Nei Yeh Ch. 25 - Inner cultivation

[manitou]

CHAPTER 25

 

The vitality of all people

Inevitably comes from their peace of mind.

When anxious, you loose this guiding thread;

When angry, you lose this basic point.

When you are anxious or sad, pleased or angry,

The Way has no place to settle.

Love and desire; still them!

Folly and disturbance: correct them!

Do not push it! do not pull it!

Good fortune will naturally return to you,

And that Way will naturally come to you

So you can rely on and take counsel from it.

If you are tranquil then you will attain it;

If you are agitated then you will lose it.

[manitou]

This chapter says it all for me. The trick to peace of mind is to be able to walk around with it during the day; easy to do in meditation! For the sage to have the vision to see all things as they really are and what underlies them is the very thing that makes him the sage.

 

It amazes me, after being on this metaphysical path for over 40 years, that at the end of the day it seems to boil down to losing our anxiety. Both physically and mentally. The 'religious' paths I took in my youth and the subsequent metaphysics, shamanism and taoism only serve to lead you to one place. Right here where you are. At this moment in time. Here now.

 

It is so counter-intuitive to EVERYTHING we've been taught in life; if we just Be Here Now and let things come to us, it works perfectly. Perhaps not in the way we thought, but perfectly. It is in our attempt to control our future comfort by 'desires' (fear of not having enough, really) that things get contorted. Fear truly does lie near the bottom of the heap. Underneath fear is Acceptance and a peaceful heart. For those who are younger and must go out and grab for themselves and their families, that too is part of the cycle of life. I think it sometimes takes years of trying to figure out 'what it is', to realize 'what it is not.'

 

I think that when the Nazarene talked about the birds and liles of the fields being taken care of, why not us?...this is what he was referring to.

[stan herman]

This chapter says it all for me. The trick to peace of mind is to be able to walk around with it during the day; easy to do in meditation! For the sage to have the vision to see all things as they really are and what underlies them is the very thing that makes him the sage.

 

It amazes me, after being on this metaphysical path for over 40 years, that at the end of the day it seems to boil down to losing our anxiety. Both physically and mentally. The 'religious' paths I took in my youth and the subsequent metaphysics, shamanism and taoism only serve to lead you to one place. Right here where you are. At this moment in time. Here now.

 

It is so counter-intuitive to EVERYTHING we've been taught in life; if we just Be Here Now and let things come to us, it works perfectly. Perhaps not in the way we thought, but perfectly. It is in our attempt to control our future comfort by 'desires' (fear of not having enough, really) that things get contorted. Fear truly does lie near the bottom of the heap. Underneath fear is Acceptance and a peaceful heart. For those who are younger and must go out and grab for themselves and their families, that too is part of the cycle of life. I think it sometimes takes years of trying to figure out 'what it is', to realize 'what it is not.'

 

I think that when the Nazarene talked about the birds and liles of the fields being taken care of, why not us?...this is what he was referring to.

 

 

Nicely said. Just as long as it leaves a bit of space for the young and striving

[manitou]

Nicely said. Just as long as it leaves a bit of space for the young and striving

 

The beauty of life's cycle seems to be that it knows what to do and when to do it for everybody.

[strawdog65]

 

 

It is so counter-intuitive to EVERYTHING we've been taught in life; if we just Be Here Now and let things come to us, it works perfectly. Perhaps not in the way we thought, but perfectly. It is in our attempt to control our future comfort by 'desires' (fear of not having enough, really) that things get contorted. Fear truly does lie near the bottom of the heap. Underneath fear is Acceptance and a peaceful heart. For those who are younger and must go out and grab for themselves and their families, that too is part of the cycle of life. I think it sometimes takes years of trying to figure out 'what it is', to realize 'what it is not.'

 

 

 

Well said Manitou.

 

From my own experience I can see the wisdom in whats being said here.

 

It is almost as if by the "undoing" of the self we have built all our lives,

that we can finally arrive back at the well spring of the "source" within us all.

 

Being here, in only this moment as it flows into the next... the stillness of mind

that is required to achieve that peacefulness and contentment allows us to be happy

and free of burden with such focus.

 

I have only within the last few years realized the truth of this.

 

 

Peace!