"Mind only", Buddha Once Said

Carl

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 19
Exterminate the sage, discard the wise,
And the people will benefit a hundredfold;
Exterminate benevolence, discard rectitude,
And the people will again be filial;
Exterminate ingenuity, discard profit,
And there will be no more thieves and bandits.

These three, being false adornments, are not enough
And the people must have something to which they can attach themselves:
Exhibit the unadorned and embrace the uncarved block,
Have little thought of self and as few desires as possible.

Read commentary previously posted for this chapter.
Read notes on translations

Carl

Have you ever noticed what happens, when in [chref=16]stillness[/chref], you cease thinking and just [chref=52]use the light[/chref]? Of course, thought is such a big part of our consciousness - some say thought is consciousness - that this can be [chref=63]difficult[/chref]. But, sitting quietly in meditation is a valuable [chref=1]gateway[/chref] to that silence.

One thing I notice in this [chref=5]silence[/chref] is that [chref=2]good and bad, beautiful and ugly[/chref] vanish into [chref=56]mysterious sameness[/chref]. That simply says that good and bad, beautiful and ugly, before and after, etc., are all creations of thought - "mind only". They don't exist, as such, in nature. Actually, I should say they don't exist separately - they are entwined like a DNA helix. Our brain's thought unravels the mystery into its polar parts (yang and yin) and juggles these strands individually. This leaves us with a sense of disconnection as our visceral needs and fears drive us to favor one strand over another.

This need not be the perplexing problem that it often is. As chapter 71 so succinctly puts it, [chref=71]To know yet to think that one does not know is best[/chref]. But, how do we go about shifting from one view to the other? Can we even? I find it all comes down to what we truly desire in life. That makes this [chref=70]very easy to understand and very easy to put into practice[/chref], as well as virtually impossible. Huh? There is no getting around it, [chref=45]great perfection seems chipped[/chref]. Nevertheless, writing about this, and presumably the reading of it (for some), helps us practice it more [chref=41]assiduously[/chref]. I suppose when I become assiduous enough I'll stop writing, but until then I'll just keep prattling on and try not to bore anyone,... excessively 8) .

Speaking of boredom, is nature ever bored? Are animals ever bored? Are small children, before they learn to speak, ever bored? Not in my experience. Boredom is a symptom of our disconnection from the moment as thought carries awareness off to the past or future. If we stop and return to the [chref=32]uncarved block[/chref] 'now', boredom vanishes as we rejoin eternity. Of course, we usually [chref=53]prefer[/chref] to escape our boring moments by chasing our imagined futures or drifting back to lounge in our cherished pasts. That's okey of course, but are we not then less [chref=7]able to accomplish our private ends?[/chref] It is a tradeoff we make according to the cost benefit ratio we perceive. We all know in our heart of hearts what we truly want. We just postpone paying the price as we pursue short term pleasure and earn in exchange long term sorrow. Our bargain with life boils down to two paths: (1) short term pleasure, long term pain, or (2) short term pain, long term pleasure. The short term pain path is what Buddha's was talking about in his Fourth Noble Truth, There is salvation for him whose self disappears before truth, whose will is bent on what he ought to do, whose sole desire is the performance of his duty.

Which path shall we choose? We have no choice! We can only follow what we know. The deeper we [chref=56]know[/chref], the more closely we [chref=21]follow[/chref],... naturally!