Nei Yeh Chapter 17

[manitou]

SEVENTEEN

 

 

For all who practice this Way:

You must coil, you must contract,

You must uncoil, you must expand,

You must be firm, you must be regular (in this practice).

Hold fast to this excellent (practice); do not let go of it.

Chase away the excessive; abandon the trivial.

And when you reach its ultimate limit

You will return to the Way and the inner power.

[manitou]

You must coil, you must contract.

 

This reminds me so much of the Qigong movements I recently learned. It's as though Qigong is an outer manifestation of the inner self, an expansion and a contraction. But the Qigong dance, along with dancing in the wu-wei, is a constant stillness movement. Our reactions to life's stimulus, if we're adept, is a constant stillness movement as well. There is no rigidity in the Sage, as there is no rigidity in the physical stillness movement. There is no differentiation or judgment of others in the Sage, but this does not mean he cannot See and differentiate. He can, but he chooses to see all others as himself.

 

If one is regular in their inner and outer practices, and they come to a point of alignment, then wu-wei is with us all day. Life takes on a mysterious harmony; we come to realize that we are One with Nature, and all outer stimulus is answered with love and truth, as we perceive it.

 

The Sage lets life come to him. He no longer feels the necessity to make things happen; he knows enough to let things happen. The highest path is the one he will always take relative to all stimulus. When one is consistent in taking the highest path, particularly in one's own thoughts, (which is surely a choice we make daily), then things are aligned of their own accord. Magically.

[zerostao]

SEVENTEEN

 

 

For all who practice this Way:

You must coil, you must contract,

You must uncoil, you must expand,

You must be firm, you must be regular (in this practice).

Hold fast to this excellent (practice); do not let go of it.

Chase away the excessive; abandon the trivial.

And when you reach its ultimate limit

You will return to the Way and the inner power.

baguazhang

[strawdog65]

Hi Manitou!

 

That is a very powerful verse.

 

Its like distilling everything down, and getting

this very condensed, concentrated dose of what

living and practicing taoism can be.

 

And I do agree that our outer manifestations

do emanate from within, at the well spring of our

awareness that we choose to live this way. If we

have become more peaceful within, then manifestation

will naturally flow to all of our actions,

if we allow this to be without letting ego interfere.

 

I guess being conscious of the "way", helps to

meter our actions and reign in our ego, which is

a good thing.

 

The path of the Sage is uncomfortable with many

loose pebbles on which to slip and fall.

It is the getting up and continuing onward

that allows us to walk ever toward a better us.

 

Peace!