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Chapter of the Week: #28 [Archive]
We all understand Shakespeare's "All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players". However, to know this and put it into daily practice is another matter entirely. It is the difference between knowing something between our ears, and throughout our entire body - between words (thoughts, ideas) and practice, between saying and doing. This is the real issue that faces us. All else pales in comparison. As we say, [chref=78]Everyone in the world knows yet no one can put this knowledge into practice[/chref]. It is far too easy to get side tracked on a 'thought' by-path. Then the simple becomes complex.
The gateway to practice is [chref=40]turning back[/chref] continually in order to [chref=52]follow the constant[/chref]. That simply comes down to 'asking' ourselves each moment: "what do I truly want of life". Of course, this 'asking' is not in words, but rather a silent, [chref=15]tentative and hesitant[/chref] emotion those words embody. The point is that the words - all words - soon float away. The truth, the self honesty, lies deep down at an emotional level. That's were we find [chref=43]the teaching that uses no words.[/chref]
We all know that wanting (desire) is part of our problem; it is also a key to the solution. At the deepest level desire is simply need. Need is the survival drive that all living things have in common. I want to eat, the bird out my window wants to eat. We both need to eat. So far so good. Desire is not a problem yet, right?
Desire (need, want) only becomes a problem in civilized situations. Not only for us, but for animals too. Civilization permits me to satisfy my desire for food by eating cheeseburgers, fries and cokes everyday. A bear, for example, could do the same by foraging from the dumpster behind McDonald's. In this situation, action which flows from desire easily runs counter to well being. Both the bear and me get fat, and beset by health problems.
Simply put, if desire aims us toward balance - a healthy mind and body - it is in accord with Nature; that is its natural evolved purpose. [chref=64]Desiring not to desire[/chref] is simply the way to prioritize desire. To live a balanced life we need to both [chref=1]rid ourselves of desires in order to observes its secrets; But always allow ourselves to have desires in order to observe its manifestations. [/chref] (think of 'it' as being life).
The question for each of us becomes, "what do I truly want of life?" Desire is the essential 'energy' which brings us there. It can also drag us down [chref=53]by-paths[/chref] away from well being. We easily ruin our lives. Our problem is that we are not born wise enough to cope well with the civilization into which we are born. By the time [chref=51]circumstances bring us to maturity[/chref] and some degree of wisdom, we are replaced by the next batch of new borns, and the cycle begins anew. This has always been mitigated by the intimate relationship between elders and youth in the pre-agriculture hunter gatherer life style. 10,000 years ago we hit a bump in the road of our evolution - agriculture and civilization. This has both decreased intimate elder-youth feedback and increased the maladaptive ways in which desire can pull us, e.g., too many cheeseburger, nuclear weapons, drug use, and you name.
The only way to avoid the [chref=16]wilful innovation[/chref] this makes possible is through patience - [chref=16]doing our utmost to attain emptiness; [to] hold firmly to stillness[/chref]. We need to allow ourselves time to look deeper within to see just what it is we truly want of life. If our desire is aimed here, it is working for us. If not, we are cheating life, i.e., [chref=46]there is no crime greater than having too many desires[/chref]. In short, desire is a razor sharp blade. It cuts both ways. As with using any sharp blade, we must be exceedingly patient and watchful lest we cut our own hands off. The more care we bring to our life, the less we will [chref=64]ruin[/chref] it.
So, for example, we may have an innate drive to go 'faster', i.e., be efficient. After all nature is nothing if not efficient. However, such 'efficiency' becomes unhealthy when it translates into a desire to drive fast, i.e., this does not promote survival. Desiring patience is just desiring to not desire to drive fast. 'Allowing ourselves to have desire' can pull us where we truly want to go in life. Here desire is good for us. But, look at all the references which point the other way:
[chref=3]free from desire[/chref];
[chref=15]desires not to be full[/chref];
[chref=19]as few desires as possible[/chref];
[chref=34]for ever free of desire[/chref];
[chref=37]should desire raise its head[/chref];
[chref=46]no crime greater than having too many desires[/chref]; and
[chref=57]I am free from desire[/chref].
We are much like geese. Geese have trouble walking backwards; they are built to go forward. Likewise, we are built to go forward - eyes, pelvis, legs, feet, desires all go forward. This stems from our primevil history of swinging forward through the trees, yes?
Civilization manifests this drive and naturally evolved to make the most of that forward drive. This is especially obvious now in the highly innovative times in which we live. Civilization, by escaping the counterbalancing influences of Nature, has left it up to each of us, as individuals, to figure out how to walk backward out of the civilized corner into which we have stumbled :? . We must be our own policeman to avoid driving through life too fast. But how? Only if we really want to [chref=28]return to being the uncarved block[/chref] can we do so.
Now what?
The first desire to deal with is the 'desire to not desire'. Many of us get sidetracked down the by-path of renunciation here. When we focus on an ideal we easily slide into a desire for perfection. Why? Maybe it is just the black vs. white way our brain works. We do have trouble seeing the [chref=14]dimly visible [/chref] grey areas. So, take a deep breath, look around, and see if you see any 'perfection' in nature. Messy forest floor, ants in the sugar bowl, earthquakes and volcanos, plants battling bug battling birds. It is an untidy situation. How can we expect otherwise of ourselves. As we say, [chref=45]Great perfection seems chipped[/chref].
The gateway to practice is [chref=40]turning back[/chref] continually in order to [chref=52]follow the constant[/chref]. That simply comes down to 'asking' ourselves each moment: "what do I truly want of life". Of course, this 'asking' is not in words, but rather a silent, [chref=15]tentative and hesitant[/chref] emotion those words embody. The point is that the words - all words - soon float away. The truth, the self honesty, lies deep down at an emotional level. That's were we find [chref=43]the teaching that uses no words.[/chref]
We all know that wanting (desire) is part of our problem; it is also a key to the solution. At the deepest level desire is simply need. Need is the survival drive that all living things have in common. I want to eat, the bird out my window wants to eat. We both need to eat. So far so good. Desire is not a problem yet, right?
Desire (need, want) only becomes a problem in civilized situations. Not only for us, but for animals too. Civilization permits me to satisfy my desire for food by eating cheeseburgers, fries and cokes everyday. A bear, for example, could do the same by foraging from the dumpster behind McDonald's. In this situation, action which flows from desire easily runs counter to well being. Both the bear and me get fat, and beset by health problems.
Simply put, if desire aims us toward balance - a healthy mind and body - it is in accord with Nature; that is its natural evolved purpose. [chref=64]Desiring not to desire[/chref] is simply the way to prioritize desire. To live a balanced life we need to both [chref=1]rid ourselves of desires in order to observes its secrets; But always allow ourselves to have desires in order to observe its manifestations. [/chref] (think of 'it' as being life).
The question for each of us becomes, "what do I truly want of life?" Desire is the essential 'energy' which brings us there. It can also drag us down [chref=53]by-paths[/chref] away from well being. We easily ruin our lives. Our problem is that we are not born wise enough to cope well with the civilization into which we are born. By the time [chref=51]circumstances bring us to maturity[/chref] and some degree of wisdom, we are replaced by the next batch of new borns, and the cycle begins anew. This has always been mitigated by the intimate relationship between elders and youth in the pre-agriculture hunter gatherer life style. 10,000 years ago we hit a bump in the road of our evolution - agriculture and civilization. This has both decreased intimate elder-youth feedback and increased the maladaptive ways in which desire can pull us, e.g., too many cheeseburger, nuclear weapons, drug use, and you name.
The only way to avoid the [chref=16]wilful innovation[/chref] this makes possible is through patience - [chref=16]doing our utmost to attain emptiness; [to] hold firmly to stillness[/chref]. We need to allow ourselves time to look deeper within to see just what it is we truly want of life. If our desire is aimed here, it is working for us. If not, we are cheating life, i.e., [chref=46]there is no crime greater than having too many desires[/chref]. In short, desire is a razor sharp blade. It cuts both ways. As with using any sharp blade, we must be exceedingly patient and watchful lest we cut our own hands off. The more care we bring to our life, the less we will [chref=64]ruin[/chref] it.
So, for example, we may have an innate drive to go 'faster', i.e., be efficient. After all nature is nothing if not efficient. However, such 'efficiency' becomes unhealthy when it translates into a desire to drive fast, i.e., this does not promote survival. Desiring patience is just desiring to not desire to drive fast. 'Allowing ourselves to have desire' can pull us where we truly want to go in life. Here desire is good for us. But, look at all the references which point the other way:
[chref=3]free from desire[/chref];
[chref=15]desires not to be full[/chref];
[chref=19]as few desires as possible[/chref];
[chref=34]for ever free of desire[/chref];
[chref=37]should desire raise its head[/chref];
[chref=46]no crime greater than having too many desires[/chref]; and
[chref=57]I am free from desire[/chref].
We are much like geese. Geese have trouble walking backwards; they are built to go forward. Likewise, we are built to go forward - eyes, pelvis, legs, feet, desires all go forward. This stems from our primevil history of swinging forward through the trees, yes?
Civilization manifests this drive and naturally evolved to make the most of that forward drive. This is especially obvious now in the highly innovative times in which we live. Civilization, by escaping the counterbalancing influences of Nature, has left it up to each of us, as individuals, to figure out how to walk backward out of the civilized corner into which we have stumbled :? . We must be our own policeman to avoid driving through life too fast. But how? Only if we really want to [chref=28]return to being the uncarved block[/chref] can we do so.Now what?
The first desire to deal with is the 'desire to not desire'. Many of us get sidetracked down the by-path of renunciation here. When we focus on an ideal we easily slide into a desire for perfection. Why? Maybe it is just the black vs. white way our brain works. We do have trouble seeing the [chref=14]dimly visible [/chref] grey areas. So, take a deep breath, look around, and see if you see any 'perfection' in nature. Messy forest floor, ants in the sugar bowl, earthquakes and volcanos, plants battling bug battling birds. It is an untidy situation. How can we expect otherwise of ourselves. As we say, [chref=45]Great perfection seems chipped[/chref].
Comments
Chapter 28
Know the male
But keep to the role of the female
And be a ravine to the empire.
If you are a ravine to the empire,
Then the constant virtue will not desert you
And you will again return to being a babe.
Know the white
But keep to the role of the black
And be a model to the empire.
If you are a model to the empire,
Then the constant virtue will not be wanting
And you will return to the infinite.
Know honour
But keep to the role of the disgraced
And be a valley to the empire.
If you are a valley to the empire,
Then the constant virtue will be sufficient
And you will return to being the uncarved block.
When the uncarved block shatters it becomes vessels.
The sage makes use of these and becomes the lord over the officials.
Therefore the greatest cutting
Does not sever.
Read commentary previously posted for this chapter.
Return to being the uncarved block put another way is simply 'seeing' the big picture - a picture so [chref=67]vast that it resembles nothing[/chref]. Thus it is not something we can put our finger on, which is what we instinctively seek to do. Know the male, Know the white and so on are innate drives in all of us - indeed, all of life - there's nothing subtle about it.
Keep to the role of the female, black, disgraced on the other hand does not come naturally, at least for me. I really experience the contrast between these two aspect: Know vs. Keep to the role. Know embodies the perceptions that come to me 'naturally' whereas Keep refers to an inner wisdom. Keep to the role embodies an intention, a feeling. Keep to the role requires [chref=33]perseverance[/chref] which I have only when I feel the consequences of not keeping to the role. What are the consequences? Disgrace and loss of a sense of constant virtue. It's ironic, if not paradoxical, i.e., by keeping to the role of the disgraced, I avoid disgrace.
We all sense two sides to life, the parts and the whole. It is easy to know the parts, it is also [chref=70]easy[/chref] to keep to the role of the whole - only then do we feel whole. And yet, biology [chref=65]hoodwinks[/chref] us onto our [chref=53]by-paths[/chref]. Oh poo!
Therefore the greatest cutting does not sever evokes feeling that return to the infinite. However, we spend much of life locked in a battle between 'good' and 'bad', 'right' and 'wrong', severing up the whole to suit our own emotional agenda. The 'right' religion, the 'right' education, the 'right' politics. Of course, these emotional agendas are all driven by instincts - tribal, survival. This make us rather [chref=39] 'solitary', 'desolate', and 'hapless'[/chref], and yet we seldom discover the peace that come with acknowledging this reality. We still hold out for having it both ways, e.g., Knowing honor and keeping to the role of the honored. Ah, how nicely the myth of free will fits this desire, making this a perfect example of how desire shapes 'understanding'.