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Chapter of the Week: #03 [Archive]
get this .. ok hurricane Rita past just to the east of us on Saturday. Saturday the high was 85F, Sunday the high was 104F, today (monday) the high was 105F and it is supposed to be 103 tomorrow... geeeze what gives.
I was stationed at RAF Lakenheath and lived near Diss... yeah I drove about 40 miles each way. I loved how I could be fogged in where I lived yet the base was clear. a "free" vacation. hehehe
bob
I was stationed at RAF Lakenheath and lived near Diss... yeah I drove about 40 miles each way. I loved how I could be fogged in where I lived yet the base was clear. a "free" vacation. hehehe
bob
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Note: The Tao Te Ching can be obscure, especially if you think you're supposed to understand what it's saying! We find it easier and more instructive to simply contemplate how the chapter resonates with your personal experience. Becoming more aware at this fundamental level simplifies life. This approach conforms to the view that true knowing lies within ourselves. Thus, when a passage in the scripture resonates, you've found your inner truth. The same applies for when it evokes a question; questions are the grist for self realization.
Chapter 3
Not to honour men of worth will keep the people from contention;
not to value goods which are hard to come by will keep them from theft;
not to display what is desirable will keep them from being unsettled of mind.
Therefore in governing the people, the sage empties their minds but
fills their bellies, weakens their wills but strengthens their bones.
He always keeps them innocent of knowledge and free from desire,
and ensures that the clever never dare to act.
Do that which consists in taking no action, and order will prevail.
Today I'm interpreting people as referring to me, myself, and I, as we used to say as kids. Everything begins at 'home' anyway. I've learned what I've learned over the years, so how am I supposed to now keep myself innocent of knowledge? Innocent is simply being "not responsible or directly involved", say Webster. That's easy, if I'm not in control anyway, i.e., without free will. It also boils down to how significant I regard my knowledge. Do I really know what I think I know? [chref=71]To know yet to think that one does not know [/chref] transforms knowledge into a [chref=15]tentative[/chref] flux. How can I be responsible or directly involved? Whoa, how un-American is that! :shock:
Emptying my mind,...Noticing the 'quality' of each moment's flow helps empty my mind. Of course, half the time thoughts invade this emptiness, but that's all part of the [chref=64]journey[/chref]. This reminds me of dealing with a two year old child. The child is always on the move; I have to pay attention to keep it safe. My mind is always on the move, I have to watch the moment to keep it more or less empty and safe.
Weakening my will but strengthening my bones,... Realizing free will is an illusion sure helps me weaken my will. People assume that without 'free choice' life is more problematic. Actually, I found the opposite to be so. It is my approach to life that makes life problematic. With a weakened will, I experience a much deeper [chref=72]sense of awe[/chref]. I can't help but respect life more, and take less for granted than I did before. A belief in choice (will) imparts the illusion that there is a way to succeed without failure, i.e., we can get more than we give. Thus, we inevitably end up taking [chref=53]by-paths[/chref], those short cuts to happiness. Only without will can [chref=65]complete conformity be realized[/chref]. Whew!... un-American again. It ain't [chref=70]easy[/chref] being a Taoist! Unless...I [chref=64]deal with a thing while it is still nothing[/chref].
The beauty of complete conformity lies in the fact that I'm able to do that which consists in taking no action. A willful approach, on the other hand, comes from taking actions to make life conform to my needs - my agenda. Taking actions and laying hold of life immediately disturbs the order of life, i.e., [chref=29]whoever lays hold of it will ruin it[/chref].