Tao Te Wednesday

1/25/2012

Look, and it can't be seen.
Listen, and it can't be heard.
Reach, and it can't be grasped.

Above, it isn't bright.
Below, it isn't dark.
Seamless, unnamable,
it returns ot the realm of nothing.
Form that includes all forms,
imagine without an image,
subtle beyond all conception.

Approach it and there is no beginning;
follow it and there is no end.
You can't know it, but you can be it,
at ease in your own life.
Just realize where you come from:
this is the essence of wisdom. Verse 14

Laura Novak

1/25/2012 01:27:42 am

Hmmm, I think I am close to finding wisdom. :-)

mistah charley, ph.d. link

1/25/2012 03:52:24 am

John Heider's 1985 paraphrase, The Tao of Leadership, puts it:

When you cannot see what is happening in a group, do not stare harder. Relax and look with your inner eye.

When you do not understand what a person is saying, do not grasp for every word. Give up your efforts. Become silent inside and listen with your deepest self.

When you are puzzled by what you see or hear, push less, open out and be aware. See without staring. Listen quietly rather than listening hard. Use intuition and reflection rather than trying to figure things out.

The more you can let go of trying, and the more open and receptive you become, the more easily you will know what is happening.

Also, stay in the present. The present is more available than either memories of the past or fantasies of the future.

So attend to what is happening now.

Laura Novak

1/25/2012 04:29:14 am

Thank you for that, MC. I really love how he interprets it. It's common sense and modern usage and very apt for my life. I love that you post them here for us to ponder further. Thank you again for taking the time to do that.

mistah charley, ph.d. link

1/25/2012 05:49:15 am

It's my pleasure, Laura.

An observation of my own - often it seems that the Tao Te Ching is cautioning us against "pushing too hard." Sometimes it's externally focused - don't push those small fish around so much in the frying pan. This time it's internally focused. There's a part of us [the "left side of the brain", roughly] that wants to "figure things out." When that isn't working, rather than try harder, this chapter is saying, give [the "right side of the brain"'] the part that recognizes patterns a chance. Let the knowledge emerge as you keep paying attention to what's in front of you.

I mentioned on another blog's comments section that I'd ordered a book on how to pray. Someone asked, "Is it so complicated that you need to read a book about it?" I replied that there were many ways to pray, and that book [Sacred Breath: Forty Days of Centering Prayer] was about how to listen to God, instead of telling Him what you want. The patience it takes to listen to God is perhaps similar to the patience it takes to wait for things to become more clear when you can't figure them out right away.

I hope the nonbelievers in the readership will not be offended by my use of theistic language - it's what I grew up with, and feel comfortable with.

mistah charley, ph.d.

1/25/2012 06:00:38 am

Maybe, on top of the theistic language, the male-centered language about God could also be a bit offensive. I usually avoid this, in fact - at the church I go, a lot of people tend to say "God's" in various places in the ritual where it says "His" on the page - I like that. As the joke I heard in high school about the guy who died, met God, and then came back to life to tell about it put it, "First of all - She's black."

mistah charley, ph.d.

1/25/2012 06:00:38 am

grannyj

1/25/2012 08:50:44 am

I really appreciate, once again, mistah charley's translation- but even more importantly, today especially, i appreciate his further observations. I was stuck on "stay in the present," because I feel that there are things from the past that I must work out if I am to find peace. I never seem to be able to make sense of it however and I feel as though the weight of it will never lift. When I read MC's observations it makes so much sense. "Let the knowledge emerge as you keep paying attention to what's in front of you." I will try to let the right side of my brain work on it for a while. Thank you Laura and MCphd.

Laura Novak

1/26/2012 02:15:03 am

GrannyJ, I agree with you. I get very stuck and it's passages and interpretations like this that remind me of what's important.

And as for poly theism, or any theism, it's a personal decision. And I'm sure Neptune would have something to say about it!

And as for "she's black," I have no doubt!

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6/4/2013 06:35:19 pm

The poem is well written and I am really a fan of your for writing such a beautiful poem. The poem is of a diversifying nature and since it is a good one, it should attract every reader's mind. This one is an inspiration for me to try writing a poem by myself.

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Laura Novak

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