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Do You Need a Teacher - a Master?
[Note: I italicize phrases I borrow from the chapter, and link to phrases I borrow from other chapters to help tie chapters together. While making it more tedious to read, :? the Tao Te Ching is best pondered in the context of the whole.
Have in your hold points to the role the mind (perception) plays in life. Our mind got us into this fix, it can help us get out if properly used. Certainly, when we don't have the great image in our hold nothing will feel safe and sound. We always feel on edge; our fight or flight instinct primed and ready for [chref=10]action[/chref]. Nothing is more [chref=71]difficult[/chref] than having in our hold that which [chref=4]images the forefather of God[/chref].
Here are a few angles that help me hold the great image. First, feel 'eyes' in the back of your head with which you feel the great image. Try it! Look into that darkness; open your mind's eye. Having in your hold the great image is similar to a continuous heightened awareness of the background at the expense of the foreground - the peripheral view rather than a focused one.
Next, remember the [chref=64]symptoms[/chref] of what arises when you drop hold of the great image. The weaker the image, the more your desire to control the empire increase. When you feel those urges, [chref=32]know that it is time to stop[/chref] and to [chref=40]turn back[/chref]. Sure, it is easier said than done. On the other hand, [chref=64]it is easy to dissolve a thing while it is yet minute.[/chref] Or as we have all heard, 'a stitch in time saves nine'. I've noticed that it all hinges on how much I care. The more I care, the more careful I am. The more careful I am, the sooner I notice the symptoms and the more likely I am to [chref=64]be as careful at the end as at the beginning[/chref].
We are biologically set up to be aware of 'things' that stimulate our senses, e.g., Music and food induce us to stop. This is what grabs our attention! We don't notice all the cars moving safely down the road, just the one which crashes. Thus, the only way to taste what is without flavor, see and hear what cannot be seen and heard is to [chref=56]blunt the sharpness [and] soften the glare[/chref] of focused awareness so you can see what is not there. I know that sounds weird, but that is the way to [chref=5]hold fast to the void.[/chref]
When we take care of the small, the big takes care of itself. Alas, we tend to ignore the small boring stuff and notice the 'great' stuff. Here, [chref=41]the great image has no shape[/chref] so you can appreciate the problem we face. What to do, what to do? [chref=63]Lay plans for the accomplishment of the difficult before it becomes difficult; make something big by starting with it when small. [/chref]
Our tendency to rush headlong into life can only be counterbalanced by a desire to [chref=16]do our utmost attain emptiness and hold firmly to stillness[/chref]. Now there is a good use to put desire toward! Igniting the flames of desire for this is difficult, because [chref=21]following the way and the way only[/chref] isn't 'fun' - nor is it 'not fun'. It is clear why the Tao Te Ching says, [chref=78]everyone in the world knows yet no one can put this knowledge into practice.[/chref]
Have in your hold points to the role the mind (perception) plays in life. Our mind got us into this fix, it can help us get out if properly used. Certainly, when we don't have the great image in our hold nothing will feel safe and sound. We always feel on edge; our fight or flight instinct primed and ready for [chref=10]action[/chref]. Nothing is more [chref=71]difficult[/chref] than having in our hold that which [chref=4]images the forefather of God[/chref].
Here are a few angles that help me hold the great image. First, feel 'eyes' in the back of your head with which you feel the great image. Try it! Look into that darkness; open your mind's eye. Having in your hold the great image is similar to a continuous heightened awareness of the background at the expense of the foreground - the peripheral view rather than a focused one.
Next, remember the [chref=64]symptoms[/chref] of what arises when you drop hold of the great image. The weaker the image, the more your desire to control the empire increase. When you feel those urges, [chref=32]know that it is time to stop[/chref] and to [chref=40]turn back[/chref]. Sure, it is easier said than done. On the other hand, [chref=64]it is easy to dissolve a thing while it is yet minute.[/chref] Or as we have all heard, 'a stitch in time saves nine'. I've noticed that it all hinges on how much I care. The more I care, the more careful I am. The more careful I am, the sooner I notice the symptoms and the more likely I am to [chref=64]be as careful at the end as at the beginning[/chref].
We are biologically set up to be aware of 'things' that stimulate our senses, e.g., Music and food induce us to stop. This is what grabs our attention! We don't notice all the cars moving safely down the road, just the one which crashes. Thus, the only way to taste what is without flavor, see and hear what cannot be seen and heard is to [chref=56]blunt the sharpness [and] soften the glare[/chref] of focused awareness so you can see what is not there. I know that sounds weird, but that is the way to [chref=5]hold fast to the void.[/chref]
When we take care of the small, the big takes care of itself. Alas, we tend to ignore the small boring stuff and notice the 'great' stuff. Here, [chref=41]the great image has no shape[/chref] so you can appreciate the problem we face. What to do, what to do? [chref=63]Lay plans for the accomplishment of the difficult before it becomes difficult; make something big by starting with it when small. [/chref]
Our tendency to rush headlong into life can only be counterbalanced by a desire to [chref=16]do our utmost attain emptiness and hold firmly to stillness[/chref]. Now there is a good use to put desire toward! Igniting the flames of desire for this is difficult, because [chref=21]following the way and the way only[/chref] isn't 'fun' - nor is it 'not fun'. It is clear why the Tao Te Ching says, [chref=78]everyone in the world knows yet no one can put this knowledge into practice.[/chref]
Comments
Social emotion appears to drive this sense of importance we feel about the need for a Teacher. The necessity for hierarchal structure, with the Teacher at the top, is an essential feature of the tribal instinct. Thus, those who've inherited a strong genetic need for hierarchal structure will obviously believe in, and want to conform to, the Teacher model. Nevertheless, it is prudent to consider the whole picture. Knowing the dynamics of human nature - our nature - is helpful.
When you think about it, a Teacher is really nothing more than a student who has been 'at it' awhile. Experience brings insight and perspective. However, all Teachers are, in the end, still students. Thus, what prevent us from falling into a 'blind leading the blind' situation? This is especially true from a Taoist perspective, i.e., while Teachers may have walked far on the path that you wish to take, how do you know their path is not a [chref=53]by-path[/chref]? After all, it takes a sage to know a sage! This, by the way, is one reason behind [chref=38]foreknowledge[/chref] and other miracles. Simply believing in them allows us to believe the 'Master' who did them is real.
On the other side are those who are more or less ambivalent about Teachers and Masters. These folks were probably shortchanged when tribal genes were being handed out. With hierarchal structure feeling less important, they are probably not all that political either. The good news is that these folks are less likely to become [chref=65]hoodwinked[/chref] by Teachers (and politicians) who've taken a 'by-path'. The bad new is that they may end up spending a life time reinventing the wheel.
Which side of this situation fits you more? Whatever your answer, look to the other side for some balance. Thus, on one hand don't believe the 'experts', yet neither is it wise to disbelieve them. To find the 'golden mean', just carefully listen, question and ponder. After all, this is what makes the [chref=41]best student[/chref] and the [chref=27]good teacher[/chref].