Chapter of the Week: #35 [Archive]

Luke Abbott

[cite] Lynn Cornish:[/cite]...the fellow said he when he first came to AA he "felt like the piece of s__t at the center of the universe."

This is why I find the Taoist point of view so restful. It 'frees' me to be no more than I am, i.e., to be natural. In being natural I can [chref=44]know contentment and will suffer no disgrace[/chref]. This is impossible as long as we 'buy' into the illusion of the self and its free will, and all that civilization attaches to these myths.

If we [chref=71]think that[/chref] we are, we are asleep to who we are.

Luke Abbott

Each week we address one chapter of the Tao Te Ching. 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 35
Have in your hold the great image
And the empire will come to you.
Coming to you and meeting with no harm
It will be safe and sound.
Music and food
Will induce the wayfarer to stop.

The way in its passage through the mouth is without flavour.
It cannot be seen,
It cannot be heard,
Yet it cannot be exhausted by use.

Read commentary previously posted for this chapter.

Carl

[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]