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Chapter of the Week: #51 [Archive]
[cite] Carl:[/cite]Yes, but not only "what just happened", but what will happen, may happen, or may not happen as well. Much of our "conversation" takes the form of foreknowledge which causes us a 'special' suffering that animal avoid, by and large.
I concur with this. The foreknowledge part of it is big. I would add that it is also about the meaning of things which is kind of the same thing. Like if you guys told me to get lost and quit posting, I would make it mean that I am not likable and that I am a pest. Well, maybe, but mostly that is made up. You might get the whole world to agree with you but I don't have to have that conversation about myself even if the whole world agrees.
However, the conversations that the world has about you are also very powerful. Instinctually we know this so we either try to avoid it or control it by staying away from people we don't think we can win over or by trying to get people to approve of us.
Notice the most powerful people in the world (socially & politically speaking) have the agreement of many people (either by force or by charisma).
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Chapter 51
The way gives them life;
Virtue rears them;
Things give them shape;
Circumstances bring them to maturity.
Therefore the myriad creatures all revere the way and honor virtue. Yet the way
is revered and virtue honored not because this is decreed by an authority but
because it is natural for them to be treated so.
Thus the way gives them life and rears them;
Brings them up and nurses them;
Brings them to fruition and maturity;
Feeds and shelters them.
It gives them life yet claims no possession;
It benefits them yet exacts no gratitude;
It is the steward yet exercises no authority.
Such is called the mysterious virtue.
Read commentary previously posted for this chapter.
This chapter begs us to consider the definition of virtue. Virtue (in the West especially?) carries a homo sapiens' centric moral connotation. Here we see that the myriad creatures all revere the way and honor virtue. Virtue, in the Taoist sense, is deeply [chref=65]profound and far-reaching[/chref] - it is mysterious. Victor Mair's and D.C. Lao's Ma-wang-tui translations interpret it as mysterious integrity and dark virtue, respectively. Note: Dark correlates to Passive. So, how about dark integrity?
By seeing all things (the myriad creatures both the organic and the inorganic) as 'employing' dark integrity, we can bypass the arbitrariness and hypocrisy latent in morality. Now, I'm not espousing some 'anti morality' hedonism. To the contrary, when we have integrity, morality comes naturally. Without integrity, there can be no morality. All you end up with, especially in 'advanced' civilization, is a good deal of hypocrisy.
Why? Civilization is a poor substitute for the way, i.e., it is lousy at being the steward yet exercising no authority. Why? Because civilization reflects humanity, its fears, needs and various degrees of maturity (or lack there of). Yet, it is civilization which does much of the rearing, nursing, feeding and sheltering. We are no longer being [chref=20]fed by the mother[/chref] - nature - as much. In fact, we do all we can to [chref=53]by-pass[/chref] her.
Nevertheless, religious words (from God to Tao) arise and reflect our innate awareness of and reverence for mysterious integrity. This reverence, and the [chref=70]words[/chref] which follow, happen not because this is decreed by an authority but because it is natural for them to be treated so. Much of our difficulty arises from the naming, i.e., [chref=32]only when it is cut are there names[/chref]. The severing that naming entails disconnects us from that which we naturally revere and honor. The value of the Tao Te Ching lies in pointing out how [chref=28]the greatest cutting does not sever[/chref], i.e., [chref=10]when our discernment penetrates the four quarters, [and] we capable of not knowing anything[/chref].
Our mind got us into 'this mess', and appears to be the only thing that can get us out. How? Only by being as [chref=15]hesitant [and] tentative[/chref] about distinctions that seem at first so clear [chref=32]cut[/chref] and real. Watch for those moments when you feel your [chref=20]mind is that of a fool - how blank![/chref] Savor and encourage them as moments of 'original mind'. As we cease validating the veracity of our discernment (and the endless distinctions we make) it becomes easier to return to [chref=39]the One[/chref].
'The One'? Well, its [chref=21]essence is quite genuine, and within it is something that can be tested[/chref] when we begin that [chref=64]journey[/chref] 'back'. Like Jesus said, "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you". Of course, he's not referring to "treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal"! Personally, I find it to be as simple as Jesus said. I'm getting out of life what I [chref=46]desire[/chref]. If I'm unhappy with the result, all I need do is [chref=40]turn back[/chref] to what I truly [chref=64]desire[/chref].
Opps... Too many words. So much for [chref=32]knowing when to stop[/chref]! :oops:
Jesus said, "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you". This reminds me of the Gospel of Thomas, where Jesus reflects upon the oneness of everything. It is our choice and we do that by what we desire! It is our mind (brains) that does the choosing and connecting to what is within and around us.