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Our ducks told me something this morning...
One thing that strikes me is that I have to be careful about the times when I?m thinking that I know what?s what, that I have the answer. And that people should be able to understand my ?easy? words, and that if they don?t, they?re stupid. It works better if I think of myself in the same boat as everyone else: that especially it?s hard to put into practice what we know works with reality. We all have lived most of our lives thinking truth is in the illusions of desires, rather than in reality.
Words have an ancestor, ultimately the constant, the way. But more immediately, in my day-to-day life, the ancestor seems to be the circumstances that lead to the particular words that come up. There are all the associated experiences, thoughts, feelings that lead us to speak or write particular words, in a particular way.
I love the last line. The value of the ?jade? is the integrity, compassion, wisdom, and contentment that lie within. Which associates with my finding it easier to understand and accept others more. Everyone seems to have ?good? qualities, that show at one time or another, even if on 1st meeting the person may seem reserved or unfriendly.
Carl?s comments about biology and ignorance really made me stop and think. Of course, how often does my biology push me to follow some desire, which in our civilized world usually goes to far and becomes a problem. My biological urge for sweet food, a signal in the wild for food having energy, leads to problems when it?s present in donuts, ice cream, whatever. My ?instincts? push for satiation for survival needs, but they don?t have the wisdom to pursue this in a balanced fashion.
How true! Letting go of attachment to desire allows me to see and appreciate so much of what is awesome in the world. But life does have suffering, I can?t escape that, and it feels awful when I?m stuck on desire and can?t let go.
Words have an ancestor, ultimately the constant, the way. But more immediately, in my day-to-day life, the ancestor seems to be the circumstances that lead to the particular words that come up. There are all the associated experiences, thoughts, feelings that lead us to speak or write particular words, in a particular way.
I love the last line. The value of the ?jade? is the integrity, compassion, wisdom, and contentment that lie within. Which associates with my finding it easier to understand and accept others more. Everyone seems to have ?good? qualities, that show at one time or another, even if on 1st meeting the person may seem reserved or unfriendly.
Carl?s comments about biology and ignorance really made me stop and think. Of course, how often does my biology push me to follow some desire, which in our civilized world usually goes to far and becomes a problem. My biological urge for sweet food, a signal in the wild for food having energy, leads to problems when it?s present in donuts, ice cream, whatever. My ?instincts? push for satiation for survival needs, but they don?t have the wisdom to pursue this in a balanced fashion.
[cite] Carl:[/cite]It is awesome :!: - full of awe... and sometimes awful
How true! Letting go of attachment to desire allows me to see and appreciate so much of what is awesome in the world. But life does have suffering, I can?t escape that, and it feels awful when I?m stuck on desire and can?t let go.
Comments
I find that even if I realize something may be based in belief, I often can't step back and "figure out" whether it is or not. Is it logical or is it emotional? What's the answer? Maybe there isn't one until all is said and done (like Schrodinger's cat). Hmm....
Mmmm, O.K. That' shouldn't be too difficult, at least as seen from a so called Taoist point of view...
We all concur on tangible experiences like tables, rain, and ice cream. We all mutually know emotional experiences like anger, fear and lust, and so these emotions also fit into the tangible category, even though we can't literally touch them. Heck, I guess feeling them is 'touching' them... though not through the ususal five senses (touch, sight, hear, taste, smell).
Next come experiences of which we are conscious, but which are indescribable, unlike those worldly sensations listed above. We've named this realm the spiritual side of our reality. Great, we give the indescribable a name; as soon as it's named it becomes 'something' and hence subject to political machinations which pander to people's fears and needs, among other things. Of course, that is a natural consequence of being the tribal animal that we are. The same applies to giving 'god' a name. Although the word 'God' gives folks a religious-political rallying cry, it also diminishes the indescribable mystery it purports to symbolize. It is like looking at a beautiful sunset. When we turn to a friend and say "what a beautiful sunset", we extinguish the mystical depths of that experience. When we[chref=1]name[/chref] the indescribable, we imprison our perception by 'locking' it into a name.
[chref=32]Only when it is cut are there names.
As soon as there are names
One ought to know that it is time to stop.
Knowing when to stop one can be free from danger.
[/chref]
Drawing distinctions between the 'spiritual' and the 'material' is no different than haggling over the price of potatoes. A penny here or there, but it is still a potato. In other word, [chref=1] these two are the same, but diverge in name as they issue forth.[/chref] Or perhaps more to the point,
[chref=20]
Between yea and nay
How much difference is there?
Between good and evil
How great is the distance? [/chref]
This actually reminds me of the distinction made between Nature and Humanity, as though we were somehow outside of Nature. Of course, we fancy ourselves above it all, and 'in charge', or at least capable of being in charge... 'if only', blah blah blah.... The same goes for the distinctions we make between 'material' and 'spiritual'. The distinctions are in the eye of the beholder - that's us - and arise out of our knack for categorizing reality. The distinctions we make reflect our own disconnection with the 'whole' and nothing more. After all...[chref=21]As a thing the way is, Shadowy, indistinct. Indistinct and shadowy,...[/chref] Sure, categorizing reality and drawing distinctions is useful for growing food and making beer, but we don't stop there; we don't [chref=44]know when to stop[/chref].
Finally, if that isn't enough, there is the coup de grace...
Whoever lays hold of it shall lose it, and even giving 'it' a name is laying hold of 'it'. That's why we name things. With a name we can manipulate, communicate. This laying hold of it shall lose it follows the general nature of clinging. You only have what you let go of, of as Jesus put it, "who soever shall save his life shall lose it, ..."