The Sage

"The sage has no mind of his own.
He is aware of the needs of others.

I am good to people who are good.
I am also good to people who are not good.
Because Virtue is goodness.
I have faith in people who are faithful.
I also have faith in people who are not faithful.
Because Virtue is faithfulness.

The sage is shy and humble - to the world
he seems confusing.
Others look to him and listen.
He behaves like a little child."


When I opened the Tao Te Ching I found my self looking at chapter forty-nine and it caught my eye from the get go. While reading the chapter I found some of the descriptions of the sage as some of the personality traits that I see in myself and that others have told me that they see in me.


I also realized that I knew many other people that also seem to posses the traits of a sage as well. Some of these people are people I go to for advice and people that also come to me so I think that in everyone there is a sage even if you do not notice it that it is there.


I think that this is what Lao Tsu wants the reader to realize while looking over his words and that they will then take those words and apply them to their lives to help others find the sage in themselves so that we can all help one another in times of need, and to help us all on our path of life.



Thoughts??

Leadership

Chapter 66 "Lead By Following"

The river carves out the valley by flowing beneath it.

Thereby the river is the master of the valley.

In order to master people

One must speak as their servant;

In order to lead people

One must follow them.

So when the sage rises above the people,

They do not feel oppressed;

And when the sage stands before the people,

They do not feel hindered.

So the popularity of the sage does not fail,

He does not contend, and no one contends against him.

This version of the Tao Te Ching, (the online hyperlink on CAMS), is definitely much more modern day language than our text books, and some the wording seems off compared to the book. I read chapter 66 in my book, but I am not anywhere near it right now, so I've settled for the online version.

I agree with the message behind this passage. "In order to master people One must speak as their servant; In order to lead people One must follow them." I believe that in the book it did not say master, instead it may have said "rule" or "lead". That word "master" just makes me wary of the idea that the leader being spoken to, or the reader, has a desire to manipulate people. Perhaps I'm simply paranoid about this notion? Whatever the true meaning, I'm going to stick with the idea that he means to "lead" people. In order to speak as someone's servant or be a servant to someone you must put yourself in a low position of social status, (at least that's how it was back in the day when people had servants). I guess that a modern equivalent to this idea could be choosing to spend our time, free and not, caring for the needs of others. In any activity we participate in we should have a willingness to accept the least favored jobs. "So when the sage rises above the people they do not feel oppressed; And when the sage stands before the people, They do not feel hindered." Perhaps leading is not an idea that we as individuals may be intereseted in or excited about in any way. But I wonder if we shouldn't all strive to be leaders, if for no other reason than to guide others who are looking for help. If you pick up one end of someone's heavy load not only will you make a friend, but you may also be giving them more breathing room to experience life with. They will listen to you much more readily than if they watched you speed on by in order to tend to your busy schedule. How would you feel about a boss who worked alongside you? Then what would you think of an employer who cleaned up the messes that you made at work simply because he or she truly cared about you and wanted to serve you by helping you to get your work done on time?

This chapter reminded me of someone who I first heard the idea of the humble leader from. Jesus, the christ, the one written about in the New Testament of the Bible, lived his life in this way. What a great example to follow!

The Greatest Virtue

"The greatest Virtue is to follow Tao and Tao alone. The Tao is elusive and intangible. Oh, it is intangible and elusive, and yet within is image. Oh, it is elusive and intangible, and yet within is form".

From my brief journey into absorbing what Tao is, here I feel is a most important statement. Lao Tsu is attempting to show the reader that what he can tell you is not the Tao because in order to understand the Tao, one must experience it and see it through their own eyes and perceive it for themselves. It is elusive because what one can be told of the Tao is not in fact the Tao because it must be understood and absorbed in a way that can not be ultimately taught. To me it seems that the Tao is something that is "unteachable", that one must find their own meanings and take it to heart as they will.

Another translation of this passage reads, " The grandest forms of active force, From Tao come, their only source. Who can of Tao the nature tell? Our sight it flies, our touch as well. Eluding sight, eluding touch".

As a fledgling student in Eastern philosophies, I appreciate this translation even more. To me it implies that everything I will learn about the Tao will ultimately come from me. No matter what I read, or am taught, what I take to heart are the ideas that I have formed and have tailored to suit myself. As a student I relish in the thought that these ideas and readings will only, as I see it, be what might be considered the Tao when I reflect personally upon them and make them my own.

This reflection of mine was from chapter Twenty-One on page 23. I have left many of my other thoughts of this passage out, but mentioned what resonated with me the most.

The Circle of Tao

This is from the passage sixteen on page 18.

The main thing that I noticed with this passage was that it centered

a lot around the theme of how everything is connected.

You can not have one thing without the other in the world of Tao.

Such as in the first part where it states

"Empty yourself of everything.

Let the mind become still.

The ten thousand things rise and fall while the Self watches

their return.

They grow and flourish and then return to the source.

Returning to the source is stillness, which is the way of nature.

The way of nature is unchanging."

I interpreted this as being Self as something that is observing

yourself/body's journey but that Self is created by the process of

pieces or the Ten thousand things as we know it. This means that

yourself is made up of components of pieces to make a whole/Tao.

That every living thing is made up of dead things to make a whole.

Therefore the natural/biological state of things is death and that

everything returns to and is created from death. With death there

is life and so fourth. If you think about it we then spend more

time being dead then alive and that our Self dies when our body dies

Therefore we should not be worrying about death but appreciating

what we are experiencing in life, To not get so wrapped up in

materialistic things that we can not see the true beauty that

surrounds us everyday. That life is a gift and we should take care

of it not destroy it.

The second part is

"Knowing constancy is insight.

Not knowing constancy leads to disaster.

Knowing constancy the mind is open.

With an open mind, you will be openhearted.

Being openhearted, you will act royally.

Being royal, you will attain the divine.

Being divine, you will be at one with the Tao.

Being at one with the Tao is eternal.

And though the body dies, the Tao will never pass away."

Here I took the word of royally/royal to mean greatness but

greatness is a process. You keep trying to become more and more

great until you reach the top when you realize that nothing

really matters. Once you transcend from the greatness you will

finally realize that you do not have to be great to be enlightened.

You would then be aware of your Self and therefore you will

eventually find Tao. Once you do you will realize how everything

is connected and though individual are one at the same time. With

that knowledge you would begin to appreciate life and no longer

fear death for it is all part of the natural order of things.

The Power of Five~

Whilst Flipping through the Tao, I was brought to the 14th page

in our book, the section of the Tao labelled "Twelve". After reading this section and being amused by the fact that it mentions

five three times, which just happens to be my favorite number, I was taken by the words written there.

For those of us who are without their book, this is what it said -

" The Five Colors Blind The Eye.

The Five Tones Deafen the Ear.

The Five Flavors Dull The Taste.

Racing and Hunting Madden The Mind.

Precious Things Lead One Astray.

Therefore The Sage Is Guided By What He Feels And Not By What He Sees.

He Lets Go Of That And Chooses This. "

These words struck me as ironic because this passage speaks to being overwhelmed by things that lead to a person being disabled in three area's of sense. It was ironic to me because people today typically spice EVERYTHING, and lose the essence of the singular flavor of what we are experiencing. The part that I found ironic is that it says that" precious things lead one astray" , five is my favorite number, and typically good things happen when five is associated, so to an extent I value what five can represent for me , thus making it "precious" so I wondered, where and or if I have gone astray.

I can relate to the last portion of this passage because for me I have tried to do things based upon how I feel rather then what I see both literally and metaphorically. The best example I have of me following a feeling is like when I traipse around in our woodlot here on campus, I don't follow a specific route always and sometimes I just let myself be lead somewhere, on two occasions without actually having been to a place in the woods, I was told of two separate trees that I had never seen before, Both times shortly after having been told about these tree's without trying to follow thoughts about where they could be or following directions I was lead right to them. It was both entertaining to find myself at these places I had never been before and ending up at them on a feeling, but the fact that I was lead to them after hearing about them, they are gorgeous by the way and hold strong presences in our woodlot. I find myself at peace during these times when I let myself be lead by this feeling of something drawing me,and also enjoy the placid slow paced joy that comes from walking without purpose in the woods. sss

So Now that I am done rambling about how I feel I relate to this Verse, I feel like it is saying that for anyone to truly find the path or the way they need to let go of their attachment to what they can hear, or see, or taste, and follow where they are lead, because focusing to intensely on anything or being overwhelmed by to many things can lead you to missing out in life and in the world itself.

Fun Video by the Way - Mike

Picture Courtesy of - http://www.easytaichi.co.uk/images/five_elements.gif

Video Courtesy of -http://www.youtube.com/v/-fZEZSqHIqc&hl=en_US&fs=1&amp

Wandering Taoism: Tao Te Ching--Twenty

Give up on learning, and put an end to your troubles.


Is there a difference between yes and no?
Is there a difference between good and evil?
Must I fear what others fear? What nonsense!
Other people are contented, enjoying the sacrificial feast of the ox.
In spring some go to the park, and climb the terrace,
But I alone am drifting, not knowing where I am.
Like a newborn babe before it learns to smile,
I am alone, without a place to go.


Others have more than they need, but I alone have nothing.
I am a fool. Oh, yes! I am confused.
Others are clear and bright,
But I alone am dim and weak.
Others are sharp and clever,
But I alone am dull and stupid.
Oh, I drift like the waves of the sea,
Without direction, like the restless wind.


Everyone else is busy,
But I alone am aimless and depressed.
I am different.
I am nourished by the great mother.

The above passage found me. It was the first one I turned to while "playing magic book." In essence, it basically describes my life and outlook. Overall, It describes a wanderer who doesn't know a lot of the things most people who live in society know. It describes a vagabond who doesn't think like everyone else. It describes a nomad who is raised by nature. It is saying to go out, with an empty mind, and just experience, and you will eventually gather all you need to know. You must be an empty vessel. Knowledge and wisdom are nothing compared to the things you can see and experience in the wide world and nature.


"Give up on learning and put an end to your troubles." Learning isn't living. Learning is just schooling. It is just collecting useless facts and such. They just cloud up your mind, not leaving enough space for the important things to rest. Learning, especially when attending to the questions of "Why," just creates unneeded stress that can be avoided when you just live life as an empty vessel.


To be a wander is like Wu Wei. I think that is what this section is basically getting out. It is stressing natural action and doing while not doing. "Oh, I drift like the waves of the sea, without direction like the restless wind." The waves of the sea and the wind are all natural. They follow their own paths, yet they get things accomplished. They do what is natural. The wanderer described in this passage does this as well. It is saying to just go along, and everything that you need will come to you. It is natural. You don't need to be bright or clever. You will know things other people are too blind to know. Their heads are too full of facts and figures, and they are trying to hard to find the answers. When, really, the answers will come to you.


The world will teach you everything you need to know.

Love and Loss

Forty-Four
from the Tao de Ching

Fame or self: Which matters more?
Self or Wealth: Which is more Precious?
Gain or Loss: Which is more painful?

I believe that this section from passage forty-four on page 46 is talking about comparisons. Such as in the first sentence where it says which is more important fame or self. This is saying which is more important in life; to have others know and love you or knowing and loving yourself? I believe that in order for others to truly know and accept you, you must first acknowledge yourself. For if you cannot love yourself how can you expect others to love you. In life people tend to focus more on how others see them and what others opinions of them are, instead of listening to themselves. They let others steer the direction that there lives take rather than taking the wheel themselves. In doing so they are letting others dictate there lives for them. Having fame and fortune... what good does that do you at the end of the day. If you're always worried about pleasing others then your life is not really your own anymore and all that wealth that you have built up and all of that fame you've created for yourself are just a mask. Despite all that you may have, material goods will only get you so far, but when you truly can understand yourself that is when you are truly a wealthy man. For holding wealth in oneself is worth more than money can buy.

Which is more painful, gain or loss, is a very interesting question. People have been trying to come up with an answer to this for a long time. To me this sounds like a well known phrase, "Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all." But is that really true? Someone who once had everything, a loving family and friends, then lost it all would say that the pain of loosing them was so great that it would have been better if they'd never met at all. However, a person in the same/similar situation may say that even though it hurts, they are grateful of the time they had to spend together with their loved ones. Then there is the person who never had anything to begin with, no one to love and no one to love them, and they would feel that anyone in the world who had this love was luckier than they were and wish for nothing more than for a friend or loved one. Now imagine if you lost all of your family and friends in a tragic accident. How would you feel? Would the pain in your heart be so intense that you'd wish to have never had anything to begin with so that you wouldn't feel the pain of the loss? Then imagine that you grew up with nothing; no mother, no father, no family of any kind to love you. How does it feel? Do you feel empty, like something's missing?

In my personal opinion, I think that the saying holds true; that it is better to have loved and lost then never to have loved at all, because without ever feeling that love you have a hollow empty void that's waiting to be filled. However, after having that love and loosing it, the pain can be so crippling that you would believe the empty numbness of the hollow void where you were never loved is better than the loss you feel. But I believe that loss is better because then you have known love and you have all of those fond memories to look back upon, even if you suffer for them.

This then leads into the next part of the passage.

He who is attached to things will suffer much.
He who saves will suffer heavy loss.

When we grow attached to things we feel the pain of their loss. It doesn't matter how long you've known it or what it is, if it has a place in your heart you will feel it's absence. Despite this, we continue to let ourselves become attached to things, even though we know that we will eventually have to let them go at some point and we know the pain that that will cause. If you don't become attached to anything you will never know the pain of loss but you will never know the joy of love either. It's a gamble but in most cases it's worth the risk.

A contented man is never disappointed
He who knows when to stop does not find himself in trouble.
He will stay forever safe.

A person needs to know themselves so that they can know their boundaries. By knowing ones boundaries and limits then they will theoretically know when to stop and thus stay out of trouble. By staying out of trouble a man will stay safe but if one does not test their limits now and then, than how can they truly know what boundaries they have and what keeps them from from achieving their goals. A man can easily stay safe if he locks himself away and shies away from trouble but then that man will never truly experience life.