Nei-Yeh chapters 6&7

[manitou]

CHAPTER 6

 

As for the Way:

It is what the mouth cannot speak of,

The eyes cannot see,

And the ears cannot hear.

It is that with which we cultivate the mind and align the body.

When people lose it they die;

When people gain it they flourish.

When endeavours lose it they fail;

When they gain it they succeed.

The Way never has a root or trunk,

It never has leaves or flowers.

The myriad things are generated by it;

The myriad things are completed by it.

We designate it "the Way."

 

CHAPTER 7

 

For the heavens, the ruling principle is to be aligned.

For the earth, the ruling principle is to be level.

For human beings the ruling principle is to be tranquil.

Spring, autumn, winter and summer are the seasons of the heavens.

Mountains, hills, rivers, and valleys are the resources of the earth.

Pleasure and anger, accepting and rejecting are the devices of human beings.

Therefore, the sage:

Alters with the seasons but doesn't transform,

Shifts with things but doesn't change places with them.

[manitou]

Therefore, the sage:

Alters with the seasons but doesn't transform,

Shifts with things but doesn't change places with them.

 

 

I'm thinking it's saying that the Sage doesn't have a firm stance on anything. He never becomes All-accepting or All-rejecting; nor is he always filled with pleasure or always angry.

 

This mildness, the placid lake, is achieved through the inner cultivation. When we are no longer attached in an emotional way to the 10,000 things, we can remain in a state of placid calmness, from which clarity of vision is obtained.

[Mr. T]

hey there,

 

i think that chapter is worth taking very literally, as well. in fact, that is one facet of the tao that resonates the most with me: awareness of, and alignment to nature. it is unfortunate that we have lost touch with our natural surroundings and large-scale temporal processes, but we all change with the seasons...if nothing else, we probably change garments. just my thoughts...

 

have a good one!

[manitou]

hey there,

 

i think that chapter is worth taking very literally, as well. in fact, that is one facet of the tao that resonates the most with me: awareness of, and alignment to nature. it is unfortunate that we have lost touch with our natural surroundings and large-scale temporal processes, but we all change with the seasons...if nothing else, we probably change garments. just my thoughts...

 

have a good one!

 

I agree. It seems like we've got to get back to the original nature, something that the indigenous had. I think they were given the original instruction manual for human beings but the book has been lost over the years.

[zerostao]

I agree. It seems like we've got to get back to the original nature, something that the indigenous had. I think they were given the original instruction manual for human beings but the book has been lost over the years.

do we at least have the ISBN number?

[manitou]

do we at least have the ISBN number?

 

 

Actually, we may! My husband has a little '999' written under his hair on his scalp.

[Marblehead]

So getting back to nature I have an Iris flower that is opening today.

[manitou]

I have little tiny green bulb shoots coming up. Just barely. The robins just moved in. The turds have unfroze.

 

Think we should move on to the next chapter?

[Marblehead]

I have little tiny green bulb shoots coming up. Just barely. The robins just moved in. The turds have unfroze.

 

Think we should move on to the next chapter?

 

Hehehe. Yeah, that might be best. I need to go look at Chapter 9 again.