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Chapter of the Week: #64 [Archive]
Coincidentally, I was reading Gil Frondsal's book "The Issue at Hand - Essays on Buddhist Mindfulness Practice", the chapter on wisdom. He says "the Buddhist tradition distinguishes 3 kinds of wisdom: wisdom acquired though learning, reflection and developing meditation." He goes on to say "People sometimes hold wisdom in opposition to knowledge, undervaluing study. But in Buddhism, the knowledge that comes from learning is appreciated as a form of wisdom." He ends the chapter by saying that "study, reflection and developing meditation strengthen the practice of mindfulness."
So we're back to mindfulness again...
So we're back to mindfulness again...
Comments
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 64
It is easy to maintain a situation while it is still secure;
It is easy to deal with a situation before symptoms develop;
It is easy to break a thing when it is yet britle;
It is easy to dissolve a thing while it is yet minute.
Deal with a thing while it is still nothing;
Keep a thing in order before disorder sets in.
A tree that can fill the span of a man's arms
Grows from a downy tip.
A terrace nine stories high
Rises from hodfuls of earth;
A journey of a thousand miles
Starts from beneath one's feet.
Whoever does anything to it will ruin it;
whoever lays hold of it will lose it.
Therefore the sage, because he does nothing, never ruins anything;
and, because he does not lay hold of anything, loses nothing.
In their enterprises the people
Always ruin them when on the verge of success.
Be as careful at the end as at the beginning
And there will be no ruined enterprises.
Therefore the sage desires not to desire
And does not value goods which are hard to come by;
Learns to be without learning
And makes good the mistakes of the multitude
In order to help the myriad creatures to be natural
and to refrain from daring to act.
'Because he does nothing' and related observations like, [chref=48]one does less and less until one does nothing at all, [/chref] are difficult to reconcile with the activity that life demand of all living things. I usually interpret these points as speaking about attitude rather than activity, per se. Deal with a thing while it is still nothing further clarifies such 'doing nothing'.
The more I slow down and begin [chref=40]turning back [/chref], the more I am able to deal with a thing while it is still nothing. Only when I'm feeling the [chref=4]empty [/chref] nothing of the moment can I [chref=37] never act, yet nothing is left undone.[/chref] Even though [chref=16]I do my utmost to attain emptiness,[/chref] I'm still unable to be [chref=1]constant[/chref]... of course. And, that's okey, but only when I [chref=71]know[/chref] it's okey. Truly, life is a most interesting 'game'.
Like any 'game', I have to take life seriously to enjoy it, but, if I take it too seriously, it ruins the game. Such a fine line, a 'Golden Mean' as Buddha put it. By being alive to this difficulty, I [chref=71]can avoid[/chref] much of it. Only [chref=71]by being alive to this difficulty[/chref] can I be as careful at the end as at the beginning ? moment to moment. After all, each moment is the end of all that's past and the beginning of all that's to come. Only in the moment can there be no ruined enterprises.
Rationally speaking, it certainly sounds easy to deal with a situation before symptoms develop. Maybe it is [chref=53]easy, yet people prefer by-paths[/chref], which 'proves' our lack of free will. Desire, rooted in instinct, push us to the prefer by-paths. Desiring not to desire and learning to be without learning helps. [chref=78]Knowledge[/chref] and [chref=81]learning[/chref] are as useless as 'trying'. Both [chref=3]knowledge[/chref] and learning are simply distractions from 'being' (as opposed to 'trying). The emperor really does have no clothes. :oops:
This chapter definitely speaks to me of mindfulness. If I?m fully present in the things I?m doing, then I do them the way they need to be done. If I?m not paying attention, things can start to get out of hand. Desires start taking over more and more, pushing things more and more out of balance. For example, I?ve been siding a farmhouse in my construction job. When I put the rows of siding on slowly and methodically, paying attention to it being straight, then the project proceeds smoothly and effectively. If I?m rushing, thinking about other things, it?s easy for the siding to get out of kilter, to be in crooked lines that most people don?t want on their houses.
The sage not valuing goods hard to come by is important for me. I?ve been thinking in terms of our focus on "things" ? could be material possessions, could be activities. The more complicated and involved, the harder it is to stay in balance, to keep paying attention. Cell phones are a good example. With a cell phone, I feel like I can call people whenever I want, instead of having to sit down in a building with a phone. The flexibility leads me to call people in the car, thereby being more likely to not pay attention to driving and getting in an accident.
The sage also desires not to desire. Falling into the trap of chasing the illusions of desire, brings me to taking action when stillness would be more effective, to paying attention to the transitory things I want, instead of paying attention to reality, to the constant of the way.
Anyway, thank you.
Hi to the family. Your pal, Leslie