Nei-Yeh chapters 4&5

[manitou]

CHAPTER FOUR:

 

Clear! as though right by your side.

Vague! as though it will not be attained.

Indescribable! as though beyond the limitless.

The test of this is not far off:

Daily we make use of its inner power.

The Way is what infuses the body,

Yet people are unable to fix it in place.

It goes forth but does not return,

It comes back but does not stay.

Silent! none can hear its sound.

Suddenly stopping! it abides within the mind.

Obscure! we do not see its form.

Surging forth! it arises with us.

We do not see its form,

We do not hear its sound,

Yet we can perceive an order to its accomplishments.

We call it "the Way."

 

CHAPTER 5

 

The Way has no fixed position;

It abides within the excellent mind.

When the mind is tranquil and the vital breath is regular,

The Way can thereby be halted.

That Way is not distant from us;

When people attain it they are sustained

That Way is not separated from us;

When people accord with it they are harmonious.

Therefore: Concentrated! as though you could be roped together with it.

Indiscernible! as though beyond all locations.

The true state of that Way:

How could it be conceived of and pronounced upon?

Cultivate your mind, make your thoughts tranquil,

And the Way can thereby be attained.

[zerostao]

The Way can thereby be halted.

 

this one is hard for me to approach.

[manitou]

It goes forth but does not return,

It comes back but does not stay.

 

This thing just can't be pinned down. I guess that's why there aren't a lot of Taoist churches!

 

If Taoists tried to pin down the nature of the Tao, to preach it from a pulpit, would be to render it stale from that point on. It is a dynamic from moment to moment, it manifests within the moment of Now - not yesterday, not tomorrow. We have to get to a point of total inner silence and a type of openmindedness that accepts all options in order to access it.

 

It seems to be the third eye. It grants a vision of sorts, an indescribable type of internal vision that Sees things in a slightly separate reality. It seems to See the dynamic behind the phenomena.

 

 

Yet we can perceive an order to its accomplishments.

We call it "the Way."

 

The order to its accomplishments is the manifestation of wu-wei - things happen on their own; we can see the dynamic from 'above' it, somehow, once the dynamic of the Tao has been put into place.

 

It also breeds the understanding that there is absolutely nothing to worry about within our situation or the world situation. It knows what it is doing, both in your life and in our collective lives. This is the strangeness and the dichotomy of how this works; the 'religious right' that lives here in Ohio are fearful of EVERYTHING. They're fearful of all things political that don't align with their views; they're certainly fearful of some sort of fiery hell that they don't want to land in; they're fearful of ideas that cross theirs; their fearful of gay people because they're afraid their children will catch it by osmosis or that someone will talk their kids into being gay; they're fearful of different skin colors, to be sure. They're fearful their taxes will go up, and fearful they'll lose some Medicare benefits. Just fear everywhere.

 

And these are the folks who holler loudest about God. I just can't understand why they can't come up with a concept that actually WORKS in their lives; a concept of an Intelligent God who actually knows what's going on, and has things in hand. But they don't; it's all the old biblical stuff that promotes one fear after another.

 

There is no such disconnect with the Tao. It's everywhere, it's everything, and it Knows. It is intelligence, and we can absolutely tap into that intelligence if we just do a little bit of internal housecleaning and train our mind to become an 'excellent mind', as it says in chapter 5.

[manitou]

The Way can thereby be halted.

 

this one is hard for me to approach.

 

I interpret this to mean that we can capture it by stillness.

[Dagon]

"The Way can thereby be halted."

 

this one is hard for me to approach.

 

I think this means cutting the root and breaking the cycle.

[Apech]

When the mind is tranquil and the vital breath is regular,

The Way can thereby be halted.

 

Means it doesn't come and go it resides. Bit like you might tame a wild animal by being still yourself.