence of his wisdom. The text he left has become known as the Tao Te Ching which Stephen Mitchell translates as “the way and it’s power.” Hua-Ching Ni asserts that “Tao means the integral truth of the universe, Te means the virtuous application of such high, subtle knowledge, and Ching means serious spiritual guidance.”
must go beyond words.
Who would know the world
must go beyond names.
Nameless, all things begin.
Named, all things are born.
Empty of intent, one may be filled with awe.
Full of intent, one may know what's manifest.
One source, different fonts.
Wonders both.
From wonder into wonder,
existence opens.”
(Tao Te Ching, Verse 1, Douglas Allchin Translation)
Supposedly, Lao Tzu lived during the 6th century BC and was keeper of the ancient dynasty archives. All of this is probably apocryphal. Lao Tzu was thus well versed in the wisdom and knowledge of China’s greatest sages before the time of the Yellow Emperor (2697 BC). When the tao speaks of the ancient masters, it’s talking about those guys. In his old age Lao Tzu became disgusted with cultural chaos and ethical disintegration of the society around him (a feeling that I can frequently identify with) and decided to leave and live in harmony with nature. Thus he rode westward on the back of a water buffalo. When he came to the Han Gu pas at the border of China, he was requested by the pass official to write down the essence of his wisdom. The text he left has become known as the Tao Te Ching which Stephen Mitchell translates as “the way and it’s power.” Hua-Ching Ni asserts that “Tao means the integral truth of the universe, Te means the virtuous application of such high, subtle knowledge, and Ching means serious spiritual guidance.”
Friday, January 1, 2010
Tao Te Ching, Verse 1, Part I
“Tao called Tao is not Tao. Names can name no lasting name.Nameless: the origin of heaven and earth.
Naming: the mother of ten thousand things.Empty of desire, perceive mystery.
Filled with desire, perceive manifestations.These have the same source, but different names.Call them both deep - Deep and again deep: the gateway to all mystery.”
(Tao Te Ching, Verse 1, Stephen Addiss & Stanley Lombardo Translation)
I was first introduced to Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching (from here on out, I’ll just call it the tao) some time in”93 in World Lit. I. I was immediately drawn to it because I found it provocatively absurd and paradoxical. I’ve always had an affinity for the absurd and paradoxical. My only explanation for this is that I find life absurd and paradoxical, but this explanation is a bit weak because I loved this sort of thing even as a child. Seemingly it’s just some sort of natural inclination. I suspect that I may have been taking World Lit. I with my friend, Mr. Howell because sometime soon after my first reading of a bit of it, we discussed it. It turns out that Mr. Howell was already familiar with the tao. It seems that he shared my affinity and was much more knowledgeable of the text than I was. This reinforced my affinity and thus, when I saw Stephen Mitchell’s translation in a local book store, I had to buy it. I read it cover to cover and, to be honest, I didn’t get that much out of it, but I liked it. I’d begun to write regularly in a lineless, little, hardbound sketchbook. On the top and bottom of each page, I’d copy interesting quotes that I’d found. I decided to copy the tao, verse by verse into the footers of each page. And over time ,copying and recopying the tao, it started to make sense to me. Around 2001, I decided to devote a journal to the tao. I would copy a verse and then write what it meant to me. There are eighty-one verses and I only managed to get through about half of them before I got busy, lost interest, and eventually lost the journal. In 2008, I began something similar, only this time I wrote the reflections in a daily, group email that I’ve been writing. This time I managed to get through about sixty-four of the verses, but I’ve found that I have other topics that I’d prefer to write about in the emails and most of my friends aren’t very interested in reading about the tao. I figured that as long as no one is reading it, it might as well be in a blog. I do this for my own edification, but I’m hoping that it’ll eventually attract some readers and maybe even generate some discussion, or at least comments. We’ll see. It’s a long road. As I mentioned there are eighty-one verses. My plan is to try to adequately cover one verse a month. At that rate, this is going to take almost seven years, but as Lao Tzu tells us, “ A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.” This post is the first of many, many steps. Maybe this time I’ll make it all the way.
Naming: the mother of ten thousand things.Empty of desire, perceive mystery.
Filled with desire, perceive manifestations.These have the same source, but different names.Call them both deep - Deep and again deep: the gateway to all mystery.”
(Tao Te Ching, Verse 1, Stephen Addiss & Stanley Lombardo Translation)
I was first introduced to Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching (from here on out, I’ll just call it the tao) some time in”93 in World Lit. I. I was immediately drawn to it because I found it provocatively absurd and paradoxical. I’ve always had an affinity for the absurd and paradoxical. My only explanation for this is that I find life absurd and paradoxical, but this explanation is a bit weak because I loved this sort of thing even as a child. Seemingly it’s just some sort of natural inclination. I suspect that I may have been taking World Lit. I with my friend, Mr. Howell because sometime soon after my first reading of a bit of it, we discussed it. It turns out that Mr. Howell was already familiar with the tao. It seems that he shared my affinity and was much more knowledgeable of the text than I was. This reinforced my affinity and thus, when I saw Stephen Mitchell’s translation in a local book store, I had to buy it. I read it cover to cover and, to be honest, I didn’t get that much out of it, but I liked it. I’d begun to write regularly in a lineless, little, hardbound sketchbook. On the top and bottom of each page, I’d copy interesting quotes that I’d found. I decided to copy the tao, verse by verse into the footers of each page. And over time ,copying and recopying the tao, it started to make sense to me. Around 2001, I decided to devote a journal to the tao. I would copy a verse and then write what it meant to me. There are eighty-one verses and I only managed to get through about half of them before I got busy, lost interest, and eventually lost the journal. In 2008, I began something similar, only this time I wrote the reflections in a daily, group email that I’ve been writing. This time I managed to get through about sixty-four of the verses, but I’ve found that I have other topics that I’d prefer to write about in the emails and most of my friends aren’t very interested in reading about the tao. I figured that as long as no one is reading it, it might as well be in a blog. I do this for my own edification, but I’m hoping that it’ll eventually attract some readers and maybe even generate some discussion, or at least comments. We’ll see. It’s a long road. As I mentioned there are eighty-one verses. My plan is to try to adequately cover one verse a month. At that rate, this is going to take almost seven years, but as Lao Tzu tells us, “ A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.” This post is the first of many, many steps. Maybe this time I’ll make it all the way.
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