Tao De Ching excerpts verse 6:
The mysterious feminine valley
is the gateway to the root of Heaven and Earth.
Lingering like Gossamer,
it has only a hint of existence;
Yet it endures for all time.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Monday, December 28, 2009
Tao De Ching excerpts
Tao De Ching excerpts verse 5:
Heaven and Earth are impartial,
They see the 10,000 things as straw dogs.
The wise too are impartial,
and see us all as straw dogs.
The space between Heaven and Earth is like a bellows.
The shape changes but not form.
No amount of words can fathom it.
Hold on to the Center.
Man was made to sit quietly & find
the Truth within.
Heaven and Earth are impartial,
They see the 10,000 things as straw dogs.
The wise too are impartial,
and see us all as straw dogs.
The space between Heaven and Earth is like a bellows.
The shape changes but not form.
No amount of words can fathom it.
Hold on to the Center.
Man was made to sit quietly & find
the Truth within.
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Tao De Ching Excerpts
Tao De Ching Excerpts from verse 4
The Tao is an empty vessel;
it is used,
but never filled...
inexhaustible,
Bottomless,
The origin of all.
It blunts all sharp edges;
It unties all tangles;
It harmonizes all lights.
It unites the world into one whole.
Hidden in the deeps,
Yet, it seems to have existed forever.
I do not know whose child it is;
It seems to be the common ancestor of all,
The father of all things.
The Tao is an empty vessel;
it is used,
but never filled...
inexhaustible,
Bottomless,
The origin of all.
It blunts all sharp edges;
It unties all tangles;
It harmonizes all lights.
It unites the world into one whole.
Hidden in the deeps,
Yet, it seems to have existed forever.
I do not know whose child it is;
It seems to be the common ancestor of all,
The father of all things.
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Tao De Ching Excerpts
Tao De Ching Excerpts from verse 3
To not exalt the gifted prevents quarrels.
To not collect treasures prevents theft...
...When action is pure and selfless, everything settles into it's own perfect place...
To not exalt the gifted prevents quarrels.
To not collect treasures prevents theft...
...When action is pure and selfless, everything settles into it's own perfect place...
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Tao De Ching Excerpts
Tao De Ching Excerpts from Verse 2
Under heaven all can see beauty as beauty only because there is ugliness.
All can know good as good only because there is evil.
The hidden and the manifest give birth to each other
Difficult and easy complement each other;
Long and short contrast each other;
High and low rest upon each other;
Voice and sound harmonize each other;
Front and back follow one another.
Therefore the sage goes about doing nothing,
and spreads his teaching without talking.
The ten thousand things rise and fall without cease.
Creating, but lays no claim to them.
Works, but does not take credit.
Work is done, then forgotten
Therefore it lasts forever.
Under heaven all can see beauty as beauty only because there is ugliness.
All can know good as good only because there is evil.
The hidden and the manifest give birth to each other
Difficult and easy complement each other;
Long and short contrast each other;
High and low rest upon each other;
Voice and sound harmonize each other;
Front and back follow one another.
Therefore the sage goes about doing nothing,
and spreads his teaching without talking.
The ten thousand things rise and fall without cease.
Creating, but lays no claim to them.
Works, but does not take credit.
Work is done, then forgotten
Therefore it lasts forever.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Tao De Ching Excerpts from Verse 1
Tao De Ching Excerpts from Verse 1
The Tao that can be told
Is not the eternal Tao
The Tao that can be told
Is not the eternal Tao
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Tao De Ching
Some might ask why a zen monk is interested in the Tao De Ching. This comes from my teaching that zen is the combination of Buddhism with Taoism and Shinto. So I study zen, and all three of these, as the sources of the lineage I have inherited.
The Tao De Ching is said to have been written by Lao Tsu. I was taught that Lao Tsu was a philosopher and record archive keeper in 6th century China, but that the teachings he wrote down in the Tao De Ching were accumulated from earlier works of past Chinese Masters. That through his archive work for the emperor he spent many hours reading and meditating. He had no formal school of students and the term Taoist was not even invented yet.
Lao Tsu became disenchanted with the world and wanted only to sit and contemplate more. He left the court and headed west to find a secluded place away from the politics and the hedonism of the day.
It is said that a border guard stopped him, and questioned him. The guard recognized who or what he was, and refused to let him cross until he would write down his wisdom, so that it would not be lost with his departure.
Having no choice, Lao Tsu wrote down 5,000 + Chinese Characters we now call the Tao De Ching.
The Tao De Ching is said to have been written by Lao Tsu. I was taught that Lao Tsu was a philosopher and record archive keeper in 6th century China, but that the teachings he wrote down in the Tao De Ching were accumulated from earlier works of past Chinese Masters. That through his archive work for the emperor he spent many hours reading and meditating. He had no formal school of students and the term Taoist was not even invented yet.
Lao Tsu became disenchanted with the world and wanted only to sit and contemplate more. He left the court and headed west to find a secluded place away from the politics and the hedonism of the day.
It is said that a border guard stopped him, and questioned him. The guard recognized who or what he was, and refused to let him cross until he would write down his wisdom, so that it would not be lost with his departure.
Having no choice, Lao Tsu wrote down 5,000 + Chinese Characters we now call the Tao De Ching.
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