Living the Way

[KCHooligan]

I want to start by saying I've only refreshed myself with the 1st 40 verses.

 

That said, there are some golden rules I've decided to post for discussion. If one finds fault with this list, or feels it lacks anything, pease post.

 

A Sage has compassion (unconditional love and kindness, resorting to contention as a last resort), lives in moderation (simplicity, frugality, and restraint from desires), and practices humility (selfless in action, and acts without competition). Nourishing life (healthy living). Maintaining a calm, clear, and open-mind through emptying oneself of desires and actively practicing detachement from emotions and concepts. Being a profoundly deep thinker (staying mindful of T'ai Chi, and that all dualistic things are in reality opposite manifestations of the same non-dualistic reality). Remaining impartial to the outside world, and detached from one's self (free of ego).

 

This about it?

Edited February 13, 2011 by KCHooligan

[Marblehead]

This about it?

 

I think you've got the major bases cover except to include maybe that s/he doesn't forget to live.

[manitou]

I really don't think you're a hooligan in Kansas City at all.

 

What you've described do seem to be the attributes of the sage. The problem becomes, how to get from here to there. In order for one to be a sage, I guess one must practice being a sage. But there's so much more involved!

 

I don't think the sage got to be the way he is by happenstance. I think there was a lot of intentional self-reflection, a self-realization that had to occur before he got to that point. It's one thing to think the Tao Te Ching is a cool document; it's another to take it to heart and change oneself from the inside out.

 

Seems like all of our life experiences combine to make us what we are today. I feel fortunate to have taken a horribly twisted path, although it didn't seem like a good thing at the time. But the remedies for that twisted path are what brought me to the space I inhabit today, which is one heck of a lot more comfortable and enjoyable than all those years I was out there trying to make everything happen.

 

I think there's a left brain understanding of all of this, and there is a right brain understanding. Hopefully we get to the point where they both merge seamlessly. The left brain understanding is that logical part of ourselves that thinks systematically. Sometimes it seems like the right brain has no rhyme or reason at all, but this is the home of developed instinct, art, the hocus-pocus stuff in life. the fun stuff. But it's this very right brain that is capable of making the (literally) quantum jumps to understanding a concept even if it doesn't lay out in an organized fashion as it would in the left brain.

 

The concept of wu-wei within the Tao is the achievement of the sage after the work is done. The balance required for this can't quite be covered under "is this about it?", lol. It requires having the discipline to wait until things come to you; it involves making sure each action is the most 'loving' in the context in which it's presented. Sometimes Love requires that you tell someone the truth, and you know it will hurt them. But the sage knows when and how to do this, and he does it with the most kindness that he's capable of delivering. All actions when in the state of wu-wei must be done from an unattached perspective, no preconception about a result.

 

In order to get to the place where one can actually do this well, I am thinking it takes many years of practice. In your case, KC, you've got a really good head start, and it wouldn't take that long. You seem absolutely sincere about wanting to learn this; you seem willing to look at yourself; you seem like one who is teachable and whose thoughts aren't stuck in cement.

 

It's a little like trying to use our knowledge for healing of ourselves or others; the more we practice it, the more the gifts seem to be given to us. When I started dabbling in shamanic ceremonies, I would follow the advice of others as to what to do in the ceremony. (When I say ceremony, I'm not talking about a big deal with a bunch of Indians dancing around a fire; I'm talking about something simple like tracing out a circle on the grass (or carpet), having the person stand in there; purifying the person, myself, and the surroundings with sage or sweetgrass, maybe having a little Native American music playing. I would scour books looking for the right combination of words to say, of ways to hold my staff, of things to do for a correct ceremony.

 

I'm not sure now that it makes any difference at all. I use my own words and my own intuition now, even if it's wrong. Because I've done a lot of internal housecleaning work, I can get down there pretty far to sense the energetic behavioral blockage that's impeding another's progress. This seems to be the vision I have been given throughout all this, and I use it alot. the same with the Tao. If it is read and studied, at some point it does become internalized. That's the beauty of the Tao te Ching - it's relatively short, and each and every time you read it, it will show you something different. Because you're a different person each and every time you read it.

 

I'm glad you're here, KC.

[KCHooligan]

I really don't think you're a hooligan in Kansas City at all.

 

Seems like all of our life experiences combine to make us what we are today. I feel fortunate to have taken a horribly twisted path, although it didn't seem like a good thing at the time. But the remedies for that twisted path are what brought me to the space I inhabit today, which is one heck of a lot more comfortable and enjoyable than all those years I was out there trying to make everything happen.

 

Hooligan is included in my name to let others know I'm a soccer fan. With an ego GO SPORTING KC!!!

 

Stephen Mitchell's notes on the Tao Te Ching included one of my favorite quotes, that I was reminded of when I read it last night, and sums up all the twisted paths one needs to venture before they know who they are (well, some of us!)

 

"The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom." -William Blake

[Jetsun]

 

In order to get to the place where one can actually do this well, I am thinking it takes many years of practice.

 

I think I have only ever encountered one person in my entire life who practises this consistently, who honestly seems to get it.

[manitou]

I think I have only ever encountered one person in my entire life who practises this consistently, who honestly seems to get it.

 

 

Jetsun, was it you that described that poised, graceful, thoughtful man in one of your posts a few weeks back? If it was you, I'd love to hear more about him.

[manitou]

Hooligan is included in my name to let others know I'm a soccer fan. With an ego GO SPORTING KC!!!

 

Stephen Mitchell's notes on the Tao Te Ching included one of my favorite quotes, that I was reminded of when I read it last night, and sums up all the twisted paths one needs to venture before they know who they are (well, some of us!)

 

"The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom." -William Blake

 

I love William Blake's quote! In one fell swoop you have totally vindicated my entire existence!