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.”