›

Chapter of the Week: #47 [Archive]

Luke AbbottLuke Abbott
edited December 2004 in Taoism and the Tao Te Ching
Endorsing Nike's! :lol: I thought of that too!

Well, it could go either way . . . don't think we'll come off as horrible people because we're pretty easy-going and don't have an "issue" with people who don't live like us or understand us (unlike some people who have been on the show before . . . you know who I'm talking about). I'm sure people will come away thinking we're more unusual than we really are . . . but than again, we ARE a bit unusual! :P

Either way, though, so far it has been a wonderful experience, and I fully expect a sizable fraction of the population not to understand us (not that I can blame them!), so I don't really care. (Although that's an easy thing to say...)

Luke

Oh, if you want to read more about how and why we got into the show, you can go to http://www.playingbyear.com and click on the appropriate link.

Comments

  • Luke AbbottLuke Abbott
    edited July 2006
    Each week we address one chapter of the Tao Te Ching. Chapter 47 was originally featured on the 1st week in December.

    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 47
    Without stirring abroad
    One can know the whole world;
    Without looking out of the window
    One can see the way of heaven.
    The further one goes
    The less one knows.

    Therefore the sage knows without having to stir,
    Identifies without having to see,
    Accomplishes without having to act.
  • Buddy1Buddy1
    edited December 1969
    This puts me in mind of Emily Dickinson, who seldom if ever left her house, but wrote such wonderful poems relevant to the whole human experience. The only zen you find on a mountaintop is the zen you take up there. If you cant find peace where you are, wherever that may be, you wont find it anywhere.
  • CarlCarl
    edited December 1969
    Accomplishes caught my notice today. One Chinese word for accomplish is cheng ji, which translates as: cheng = be, becoming, ji=merit. When I think of it this way it make even more sense, i.e., I don't have a 'deep' sense of what accomplishes means other than achieve, complete, carry out, etc. But when I put 'merit' (worth, virtue...) into play it all comes together...

    One main motive behind action is the promise of feeling a sense of accomplishment. I can't count how many times I've acted in order to accomplish something, for in doing so I'd gain a sense of merit and self worth. As the years pass I know an inner sense of merit... a defacto [chref=2]merit[/chref]... and no longer need to prove myself as I once did.

    Without stirring abroad, One can know the whole world just brings home the point that 'it' is within - not outside! Although, I am continually drawn to look out the window to the external world for 'it'. What is 'it'? 'It' is what I really want! What do I really want? - peace and [chref=33]contentment [/chref]. Seeing the way of heaven helps me see through the instinctive biological drives (nature's [chref=65]hoodwinks [/chref]) that pull me out-ward away from contentment.
  • Buddy1Buddy1
    edited December 1969
    I dont build bridges or perform heart surgery. My job accomplishments are rare and results only evident far down the line. So how do i know when i've accomplished something? I feel it, I guess. When I've gone thru the day without trying to impress anyone else, being true to what i know is right, when i've seen a little more light come on in my kids eyes, and feel him more content in this world, then i've accomplishged something. Not when somebody says good job. I too feel this more as i get older, that I dont have to do anything from here out except be the best me I can. Then i'm worthy of merit...
  • JoeJoe
    edited December 1969
    Chapt. 47

    I really connect this chapter with finding ?nothingness? within myself. Stirring abroad isn?t just in the physical sense, but includes my mind thinking about desires, and events that might satisfy my desires. It?s all searching for true ?knowing? out there, rather than within myself.

    Turning back from thoughts and desires is helpful. This leads me back to myself, to the nothingness inside. I find that the better I?m able to truly be mindful, to be present in the moment, the more connected I feel to the entire universe. With the clarity that happens, I?m truly able to see and know. Reality proves to be all the same, no matter which aspect is occurring.

    I also find that if I?m totally present, then things get done without my ?self? doing them. I?m able to accomplish without having to act. As Carl says, if I?m focused outward from whatever lack I?m feeling, then there tends to be a lot more activity, that ?I? am doing, looking for a way for ?me? to feel better.
Sign In or Register to comment.