365 Tao

[adept]

TOTALITY

Those who consider their path superior are condescending.

A parrot who speaks of the totality of the self is absurd.

Many paths lead to the summit,

But it takes a whole body to get there.

 

Once I met a woman who was a lifelong Christian. She had two sons who practiced yoga. She thought that was wonderful, but they arrogantly considered their beliefs to be superior to hers and told her that she was not doing enough for her spiritual salvation.

No one has a right to condemn another person's spiritual beliefs. No spiritual system is superior to another. Each one of us should have the philosophy and practices that work for us. We should be happy once we find it, we should help those who are interested in the spirituality we represent, but none of us should behave condescendingly toward others' spirituality.

 

We are all trying to get to the summit of spiritual realization, and there are many valid paths leading to the top. Of course, the view and terrain on one side of a mountain will differ from the other, but the summit is identical no matter what your approach.

 

Whatever your path, all that matters is that you commit yourself totally to following it. Others will do the same. As long as we all climb, each from our own direction, and reach the summit of human spirituality, we can achieve complete totality in our lives. Then all the fracturing discussions of sects and different religions become unnecessary.

[adept]

I think this is very apt, considering all the sectarian issues we have on Tao Bums.

 

I will continue to post these daily words of wisdom using this one thread, rather than open a different one each day.

It doesn't matter if there aren't many comments.

[Marblehead]

Well, I am sure you will have many viewers even if you don't get many comments.

 

Peace & Love!

[adept]

MEDITATION

Sit still and disengage normal activities.

Draw energy from the earth,

Admit power from the heavens.

Fertilize the seed within;

Let it sprout into a flower of pure light.

And let brightness open the top of your head:

Divine light will come pouring in.

Your mind is empty,

Light seeps into your whole body.

Sitting cross-legged, with hands clasped,

As if trying to embrace the brilliant flood,

Your skin turns transparent.

How can a bag of skin hold divine magnitude?

Your last vestiges burn away in a torrent of infinity.

 

Only after indeterminate time do you return.

Flesh, blood, bone.

Were you gone? Or were you never here in the first place?

Where is the torrent?

It is not gone;

You've only closed to it once more.

[adept]

SHRINE

Wade the warm stream to

The shrine across the river of golden sound,

Where a drunken bee drones the holy syllable

Over a crimson lotus.

Rich mango magenta and spice offerings

Are piled high by the devout.

Entering into hut of blue stone --

Cool black interior smeared with incense and

Pierced with tiny triangles of candle flame --

Ordinary cares fall to the crystalline floor.

Fiery letters appear in the air

And reappear in your heart.

 

It is good to have holy places in the world, and it is good for us to go on pilgrimages. Ultimately, it is not the place that is important; it is what you feel that is lasting. To visit a place is minor; to change within yourself is greater.

When people visit a holy place, some say that the spirits of that place speak to them. Others remember the exotic pageantry. When it comes to sacred sites, it's better to be a pilgrim than a tourist. Go with a humble attitude, and let your heart be moved by what you experience. Then you will receive the true treasure of the shrine.

[adept]

ALTAR

Each day I forge my body into steel

And fold in bright strands of consciousness.

Piling up ripe fruit and fragrant flowers,

Lighting red candles and incense,

Serving tea, rice, and wine.

Anointing with aromatic oils,

Offering heart and bones,

The altar is my anvil, sun and moon the coals,

Discipline the hammer, lungs the bellows.

 

Followers of Tao have private altars in their homes. The pious see an altar only for supplication; the skeptical see the altar as false and insincere. Actually, devotional effort is absolutely necessary for those beginning on the path.

True spiritual cultivation begins with the premise that you already have a pure spirit and only need to clear away obfuscations. Thus one must work on both the physical and mental levels in order to achieve the quickest results. Such varied efforts need a strong center. By focusing on the altar as the platform for all practices, you will keep yourself strongly on your path. The outward acts then pile up like offerings after offerings, and the outward votive furniture becomes your means of memorializing your efforts. Then your body itself becomes a steel altar, an unshakable monument to spiritual devotion.

[adept]

SOLSTICE

When the true light appears,

The entire planet turns to face it.

 

The summer solstice is the time of greatest light. It is a day of enormous power. The whole planet is turned fully to the brilliance of the sun.

This great culmination is not static or permanent. Indeed, solstice as a time of culmination is only a barely perceptible point. The sun appears to stand still. Its diurnal motion seems to nearly cease. Yesterday, it was still reaching this point; tomorrow, it will begin a new phase of its cycle.

 

Those who follow Tao celebrate this day to remind themselves of the cycles of existence. They remember that all cycles have a left and a right, an up side and a down side, a zenith and a nadir. Today, day far surpasses night, and yet night will gradually begin to reassert itself. All of life is cycles. All of life is balance.

 

So celebrate, but be not proud. For whenever you celebrate high achievement, the antithesis is also approaching. Likewise, in misfortune, be not sad. For whenever you mourn in grief, the antithesis is also approaching. Those who know how to reach the peak of any cycle and remain glorious are the wisest of all.

[adept]

WORSHIP

You can worship gods,

But you cannot worship Tao.

 

Adoration of your god is more beautiful than lovers, more fulfilling than feasts, more valuable than mammon. It provides greater shelter than palaces. Proper worship is joyous and ecstatic.

If you have a limited view of worship, you can always lose sight of holiness. When you are on a junior level of achievement, you can turn away from your gods at any time. Those who follow Tao know that Tao is not the god on the altar; they therefore see their god in their every action and never lose sight of the divine.

 

Gods can be worshipped, but the Tao can't be worshipped. Why? Because gods lead to good things and inspire our highest devotion. As magnificent as this is to imagine, it is still limited when compared to the eternity of Tao. Tao has no definitions, no limit, no personal or individual consciousness. Thus, to worship Tao is meaningless, for our effort would be lost in an infinite sea. There is no supplication to it, for it will not respond. There is no adoration of it, for it displays no glory. There is no ecstatic union with it, for it has no differentiations. Tao is great. Tao is eternal. Anything limited and small -- even worship -- disappears in it. One can only enter Tao to become a part of its limitlessness.

[adept]

UNFORTUNATE

An unfortunate one is a rootless ghost,

His walk a mad angel's gait.

Insolent steps of one thrown from heaven

To toil in red dust,

As if he had not had enough

In a thousand previous lifetimes.

Where is his heart? Where is his soul?

To call this heaven's will

Is a cheap answer.

 

There was once a god who committed a crime. His punishment was to be thrown back to earth to suffer the misfortunes of being human.

When you see those less fortunate than yourself, whether they are the homeless on the streets or simply the ugly and unpopular, can you be sure that they are not like that god flung back to this mad planet?

 

Is their misfortune their own fault? Or do you explain with references to morality, destiny, reincarnation, and cosmic justice? Even the words of saints offer no relief for their suffering, so it hardly seems fair to blame them.

 

Let us not hold ourselves above our fellow human beings, no matter how great the disparity. To withhold your scorn is already beautiful. To see how we are all of one family is compassion.

[Marblehead]

Let us not hold ourselves above our fellow human beings, no matter how great the disparity. To withhold your scorn is already beautiful. To see how we are all of one family is compassion.

 

This is beautiful and I do try to comply. Sure, sometimes I fail but at least I do try.

 

Peace & Love!

[adept]

CHILDHOOD

No. No. No.

This ruins a child.

 

Children are one of the most precious aspects of life, and yet they often are mistreated and abused. If you are a parent, your most important task is to raise your child with as little trauma as possible. Firmness, consistency, and patience are essential. There will undoubtedly be times when you have to correct a child to prevent mistakes and bad habits. However, when it comes to a child's curiosity, individuality, or initiative, there should never be any discouragement. In that sense, it is wrong to say no.

There is a legend about a thief who stole into heaven and took the peaches that gave immortality. He returned to earth and was about to eat them when he chanced upon two little boys. Taken with their intelligence, he asked them riddle after riddle about the deepest meanings of life and they answered with laughing ease. The thief decided to share his peaches with the boys, and they all became immortal.

 

If the boys had had their curiosity killed early in life, could they have answered well? If a thief could be kind to children, can't the rest of us be too? And if the children never had an opportunity, could they have become immortals?

[adept]

WAR

Weapons are tools of ill omen

Wielded by the ignorant.

If their use is unavoidable,

The wise act with restraint.

The greatest sorrow is to be a veteran,

Witness to the atrocities of humanity.

 

If you hold a real weapon in your hand, you will feel its character strongly. It begs to be used. It is fearsome. Its only purpose is death, and its power is not just in the material from which it is made but also from the intention of its makers.

It is regrettable that weapons must sometimes be used, but occasionally, survival demands it. The wise go forth with weapons only as a last resort. They never rejoice in the skill of weapons, nor do they glorify war.

 

When death, pain, and destruction are visited upon what you hold to be most sacred, the spiritual price is devastating. What hurts more than one's own suffering is bearing witness to the suffering of others. The regret of seeing human beings at their worst and the sheer pain of not being able to help the victims can never be redeemed. If you go personally to war, you cross the line yourself. You sacrifice ideals for survival and the fury of killing. That alters you forever. That is why no one rushes to be a veteran. Think before you want to change so unalterably. The stakes are not merely one's life, but one's very humanity.

[adept]

FORCE

A sword is never sheathed

Until it has tasted blood.

A good swordsman

Is seldom seen with a sword.

 

Many centuries ago, there was a wanderer who was constantly chased by assassins. He was the best swordsman in the country. His challengers wanted to overcome him and thereby establish their own fame. Although the swordsman had long ago repented his killing and had renounced his status, he was still considered the best.

Over and over, his enemies came for him, and just as many times he defeated them using things at hand -- umbrella, fan, sticks. He did not draw a real sword for he knew he was far too lethal when armed.

 

So it is that the wise remain humble so that others are not aroused against them. They avoid conflict whenever possible. If trouble comes to seek them, they use only the bare amount of force in return. To go further is to fall into excess.

[adept]

AXLE

The mind is in spinning wheels at the

Navel, heart, throat, head.

The connecting shaft is emptiness.

Without an unobstructed route,

Energy cannot flow.

 

People search for the sacred and are told it is within themselves. It is sometimes difficult to see how literally the sages mean that. They see the mind as existing in other areas of the body in addition to the brain. These centers, nominally functional in the average person, are called chakras or wheels by those who follow Tao. Through meditation, one becomes acquainted with each of them and learns how to release power so profound that one is literally divine.

The concept of void is central to many philosophies including that of Tao. However, it seems so abstract at times. Here void has a functional role. The pathway connecting the energy centers of the mind is like a long shaft beginning from the perineum and ending at the top of the head. If not for emptiness, or hollowness of this shaft, the sacred energy of the body could not be conducted.

 

All the diversity of our lives is merely a manifestation of our minds, expressed through the turning of the various wheels within ourselves. The more they turn, the more complex circumstances and thinking become. However, if we want simplicity and tranquility, we need only go to the center of the spinning mind where it is empty and still. Thus it is said that diversity comes from the revolving of the wheels and origins come from the central void.

[Mal]

Reading these daily gems from Deng Ming-Dao is certainly a worthwhile endeavour IMHO

 

Thanks for making the effort to post them.

[DalTheJigsaw123]

I actually have this book, will start reading it soon.

Finishing up "Living in the Tao." By Mantak Chia and William U. Wei

[adept]

FLOW

If the boulders are moved,

Even a river will change its flow.

 

Except for occasional flooding, the mightiest river keeps to its bed. It flows where it finds openings between cliffs and rocks. If the river is dammed, if the cliff walls are moved, if the boulders are shifted, it will flow a different course. It could even be made to flow backwards if the earth moved far enough.

So it is with the flow of our lives. Once the fixed objects of our lives shift, our circumstances change. If we move to another city, life will change. If we marry one person over another, life will be different. If we situate our business in a good neighborhood, life will be prosperous. If we choose a house in a good setting, life will be healthy. If we arrange our furniture properly, life will be comfortable. If we eat correctly, life will be prolonged. In short, followers of Tao realize that the flow of life can be affected and to some degree consciously manipulated simply by altering its parameters.

 

Life is the flow of energy. It is the air that we breathe, the force that moves the weather, the force of all minds combined. It keeps the rivers flowing, our hearts beating, and the sky blue. This flow of energy moves constantly according to the fixed points that exist at any given moment. Therefore, by manipulating the cardinal points of our lives, we can change the flow. The freedom to choose and to change belongs to us.

[adept]

Reading these daily gems from Deng Ming-Dao is certainly a worthwhile endeavour IMHO

 

Thanks for making the effort to post them.

 

Thanks for making the effort to comment, Mal.

I was beginning to think no one was reading this thread.

[Marblehead]

I was beginning to think no one was reading this thread.

 

Well, just keep checking the "view" count. We are watching but remaining silent.

 

Peace & Love!

[adept]

MIDDLE

Those who attain the middle

Dominate the whole.

 

Today is the 183rd day. It is exactly the middle day out of 365. Once you reach the center of anything, you can dominate the whole in any way you please. In chess, those who gain the middle board are usually in the superior position. In a storm, those who reach the eye are safe. In making decisions, those who cleave to the center are wise.

There are 182 days on either side of today to make a year. There is no center day in an even-numbered period. It is the odd-numbered set that has a center. It is the odd numbered set that is dynamic.

 

In all areas of life, it is good to establish goals and parameters. Define the scope of anything that you do. That way, you will know when you have reached the center and perseverance will be easier.

[Marblehead]

Once you reach the center of anything, you can dominate the whole in any way you please.

 

Yep. This is linked to my use of the concept of being in harmony with our self and our surroundings.

 

And it also referrences the Middle (Main) Path which is important in both Taoism and Buddhism.

 

Peace & Love.

[adept]

SITE

Desert: visions.

Tropics: possession.

Forests: alchemy.

Mountains: asceticism.

 

Throughout the world, the site where people practiced spirituality has been significant. In the deserts of the Middle East, holy people had visions. In the tropics, sorcerers used spirit possession. In the forests of Europe and Asia, alchemists perfected their arts. In the Himalayas, sages hid themselves away for ascetic practices. Of course, these were not the only places for such arts, but it is more than coincidental that certain practices are tied to the place. If you go to any of these lands, you can still feel the essence that inspired generations.

Thus it is that you should be sensitive to where you situate yourself in the world. Selecting a spiritual site requires subtlety. If you do not know the science of geomancy, it is better to go to a place known to be conducive to what you want to achieve. Then narrow your choice by what you see and feel. If you sense that there is great well-being, that the plants and animals of the area are healthy, that the place is not subject to extremes of weather that would adversely affect your health, then that is the place for you. When you move there, you will be sustained.

 

No site is forever. If you find that the flow of energy has gone elsewhere or that others begin to ruin an area, then search for a new place of vitality. That is why those who follow Tao seldom have fixed homes. They wander from site to site so as to constantly remain in the stream of Tao.

[adept]

FLAME

Enter the cavern with its

Walls of tangled strands.

Find the living flame

That burns on blood.

 

The brain is a physical object that generates mental energy. It is a tangle of strands, an unknowable, dense web. It is a mass of emotions, memories, instincts, reactions, and thoughts. Whatever comes into its scope of awareness is channeled through its dark core. Energy sparks through at speeds faster than lightning, but still, there are many areas that lie dormant, unused, nearly petrified with age.

With the proper methods, we can enter into the center of the brain. Metaphorically speaking, this area is like a cavern with a subterranean river running through it. That river can be kindled with a spiritual spark, and the whole river can be set aflame. This illumination is spiritual energy. It can be used to rejuvenate the brain and to supplement the limitations of our normal mental abilities.

 

Methods that deal with the mind only as a brain will always be limited. Coping with life only through physical faculties will always fall short of the ultimate answers. Only through lighting a living fire within ourselves can we dance quickly and spontaneously enough to meet the rhythm of life.

[adept]

POINT

Make the mind.

A single point.

 

The key to any meditation is to concentrate the mind into a single point. There are many methods for doing this, from singing, to listening to holy words, to contemplative procedures. But the end result is the same : to focus our minds sharply.

A point has a definite position in space but neither size not shape.

A point marks an actual place in time, such as a point of departure.

A point is the very essence of something, as in the point of an idea.

A point is a coordinate for navigation.

A point is the dominant center, as in the principle point of perspective.

A point determines our outlook, as in point of view.

 

Once the mind is made into a single point, it takes on the above attributes. In contrast, a mind that is not focused is dispersed over a wide area. Its thoughts are scattered, its energies are in disarray, and it cannot move clearly in any direction. It is at the mercy of a thousand influences and is easily disoriented. The result is confusion, ignorance, unhappiness, and helplessness. A mind that is clearly focused, however, receives all things and can abide in utter tranquility. It is no exaggeration to say that its world revolves around it. It no longer has to chase after all that appears before it.

[adept]

CARING

Don't go out looking for good deeds to do,

But if one comes your way, do not refuse.

If you meet someone who is suffering,

You must help them.

 

What good is self-cultivation and wisdom if you just keep it for yourself? Knowledge is meant to be used, and if you can use it on behalf of others, you should.

There was once a man who prayed daily to a particular god among many in the temple. Eventually, he noticed that the incense he lit drifted over all -- other gods were getting the benefit of his efforts! He built a paper cone over the incense burner so that all the smoke would be directed right at the nose of his god. Unfortunately, this turned the face of his god black with soot.

 

Those who follow Tao believe in using sixteen attributes on behalf of others : mercy, gentleness, patience, nonattachment, control, skill, joy, spiritual love, humility, reflection, restfulness, seriousness, effort, controlled emotion, magnanimity, and concentration. Whenever you need to help another, draw upon these qualities. Notice that self-sacrifice is not included in this list. You do not need to destroy yourself to help another. Your overall obligation is to complete your own journey along your personal Tao. As long as you can offer solace to others on your same path, you have done the best that you can.